Digital domination? Not just yet...

Firstly a note that is not directly related to music: exactly ten years ago today Jorn Barger coined the word 'weblog' for something that was, for better or for worse, the genesis of the phenomenon that you are now reading! They were very rare indeed then but, as I write this, that is no longer true.
The now ubiquitous word 'blog' was a contraction that seems to have entered the language sometime in 1999. The BBC website has an interesting article on this topic but I wonder if languages other than English have another popularly-used term for the same concept?

The UK singles market is not entirely dominated by downloads and the proof of it came yesterday when Leona Lewis failed to make it an eighth week at the top. She was replaced by a CD single that is only available from UK supermarket chain Tesco and, with all profits going to the British Red Cross, it is a duet of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" featuring Katie Melua and the late Eva Cassidy and is once again released on the Dramatico label, which is run by (ex-Womble!) Mike Batt.

The UK single charts in the weeks running up to Christmas are prone to surprises and probably less-heavily dominated by downloads as they hardly make good presents. Even two weeks out however this wasn't in any reckoning as a #1 contender and I just can't help but think that this is actually symptomatic of one thread that 2008 promises. She has said quite publically that her third album Pictures (2007) was the last co-written with Mike Batt. It is a brave decision and it will be very interesting to see what she does next.