You got to check this vid. New guy on Dizzee’s Dirtee Stank label Smurife Syco. It is undoubtedly the coolest megamix you will ever hear.

If you like it check out his twitter @SmurfieSyco

Now a track from Tinie Tempah called Pass Out. I really like this beat, its got that pop element but still got that deepness in the bass. . You got to listen to this just to hear the line “I’ve been to Southampton, but I never been to Scunthorpe”.

Tinie Tempah – Pass Out

Also got the Tinie Tampah remix of Mclean with Broken. This must be the third time I have put a version of this track up, thats just cause I think it is a great track. I have got to say I prefer the Tinchy remix, but this is a close second. If you want to hear more of Tinie have a listen to this.

Mclean – Broken (Remix feat. Tinie Tempah)

I was going to put up a Boy Better Know remix of a Wideboys track but to be honest it is pretty crap. Instead something that may not be exactly grime but it is UK rap from Professor Green. He’s done a little remix with Calvin Harris’ “I’m not Alone” and it sounds absolutely wicked. He’s only put a few of his own versus in to the track but it really works and changes the track in a good way. Have a listen see what you think.

Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone (feat. Professor Green)

“Flashback” by Calvin Harris is one my favourite tracks and the video is quite cool too.  Can’t stop dancing! This is like a flashback, this is like a dream, this is like all the things you can fit inside a memory….

“I’m coming round and now my vision is so clear
If I could change my state of mind then I would disappear
The love I get from you is something I can’t chance
And I could let you slip away without a second glance“

Oh hai, Calvin! You’re back! Third time’s the charm, eh? Your new record Ready For The Weekend has been playing at Chez Billy for quite a spell now and I must commend you on this most solid choice of a third single. Continuing in the arena electro you’ve been on, Flashback does not deviate from that path one iota. One part kitchen-sink drama and two parts non-stop fist-pumping action and all fire. It’s hard to say which track is my personal favourite from the record but it’s safe to say that so far you’re coming up aces in what songs are being tapped for mass consumption and I do believe the masses are consuming! By the way, I better see some free tix coming my way when you come back to New York. These glowing words of praise don’t come cheap, ya know?

Your pal, Billy!

Calvin Harris on MySpace
Calvin Harris on Facebook
Calvin Harris on Twitter

“Flashback” by Calvin Harris, taken from the Ultra release, “Ready For The Weekend”

Stimulate your ear drums with these fine tracks my friends:

*Highly Recommend

ENJOY

X-Factor’s theme this week was “Queen Week”. The only song iKnow from Queen is “We Will Rock U” that’s round about it! iWasn’t born when Queen was Star struck!

To start of this week’s show was the Rocker himself Jamie Archer Who sang Radio Ga Ga, which me personally was a good song choice! Because Jamie knows how to impress the crowd. But Cheryl said she doesn’t like Jamie’s afro! iDid! It needed a bit of Hairspray and some Grease! It suited him to be honest. But was Jamie’s afro enough?

Lloyd Daniels came along singing “A Little Thing Called Love”. iAm not a big fan of Lloyd! He is still in the competition for his looks! Which is just disgraceful! X-Factor has become an entertainment show these days not a Singing Competition! It’s Ridiculous! Lloyd’s vocals are not strong enough at all! Hearing his album would be like listening to my own funeral! iJust might turn deaf! Get Lloyd out! His not good vocally! On another note – Lloyd people have been searching for ur hairstyle on the Internet… iDon’t see whats special about ur hair but… others…somehow… do!

Olly broke his little finger trying to punch John & Edward! (Joking) He broke his little finger by punching a pole while playing with John & Edward. Olly came with his typical performance… Olly is always dancing and doing some sort of musical. I’m not saying he isn’t good at what his doing at this present moment but iPersonally want to see Olly sing some Ballads to be honest. iWant to see his vocals expand, Right now i’m just seeing the same thing… Olly please come with something different! Ur one of my favourites. His getting a bit to predictable.

Joe McElderry is now my new Favourite to win X-Factor! This guy is very serious! And iLove his performances. However he does seem a little Will Young or Gareth Gates, but Joe does have his own little spin on him, but he does have a Will Young and Gareth Gates image to him. Joe’s performance was good! iLike the fact that he used the choir! Forget what Louis Walsh said about the Choirs… Joe’s performance was Class… Wasn’t brilliant but it was class! Joe needs to belt out a Note and I’ll be on my way to buy his ALBUM! Joe to WIN!

John & Edward … Sang Under Pressure By Queen. Lets mention that one of the twins nearly dropped by smashing through the white paper. Then Calvin Harris decided to run on stage with a PINEAPPLE to mimic JEdward’s hair! This performance was a bit of a shambles… but when is John & Edwards performance ever together? It’s a shame they have Lovers! Also JEdward had a little spin on things and put “Ice, Ice baby” in the song! God knows how… God Knows Why! But Louis Walsh needs to get his head sorted seriously!

