Has anyone seen the new T-Mobile advert currently airing? They invited a bunch of their customers up to Trafalgar Square for a flashmob style event (though they wouldn’t give details) and had a mass sing-a-long to ‘Hey Jude’.
Happy happy smiley smiley!
Muse are supporting U2 on a leg of their North American tour, taking in New York, Washington, Atlanta and Tampa. I’m going to be working in New York as the tour comes by, so I’m tempted to get a ticket and see the show. However, looking at the ticket prices, I’ve decided not to go as a protest to the way U2 are treating their fans. They’ve done a few things right, mainly providing £55 tickets to fans - but everything subsequent to that has “greedy, money-squeezing bastards” written all over it.
If you aren’t already aware, U2 are charging up to $250(!) for standard tickets, and hundreds more for VIP packages which include a tour of the backstage area. This isn’t so bad in itself, fans will genuinely want this experience, however the real shocker comes down to the pricing of their (RED) tickets.
The (RED) areas at the 360 degree shows are positioned just around the stage and are, apparently, the best place to “see, and be seen”. They come at a price though. U2 have taken their fans loyalty and sent them competing against each other - the highest bidder gets the ticket (up to $1,000’s). It’s a fantastic business model, yes, but at the cost of anally raping their fans, it’s probably not the best long term plan.
Aha! you think. Why don’t I just get a presale ticket? Well, to be considered a ‘real fan’ these days, you have to pay $50 (or more) for the privilege. $50 gets you access to the third day of the presale - if you want access any earlier then you’ll have to shell out a bit more. That $50 doesn’t even include the cost of a ticket.
I’m not normally one for ranting, but this jolly well takes the biscuit.
So the rumour mill has September pegged as the release date for Muse’s new album. I’m in the pre-excitement stage of half worrying / half preparing. Everytime Muse release something new, Matt spins wild stories to the press hinting at electronica, ABBA, folk, classical and electro-punk-neo-goth-metal influences. It always turns out to be classic Muse. There’s a definite progression in their music, but it’s still built on that solid Musey foundation we’ve all learned to love. But it doesn’t stop me worrying. What if they fuck it up this time?
And then there’s the Muselive side of things. The traffic to the site will increase exponentially as the album launch date draws closer. We’ve already seen a 30% increase in traffic over the last month - and there’s still 6 months to go till D-Day. We’ll be upgrading the server over Easter to prepare for the extra demand, yet more money down the drain. Then there’s the mandatory 18 months of touring - we’ll have to maintain and update the site on an almost hourly basis. I’m going to be working full time in The City, so this is going to prove tricky, but I’ll find a way :-).
On a lighter note, our April Fools plans are gearing up nicely 
I think I might have finally finished my final year project. I’m going to wait until this evening to indulge myself in front of the TV with a beer, but I can almost feel the weight lifting!
A caption for an abstract? I THINK NOT.
On an unrelated note, the company (Sinclair Megaprinter Ltd. - yes, you.) who were supposed to manufacture and ship the posters for muselive.com are not returning my calls. I placed an order for a batch of posters over a month ago, and they have been unbelievable - I have still yet to receive the posters. Instead I have decided to order them from another company, at over twice the cost, who guarantee delivery by Friday. Anger anger.
All blogs start with “My first post” - I’m not one to break this fragile blogosphere etiquette, so welcome to my first post. I’m not sure where this blog is heading yet, but trust me - it’ll blow your socks off. In other news, I’m half way through proof reading my final year physics project and can’t help but feel that exceedingly joyous times lie in ambush for me. I can hope. In case you’re interested, I’m investigating a specific B meson decay that is traditionally suppressed by “The Standard Model” of particle physics.
