If you ever want to know the vacancy of popular music, you only have to be around for the top 10 of Channel 4’s “Greatest Albums”. Apparently, Madonna’s Like A Prayer was her third album.

It wasn’t. It was her fourth.

I rest my case.

The idea was to watch, well actually there was no idea, I just happened to be listening to Georgio Ponticelli’s three and a half hour trance set this evening, waiting for Alias to start on Bravo and I decided to tune into Channel 4 to watch the 100 Greatest Albums. As voted for by some people who clearly have limited exposure to music. There’s a seven hour trance set coming soon. But at this moment I can’t remember when.

So here I sat, two-thirds through a bottle of Nottage Hill Chardonnay, deciding I’d better stick with the Albums, my right fist pummelling my right leg to the beat of the trance. Funny how the more intoxicated you get the more focused on the music you become. And how much improved your touch-typing becomes when you’re sat in the dark

I managed to reprogram my Sky+ box so that I didn’t need to abandon the Albums, then I spent my time concentrating on the albums that were chosen. I almost recorded Nip/Tuck twice though.

It’s during this time that I realised that the general public has been hoodwinked. Yes, Three Feet High and Rising is a good album, although I’ve never heard it. But, certainly Massive Attack’s Blue Lines is astounding. As is Moby’s Play. In general however, the “Greatest Albums” are those that people have been fed with. There is no general perspective. No objectiveness.

More important is my realisation that I’ve never heard a Joni Mitchell album. When all reviews of Nerina Pallot’s album refer to her. Why have I never heard Blue? I’ve got other blue classics: John Coltrane’s A Kind of Blue, Madonna’s True Blue, and the aforementioned Massive (as they were relabeled during the first Gulf War). But no Joni. It’s something I must correct.

Now, back to the Greatest. Hmm.. we’re now with The Jam.

Sorry, I’ve missed a few, we’re with Dido. Huh?

According to the BBC, “A drug which blocks the urge to eat can help dieters shed pounds and inches, a study suggests”.

The Association of Independent Music (AIM) doesn’t like the idea of incorporating downloaded music into the official charts. This is for two reasons:

1. They allege that downloaded music can be purchased en-masse by record labels in order to force music higher up the chart
2. They are also concerned that the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) is so dominant that the charts will be skewed by major label products

Boohoo. AIM were the organisation that held out against putting independent artists onto iTMS because they wanted the artists to get more money. But lets face it, if you’re a big fish you’ll get a better deal.

Now they think that the charts won’t give a fair reflection to independent artist purchases. If anything, such charts will give a better reflection. It’s more straightforward and less hassle for independent record companies to get their music into iTMS than it is to get them into major (chart-contributing) record shops. Anyone can approach iTMS to get their music on the store.