The 2014 Reading & Leeds Festival Line-up is Rubbish. Or I'm Old. Or Music is Pants.

This evening the majority of the Reading & Leeds Festival (or should that be Leeds and Reading?) was revealed. Here it is.

For £210 you could visit what is considered amongst the best new music festivals in the country. Heck, even Europe. Across two venues and 3 days, it has also been the mainstay of my summer.

My first weekend visit was in 2006 and I haven't missed one since. That's 8 Leeds Festivals in a row, for all 3 days. I can't even begin to count how many different live acts that is, nor how much it has cost in total. But certainly, I've had a great time.

Some fantastic moments have come from Reading and Leeds. Far too many to pick a favourite. The worst performance I ever saw was there too (naming no names). So, imagine my excitement when the 2014 line-up is revealed. After quite a few teasers from the OfficialRandL Twitter account, the hint at a double head-liner on one of the days, the net result was something of a let down. But why? Certainly, 2014 will be the first that I will not be there for the full weekend, and at this point, net even with a day ticket.

The music does not grab me. Now, I am the first to lay blame at my age. At 25, I am practically retired. Far too old for a festival. But hey, I like to think that I'm up to speed with music. I really do. I love it and I love nothing more than witnessing it live. That isn't stopping soon. But, if you want to call me out of touch, so be it.

No, in fact my main problem is that I have seen most of these acts before. I don't mean away from a festival either, I mean I have seen most of these acts at Leeds Festival itself, before! The problem is the festival is no longer representing what the younger audience is listening to. It seems as if it is trying to please the same audience that went back in 2006, only they are now older. There is a distinct lack of new music on show, yet it has always meant to be predominately about new music since inception. Keeping up with trends, heck, even setting them.

I am sure that it will be a great time with some incredible performances. But the festival is in danger of becoming, well, closer to 30 than 20.

Gone are the days of serious mosh pits, the fight to get to the front, the massive crowd sways, the Sunday night "riots". I was never a fan, always wishing that to go away. It has and I was wrong. These days, it's tame. Enjoyable, but tame and lacking in character. Relying on former glories with the line-up has a part to play.

I'll wrap up now, as I've rambled on for too long already. Even though it doesn't sound like it, I want to go to Leeds and Reading. But, with this music, I really can't. Here are the acts from the 2014 list, that I have seen in the past, at the same festival in previous years. Some not even long ago. As always, tweet me with how wrong I am about this.

• Queens Of The Stone Age
• Blink 182
• Paramore
• Vampire Weekend
• Deaf Havana
• Arctic Monkeys
• Imagine Dragons
• Foster The People
• The Hives
• Peace
• Courteeners
• Warpaint
• Temples
• Bombay Bicycle Club
• Chvrches
• Cage The Elephant
• Metronomy
• Bondax
• Klaxons
• Pendulum

(As an aside, haven't most people seen Jake Bugg and Disclosure live already, with their never-ending tours? I know I have)

Stretching A Brand Too Far? - A Costa Coffee Problem

Costa Coffee have had a monumental rise to prominence over the past 5 years or so. Now the UK's largest coffeehouse (and second in the world) there is quite literally an opportunity to purchase a warm legal stimulate around every corner.

This blog comes about due to a crazy scenario I encountered at an M1 service station a few weeks back. Upon arrival, there was an outdoors Costa Coffee stand. Great, nice and convenient. But inside there was also a fully fledged Costa Coffee, just around the corner from the service station hot food area which served, yup, Costa Coffee. This is not forgetting the two Costa Coffee instant machines I'd also walked past. So in one service station, on one side of the M1 there were no less than 5 places to buy the same brand of coffee. Talk about over-kill.

But it goes on. Now pretty much every petrol station in the land has at least one Costa Coffee machine. You can buy Costa Cofee branded refills for your Tassimo coffee machine. Filter coffee? No problem, you can buy Costa branded too! Fancy one of those insulated mugs to take a warm drink with you out and about? You can get a Costa branded one. Now even cafe's within Asda supermarkets have...Costa Coffee! The Asda outlet in Leeds Crown Point, for instance, serves Costa Coffee, but is only a few doors down from a Costa Coffee. Worse, I know of a Costa Coffee that is a joining a Next, which has a cafe, which sells Costa Coffee!

