Brit Music Scene has now been up and running for over a year, and in that time has hopefully given you the best news, reviews, and features about the British music scene. But everything has to evolve or die and so I need feedback from my readers on which direction this blog should go in the future.

You’ve read my views on British music for the last twelve months but I now need you to give me your views on Brit Music Scene. What do you want to see more of and less of? Does Amy Winehouse get too much coverage or not enough? Do you want factual news or opinion-based editorials?

To help shape the future of this blog, simply leave a comment with any feedback, good or bad. What do we do well, and what do we do badly? Is there a certain artist you think should be covered more in-depth?

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Lily Allen has been getting some interesting press lately mainly from the tabloid press who have been covering her 2 week holiday in the south of France.

First there were paparazzi shots of her sunbathing and swimming topless, then reports of her being totally out of control in Cannes, and lastly speculation that she may be trying to get back together with ex boyfriend Ed Simons from The Chemical Brothers.

It’s very unlike Lily to take things lying down and not speak her mind so she has now chosen to answer the criticism and rumours flying about in a new blog post on her MySpace page.

She first defends her behaviour in the south of France claiming everything she did there was normal behaviour for her age.

“For the record I was not thrown off anybodys yacht in Cannes , occasionally I drink wine with lunch and yes i swim topless , this in my book is not embarrasing behaviour I’m 23 years old it’s not my fault if photographers follow me everywhere and need a story to print with their pointless pictures.”

She then wholly condemns the paparazzi who seem to spend their whole life trying to grab a snatch or boob shot of a celebrity, and likens them to members of a ultra right wing neo-nazi political party here in the UK.

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Brit Music Scene remains the best blog on the b5 media network, but there are a lot of other brilliant blogs across the network, and some of the best are those in the music channel.

Mike Laba decided it was time we all got to know each other a bit better, and so is slowly but surely working his way around all of us conducting interviews.

This week’s focus is on Deb Ng, who writes She Plays Music, a log dedicated to female singers, and artists. Is that a bit sexist? Only in the way Brit Music Scene could be described as a bit racist… which it’s not.

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Arjun over at The Good Musician is hosting a list day today, and has asked all of the b5 Music Channel bloggers to come up with 10 artists they wouldn’t want to switch places with.

Obviously my choices here on Brit Music Scene are going to all be British artists, and instead of going for the usual reasons, as in they’re dead, or just a plain laughing stock, I thought I’d try to come up with reasons slightly away from the norm.

So here is my ultra snarky list of 10 British Musicians I Wouldn’t Want to Switch Places With:-

Joss Stone

She was once a softly spoken English sweetheart, who captured everyone’s imagination with her beautiful voice, and unnervingly good looks. Now she is a diva of Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey type proportions, and has the worst British American hybrid accent since Madonna. The British public are rapidly going off her, and I wouldn’t want to be her right now.

Robbie Williams

Okay, if I were Robbie, I’d be living in LA, have lots of money in the bank, and be able to get any woman I want. I’d also be able to claim to having slept with the likes of Kylie Minogue, which isn’t bad. But, I’d also be watching my career fall apart around me, as well as seeing my old sparring partners Take That seeing their career reach new heights. No, right now, I’d rather be Gary Barlow!

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Leona Lewis, currently sitting pretty at number one in the UK singles chart, has an unlikely celebrity fan.

Lily Allen, someone who I would associate with the more independent side of the pop industry wouldn’t be my first guess at being a fan of reality show winner Lewis.

Leona won last year’s X Factor show and has just released her first proper single, the one with her own style on it, rather than what Simon Cowell and his cronies think she should sound like.

I wasn’t very impressed the first time I heard Bleeding Love but it is growing on me (like a rash) as it’s played continually on every radio station I tune in to. Having said that, I wish Take That had beaten her to number one, as Rule The World truly rocks.

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Elton John, that bastion of the British Music Scene for 30 years thinks that the Internet is bad for music, and stops people creating stuff. The gay pop star and hissy fit diva also called for people to stop blogging, and get out and communicate with each other. Ermmm hello Elton, I probably talk to more people through and because of my blogs than at any other time through my life.

The 60 year old ‘Candle in the Wind’ singer told The Sun newspaper:-

“The internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff. Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK bit it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision. It’s just a means to an end.”

“We’re talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that’s not going to happen with people blogging on the internet. I mean, get out there, communicate. Hopefully the next movement will tear down the internet.”

“Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging. I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span. There’s too much technology available. I’m sure as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting that it is today.“

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