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When asked in a previous interview who should play the role of Doctor Who, new show-runner Steven Moffat said the lead actor should be middle-aged and a little odd-looking. Moffat. [more]

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BBC News Search: bbc (20)

France set for lively EU presidency

France's ambitious plans for the rotating EU presidency are causing some concern, writes the BBC's Jonny Dymond.

Abkhazia 'to shut Georgia border'

Authorities in the breakaway region of Abkhazia say they will close their border with the rest of Georgia, after a series of explosions.

How bad is Labour's credit crunch?

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson speaks to Labour's big donors and reports on the party's financial prospects.

Public tolerant of 'nanny state'

The public are not opposed to the state interfering in people lives to get them to become healthier, a BBC polls shows.

Sinclair dreams of 'flying cars'

Personal flying machines will be a reality, says home computer and electric car pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair.

Actor Brosnan swaps Bond for Abba

Former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan says he risked ridicule to appear in film musical Mamma Mia.

Fan filmed Amy Winehouse incident

A man who was allegedly elbowed in the head by Amy Winehouse at the Glastonbury Festival hands footage of the incident to the BBC.

BBC Newsline

BBC Newsline

Lost Beatles interview unearthed

A lost Beatles interview is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 for the first time since it was recorded in 1964.

Africa urged to act on Zimbabwe

The UN urges leaders at the African Union summit to work towards a negotiated solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Reporter's log: Curry goes coastal

Curry goes coastal

Probe of video-on-demand venture

A video-on-demand venture between the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV is referred to the Competition Commission.

Ex-convict role for ER's Kingston

Former ER star Alex Kingston is to appear in Hope Springs, a new BBC drama about four female ex-cons.

Moment of unity as Spain win Euro 2008

Spain experiences a brief moment of unity as regional divisions are forgotten after the Euro 2008 victory, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone.

Fan filmed Amy Winehouse incident

A man who was allegedly elbowed in the head by Amy Winehouse at the Glastonbury Festival hands footage of the incident to the BBC.

Battling 'liberal' Church policies

The BBC's Robert Pigott reports on the traditionalists within the Anglican Church who are ready to fight any liberal policies.

Q&A: Labour leadership election

BBC Scotland demystifies the process for choosing a new Scottish Labour leader.

Fire in the sky: Tunguska at 100

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Tunguska event, the biggest space impact of modern times.

African leaders' discomfort over Mugabe

African leaders are embarrassed by the presence of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe at a summit in Egypt, writes the BBC's Martin Plaut.

Follow the route around the country

The boat race will follow this route, and so will BBC News

Mark Ronson's Singular Trip Down Grammy Road

32-year old Mark Ronson has attained a high level of achievement in the music industry: he is a producer, cover-artist, co-founder of Allido Records, and more importantly, one of the fastest rising stars in the business.

After moving to New York with his parents at an early age, he took a liking to hip hop music and tried to start his own band. The project failed, so he started spinning disks on the DJ circuit in the early 1990’s. He soon became a regular in clubs all over New York City, incorporating the lively hip hop music found in the States at that time with the blossoming Brit-Rock music scene back in the UK. He was soon one of the most respected DJs in New York, and was being called to perform regularly at celebrities' private parties.

He then moved on to producing music, when he signed a recording contract with Elektra Records. His first album, Here Comes the Fuzz, was released in 2003 and was a critically-acclaimed success, featuring artists from several genres, including Sean Paul. Perhaps the best known song from the album is Ooh Wee, which samples Boney M and features Nate Dogg, Ghostface Killah and Trife Da God.

In 2004 he formed his own record label, Allido Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG's J Records, along with his longtime manager Rich Kleiman. The first artist he signed was rapper Rhymefest who went on to win a Grammy for co-writing Kanye West's Jesus Walks.

In March 2006, Ronson released a cover of Radiohead's Just as a single. It received major radio play in the UK and was also released as part of Exit Music, Radiohead’s covers album.

His second album, Version, came in April 2007 and debuted at number 2 on the album charts. It includes other well-respected covers from a diverse range of artists, including Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen, Coldplay, Britney Spears, Ryan Adams, Maxпmo Park, The Zutons, Amy Winehouse and Kasabian. The album spent 31 weeks on the UK charts, 13 of them in the top 10.

Version also received excellent reviews from the picky British music press: Mixmag awarded it Album of the Month in May 2007. In June of the same year, Ronson appeared on the cover of the Guardian newspaper's Guide magazine, alongside Lily Allen, although equivalent coverage in the US press has not been forthcoming. This hasn’t stopped him from charting on Billboard's Rhythm, Dance and R&B charts however, with Stop Me reaching number 4 in the Hot Dance Play chart.

In October 2007, Ronson performed a one-time-only set at The Roundhouse in Camden Town as part of the BBC Electric Proms. The performance featured the BBC Concert Orchestra and included special guests like Terry Hall from The Specials, Sean Lennon, Tim Burgess and Alex Greenwald.

