It's only words. And money.

Hey I make a living with words so I've got a vested interest here but this evening I'm interviewing Gustav Ejstes of the Swedish psych rock band Dungen, who sings in Swedish. He's been asked dozens of times why he sings in Swedish - as if there's something wrong with that - and the inevitable follow-up is "but people won't understand you!". His response is the words matter to him but they don't have to matter to anyone listening, the voice is only one part of the sound.
Now, while I can pore over a lyric sheet for hours and will happily dissect a Dylan, Paul Kelly, Morrissey, Tim Freedman, Patty Griffin or Smog line til the cows come home I reckon he's right. After all I can get plenty of satisfaction not just from his new spin on prog but various African, Arabic, French and even some poorly enunciating Australian artists. Do words have to matter?Elsewhere, I reckon artists signed to EMI or Warners - or any of their subsidiaries - will be sitting uneasily for the rest of this year and maybe next. While Warner Music, the fourth largest record company in the world, has rejected a takeover offer from EMI, the third largest, it's unlikely to be the end of it. It makes scary sense after all. And if, when, it goes ahead no one expects the rosters of the two companies to remain. Look at what happened when Universal swallowed Polygram and when Sony and BMG merged. And if you think it won't matter to us, think not just about the artists who won't have a record contract any more but the fact that the industry will be run by three behemoths with even more grunt behind their efforts to hunt down and impoverish if not incarcerate any miscreant who won't play by their rules of either distribution or downloading.And only 21 sleeps until Leo Sayer.