Stacey sang a very heart-felt/Soul-ful song! She sang “Who Wants to Live Forever” which iPersonally believe was a VERY good performance! At the start iFelt that Stacey was Boring me! She is becoming to be another Leona Lewis. Stacey just needs to sort out that little Geeky and snorty personality! Which makes me LAUGH every time iThink of her being in an Interview. If Stacey does music like how she sang on this song this week… iWould buy her records! Her voice really suits soulful songs! Well done Stacey! iWasn’t feeling u last week but this week u nearly gave me goosebumps! Well done!

Big Mouthed – Drama King! Danyl Johnson was next and last person to perform! iCan’t help but say that when Danyl sings and hits his high notes he looks like he is YAWNING! Danyl sort that out man! Your mouth opens WIDE when u hit them notes! U look like ur about to Swallow the microphone! This performance was Okay. The choir was okay the song was okay… iDon’t think it personally suited him but it was an okay performance. The last note was very on point! However Louis there is a problem with a singer being Arrogant and has a big MOUTH while singing! A Big PROBLEM!

The Bottom Two was very upsetting!

This week was Queen week on the X-Factor and Saturdays show was an absolute stonker. Jamie Archer was the sixth contestant to be shown the door on Sunday after finding himself in the bottom two with Lloyd Daniels, and the biggest surprise of the night was the fact that John & Edward went through on public votes.

Archer sang a mediocre performance of ‘Radio Ga-Ga’, whilst Daniels sang what I though was a decent version of ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’. I must say I was shocked when the bottom two were announced, not due to the twins going through because I actually enjoyed their mash up of ‘Under Pressure’ (more on that later), I thought Lloyd would have been as safe as houses because the song choice was spot on for his voice.

Jamie ‘Afro’ was quite rightly sent home on Sunday evening and it’s fair to say that (not including the twins) he was well out of his depth and a definite one trick pony. He’s not marketable as a pop singer so if he were to win the competition he would more than likely be a pop-rock singer and he would have absolutely no credibility at all. Lloyd must know his time is nearly up, I think that John & Edward will probably go home this Sunday, but Lloyd will be following them shortly after.

Joe McElderry sang ‘Somebody to Love’ and although he’s got an ok voice, he’s not a pop singer. Joe will no doubt have a career in theatre but if you’re looking for a singer who will shift hundreds of thousands of Albums, he just isn’t the man. Danyl Johnson sang ‘We Are The Champions’ in his usual over-the-top, shouty way, and the judges have done a right number on him. Seeing him in the VT before his song and on the stage after the judges comments, he looks a broken man. He’s had his hair cut and has changed his demeanour in order to please the judges, especially Cheryl – who’s getting more and more annoying every week.

Cole is 26 going on 56, and it’s as if she’s conducting some sort of in-house joke with Cowell about how many times she can say ‘little’. Every time she introduces her acts it’s “up next is my little……”. Her comments after a performance inevitably include a “You looked like a little star up there” or something along those lines. I’ve really had enough of her now and whilst Danni and Cheryl were only brought onto the show for a bit of eye candy and didn’t really have any input, Danni has come into her own this year. Her comments seem much more constructive whereas Cheryl just seems to be after raising her profile via the X-Factor. Cowell should call time on her once this year has finished and get Sharon Osbourne back, a lot less annoying and she had much better chemistry with the other judges.

The best two performances of the night were Olly and Stacey. Olly sang ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and Stacey sang ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’. Both performances were sheer class and Olly & Stacey managed to put their own spin on two tracks that are extremely difficult to do anything other than sing Karaoke style. No-one sings queen like Freddy Mercury. Fact. Even the fantastic Paul Rogers has had a tough time making his mark these past few years whilst touring with Queen. If you’ve got a frontman as charismatic as Freddie, it’s far too easy when singing his songs to imitate rather than perform fresh.

What we have with Olly and Stacey is two contrasting styles, Olly the Showman and Stacey the singer. I honestly don’t know which one I prefer more. The Judges keep banging on about Olly reminding them of Robbie Williams and I can’t help thinking that they’re missing something.  Olly reminds me of a young Jay Kay. His voice is full of soul and his dancing is more than a nod towards the Jamiroquai frontman. I think he could bring credibility as a pop singer and I would genuinely buy his records. He could be the first Male since Will Young to actually make something of himself. That’s why I would rather he came second. If Olly finishes as a runner up he’ll be obliged to tour with the X-Factor and there will be a clause to say that he can’t release anything for about 12 months so he doesn’t clash with the winner. This could potentially give him a little more control over what sort of music his Album is made up of, and that could do him wonders.

