Monday, August 25, 2008

Insomniacs Rejoice – Dido Is Ready To Release Her Latest Album

2:24PM Jess McGuire | Dido has sold eighty billion albums around the world and helped clear the way for coma-pop artists to truly blossom in the Noughties (James Blunt sends his thanks, and a cat), but where has she been for the past couple of years? We haven’t heard from her since her 2003 album ‘Life For Rent’ (or, as Popjustice once put it – I can’t find a link but it’s stuck with me all this time – ‘Personality for rent, one woman owner, rarely used.’). That’s five years! An incredibly long time in the world of pop music, and certainly enough for many to suspect a large chunk of her fans would have found their way out from under the doona by now, never to purchase her particular brand of sleepy mewling again. Well, her time out of the spotlight is ov-ah – she’s coming back with a new record she’s made with acclaimed producer Jon Brion. Pop star Dido has announced her return to the music scene with a new album following a five-year absence. More »

Australian Idol: Thoughts From Your Editor (Part One)

11:18AM Jess McGuire | So last night I did a very rare thing. I sat down in front of the telly with a piece of paper and a pen and jotted down notes as I watched the very first episode of Australian Idol for 2008. Paper and a goddamn pen – what is this, the Victorian era? Well, it was certainly the Victorian auditions on Idol, judging by the many exciting shots of Melbourne landmarks. As my friend Fluffy said after the camera rushed down Degraves Street, “God, Melbourne is so cool – when you view it through the eyes of the Idol crew”. Anyway. In what I hope is chronological order, let me transfer my highly insightful notes on the show off this “paper” I’d previously only heard about from museum curators onto the interwebs. More »