Mini-Blunts and Bradfield...

There's something I just can't manage to get over at the moment. Well two things really: Paolo Nutini and James Morrison (not the footballer).

The Great British public made a terrible mistake last year when they made a former squaddie with no discernable musical class one of the most successful artists of 2005, as they fell in love with his boring, schmaltzy, insipid songs about seeing people on trains. Reviews also showed him to be particularly arrogant and irritated by his fame and his fans, with very little enthusiasm shown for all he had achieved at live gigs. I'm of course talking about husky voiced housewives' favourite, James Blunt.

So, imagine my sheer horror when I realise that, although Blunt has disappeared for now, our wonderful public are at it again! Messrs Morrison (not the footballer) and Nutini have just left nursery, but have been jumped upon to fill the gaping, MOR/AOR/crap void left by Blunty.

Take the new singles for instance. Listen to them one after another and then please give me a clue as to which singer is which. Both husky-voiced, both soaked in the horror of an electric organ lifted from some 70's soft rock/smoky jazz LP and both singing lyrics so obvious that it sounds like they were really taking the piss when they wrote them.

...and how they must be laughing now. The British public are falling for the sensitive, MOR trick again while record company execs are sat about laughing their heads off while counting their money. I'd rather have the days of Steps and A1 back instead of this shite.

Well played boys and girls.

In other happier news, the legend that is JDB is apparently at number 6 in the Midweek Singles Chart with 'That's No Way To Tell A Lie'. Although this sounds super-impressive, usually singles sales drop off in the second half of the week but he's pretty much got a top 20 placing.

Not bad considering I've had to be eagle-eyed to spot promo that he's done on BBC Online, The Herald site, Channel 4's Album Chart Show and others. The other good news is that his performance on TOTP on Sunday could well save the show! I imagine anyone who hears the song will automatically start making petitions demanding the show stays on air so we can watch more of JDB in the future.

Either that or the pure apathy and disinterest I feel from everyone I've tried to talk to about James' solo stuff will just continue.

Should be used to it by now. Although the Manics have a massively devoted fanbase (hence the decent single placing prediction), I am yet to actually meet another obsessive in my daily life. Because of this, for the past 8 years or so, talking to people about the music I love usually concludes with a 'oh that's nice' or 'uh huh'. The only place I get to chat to people about them is on a forum which more than once those close to me have probably derided as 'sad'.

Oh well, the rest of you don't know what you're missing out on :) .