Stacey on the other hand absolutely NAILED her song on Saturday, not only that but it looked effortless. To me, she’s a much better singer than Leona Lewis and what’s refreshing about her is her style of singing. If you look at 99% of female singers nowadays they try to emulate Whitney and Mariah, with most of them delivering scrunched-up-faced, half angry performances whilst trying to rape every last note out of a tune. There’s a time and a place for a big voice and Stacey has got the balance spot on. I didn’t like the comments a few weeks back where she was told to be more sexy and move around more, the fact is that she’s got such a great voice that she doesn’t need to be prancing around the stage trying to detract attention from her voice (Alexandra Burke anyone?). I’m more than happy for her to walk out on stage and sing in front of a mic, there’s something satisfyingly simple when she just sings, it harks back to female singers of the 1960’s where the voice was the most important part of a performance.

The most bizarre event of the weekends two live shows was the appearance of Celebrity Tit, Calvin Harris invading the stage whilst John & Edward performed on Saturday – sporting a pineapple on his head. More on that later….

Recuerdo que a finales de los 90 se puso muy de moda por aquí el drum & bass y nosotros íbamos a fiestas dedicadas a él y todo, en el Apolo creo, y al final tuvimos que dejar de ir porqué si lo bailabas toda la noche al día siguiente tenías agujetas en piernas y espalda por culpa de su ritmo tan cortante; así de petardos éramos. También recuerdo que Goldie era como un artista ya medio consolidado, que parecía que se comería el mundo. Ahora tanto el drum & bass como Goldie, están un poco out de toda la movida electrónica, y la verdad es que ni me acordaba de ellos, hasta que he visto que son los protas de la mezcla que le ha hecho él mismo a Calvin Harris para su tema “Flashback”. Aunque parece que a Goldie se le ha ido la mano con el pitch de la mesa de mezclas no, es que le ha querido dar un toque jungle al tema, y lo ha acelerado de tal manera que  pobre del que se lo encuentre en un algún club…. mientras, Calvin se cuela en un plató del “X Factor” inglés con una piña en la cabeza….

Calvin Harris – Flashback (Goldie Remix)

Surreal, Calvin Harris running on stage with a pineapple on his head while ‘Jedward’ the Irish twins murder yet another song. Probably my biggest highlight of The X Factor, ever. In a show that does nothing but ridicule artists who tour the country and work extremely hard, a little humor is needed and I applaud you Harris.

The idea of The X Factor, in my opinion is becoming tedious and irrelevant. How many ways can Simon Cowell make one show? Not only do we have celebrities in the jungle, celebrities in the jungle but we are trying to make celebrities out of talentless teens. John and Edward, probably the most annoying contestants to be seen are yet another example of our fame hungry culture.

I think it’s time as a nation we say no to the empire of Simon Cowell and give someone els a chance. Start the revelution today and help Calvin Harris in his quest.

Watch a clip and read article on NME here

My new obsession is Kanye West’s new BFF Mr. Hudson. Not much is known about him. I have tried to research about him but the only thing that is evident is that his real name is Ben Hudson!  He appears a proper English gent which is probably why I’m attracted to him. Blonde hair has never appealed to me; especially bleached blonde hair. But having said that, there is some mystique surrounding him. Maybe he’s strangely alluring because I never thought he would create music with any kind of R&B feel to it. It could be his Darcy posture and his slight aloofness or maybe it is because I cannot obtain his date of birth from anywhere!

Mr. Hudson’s songs are a cool, complimentary blend of R&B and indie. For this reason, I believe he is an original musical mastermind and  I hold very high estimations for him in the future. He has impressed the likes of Kanye and Jay-Z. I just hope that he can now win over the hearts of the British public and establish himself fully as an artist in his own right without having to be linked to American superstars for his success. Mr. Hudson mas made appearances on a few shows around the UK supporting Calvin Harris. I did not get tickets for any of those shows but I will be keeping my eyes open for when he tours under his own headline. Mr Hudson is the definitely the artist to watch out for in 2010!

After such a declaration, I leave you with this anthemic song There Will Be Tears on his Straight No Chaser debut album. It is hard to pick a favourite on his album but this song makes my spine tingle everytime I listen to it. Press play, sit back, close your eyes and relax!

Calvin Harris, Little Boots and Tinchy Stryder were forced to abandon a free concert in Birmingham at the weekend after 60 people were injured.

The gig at Millennium Point, which was due to mark the switch-on of the city’s Christmas lights, was pulled on Saturday (November 14) during JLS’ performance.

The free show was swamped by more than 20,000 fans, causing barriers to give way, leaving four people needing hospital treatment and several others injured. The boy band said they were “gutted that everyone’s day was spoilt”.

Writing on JLS’ official website, jlsofficial.com, band member Marvin Humes wrote: “We are devastated to see what happened at the BRMB event in Birmingham. We are so, so sad to see that people got injured at the gig.

“It should have been a great gig with others artists like Alexandra Burke and Calvin Harris. We just hope that everyone who was injured has a speedy recovery.”

Other acts that had been scheduled to appear as part of the five-hour event included Natalie Imbruglia, Chipmunk, Girls Can’t Catch, The Saturdays, Noisettes, Taio Cruz and Pixie Lott.