This proliferation of the Costa brand is broadly a good thing. The more chances you see the Costa logo, the more likely you are to be thinking about it and then the more likely you are to feel like having one. Secondly, if you like a product it could lead on to you buying another from a different Costa line. Everyone wins and Costa have branched out to pretty much every revenue stream you could think of (apart from instant coffee, perhaps that's next?)

But here's the flip side. I bought a Costa from one of those service station machines they have (except I was in a WH Smiths, who had 3 of the things in store) and it was awful. I've had one in the past and it was quite pleasant, but not this one. The machine whirred away for what seemed like an hour and what I got was nothing more than steam water, a hint of milk and hardly any actual coffee. I even asked for a 'FREE' Vanilla shot, but didn't get one.

Now, clearly, there was a problem with the machine. Things go wrong, such is life. But by pure chance, I ended up recently in an awkward conversation with someone at a table who happened to be a Costa technician. His job was to drive around, fixing all the broken Costa machines. He assured me that this is an all too often affliction and that the company has expanded far too quickly, resulting in a dive in quality.

A classic dis-economy of scale. Expanding too quickly leads to errors. Without a solid backbone in place, instead of actually gaining customers from having more places to buy your products/services, you start turning away people because they have had negative experiences. The problem Costa are possibly encountering is such and I will certainly think twice before purchasing one again. In the same way a positive coffee could persuade me to buy some instant Costa for home, a bad coffee could put me off the entire brand.

You see, by all means expand, but test, recruit, research and practice before you do. Otherwise, before you know it, Costa may just become a fad rather than a brand with any lasting qualities.

Update:

Not wanting to get left behind, this is the very first thing that greets you upon entry into the Leeds General Infirmary...I kid you not.

The Super Bowl and It's Crazy Adverts

In case you missed it, recently the Super Bowl [XLVII] happened. This is a sporting event that I have a great interest in. Not, however, for the American Football. I once tried to watch it about 3 years ago, but really struggled. I managed until The Who had finished their half-time set and went to bed.

No, I can’t wait until the morning after, when all the amazing SuperBowl adverts get uploaded to the internet. Companies intent on making a statement advertise during the event. Heck, the sport often pauses just for TV Spot breaks. For a budding marketeer like myself, I always make a point to try and watch all the noteworthy adverts. This year was no exception and provided some very interesting trends.

The first is something America is very good at. Patriotism. There are many examples of this in 2013, such as the Dodge RAM pickup truck advert about religious farmers. But, the best (or worst) example this year was the Jeep advert. So “U.S.A.”, it’s no wonder that a great deal of American’s don’t know the wider world. Here we have dramatic music, American cars that are made in America, a voice over from Oprah Winfrey and a celebration of Jeep actually sponsoring the US troops and placing commemorative badges on the ve-hicles! It seems that if you want to sell in America, make it in America. Even the Korean Kia Sorento is now “Made in the US”.

Not going the Patriotic route? Find it too, well, predictable? Well, it would seem, the other trend was to be wacky. A bit out there. VW tried to recapture the public like their previous years attempts with a man speaking like a laid back Bob Marley (a not-so-subtle hint back to the days of Flower Power VW Beetles) but ultimately missed the mark a little. Website hosting service GoDaddy wheeled out both Patriotism (the first famous lady racing driver, Danica Patrick, who is American) and Wacky (a stereotyped geek, kissing a leggy blonde model). But far from the perfect marriage, it was a bit sick.

Other noteworthy weirdness was Fiat suggesting the electric 500 is good for sex, Stevie Wonder promoting Budweiser and Axe (or Lynx as we know it in the UK) running a promotion to literally send a competition winner into space. While we’re on a role, how about Mercedes-Benz trying too hard to be hip. The advert for the new CLA car features a young man, but the soundtrack is the Rolling Stones. Then Usher appears. Talk about not-cool Uncle talking about how many Friends he has on Facebook....

