Nitish belittles attack by RSS, is firm on stance - deccanchronicle.com
After RSS mouthpiece Organiser criticised his views about “secular prime ministerial candidate” as “Muslim-centric thinking,” Bihar chief minister and JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar on Monday made it clear that his party had nothing to do with the RSS and what it thinks.
In statements that would cause further heartburn in the BJP, with which the JD(U) has been running a seven-year-old alliance government in Bihar, Mr Kumar reaffirmed his unwavering stand that the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate in the 2014 general elections must have secular credentials.
“If it were a statement from the BJP, I would be reacting on it. We (JD-U) do not have either any relationship or any alliance with the RSS. We have a political alliance with the BJP and there is a political base for it. Even in Bihar we run an alliance government on a common minimum programme,” said Mr Kumar to journalists after the janata durbar programme at his residence.
Indicating that the JD(U) neither considers the RSS’ views seriously nor does it see any harm to its political base in Bihar from an indifferent RSS in future, Mr Kumar added: “They (RSS) are airing their opinions and we ours. This is all very good. If there is a debate in the country now after just an interview I gave, it is all very good.”
The ruling JD(U), which highly values its Muslim support base in Bihar, has earlier faced frequent criticism from the Opposition parties for facilitating two national-level conventions of the RSS in the state in recent years and for continuing the alliance with the BJP. Outlining the three basic agreements behind its alliance with the BJP — Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and Ayodhya dispute — Mr Kumar said that he would allow no compromise on those issues.
Blur debut new tracks at Twitter gig - BBC News
Under the Westway was performed on a rooftop in west London
Reformed Britpop band Blur debuted two new songs at a live show streamed on Twitter on Monday evening.
The group, whose last album came out in 2003, performed the tracks - Under the Westway and The Puritan - an hour apart, from a secret rooftop location.
The band wrote the songs for a concert in London's Hyde Park to coincide with the Olympics Closing Ceremony.
"I'm really excited about getting out there and playing them for people," said frontman Damon Albarn.
Blur performed in the rain for around 50 invited guests, fans on the street who had discovered the location, and the online audience on Twitter.
The last time they had played together was in 2009, on a brief reunion tour that included a headline set at Glastonbury.
They performed Under the Westway first, a version of which had been previewed by Albarn and bandmate Graham Coxon during a pre-Brit Awards show for charity War Child back in February.
The slow, piano-led track drew comparisons to the band's 1990's style, with fans and critics suggesting influences from The Beatles' Hey Jude to David Bowie.
Bass player James told the BBC afterwards it was "a classic Blur ballad" and "a stand still and cry your eyes out sort of job".
Puritan is a pacier track, a "jump up and down and go crazy and sing along" number according to James, who was indeed seen bouncing along, dressed in shorts despite the rain.
In a question and answer session with fans between the two songs, the band revealed the Olympics concert, on 12 August, would feature a career-spanning set "including the new tracks".
When asked how it felt to be playing together again, guitarist Coxon answered: "Like a silk smoking jacket."
In response to one fan who said she was wiping away tears, James responded: "I feel quite emotional too."
The studio recording of Under the Westway also received its first radio play on Steve Lamacq's BBC 6 Music show.
Afterwards fans took to Twitter to voice their approval, calling the song "stunning", "absolutely perfect" and "emotive, haunting and beautiful".
Following the live performance James told BBC 6 Music, "It's like riding a bike, it's amazing. I thought we'd need loads of rehearsals but it's just there."
He also answered the inevitable question about the future of the band, after the Olympics show.
"Even my mum's getting fed up with it!" he laughed.
"It's nice that it's a precious, rare thing. So whether this is completely the end or the beginning of the next bit, I've no idea whatsoever. But it certainly makes it feel special."
The two Blur tracks were the band's first newly-aired material since the release of a limited edition seven-inch single, Fool's Day, produced for 2010's Record Store Day.
The new songs have already been made available online. A limited edition double-A-side 7-inch single will follow on 6 August.
They band will also perform three warm-up dates during early August, ahead of the Hyde Park concert, at venues special to the band - Margate Winter Gardens, Wolverhampton Civic Hall and Plymouth Pavilions.
UK album sales fall as digital downloads grow - BBC News
British album sales fell by nearly 14% in the first half of 2012, despite a rise in digital sales and the continued success of Adele's record 21.
Record industry body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said 43.6 million albums were sold, down from 50.5m during early 2011.
Digital sales have increased by 17.3% but have failed to close the gap.
Adele's record-breaking 21 is the biggest-selling album of 2012 so far, as it was in the first half of 2011.
Emeli Sande's debut album Our Version of Events and Lana Del Rey's Born to Die were in second and third place.
Earlier this year the BPI announced that the amount of money made by UK digital music had overtaken sales of physical formats such as CDs and records for the first time.
Its new figures show that in the singles market, where sales were up by 6% on last year, fans purchased 100% of 2012's Top 10 singles so far as digital downloads.
Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra is the year's biggest single, with more than a million copies sold.
It is followed by Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe and David Guetta's Titanium, featuring Sia.
"We've had another solid quarter of digital growth in sales volumes, both in albums and on singles," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.
"Album unit sales are down quite significantly year-on-year," he continued.
"But it's important to remember that these unit sales figures do not take into account the growing importance of music streaming and subscription services."
Taylor said the second half of 2012 looks "very promising" thanks to a plethora of prominent music releases.
These include new records from Mumford and Sons, Robbie Williams, The Killers, The Vaccines, Muse and Plan B.
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