This week was ‘Queen Week’ and I’m totally bored of the themes.  They could only save it by having ‘Indie Week’ in which Joe sings The Stone Roses and Jedward cover The Smiths.  We can but dream.

P.s.

I inexplicably can’t put breaks between paragraphs in Sunday’s bit.

Saturday

Running Time (including the Xtra Factor): 150 minutes.
Time I watched it in: 70 minutes
X Factor Ratio: 46.7%

The show started with a strange serious bit.  After some disparaging comments about the show, Simon challenged Sting to come on to the programme as a mentor.  Well done, Simon, you can’t beat a good celebrity feud for a bit of drama.  He then went on to insist that last week’s decision, not to save Lucie, was definitely not tactics and that he’d never do that.  He also restated the trust that has in the public to decide.  The public, coincidentally, buy records.

Jamie – ‘Radio Ga Ga’ – I think it’s a bit of a weak song but he proved that he’s actually a good singer, and didn’t do too much shouting.  I still thought he was awful though.  Cheryl sat po-faced while she was watching him and then looked bemused after he had finished.  Dannii said that the song didn’t show off his vocal range and Louis said that he’s out of his depth.  Cheryl and Simon were both complimentary about him without really saying anything.  The phrase ‘damning with faint praise’ sprang to mind.

Lloyd – ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ –  It was apparent before he even started singing that this song was too much of a stretch for Lloyd.  I felt like I had been transported to a 1980s Butlins and the Red Coats were putting on a show.  He was better than he has been in the last few weeks, though.   By that, I mean that he looked a bit less like a zombie when he was performing.

Simon described him as: ‘Like a puppy taking part in the Grand National.’  This made no sense whatsoever, but it was pretty funny.  Although, it was only funny because it didn’t really make sense.

Olly – ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ – Olly seems to be a lot of people’s favourite but I’ve never been impressed, so I tried to take a fresh look at him this week.  My instant reaction was ‘Meh?’  I suppose he’s quite good but I can’t help but feel like there’s something wrong with him – and I don’t just mean his epileptic dancing.  Dannii said to him: ‘Your dance moves are incredible.’   I came away with the feeling that maybe this means that I’m an incredible dancer too, because I can writhe around like an idiot just as well as the next man.

Joe – ‘Somebody to Love’ – I’ll just make the same point as I do every week; he’s got a good voice for musicals but he’d make the least convincing pop star since Susan Boyle.  Sadly, he’s probably one of the best singers left on the show.

Louis’ rule book reared its ugly head again, this week he claimed that having a choir was cheating. Cheryl told him to shut up.

John and Edward – ‘Under Pressure\Ice Ice Baby’ – I thought it was inevitable that they were going to speak ‘We Will Rock You’, this week.  So, if the song choice was a surprise, I don’t know how you’d describe the fact that they actually sounded OK on the singing bits (relatively speaking).  Fortunately, the ‘rapping’ (speaking) bits were terrible and so normality was restored.  At one stage a man jumped around on stage with a pineapple on his head.  It was impossible to tell if this was supposed to be part of the act or not.

I suddenly became overcome with a startling vision – Jedward are going to sell millions of records.  It was a sobering thought.

In all fairness, they were actually pretty good this week and not just ’so bad that they’re good’.  You definitely couldn’t accuse them of being ‘karaoke’.  Obviously I say this with my X Factor head on;  I’m fully aware that in the real world they’re shit.

Louis’ rule book stayed suspiciously closed.

Stacey – ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ – If I was in a sarcastic mood I would answer: ‘Not me.’  Anyway, for the girl always accused of doing no performance they pick one the most plodding songs ever and she’s required to walk about 4 steps.  On the other hand,though, she was much better vocally than she has been recently and was easily one of the best on the night.  The judges bigged her up to the Nth degree – was she really that good or are they just scared of losing the only girl left?

Danyl – ‘We Are the Champions’ – It was a tough week for Danyl as he was given maybe one of the worst songs of all time. The first part of the performance felt like he was reining himself in too much, and so it seemed a bit strange.  He picked it up for the second half and proved that he’s still the best singer in the competition, by far.  Simon made a really good point in saying that Danyl sang the song like he meant it – it’s such a cheesey song that it’s hard to take it seriously – but Danyl managed to pull it off.

And that was all the acts done and dusted and it just remained to flick over to The Xtra Factor.  Holly revealed that  it was Calvin Harris that jumped on stage with Jedward (with a pineapple on his head), and that he had been booted out of the studio.  At least we now know that it wasn’t part of the act.

I found it pretty easy to make my predictions pretty this week:

Should be in bottom 2: Lloyd + Jamie

Will be in bottom 2: Lloyd + Jamie

About three years ago I discovered an amazing track called Something On Your Mind by MYNC Project, aka CR2 Records owner Mark Brown and Nick Corelli. Since then, the duo parted ways temporarily to invest time on their solo projects and now they’re back and after enlisting producer Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero and Jose Nunez on their forthcoming album, they’re bigger and better than ever before. In anticipation of the hotly awaited release, Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor is delighted to bring you a taste of what’s to come including two exclusive tracks that are not available to buy.