All the weirdness, is of course, very deliberate. It causes people to talk about the brand. So they hope. But there were a couple of spots that were genuinely funny. The M&M advert where they parody Meatloaf’s I Would Do Anything For Love was particularly smart, and Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) being self aware to promote milk while there is an apocalypse showed a certain self awareness.


We were also treated to PSY doing a version of Gangnam style.....but about....Pistachio nuts. No really. It has to be seen to be believed.

But lastly, the overarching theme was Social Media. Every single ad had to have an official #Hashtag. They were literally everywhere. Once a nice way of monitoring if your advert was a success of not, now very much de rigueur. More importantly, the hashtags used were universally odd. For instance, Audi's wasn't #Audi or #AudiSuperBowl but #Bravery. yes, it may get people talking on the internet, but is it on message for the brand?

However, despite all the gigantic sums of money paid for the advertisement slots, Oreo stole the show. Not only was their advert funny and clever, but their marketing team pulled an allnighter. During the game, the stadium suffered from a power-outage for about an hour. Oreo tweeted a pic, and they got more Tweets, Mentions and Retweets than anyone else. Well played Oreo.

Until next year, #SuperBowlAdvertHashTagOurBrandIsCool.

This Evening I Went To PC World....

There is some belief that out of the burning corpse that is Comet, PC World (and sister brand Currys) will rise from the ashes and finally turn in decent profits. The customers that would have otherwise shopped at Comet, will now turn to the main rival instead. Not only that, but over the two years or so, the company has invested millions in flagship joint-branded PC World & Currys stores with the emphasis on " ensuring a better shopping experience for customers."

"Try as I might, I couldn't actually find anyone to take my money from me"

So, off I popped to my local shop. I knew what I wanted and how much it was. I walked to the section and was greeted by an impressive stand that looked the business. Then I waited. Waited some more. And some more, for good measure. Try as I might, I couldn't actually find anyone to take my money from me. Yet more waiting followed. I understand that staff members will have been with other customers, but for the size of the shop, the number of on floor staff was a bit silly.

No matter, I had made the trip and they would get my money eventually. In the end, I was served, but little inspired confidence. Despite being a self proclaimed "PC Expert", lets call them "Dave", they clearly weren't. I didn't do the big headed move of pointing out what I was buying wasn't even a PC. After several attempts at explaining how I had already made my mind up, it was off to the checkout.

"I know that there is absolutely zero margin in electronic goods"

Now, I know that there is absolutely zero margin in electronic goods. I also get that in order to pay the rent, the bills and the wages, the company needs to make said margin. But on three occasions I was given the spiel about extended warranties. Wouldn't have minded once. But three times. Not only that, but across the course of 2 years, it added up to an eye popping £179! The device itself was only £230.

Erm, except it didn't, as "Dave" had managed to get hold of the wrong product, something costing around £350. After a few more minutes of head scratching and display stand alarms ringing, "Dave" finally admitted defeat and asked someone else where the stock was located. Once back to the counter, the extended warranty premium was significantly reduced, but still not for me. It got to the point where I actually felt bad for "Dave". I started to think about any commission or bonus or even positive mention from his boss I may have been keeping from him by saying no. Images of him not being able to buy food because of my failure to sign my life away on something I didn't want suddenly flashed before my eyes. I was having to try really hard not to say yes.

But I stood firm, apologising profusely of course. In the end, I did at least give "Dave" my details and he got the last laugh as when the check box appeared for "No Marketing" (direct mail) on the screen, he didn't ask me and hit continue without my consent. When I got home, someone had written some codes on the box in red Biro too. Damn. Should have got that extended warranty....

2 Weeks With A Windows Phone....

.....a Nokia Lumia 900, no less. Why is this important? Well, the current mobile phone market is dominated by iOS (Apple) and Android (Google - through manufacturers such as Samsung, Motorola, LG etc..), Microsoft and Nokia are currently beavering away to match or better the market leaders and gain a larger slice of the smartphone pie. The more competition, the more likely companies are likely to innovate and that means we all win.

