They think it’s all over – it is NOTW
Well since the rest of the UK is gleefully heaping scorn upon the News of the World I feel it would be remiss of me not to do that very British thing of hopping onto the proverbial bandwagon. And I’m even cheeky enough to simultaneously criticise their journalism and steal their (admittedly smart) headline.
I must however warn any readers foaming at the mouth with NotW-induced rage that this blog post is not going to be a diatribe against the paper. I won’t be raking its ashes and calling it a disgrace – or at least not ad nauseum. In fact let’s get it out of the way early on: NotW was a crap paper, and its actions were 100% immoral. Indeed, it is a disgrace.
That said, I am heartily sick of reading editorial after editorial ranting aimlessly about it. The Guardian has been positively ejaculating with joy all month, writing article after article to stir things up, few of which tell us anything particularly new about the story. And in common with most of the rest of Britain I was very nearly reunited with my lunch when Cameron said – with astonishing hypocrisy – that this would ‘end on my watch’. You’re kidding, right?
The age of the brat
Remember the Kaiser Chiefs? They’re that not-quite-authentically-indie band who made an art form of repetition in such hits as Ruby (Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby ad nauseum) and I Predict A Riot (I Predict A Riot ad nauseum). Well just as I was beginning to think that we were fated to a singles chart consisting entirely of Adele love songs and Jessie J’s verbal gymnastics, it seems the lads from Leeds are attempting something of a comeback.
And it won’t be a quiet one. The savvy band have hit on a new sales strategy that has guaranteed them column inches. Instead of simply selling their CD, the band are offering consumers the chance to custom design their own Kaiser Chiefs album. Fans can choose between 20 new tracks, and pay £7.50 for 10, which they can then assemble in any order they like. They can also download, customise and print the album artwork. The really clever part? People can then post their own version of the album for sale and pocket £1 for every copy sold. The band talk about the idea here, to swooning arts correspondent Peter Paphides (he had dinner with them, you know).
