The BBC considered personality traits common to successful dictators such as Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and Caligula this week, interviewing US psychology professor Fred Coolidge, an expert who’s studied leaders including Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler.

Singling out sadism and narcissism as common characteristics, the University of Colorado professor said many autocrats also ‘have a tendency for paranoia’ which he said is one of the key requirements for long term success.

“Their traits can help keep them in power,” he suggested, “For example, if you are hypersensitive to threats and plots then you can effectively eliminate your [real or imagined] competition.” (BBC: http://bbc.in/JcDzT7 )

Quite how applicable his findings are for superstar DJs remains unclear, though the BBC report appeared just as Forbes published their annual ‘World’s Most Powerful Celebrities list’, which included for the first time Tiesto and Skrillex as well as proudly paranoid business guru Donald Trump.

While Skrillex made 92 on the list (off the back of reported earnings of US$15million) and Tiesto 84 (US$23million), Trump landed at 16, earning $63million from ventures including his TV show and new aftershave range ‘Success by Trump’. http://onforb.es/Kt5HR0

Success by Trump cologne; click to buy

Chatting about his business principles in his 2004 book ‘How to get Rich’ he admitted ‘I often say it’s good to be paranoid’ and emphasised the same point in a speech made four years later for ThinkBigSeminars.

“While it’s not pleasant to talk about by any means, it is a reality; people can be bad at heart,” he warned.

“Be very careful when you hire or place somebody in any sensitive position of trust. Rose-colored glasses while pretty can have harmful effects on our lives and businesses, be paranoid and careful when it comes to your assets,” he advised. (http://bit.ly/KHfSAj )

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Westway Records boss Carl Loben unveiled details of Essex band Dirty Rich’s upcoming single ‘F**K The Jubilee’ this week, though insisted that despite its title, he and fellow label co-conspirator Barry Ashworth are ‘ardent monarchists who love the Queen’.

“We figured there was going to be a lot of media coverage of the Queen’s Jubilee in the coming weeks, and so for the sake of balance thought that there should be something out there that didn’t wholeheartedly support the flag-waving Royal pageant,” Carl explained.

“As well as taking a pop at the United Kingdom’s hereditary monarchy, the track also targets the corporate exclusivity of the London 2012 Olympics,” he added.

“Specifically the IOC – the International Olympic Committee – who have allowed the global athletics event to be dominated by big business in recent times. In attendance at the Games will be a large proportion of supposed VIPs, while ordinary Londoners are shut out – and facing transport and security lockdown.”

In more punk rock/ Jubilee news original Sex Pistol Glen Matlock joined forces with John Lydon in saying he wasn’t supporting the campaign to make God Save The Queen number 1 during jubilee week and also reminisced about his replacement bassist Sid Vicious.

Recalling sharing Vicious’ last ever pint of beer in England (before he left for America, was arrested for murder then overdosed and died), Matlock said Vicious was suprisingly self conscious about his image.

“He was worried about losing his hair,” he claimed.

“I’m fortunate in that respect, but if there was a bald Sid Vicious going around these days, his stature in the world of iconography would be a bit different.” (Telegraph: http://tgr.ph/KYIAJ9 )

Punk Rock’s spirit was vigorously defended by Berlin cupcake shop owner Daniel Bader, this week, who told ExBerliner ‘“Anybody who thinks I’m not a punk because I sell little cute cakes can really fuck off’.

“Selling cupcakes is actually the most punk rock thing I could do,” he explained, “I didn’t sell my soul; I didn’t start working at a bank or selling insurance. We did our own thing.” http://bit.ly/JB1pbk (Ex-Berliner)

http://cupcakeberlin.de/

Click to watch the video

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Alisson Gothz: “Last weekend Sao Paulo finally got the electronic music festival the city had always deserved -   Sónar São Paulo was a huge success! The festival gathered more than 30,000 people, becoming the largest Sónar organized outside Spain by the Barcelona brand in its 19-year history.

Between 11 and 12 May, the festival turned the cold and greyish Anhembi Park into a huge and vibrant club, with a line-up featuring 50 shows in three stages, including the likes of Kraftwerk (filling in for Björk, who had to cancel her gig due to health issues), Modeselektor, Justice, Doom, James Blake, Austra, Chromeo, and national talents such as Emicida and DJ Patife & Marky.

Kraftwerk did a special 3D presentation featuring tracks they’d never played live before the cult eight-day exhibit at New York’s MoMa. The concert from the legendary German band (which was also the only one in the entire continent this year) was cheered by the mesmerized crowd from beginning to end – people in the first row (me included) could even see the four “robot-man” making a huge effort to not show any “human emotions” towards the loud crowd and ruin their reputation.

Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto probably had the best audience of their entire career. Flying Lotus and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs were also huge hits.

Other great thing was the perfect mix of electronic sounds and hip-hop, featuring artists from both genres and a crowd which was up to anything. Of course, in such a huge event, some problems were bound to happen – most specifically on Saturday, almost all artists started their gigs several minutes (some even hours) late, in a terrible cascading effect. The long queues to get in into the venue also did some damage.