With that in mind, Nokia were kind enough to send across a Lumia 900 to see if I could live 
with one in lieu of my beloved HTC OneX. Now, the thing to bear in mind here is what operating system the phone is running. Bear with me, it's a little geeky. Windows Phone 8 has just been launched and the new Lumia 920 is on sale from this weekend. This phone, the Lumia 900, was the flagship in Nokia's range. It came running Windows Phone 7.5 and will be updated in the future to WP 7.8. But, it will never get Windows 8, nor any of the latest Windows 8 apps. Phew! Right, have you got that? Good.

So, where does this phone fit in the market place? After using it for the two weeks, I can safely say there is a place, just not quite where you, or Nokia, expect it to be.

"A Finnish slice of fresh air, cutting through an otherwise stale market place."

First of all, the phone looks brilliant. It's a Finnish slice of fresh air, cutting through an otherwise stale market place. The bold colours (blue as tested) combined with the bleeding edge profile combine to make a phone that really does stand out for all the right reasons. It's not just the exterior styling too, as the user interface is like something out of a 70's Star Trek episode. Only more forward thinking and minus the tape deck...

The phone itself, in terms of hardware, is very powerful. The phone zips along and is very snappy, but you get the impression that Windows Phone 7 isn't quite so speedy. For instance, multi-tasking feels a step backwards and jumping from one app to another can be laborious. When you do open an app, for instance Twitter, the design is once again dripping with cool. The Windows theme across all apps really is a joy to behold. Nothing is as distinctive and I found myself smiling at the design touches within certain apps (to which people thought I was a bit mad..)


Then again, the apps aren't always as they seem. Yes, there is Spotify on there, but it is clearly an older version of the app compared with versions on other platforms. The same can be said of Twitter and Foursquare. Most apps I found even display old company logos and fonts that have long been superseded. So while all the apps that 99% of users require are on the store, if you are swapping from say an iPhone 3GS/4 or a 18 month old Android phone, e.g. HTC Desire or Desire HD that is just out of contract, you may have to use older versions of the same apps on the Lumia 900.

"The design, the ergonomics and the hardware power are all top notch."

That said, the phone itself is brilliant. The design, the ergonomics and the hardware power are all top notch. Then there is also the camera. If you want a phone to use as your primary snapping device, there are few phones, if any, that are as good as the Lumia 900. You don't get that horrible "white-eye" effect when the flash is used, there is a dedicated camera button which launches the app straight away and image quality (for a phone) is class-leading. Nokia clearly haven't lost the knack for making a fine piece of hardware.

The idea of owning a Nokia may bring memories of playing Snake on a 3210, so this phone has to work hard to shake off those old cliches. Thankfully, it just about manages it. One thing I found was that the design cuts a dash and makes people intrigued as to what the phone is that you are using. But then, once you say "Nokia" there was a bit of explaining to do as why you own it. So, going back to the original question, just what is the place in the market for the Nokia Lumia 900?

Well, price could and should be the defining factor. At launch, this was a premier priced phone, circa £450 unlocked and on the higher tier monthly contract pricing. But, if you hunt around, there have been some incredible deals , well under the £200 mark (although the best price at the time of writing was £299.99). So, this phone combined with a cheap SIM-only monthly contract deal could be the ideal phone for someone who wants to stand out, but still use a phone for social media and picture taking.

There is then a perfectly logical reason for purchasing a phone which left me endeared to it's unique charms but, more than anything, lays the platform for a successful Nokia Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8.

Retail Is Dying, No Kidding

I just bought a few new things and I didn't buy them online. Shock horror. I've always enjoyed the high street. I'm a strong advocate of being able to browse before buying. Being able to to try something out. In many ways, such as clothes, I'd very very rarely shop online. The same applies to sandwiches. So there is a place for a physical, retail shop.

But let's be honest, for things such as electronics or entertainment products, you can research online and then buy at a slightly cheaper price and it doesn't matter that you have to wait days on end for delivery because you bought the right product at the right price.

A sorry sight

Today, I wanted a couple of items myself but decided to give to humble old retail park a chance. First up, I thought I'd see if Comet had a case for my Nexus7 tablet. The sad thing is, I knew it would be a long shot. Sure enough, they didn't have any, but perhaps it was an unfair question. Yet instead of then response being "we will look to see which other Comets have some in stock" or "we don't have any, but I will check to see if we have some on order" or even "I can order one for collection at a later date" what I actually got was "we don't have one but try Argos." Well, I suppose it was helpful in its own way, kind of, but talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

No, not a store opening, just a queue.