Up first, Boogerlight is a party-packed tune with horns, vocals and plenty of crescendos.  There’s no messing around either as it immediately kicks off with a bomb of a beat that’s set to fill a dance floor in seconds.  On the second exclusive tune, the MYNC tag team expands to include Dutch DJ Chuckie and samples Ian Brown’s amazing F.E.A.R on Fear Of Moombah.  Mark Brown and Corelli give their spin a fat beat and take the track underground with a rave twist, whilst retaining the incredible strings from Ian Brown’s original.

As if two exclusives weren’t enough, you’ll find four more download links from the MYNC boys including the Switch Mix of Something On Your Mind, if you fancy something a little bit harder, plus Brown and Corelli’s Payback mix of Calvin Harris’s awesome I’m Not Alone.  Download the exclusives and more now using the links below…its the perfect warm up to what’s set to be a killer of a comeback. Enjoy.

Exclusives:

MYNC – Boogerlight

MYNC  v  Chuckie v Ian Brown – Fear Of Moombah

More from the MYNC crew:

Inner City – Pennies From Heaven (MYNC’s Respect Mix)

MYNC – Something On Your Mind (Switch Mix)

Calvin Harris – I’m Not Alone (MYNC Payback Mix)

MYNC & Dirty South – Everybody Freakin’

Mr. Oizo is definitely an Apes With Barrels favorite, ¡yay experimental french electro-house! , and I recently happened upon a remix he did of Doctor L back in 2000 titled ‘Strange Shit Happens (Mr. Oizo Remix)’ which was missing from my essentially complete collection of his music (His remix of Ark’s Punkadelic was only released on Vinyl, and is relatively rare, unfortunately it will probably never surface, and the tracks ‘Pig’, ‘Tnust’, and ‘Half A Square‘ continue to elude internet exposure) I apologize to those of you who have most of these, but I think all of this crazy surrealist Frenchmans remixes deserve to be posted regardless, so here goes, voici, la musique de l’ordinateur>>>

Calvin Harris is a Legend!!!

Calvin Harris was thrown out of X Factor after jumping on stage mid way through jedwards ‘performance’ on saturday night.  He even put a pineapple on his head and slapped one of the duo on the arse before exiting the stage!  LMAO!!

I’m gonna rewind my Sky+, I don’t rememeber seeing this while watching last night. Too Funny!

Birmingham city centers Christmas lights switch-on has resulted in four people being taken to hospital and many more injured.

It was set to be a switch on to remember with X-Factor runners up JLS and hit girl band the Sugababes, Calvin Harris, Tinchy Stryder and Natalie Imbruglia and many others due to play a free concert to celebrate the start of the festivities.

However as JLS took to the stage a surge against the metal barriers, penning in the crowd, collapsed leaving around 60 people needing treatment. The concert and the switch-on was promptly cancelled to try and avoid further injuries, as West Midlands Ambulance service paramedics set up a special unit to treat the wounded.

The city center expected around 5,000 fans to attend the show, but reports say there were close to 21,000 on the night which over stretched the safety and security measures that had been put in place.

Reports from the ambulance service have said that one woman in her 30’s suffered serious crush injuries to her pelvis, shoulder and leg. Another woman is reported to have broken her ankle. A teenage boy fractured his wrist and a girl had suffered crush injuries to her back and legs.

An ambulance spokeswoman said “The remaining 56 patients suffered minor crush injuries and a range of minor medical complaints. They did not require further hospital treatment and were all discharged by ambulance crews at the scene.”

Birmingham City Council have defended the decision to abandon the event and have said they have started an investigation into the situation.

Calvin Harris invades Jedward’s X Factor stage

  

 

 

“Apparently Calvin is a huge John and Edward fan but it’s unacceptable to storm the stage whilst an act is performing,” an X Factor spokesman said. Harris had been due to appear on the sister show The Xtra Factor.

The show also saw Simon Cowell throw down the gauntlet to Sting after The Police star claimed the reality TV show had “put music back decades” and was little more than “televised karaoke” in a newspaper interview.

“I think this show and other shows have given people like Leona Lewis, Alexandra, JLS, Susan Boyle a shot,” Cowell said.

“Sting – this is an invite – come on this show and give your knowledge to contestants who need a little bit of your help.”

Cowell also took the opportunity to explain his decision to allow last week’s eviction from the show to be decided by the public vote.

“I would never ever play tactics or mess with people’s lives, I’ve even thrown out my own contestants in this position before,” he said.

We’ve got a pair of VIP tickets to Gatecrasher Birmingham’s New Year’s Eve event to giveaway.
There’ll be live music on the night from Deadmau5 and Calvin Harris, who’ll be performing a DJ set.
For a chance to get your name on the NYE guestlist and to win a copy of Gatecrasher’s Club Anthems 1993-2009, just answer the following question:

Which British rapper did Calvin Harris collaborate with on the song Dance Wiv Me?

