U2 Pull Out Of Glastonbury

A big hoo-hah was made earlier this year when the Eavis' confirmed U2 for the Friday night headline slot. Initial fears suggested that they would just belt out the same old songs on a smaller, less ostentatiously ridiculous stage. However, this week saw our worst fears confirmed when Bono had to pull out after having emergency spinal surgery. Even if you don't like Bono (proportionately speaking you probably don't), you can't help but wince at the thought of it. So whilst Bono lies in bed, surrounded by piles of money and sunglasses and weeping himself to painful slumber thinking about all the good deeds he's not being able to do, we're left with a void that needs to be filled. Obviously not a precise void. I can't see the auditions for a "smug, sunglasses adorned know it all", "hat wearing, pedal obsessed, name changing cock" and "other two" being necessary. Rumours are rife and varied, much like the pre-festival speculation. The favourite is obviously Chris Martin riding in on his middling, strumming Coldplay stallion. You can picture him running, twirling, leaping on to stage as a surprise act only to be stopped in his tracks by the audible noise of an entire festival deflating. 6 Music reported on Led Zep stepping up, although that's unlikely as is the many people I've seen crow out for The Libertines. One thing I'm glad I'm missing at Reading this year is watching them trying to fill a stadium on glory's past and forgotten. They were good, but they weren't The Strokes. There's also the long shots of Dylan, Bowie, Radiohead and even The Smiths but a lot of hope will be needed for them to come true. Best familiarize yourself with Viva La Vida then. They're not that bad really....

Flaming Lips are on the Other Stage you know.

EDIT: Literally minutes later Gorillaz are confirmed as the replacement. Glad to be wrong for a change!

Musical Titbits

Looks like it's going to be another frustratingly long wait for my next Swapgame, yet to receive an e-mail saying they've got Bioshock 2 back let alone processed my next order. Luckily this lull in games has led to a glut of new music of late. Well kind of. Foals have announced new single and album information which I have greeted with mild excitement for a change, really enjoyed Antidotes. I have semi fond memories of cycling to work at 5am listening to that album on route. New track Spanish Sahara starts off almost Anthony & The Johnsons esque before building into an epic thing of beauty. Or it's just pretty good, that sounds a lot less wanky.

As I mentioned before Frightened Rabbit's new album is great, although I imagine that you might end up hearing it for the rest of the year. The album couldn't scream "mainstream breakthrough" anymore unless you put Tinchy Stryder somewhere on it. Probably the best album of the year so far for me. Hot Chip's latest a close second. Somehow they've made an album with an 80's power ballad on it and it still sounds fantastic. Got the self titled album by The Soft Pack as well which is garage rock by numbers really. The peak of mediocrity. Now it's just the painfully long wait for the new Flying Lotus record. After dropping this May seems a decade away.

I also was one of the lucky ones to get my Glastonbury ticket paid for so now with the headliners of U2, Muse & Stevie Wonder I couldn't be more disappointed that I didn't go last year. Here's hoping they get any of the bands mentioned of above to appear as well else it'll be my tears of disappointment soaking the ground of Pilton as well as the rain.

Glastonbury!

Good day today, its not that Frankie Boyle has left Mock The Week. No, that's a reason why its not a perfect day really. I managed to get a ticket for next year's Glastonbury. The 40th Anniversary year as well! I am very excited to say the least. It'll have been 5 years since my first (and only) visit to Worthy Farm next year and to say the least a lot has changed. I'm not 16 anymore for a start. I can't really claim my taste in music has changed much, I remember seeing Bloc Party on the Other Stage while I was there and now five years later I'll be seeing them for the 6th or 7th time here in Cornwall at the end of the month. To make it as good as my first weekend under canvas there's a few things I'd like in no particular order.

1) No rain! It was a disaster in 05.
2) Alright traffic please!
3) LCD Soundsystem to headline the John Peel Stage maybe?
4) Radiohead on Saturday?
5) A Sunday line-up as good as the one this year.

Even 3 of those 5 would make it the best festival ever, but fingers crossed for all 5 eh? Also, picked up Fifa 10 on Friday, already deep inside getting Newcastle back in the Premiership. I'll try and have a proper mess around with it before Tuesday.