Turns out I did indeed go to Argos, but for a PS3 game. Figured I pretty much only use it for video streaming these says and it has been months since I bought a game for it. My first problem was the game was new and therefore not in the printed catalogue. No problem as Argos have touch screen computer thingies to search for products. Only the 4 that were free had all crashed. When I did find one and gone to the till to pay, I got a speech that staff had to say about refunds and then the offer of a Argos Credit Card.

Then, the collection process was a joke. I was called to the collection point before my product had arrived, when it did arrive I could see it sat there but not enough staff we free to hand it to me and then to cap it off, my product was given to someone else! At this point I interjected, but I was not given the game, it went back on the shelf to wait again at the back of the queue. Not only that, but the store was incredibly and unbearably warm.

"I was greeted by polite staff, a smile, a cool and stylish environment and quick service."

I needed to chill out and visited a Costa where I was greeted by polite staff, a smile, a cool and stylish environment and quick service. After that, I visited a discount store for cheap chocolate while being gently wafted by air conditioning and cheesy but enjoyable 80's music.

So here's the point. Retail can absolutely survive. But it has to be enjoyable. We all enjoy buying things, but when the environment we shop in has massive queues, fed up staff that aren't knowledgeable, mess on the floor and a drab and dreary look, no wonder we choose to shop elsewhere. The future has to be shops that provide an experience, not a chore. Things move on and evolve, but at present the majority of the high street isn't. Why try to make a cheap buck on extended warranties and credit deals, when you could turn the shop into something exciting and train the staff so that they know and actually care. If the high street becomes enjoyable, that's something then internet will struggle to compete with.

There are people that moan about the high street only becoming "coffee shops, pound stores and clothing" but it has to be said, they are then only ones making an effort.

A Month With A HTC OneX | Initial Impressions

It's been a while since I promised updates to what it's like living with a Quad-Core beast of a phone that likes eating Ice-cream Sandwiches, but the truth is I'm so reliant on using it for quite possibly everything in my life, going back to this keyboard seems a little antiquated.

A green, white, box

The key thing here is tactility. A strange one I know, but it really isn't something you can get by watching videos, reading most reviews or looking at specs online before a purchase. But the HTC OneX feels amazing. It may take a little getting used to and perhaps for the first few minutes it may even feel cheap, but this soon changes. The screen for instance, is curved at the edges. A tiny detail, but when you are swiping left or right across the screen, the very edge is smoothed over.

Combined with a very light weight, high quality plastics on the rear (that have an almost matte feeling) with an embossed HTC logo and the phone feels lovely to behold. Now that may seem a little odd, anal even, but when you consider how much you actually use a phone and how often it is in your hands, it doesn't seem so daft to point out after all. It really gives the phone a premium feel, a sense of purpose and this is something that Apple have managed for years with the eponymous iPhone. I'd argue this is the first phone not from Apple to really match it on build quality (and funky packaging).

A OneX, Lens Cap Not Included

Then the look of the phone is something quite subtle. From directly above it looks like any other run of the mill HTC, but with a large screen. Perhaps, even too much like my old DesireHD, alongside each other the OneX doesn't stand out initially. But side on, sat atop a table for instance, there is a really cool swage line that tricks the eyes into thinking it has a curved profile. In actual fact, the phone is completely flat. I've tried to show that in the pictures, but perhaps it has to be seen to understand how a clever little touch changes the entire look.

So, it is a quality product that is leaps and bounds forward over previous HTC devices from a design standpoint. What about what it's like to live with. After all, it may be one of the (if not the?) most powerful phones on the market, but if that was reason alone to buy one we'd all be buying Blackberry Curves or Nokia Lumia 900's. But we're not. Come back later this week for more and in the mean time, check out the quick video below when I opened it and turned it on for the first time. I've also made a G+ picture album and read the image captions for more impressions (for instance, transferring old contacts to new phone using Bluetooth is pretty swish and every so useful).

A follow up post to A New Phone: Taking The Plunge