To enter the competition, simply send an e-mail with Gatecrasher in the subject title to competition@fusedmagazine.com with your name, address and date of birth.

The competition closes on 18th December. Four runner-ups will also win a copy of Gatecrasher’s Club Anthems 1993-2009.

The NYE event at Gatecrasher Birmingham is from 9pm-6am. Tickets are also available online at www.gatecrasher.com/tickets

Love it or hate it, X Factor seems to have everyone talking and not surprisingly after this year’s contestants seemed to have become even more absurd than ever. Can any of the contestants actually sing?  No entrant in the past two seasons of the show can compare to the genuine vocal talents of Leona Lewis.  I struggle to understand the reasoning behind the selection process of any of the acts on the show and can someone please tell me how the man behind such musical legends as Mr Blobby, The Teletubbies and Robson and Jerome has had such a huge influence on the UK charts?  Sting was absolutely spot on when he recently called X Factor “televised karaoke”.  I couldn’t agree more.  The contestants aren’t encouraged to sing or compose original material, everyone must have a pre-defined song in a style acceptable by the panel…. great!  Amusingly, Calvin Harris ran on stage with a pineapple on his head during John and Edward’s act on Saturday.  He said: “I was just inspired to make a mockery of the show. Because it is a music competition, it is a joke and I think it should be treated as such, so when people were saying ‘John and Edward, maybe they deserve to stay in this week’, I was like ‘are you watching what I’m watching?’.  Yes, I am watching what you’re watching and I think ‘Jedward’ should stay in and ultimately win the competition.  The rest of the ‘performers’ are terrible, but at least John and Edward have some semblance of an entertaining (albeit talentless) act.  Ultimately, if they do win the show, what will be the future of the X Factor?  Will Simon Cowell roll out Mr Blobby type acts in a bid to stay in the public eye and make even more money?  Let’s hope not.

Ready for the Weekend is the second album by Scottish Pop musician Calvin Harris. It was first released in Australia on August 14, 2009 and was released in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2009. It was released on August 18, 2009 on digital format and on October 6, 2009 in CD format in the United States by Ultra Records. It was certified as Gold in the UK October 16, 2009 for sales of 100,000 copies.
Background
Harris had been working on the album since the release of his first album, I Created Disco, with the first tracks being recorded in 2008. On 3 April 2008, Harris stated that the only existing copy of his upcoming album work was lost when his laptop was misplaced during the baggage handling problems at the opening of London Heathrow Terminal 5. He later stated on the BBC’s Glastonbury Festival 2008 coverage that he got his baggage back including the album within a few days. Harris recently admitted however that this was a lie as the album was not in his luggage at all, and that he hoped that what he said would buy him some more time to finish recording the LP.

The first single, “I’m Not Alone” made its debut when it was performed in Sydney, Australia on New Year’s Eve 2008. The single was played on BBC Radio 1 on 23 January 2009, on Pete Tong’s radio show and was released in April 2009. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart at #1 on Easter Sunday on downloads alone, then stayed on top for a second week after the physical format had been released.

The 2nd single “Ready for the Weekend” was first announced on Harris’ Twitter account and features singer Mary Pearce. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart at #3 on 16 August 2009.

Another track from the album “Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La” was also used in a Coca-Cola advertisement in Summer 2009.

On 23 July 2009, it was reported that Harris’ music video for “Ready for the Weekend” was removed from YouTube due to a copyright claim from another party. Harris stated that he was upset it had occurred and believed that the British Phonographic Industry had prompted the removal.

On 6 August 2009, “Flashback” was premiered on Radio 1 and was released on November 2, 2009.
Track listing

I Created Disco is the debut album from the Scottish electronic musician Calvin Harris. It was released in the UK on 18 June 2007, having been preceded by two singles from the album, “Acceptable in the 80s” and “The Girls”.
Writing and recording
The writing and recording for I Created Disco started in 2006 when Harris moved back to his hometown of Dumfries, Scotland after living in London for two years. All recording and producing for the album took place on an Amiga computer in Calvin’s home studio, called “Calvinharrisbeats Studio”. All fourteen tracks on the album were written, produced and performed solely by Calvin Harris.
Promotion
Preceding the release of the album, Columbia released two singles, “Acceptable In The 80s” and “The Girls”, and Calvin Harris and his band was the supporting artist for both Faithless and Groove Armada on their live arena tours in spring 2007.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Calvin Harris.

Calvin Harris (born Adam Richard Wiles on 17 January 1984 in Dumfries, Scotland) is a Scottish electronic musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His gold-selling debut album, I Created Disco, was released in 2007 and contained the Top 10 singles “Acceptable in the 80s” and “The Girls”. He has written and produced records for other recording artists including Kylie Minogue’s X and his number 1 collaboration with British rapper Dizzee Rascal, “Dance Wiv Me”.

