On Friday, Kasabian's world tour will call in at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai. It's their only show in the Middle East, and the promoters Done Events are - naturally - trumpeting the arrival of "one of the best live rock acts in the world". Note the emphasis on live. Because, despite a new album that was generally well received back in September, fewer people have bought the fourth Kasabian record than any of their previous three efforts.
Good job, then, that they're worth seeing in concert. Even though there's an Oasis-style, laddy swagger to their performances, there's also a generosity of spirit that makes their gigs feel celebratory rather than confrontational. So, given that there is so much goodwill surrounding Kasabian, why did Velociraptor fail to breach the Billboard Top 200 in the US and experience such a sales stutter in their home country? The answer has little to do with Serge Pizzorno's songwriting or Tom Meighan's vocals - even though The National damned the record with faint praise last September by calling it "reliable". It's not even a reflection of the illegal download culture. The past 12 months suggest alternative guitar music - the genre in which, generally, rock stars are born - is, quite simply, less popular than ever.
Gathering together global album sales for 2011 makes sobering reading for any young band with dreams of fame. Of the top 10, only two acts can genuinely claim to be guitar bands. One of those, Mumford and Sons, released their album in 2009. And the other is Coldplay, whose latest album Mylo Xyloto is probably the most electronic-sounding record they've ever produced.
The situation is so worrying, the British record industry body the BPI was moved to reassure fans in a press release that "recent reports of [guitar music's] demise are premature", after announcing figures that noted that rock music's share was the lowest it's been for eight years. "It still accounts for three of every 10 albums sold," reasoned the chief executive Geoff Taylor.
But the facts don't lie. Guitar music feels stale, and, arguably, has done for years. It was always a curious quirk of the UK music scene that its most acclaimed bands of the past decades - Blur and Oasis - were applauded for sounding like the classic groups of yesteryear. The bands who followed tried to sound a bit like, well, Blur and Oasis. Essentially, this creative cul-de-sac made for boring, heard-it-all-before music - at the accessible, mainstream end of the market, at least.
So while, say, the Manic Street Preachers were peddling yet another album of emotive but ultimately unmemorable indie rock, in 2009 Lady Gaga was coming up with the genuinely thrilling and innovative pop thrill of Bad Romance. It sounded, new, fresh, exciting. It was sung by someone genuinely odd, but compellingly so. Put that up against some scruffy band from a London bedsit whose dreams begin and end with being "the next Joy Division" and there was only ever going to be one winner.
Of course, the quick fix that the internet provides means the churn rate of "hot new bands" who turn out to be anything but is higher than ever. Bands are dropped before they can reach anything like their potential. And against this backdrop, it would be fascinating to see if even a young Coldplay would these days be given the time to develop into the biggest band in the world. Frankly, it would be unlikely - it's far easier for a record company to gather together a hit songwriting team, a willing pop star in waiting and a few big-name guest stars (which, essentially, is the story of Bruno Mars), than it is to spend time painstakingly working with a band over a number of years and records.
Ironically, of course, the charts are now so full of Lady Gaga-style pop and R&B collaborations that they've become largely irrelevant to anyone other than teenagers and record companies. But it is interesting - and perhaps a little cheering - that the top seller last year, Adele, makes music that is undeniably more conservative but appears to actually mean something. Someone Like You sold a staggering 1.2 million singles in the UK alone - proof that people will buy into a song that has a direct emotional resonance even if it doesn't fit the template of what's currently "on trend".
So maybe it's not all over for guitar music. There is plenty of new, exciting stuff out there. But when you have to go back to 2009 to find the last time the top 20 singles of the year were breached by people holding guitars, the facts suggest that however good any new guitar bands might be, they're unlikely to cross over into the mainstream. 2009, indeed, was also the year Kasabian released Fire, their biggest hit to date. The Leicester band are too self-assured to admit that it may have been their high-water mark. But no wonder they put so much into their live shows. In 2012, they're as important as selling records.
artslife@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)
Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14
Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)
Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31
Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
