Glastonbury At 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z respected its source

Glastonbury At 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z (BBC4) was lovingly compiled with the confident panache of genuine fandom.

Only marginally shorter than the festival itself, Glastonbury At 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z (BBC4) was a daunting prospect, particularly as watching rock show highlights on TV seems so perversely off-the-point: surely you really have to be there.
But, lovingly compiled with the confident panache of genuine fandom, here was a list show that didn’t suffer from the ADHD you usually get with that justifiably abused genre.
Instead of the absurdly fake rent-a-talking-head that blights these capers (Fearne Cotton recalling Joan of Arc’s burning at the stake – ‘wow, she looked hot’ etc), here was a show that respected its source: if a performance made the cut, you got to savour it in full.
Iggy Pop, Joe Strummer, Bowie with bad hair – this was Glastonbury lovingly gift-wrapped and rapped.
I could have done without Boris ‘Oh Christ, I’m surrounded by nudists now’ Johnson proving yet again that he’s a (insert expletive here) but that was just a minor downer, man.

Glastonbury At 40: From Avalon to Jay-Z Review

There are more festivals in Britain these days than there are people with England shirts, but for all the pretenders, Glastonbury is still the unquestioned no1. If you don’t agree then you probably haven’t been, becuase not many people come away from Pilton Farm with anything negative to say that is non-rain related.

For anyone who has ever fallen over in the mud of the Other Stage, watched the sun come up at the stone circle or got lost in the Dance Village, Glastonbury at 40 is an absolute MUST.

Celebrating a rich history of music and alternative culture in Somerset, this A to Jay Z of the last four decades is packed with the most memorable performances (just too many to mention), tributes to some of the people who made the festival great (did you know Winston Churchill’s granddaughter created the Kidz Field?) and some utterly golden behind-the-scenes footage of Glastonbury’s inner workings.

But on top of all this talk of headliners, fences and mud, there are some wonderful tangents which true believers will absolutely wallow in (pardon the pun). Seeing footage of the first ever festival in 1970 which was attended by less than 1,500 people (around 150,000 tickets were sold this year) is probably just as strange and interesting as watching future mayor of London Boris Johnson arrive at Shepton Mallet in 2000. The clumsy toff mis-pronounces the name of the festival (“Glarrstonbury”), hangs out with some nudists and brands the place a ‘hot-bed of capitalism’. For all his chat about ‘lefties’, even he seems to be loving it…

Jay-Z: Jay-Z declines to release his tell-all autobiography

"Dream Hampton" Jay-Z is refusing to release his autobiography because he believes it will unveil more than what his fans need to know about him. Rapper insists he has covered almost all the information in the book on record but is now having second thoughts to publish it, as the tome will open everything about his personal life including his fatherless background.
"It's too much. For the book, I was interviewed, people close to me were interviewed, so I was learning a lot of things I didn't know as a child,” The Daily Star quoted the singer, as saying. He added: "It's not anything I haven't said in the past, in songs. It''s just more detailed... You can say exactly how everything went."He also admits that the book has given him a fresh view of his father, who left the family when the rapper to be was only 11. "It was still wrong... that he left, but he did stick around at a time when it wasn't cool or popular. At the time married my mom when guys were just leaving, and you'd never even meet your dad,” he told Rolling Stone mag. "So it (book) made me ease up a little bit in how I felt about him."

Jay-Z and Tinchy Stryder team up on Takeover Roc Nation

US rap giant Jay Z has joined forces with British hip-hop star Tinchy Stryder to launch a music company to break new talent.

Takeover Roc Nation is a joint venture between Jay-Z's firm Roc Nation and Stryder's management company Takeover.

It will handle the stars' merchandise and tours as well as signing new acts.

Stryder said: "Jay Z is my music and business inspiration and to go into business with him is a dream come true."

Writing on his blog, he said: "It's taken nearly a year to get the deal right so I'm excited to start signing artists to the label side of the joint venture deal."

Stryder also asked for demos from budding stars. The MC has two UK number one singles to his name and also runs his own clothing label, Star in the Hood.

He will continue to release his own music through Island Records in the UK, while Jay-Z currently has a UK record deal with Atlantic.

Jay-Z: Not Persuading Lebron James to Sign With Nets

Wants Jay-Z to make it clear that he is taking no part in influencing his nice friend and NBA MVP Lebron James to sign with the New Jersey Nets. In fact, Jay who is a minority owner of the team, noted that his relationship with the NBA baller will stay in tact regardless of what team he decides to go with. "That's his decision," Jay told Rolling Stone of the rumors that James will join the Nets once they head over to Brooklyn. After several seasons with his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, James is set to become the most sought after free-agent in the league once his contract officially ends July 1. Among the many teams looking to snag the 24 year old is the New York Knicks who have launched a very public 'C'mon Lebron' campaign which includes a website, ads and a Facebook page. Despite all the hype, Jay maintains that he has no plans of persuading James. "We're friends -- we've still gotta hang out! I don't want to convince somebody to do something, then have to see him and say, 'Uh, yeah, we're 4-30 ... sorry.''Since Hov only owns a piece of the team, the choice to sign the two-time MVP is left up to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Hov credits the Russian-born billionaire, who he first met at New York City's Four Season's Hotel, as one of his inspirations. "I'd been staying there for 10 years, and I always thought I was at the top level," he said. "But when I met Prokhorov, they took me up to this extra, extra room that I had never even heard of before. Now there's something else to shoot for. There's always an extra level you don't know about." Plans to bring the Nets to Jay's Brooklyn stomping grounds continue to move forward. Earlier this year the 40-year-old attended the groundbreaking ceremony at Atlantic Yards, the site of the Barclay Center which will house the team in 2012.