His second studio album Ready for the Weekend was released on 17 August 2009 and reached number 1 in the UK Album Charts on 23 August. It contains the number 1 single “I’m Not Alone” the UK Top 5 Single “Ready for the Weekend”, which was released on 10 August and the track “Flashback” which was released as the third single from the album on 2 November.

On 3 April 2008, Harris stated that the only existing copy of his upcoming album work was lost when his laptop was misplaced during the baggage handling problems at the opening of London Heathrow Terminal 5. He later stated on the BBC’s Glastonbury Festival 2008 coverage that he got his baggage back including the album within a few days. Harris recently admitted however that this was a lie as the album was not in his luggage at all, and that he hoped that what he said would buy him some more time to finish recording the LP. Harris’ second studio album was released on 17 August 2009 in the United Kingdom.

The first single, “I’m Not Alone” was exclusively performed in Sydney, on New Year’s Eve. The new single debuted on BBC Radio 1 on 23 January 2009, on the Pete Tong radio show and was released in April 2009. It debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number 1 on Easter Sunday on downloads alone, then stayed on top for a second week after the physical format had been released. On its release his single “Ready for the Weekend” went to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.

Harris will be touring around the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and the United States promoting his new singles and his new album. His single “Ready for the Weekend” features singer Mary Pearce. Other tracks included on the album are “Worst Day” featuring Izza Kizza and “Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La” used in a Coca-Cola advertisement. In June 2009, NME announced that Harris’ second album, Ready for the Weekend would be released on 17 August 2009. His songs “Holiday” and “Ready for the Weekend” are listed on radio line-ups. Excerpts from “I’m Not Alone” were used in Madonna’s remixed version of “Frozen” in her Sticky & Sweet Tour. Also excerpts of “I’m Not Alone” are used on the 2009 live coverage of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) on ITV4.

On 7 June 2009, Harris appeared at the Summertime Ball at the Emirates Stadium and performed “I’m Not Alone”, “The Girls” and “Acceptable in the 80s”. He then brought on Dizzee Rascal and Chrome and performed “Dance Wiv Me”. Harris will make a guest appearance on Tiësto’s song “Century” on his new album Kaleidoscope which was released on 6 October 2009. On 15 August, Harris made an appearance on the first Soccer AM show of the season.

Harris performed at Wembley Stadium on 25 October 2009 as part of the pre-game entertainment for the NFL International Series game between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On 14 November, Harris invaded the stage of British TV talent show The X Factor during a performance by John & Edward holding a pineapple on his head and bending over to point at his rear end. He was subsequently evicted from the studio by the security team and told not to return to have his say on the ITV2 programme The Xtra Factor—in which he was to have been a “Celebrity Guest”. He later apologised on Twitter, saying he was a fan of the boys, “At the end of the day, I had a pineapple on my head. Sorry if I caused anyone embarrassment. PS, I love Jedward”. On 16 November however, Harris spoke to The Chris Moyles Show and revealed that he had been “inspired to make a mockery of the show”, as well as stating that “If you look at music it’s a frightening stranglehold that Simon Cowell has over the got over the entire music chart in the UK at the moment.” On the same day, John and Edward’s “mentor” Louis Walsh, appearing on The Paul O’Grady Show, accused Harris of trying to “cash in” on John & Edward’s fame, and claimed to not know who he was.

On 15–31 January 2010, Harris will be playing at the 2010 Big Day Out which is situated in all major capital cities in Australia and New Zealand.

The remaining X Factor finalists had to make sure that they were on their game this week, as they were joined by rock royalty.  Yes, this week was all about Queen (that’s the band, not the monarch, as Jedward correctly pointed out!) and it was time to find out whether the remaining acts would rock our socks off.

Jamie Archer took to the stage first, with his rendition of ‘Radio Gaga’.  Once again, I thought he made the whole thing look effortless, Dannii thought that although he rocked the crowd – he didn’t perform to his full potential.

Lloyd Daniels was next, singing ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.  I wasn’t that blown away by Lloyd’s performance, but Simon felt that he was starting to lighten up and thought he was better than last week.

Next up was Olly Murs, who sang ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’.  Despite breaking his finger this week, Olly didn’t seem to be phased by it and I enjoyed his performance.  Louis compared him to Robbie Williams, Gary Barlow and Will Young, adding: “I think you’ve got it all”. 

After his rather musical-like performance last week, Joe McElderry sang ‘Somebody To Love’, which I think is one of the hardest Queen songs to sing.  He made a great job of it though, but Louis felt that the choir in Joe’s performance ‘helped’ him.  This caused Simon to mock Louis, which was highly entertaining.

Then it was time for the return of John and Edward, who sang ‘Under Pressure/Ice Ice Baby’.  I thought they did alright with this song, although their rapping seemed to be a tad out of time in certain parts.  However, Cheryl congratulated them on making the most of this opportunity (in other words, enjoy it while it lasts!)  Calvin Harris also stormed the stage during their performance – only on X Factor eh?!

