The Brit Awards 2008

So all the talk prior to the Brit Awards was about the Klaxons and Rihanna collaboration, which following the Manic Street Preachers recent 'Umbrella' offering, could have gone either way really. Personally, I think it turned out quite well. But I'm hardly the most objective source, I love 'Umbrella' so much that I even dedicated a whole post to covers of the song last July [link].



Ultimately, it's just 'Umbrella' with a more frenzied drum beat, some scuzzy guitars and the "ooo-oooo-ooo-ahhh"s from Klaxons' most commercially successful hit yet, 'Golden Skans'. And as a spectacle, it looked pretty good. Also, I'm sure it blew the Mika and Beth Ditto collaboration away - I don't know why the Brit Awards organisers would want to inflict such a thing upon millions of people.

If anyone actually cares about the nominees and winners (I've always been indifferent to the Brits, they remind me of The Brittas Empire more than anything), then head to bbc.co.uk [article]. No real surprises, with Artic Monkeys, Take That and Foo Fighters all snagging two awards. And Sir Paul McCartney celebrated his 'Outstanding contribution to music' award by performing 'Hey Jude'. Quelle surprise.

Now it's time to ponder next year's collaborations - Girls Aloud versus Aphex Twin? Ian Brown featuring Korn? Will Young with Snoop Dogg? Or even the outlandish suggestion of Robbie Williams rejoining Take That?

Rihanna & Klaxons - Umbrella vs Golden Skans (Live At The Brit Awards 2008) [Yourfilehost d/l link]//[Sendspace mirror]

***UPDATED***

So I was perusing the interweb straight after posting this and came across The Music Slut's provision of the Brit Awards performances [link] and I quite enjoyed Mark Ronson's medley with guest vocalists. Featuring Adele, Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse, it covers 'God Put A Smile Upon My Face', 'Stop Me' and 'Valerie'. Amy Wino's looks like she's doing okay these days, which is good. Well, she still looks a bit odd but healthier, at least. Kylie looked lovely in her performance of 'Wow' too.



And it gives me an excuse to post the version of 'Valerie' that Mark did with Kyle Falconer of The View for BBC Electric Proms 2007, with the BBC Concert Orchestra. It's a good un.

Mark Ronson ft. Adele, Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse - Medley (Live At The Brit Awards 2008) [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]
Mark Ronson and the BBC Concert Orchestra ft Kyle Falconer - Valerie [Yourfilehost]//[Sendspace]

So yeah, some good performances at The Brits this year. Although why they chose Mika and Beth Ditto to perform as well as The Osbournes as hosts, I'll never quite understand. And while I still find the actual awards themselves a bit meaningless, I guess as an institution, it's not that bad really.