Justin Bieber Forgets That Customers Are Important
I don’t know much about Justin Bieber and his music, except that a lot of his fans are quite young.
So to turn up last night two hours late as is reported here on the BBC, is inexcusable.
A Warning Not To Rely On Your Phone
Ed Sheeran must feel a right chump this morning, after losing his phone at the Brits. This is from the BBC’s report of the show.
A double award-winner at last year’s Brits, Ed Sheeran suddenly went white with fear at this year’s show.
“I’ve lost my phone,” he said, panic building as he patted down the pockets on his suit.
“It’s not locked. It has the whole of my new record on it. And it has quite a few phone numbers that shouldn’t be released.
“That’s not good, is it?”
I suppose many will excuse him, as he is from Suffolk, a county that the locals often pair with silly. But generally, they are just using it as self-promotion.
Football As Monoculture
This is the sub-title on a wonderful picture of football on Hackney Marshes in a piece by Simon Barnes in The Times today.
There are 88 football pitches on the marshes these days.
The marshes were also the venue for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in 2012.
The Pianist With A Pipe
You don’t see many men smoking pipes these days and I was surprised to meet this gentleman as I walked to the bus.
The Pianist With A Pipe
It turned out he was the pianist; Lubomyr Melnyk, who’d given a concert last night just down the road at Cafe Oto.
I think, I’ve only seen one pipe smoker in the last three or so years and that was after Ipswich won at Bolton.
Does It Matter If Beyonce Mimed The National Anthem?
Of course not! But even the Guardian thinks it’s worth an article!
Revolutionary Technology
I took this picture of HMV at The Angel.
Revolutionary Technology
Note the banner.
Revolutionary Technology in-store now
I thought that was what they sold; records. CDs and DVDs that go round and round!
They just don’t seem to be very successful at it!
Robert Peston On HMV
Robert Peston has an interesting take on HMV’s demise in this article. He asks these two questions.
Will it go the way of Jessops and Comet? Will all 239 stores be closed, with the loss of all 4,000 jobs?
And is there a rising incidence of corporate insolvencies which could actually be a good thing, in the widest possible sense (please bear with me; I haven’t taken leave of my senses or transmogrified into some kind of insane company necrophiliac)?
It is his answer to the second that is most interesting. Here’s part of it.
The evidence of past recessions is that economic growth doesn’t resume at any great velocity until unviable and inefficient businesses are put of their misery and excess capacity in various industries is eliminated.
Now, although there has been a fair old number of retailing collapses in the past year or so (according to FRP Advisory, HMV is the 32nd significant retail chain to go into administration in just over a year), there have been many fewer corporate collapses since the financial crisis of 2008 than was predictable on the basis of past economic experience.
I think he could be right.
When you clear out the living dead companies you create lots of niche markets, where those with ideas and money move in to create jobs and revenue.
I think we’ll see a very different way of selling music evolve on the High Street. What it will be like, I do not know and I won’t even guess!
They Don’t Like It Up ‘Em
I know Corporal Jones famous catch-phrase comes from less-political correct times, but this story from Burma shows how dictators get very annoyed at well-directed humour.
After all, humour is probably the sharpest weapon in the arsenal and it doesn’t generally kill people, but it might change their ideas. Or discourage others from following their evil ways.
Although, there is no record of what Hitler thought of Spike Jones‘s song, Der Fuehrer’s Face. My father had a few 78’s of his music.
So long may The Moustache Brothers in Burma be free to poke fun at one of the most evil regimes in the world. My only hope, is that they can retire quietly, after the regime has gone.
The Show Must Go On!
This steel band at the Angel had the right idea.
The Show Must Go On!
They didn’t seem to be too worried about rusty instruments.
The Solo Die Young
This is some interesting research as reported on the BBC.
Apparently, solo artists seem to die younger than those in groups.
The Anonymous Widower 