Stacey Solomon was next up, singing ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’.  I must confess, I’d never heard this song before Saturday, but thought that Stacey hit all the right notes.  Simon said: “That was, by a mile, the best performance of the night so far”.

Danyl Johnson closed this week’s show with ‘We Are The Champions’.  In his VT, Danyl worried about being perceived as cocky or arrogant during his performance.  Louis reassured him by saying: “There’s nothing wrong with being arrogant and confident at all, if you’ve got the talent to back it up, and tonight – you proved that you’ve got it all”.

The Results

On Sunday, we were treated to great performances from Shakira…

…and the 12 X Factor finalists who are releasing ‘You Are Not Alone’ to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

After that, the results were in.  We saw Lloyd and Jamie in the bottom two this week, and the result of that was another shocker – Jamie was gone.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, next week we will be in the presence of two divas – Mariah Carey and Susan Boyle!  Can’t wait!

Ciao for now!

You should like Calvin Harris. You should let him fill your Twitter feed with reviews of crisp flavours and random outbursts of “Vanessa Feltz!” You should like the fact he says he started making music aged 15 on a Commodore Amiga – the greatest home computer of the 1990s! – when at the same age I was trying to complete the notoriously tricky snow mountain stage on Lemmings. But most of all, you should like the fact he hasn’t got a beard.

Let me explain: what I really like about Harris’ second record, the follow-up to his 2007 debut ‘I Created Disco’ – a record which was massively and defiantly successful in a way only the internet can enable – is that from the diva-encrusted disco of the title track to the frantic, pop grime of album highpoint ‘Worst Day’, you get the impression that all Harris really wants from his career is the opportunity to make fuckloads of people punch the air in unison. Compare that with the non-vision of the horde of grubby tramps singing about unicorns that have given me high blood pressure from thinking of ways for them to die. Or the battalion of vile supermarket indie bands who would smash baby ducks’ faces in for the chance to get on the cover of NME. Or rather just giggle at the doofus ABC-style sax break on opener ‘The Rain’. Or smile at the Giorgio Moroder/Cher (depending on your reference points for this kind of thing) vocoder wig-out on ‘Burns Night’. Because music’s there to be enjoyed, isn’t it? Not to soundtrack all day every day thinking of ways to maim folk musicians.

What I’m saying is this: the populist music-for-the-people philosophy embodied at the core of Harris’ anthem-heavy new record – which is basically the aural distillation of his hedonistic yet geeky everyman persona – is something to be cherished right now. He’s talked recently of the idea of “stadium dance” and “playing football stadiums with big hands-in-the-air anthems” – all of which kinda makes him the Fatboy Slim you don’t want to clip around the ear – and you have to concede that such vision, in context of the self-serving, utterly mediocre pop dishwash that surrounds him, is an admirable stance. So yeah, you should like Calvin Harris heaps. Long may he bosh. Until he grows a beard, obviously… Go to You should like Calvin Harris. You should let him fill your Twitter feed with reviews of crisp flavours and random outbursts of “Vanessa Feltz!” You should like the fact he says he started making music aged 15 on a Commodore Amiga – the greatest home computer of the 1990s! – when at the same age I was trying to complete the notoriously tricky snow mountain stage on Lemmings. But most of all, you should like the fact he hasn’t got a beard.

Let me explain: what I really like about Harris’ second record, the follow-up to his 2007 debut ‘I Created Disco’ – a record which was massively and defiantly successful in a way only the internet can enable – is that from the diva-encrusted disco of the title track to the frantic, pop grime of album highpoint ‘Worst Day’, you get the impression that all Harris really wants from his career is the opportunity to make fuckloads of people punch the air in unison. Compare that with the non-vision of the horde of grubby tramps singing about unicorns that have given me high blood pressure from thinking of ways for them to die. Or the battalion of vile supermarket indie bands who would smash baby ducks’ faces in for the chance to get on the cover of NME. Or rather just giggle at the doofus ABC-style sax break on opener ‘The Rain’. Or smile at the Giorgio Moroder/Cher (depending on your reference points for this kind of thing) vocoder wig-out on ‘Burns Night’. Because music’s there to be enjoyed, isn’t it? Not to soundtrack all day every day thinking of ways to maim folk musicians.

What I’m saying is this: the populist music-for-the-people philosophy embodied at the core of Harris’ anthem-heavy new record – which is basically the aural distillation of his hedonistic yet geeky everyman persona – is something to be cherished right now. He’s talked recently of the idea of “stadium dance” and “playing football stadiums with big hands-in-the-air anthems” – all of which kinda makes him the Fatboy Slim you don’t want to clip around the ear – and you have to concede that such vision, in context of the self-serving, utterly mediocre pop dishwash that surrounds him, is an admirable stance. So yeah, you should like Calvin Harris heaps. Long may he bosh. Until he grows a beard, obviously…  Now fast go to donload new albom http://www.justmusicarchive.com/Music/2707467/Calvin_Harris/Ready_For_The_Weekend/mp3-music/