The Blurred Lines copyright trial isn’t really over
It’s over in the sense that Marvin Gaye’s family have been awarded almost $7.4m (£4.9m) by a court, in relation to a copyright infringement case against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. That much is clear. But now, it seems Gaye’s estate are pursuing post-trial injunctions and looking to also bring TI and the record labels into the copyright fray. And Pharrell is fighting back. The saga continues.
Sondheim called Lady Gaga’s Oscars performance a travesty
Gaga might have thought she had nothing more to prove as a singer who could belt out the hits and slip into old-school cabaret mode too. In 2009 (before slathering herself in fake blood) she tickled the old ivories during a performance of Paparazzi, before donning 100 of your gran’s lace doilies to play a stripped-down version of Telephone at 2010’s Brit awards. Whatever the background, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim had little love for her recent Oscars musical medley performance. Not one for an over-sung Hills Are Alive, are we, Sondheim?
Adele’s 21 has sold a ridiculous number of copies in the UK
Since 2000, Adele has sold more copies of her second album 21 than there are people living in Jamaica. On Thursday the UK’s Official Charts Company, which keeps track of the sales of all those Ed Sheeran and One Direction singles you can’t avoid on commercial radio, released its figures for the biggest sellers of the millennium. We’re only 15 years in but Adele’s already shifted more than 4m copies of 21.
You can 3D-print a tiny Paul McCartney
Step right up for a mini-Macca: the former Beatle and recent Rihanna and Kanye West collaborator can now be immortalised forever in whatever weird plastic substance 3D printers typically use. McCartney’s team have made the template available for a figurine based on a scan used in his Hope for the Future music video. If you’ve always wanted a little pocket-sized Macca of your own, now is your time to shine – the template’s free, after all.
Millions of Spotify users streamed Kendrick Lamar’s new album
The Compton rapper released funk-flecked and lyrically dense second album To Pimp A Butterfly on Monday 15 March. Just a full day after its release, it was streamed a record-breaking 9.6m times on Spotify, according to the streaming service’s own numbers. Not bad for an album that some are already claiming doesn’t contain any Swimming Pools-style bangers.
Musicians slammed Dolce & Gabbana’s statements on IVF
Elton John, who in the past has said Jesus Christ would have supported gay marriage, is a man known for his direct opinions. On Sunday, he launched a boycott against fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana after the company’s founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana commented on IVF and surrogate motherhood in a magazine interview.
Dolce allegedly dubbed children borne of IVF treatment “children of chemistry, synthetic children” – and John, the father of two children born of surrogate arrangements, was having none of it. Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, pop singer Ricky Martin and most recently Madonna, have all also weighed in.
Kanye West joined Foo Fighters as a Glastonbury headliner …
Yeezus is headed to Worthy Farm in June, as confirmed by Emily Eavis and the Glastonbury festival camp on Monday night. For fans enraptured by his literally fiery performance at the Brit awards in February, this was great news. Those mystified by West’s appeal may have felt more like Lionel Richie, captured looking dumbfounded as he watched West’s Brits gig.
… And quickly inspired petitions to book alternatives
In no time, West’s festival booking inspired Twitter cries of excitement, disgust and one short message to have “bottles of piss at the ready” to throw at the stage. On Monday one particularly unhappy music fan, who has since admitted he’s never attended Glastonbury, apparently jokingly started an online petition to have West replaced by a rock band. It was topped two days later by freelance journalist and sometime Guardian writer Eamonn Forde’s satirical petition to replace West with Alan Partridge. The internet, everyone. This is the information highway people were so excited to surf in the 1990s.
@GlastoFest @dlysmusic @kanyewest I would rather eat my own bladder than watch that egocentric moron perform
— Amy (@agreenwell84) March 16, 2015
Kiss frontman said the band could go on without him
Paul Stanley got right to the point in an interview with an Australian news site. He compared reuniting with former bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss to having sex with your ex. He said Kiss was immortal, and didn’t need any of its original members to continue. He did not, however, address why Gene Simmons still seems to be the more famous band member. Stanley had plenty of other topics to cover, in his defence.
Free bassist Andy Fraser died at 62
One of the minds behind classic rock hit All Right Now, the Free bassist and multi-instrumentalist died in California on Monday. The cause of Fraser’s death is still unknown, but he was enough of a fighter to beat both Aids and cancer during his lifetime. He leaves behind a formidable legacy as both a musician and social activist.