Ronson received a Grammy nomination in December 2007 for Producer of the Year (Non Classical), along with Timbaland and Mike Elizondo. Ronson's work with Amy Winehouse has also brought him substantial praise, garnering six nominations in all. Back To Black, an album completely produced by Ronson, was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

In short, Mark Ronson’s discography of studio albums includes 2003’s Here Comes the Fuzz (which reached #70 in the UK), and 2007’s Version (reaching #2 on the British charts). In February 2008, he won a Grammy as Producer Of The Year.

Preserve And Display Your Album Cover Art

In this introduction to a four part series about album cover art we will explore several elements of this creative and personal art form with Vinyl Record Day Founder and album frame innovator Gary Freiberg. (www.RockArtPictureShow.com & www.VinylRecordDay.org) We’ll look at historic and controversial album covers, the differences in album cover framing, learn about a growing organization called Vinyl Record Day and see what’s in the future for album cover art. But first, let’s introduce Gary, vinyl preservationist and businessman.

Gary Freiberg is a vinyl enthusiast, historian and preservationist. He is respected internationally as an expert in album cover art. In fact, esteemed programs from the BBC to NPR have featured his insights into an American art form whose repercussions have been felt around the world. His immense interest in vinyl cover art led Freiberg to develop his innovative and patented “Record Album Frame.”

“I’m humbled, and as an avid collector, proud our record album frame that started one evening as a drawing on the back of a paper napkin and has now been chosen by the Smithsonian for exhibit, Home & Garden TV, sold at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as well as thousands of Internet purchasers,” explained Gary. “The industry accolades are appreciated but it’s the customer comments, people we don’t know who have said so many nice things about our frame that is particularly gratifying. Rock Art Picture Show started from my interest in album cover art and I truly believe we have become a leader in the field for the same reason my wife and I had the conversation that led to the napkin drawing. It’s the look; our matted display and patented framing technique creates, and I know this sounds biased, the best display for album cover art. We received our patent because of innovation, just slide your vinyl record into our acrylic frame to matte and frame your album cover instantly, no clips, no assembly and easy to change. There’s a saw tooth hanger that is attached on the back, an album cover is framed and matted for wall display in less than a minute.”

I asked Gary what exactly is the allure, what makes album cover art so appealing? His reply was the abstract feel of music.

“It’s the most personable art form there is. We can appreciate the Rembrandt’s and Picasso’s as fine art but we don’t relate to their work personally, we don’t attach our emotion with fine art. Music is the primary vehicle to our memory of good times and good people, Dick Clark called it the soundtrack of our lives. At times cover art is part of that emotional connection we have with music. Anyone who has owned a record collection has spent time pouring over an album cover while listening to the music; the mental connection is a unified package of cover art and the musical experience. A universal example is the Beatles Sgt. Pepper album. Just mentioning that album conjures up a mental picture of the cover art aside from any emotion associated with the music. The allure of album cover art is- it triggers our personal positive connection to music, the appeal is the incredible creativity of the art form, the visual presentation of an album cover draws the viewer’s attention because we relate to it whether we owned the album or not, album cover art represents the era we alone define as important and influential to who we are today.”

Freiberg also believes album cover art depicts the many cultural aspects and changes society has gone through unlike any other art form.

“Fashion, politics, racial views, lifestyles, we can follow our cultural evolution through album cover art. The early fifties have Mom’s in cocktail dresses, Dad in a tie and the kids scrubbed and fresh,” detailed Gary. “The Beatles and Stones encouraged kids to have long hair in the sixties, John Travolta sold a lot of white disco suits, and each era has its own personality and fashion that is communicated through both the music and the accompanying cover art. We see black artists omitted from their album covers, no pictures front or back. The Chantels album cover took the group of four black women off the cover when their hit “Maybe” went national and replaced them with white teenagers. Album cover art captured our history in its quest to be commercially successful. The art form began in an effort to sell more records and through all the creativity and versatility throughout its forty year history, never lost that as the primary objective.”

And there is more to the story. Album cover art is also used as a marketing tool. As an artist or a group you would want your LP to stand out among the crowd. Album cover art is taken very seriously; it is a method to introduce band members or an image that the band wants you to associate with their music. For decades album cover design was a unique imagery forum of commercial art. And the 12" by 12" canvas was all that some famous artists needed to promote the band and their music.

I must admit, I was impressed reading the Customer Comments on the RockArtPictureShow.com web site (www.RockArtPictureShow.com/comments.html). In this world of cyber space, Rock Art Picture Show is not, according to the comments, some faceless corporation; they seem to treat their customers in a very personable way.

“I sincerely appreciate anyone coming by to check out our web site. I view customers as friends who have a common appreciation for the love of cover art and are helping to preserve the art form. My goal, sincerely, is for everyone who selects our frames to get the same enjoyment I get from displaying album covers,” related Gary.

In our next article, we will explore and learn more about album cover art, but in the meantime, stop by RockArtPictureShow.com and enjoy the show.