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Pick at the pops: 21 April 2008

Noel Gallagher and Jay-Z

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Our weekly round-up of the weird and wonderful world of pop music...

Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we? Yes, like a common-or-garden ill-informed twerp writing for a national newspaper, we’ll be wading into the “Jay-Z at Glastonbury” debate this week and asking the questions that really matter: Can he please bring Beyoncé? Is it an open marriage? And the big one, Does Noel Gallagher think the true spirit of Glastonbury involves bopping away to Ocean bloody Colour Scene on the Saturday night?

Grime king (although well scrubbed and fragrant, we’re sure) Dizzee Rascal has offered a more sensible view on the whole Glasto farrago, admitting that he doesn’t know if Jay-Z has “that crossover element”. “Kanye West or Eminem,” he adds, “they’ve both got that.” All true, but we’ve had a great idea: if you don’t like Mr –Z, go and watch one of the 40-odd other acts playing at the same time, for crying out loud. Or just hang around the Other Stage all weekend, where the musical feast culminates in a Sunday headline show from insipid dance bores Groove Armada. Hmmm, maybe the Eavises have been on the funny stuff.

Enough festival chat, and on to matters of real global concern. You know, the environment and that. Troubling news on the wires last week as Ira Trevisan, bassist with cute-as-buttons Brazilian art-funk popsters CSS, announced she was quitting the band because she is “a bit worried about climate change”. So Ira plans to devote more time to worrying. Fair enough. Ah, no, she’s “decided to fly a little less”. Assuming each member doesn’t have a private jet, is that going to make the blindest bit of difference? Everyone else is doing it…

Matthew Horton

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