But, look. All the other electronic music festivals that take place in the city every so often are almost unworthy of being called “electronic music festivals”.

Most of them feature only extremely commercial dance music and lousy trance-pop DJs, have ridiculous mandatory dress-codes (who wears all-white in a club?) and posh atmosphere.

Sónar was deliciously avantgarde, alternative and well thought out. The general feeling after two days of clubbing was “Could we please have a Sonar Festival every month?”. The party has just begun.

Kraftwerk @ Sonar- click for Youtube footage

Alisson Gothz- Click for more

Legendary disco singer Donna Summer has died from cancer after a long battle with the illness. She was just 63.

Scores of stars including Nile Rodgers, Beyonce, Armin Van Buuren and A-Trak immediately paid tribute via Twitter and Facebook.

“Damnnn, Donna Summer too? Wow, RIP,” A-Trak tweeted, “Our culture is so indebted to her.”

“For the last half hour or so I’ve been lying in my bed crying and stunned,” said Chic superstar Nile Rodgers, “Donna Summer RIP.”

“In shock that the person who made my favourite record of all time has passed away,” Jagz Kooner added, “RIP Donna Summer”.

Jagz was one of 50 DJs and producers who voted Donna Summer’s I Feel Love as the 2^nd most influential Dance record of all time, in a poll for Skrufff last year and speaking about the track at the time was equally enthusiastic about Patrick Cowley’s ground-breaking 15 minute remix.

“It’s the art of the remix defined- in 1978,” Jagz enthused, “Built from one of the greatest tunes ever made and turned into an epic 15 minute version with more cool synth riffs and arpeggiators than pretty much any tune that has been put together since. Still gets me every time.”

“Some record are years ahead of their time, ‘I Feel Love’ was decades ahead,” Horse Meat Disco’s Luke Howard declared, a point echoed by Jez and Tim from Utah Saints.

“This track showed you didn’t need a guitar to make exciting music,” they told Skrufff, “and kick-started bedroom producers around the world!”

https://www.facebook.com/donnasummer

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

British electronic auteur Richard Aphex Twin James is re-releasing his seminal experimental album ‘Selected Ambient Works Vol II’ as an ‘extremely limited’  triple gatefold record.

The occasionally unlistenable Brian Eno-esque album established James’ credentials as being one of dance culture’s most innovative and critically acclaimed producers, which he further enhanced by launching pointed attacks on 90s era EDM.

Chatting to genre overlord Simon Reynolds in 1993 he was right about drum & bass (then known as ‘jungle’) though signally wrong about the longevity of the already much mocked mainstream genre of trance.

“I hate trance and I hate jungle, but I’d rather listen to jungle cos at least it makes me laugh,” he quipped.

“But I can totally see why people get off on jungle. Trance is more of a trend thing, whereas jungle has its roots. It’s broken off its own branch of rave music, and it’ll probably always be there, cos there are enough people who like it,” he predicted. (The  Quietus; http://bit.ly/KYGR7j )

‘Selected Ambient Works Vol II’ is out now (on vinyl) on 1972 Records.

Windowlicker: video:   (NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!!):

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

click to hear archived shows

Lots of positive things are happening with Germany Calling (more details very shortly); here’s the new banner image. Click HERE for archive streamed shows.

Paris in Ibiza (2010); click for more

Billionaire party girl Paris Hilton announced this week that she’ll soon be joining the ranks of pop-dance superstar DJs David Guetta, Tiesto and Afrojack, kicking off her career with an 1 hour set before 30,000 revellers in Brazil.

Promising that her show at the Pop Festival will be ‘the first of many’, she told reporters she’ll be spinning ‘custom-made remixes of the best tracks’ (presumably made by boyfriend Afrojack or regular collaborators Manufactured Superstars) and told Billboard she’s ‘very excited to share all of my hard work with the world.” (http://bit.ly/KYGR7j )

“Electronic music is a huge passion of mine and I’m finally letting the world experience it with me,” she told reporters.

“I have been working in the studio for a long time and ready to take deejaying to the next level. I chose Brazil for my debut because it is the country of music and dancing.”

Somewhat predictably, deep house legend turned Twitter scourge of Swedish House Mafia, DJ Sneak was unimpressed.

‘PH sucks at everything, she is wealthy she should stay out real DJ business. this is 4 pros,” he advised.

“Like once PH realizes how much work this really is she’ll give up,” he predicted, “she doesn’t belong in this business this is for grown folks.”

https://twitter.com/#!/PARISHILTON

Jonty Skrufff: http://listn.to/JontySkrufff

Traci Lords (click for more)

Bruce Wagoner unveils his new documentary based on interviews with former porn stars asking ‘What happened next?’ While Traci Lords (not in the film) went on to make music with psy-trance legends Juno Reactor not many of the other actresses appear to have fared so well . . .