The Week That Was
Only Michael Jackson has been sued more than Coldplay in the past year. Well, Michael Jackson and me, after that time I tried to cool down by taking my pants off in that Baskin Robins. God, we live in such a prude world.
Friday: If you’re an avid follower of Kanye West’s tribute to CAPS LOCK blog, then you’ll remember the photo he posted awhile ago of him, Brandon Flowers, and Jared Leto. Well, it turns out that “dope-ass song” West was talking about has become a dope-ass reality. “Hurricane,” the long-awaited collaboration between the guy from My So-Called Life and the least prolific rapper around will appear on the next 30 Seconds to Mars album. No news on when that will be released, but I’ll try to give a warning before it does.
Saturday: Even though it premiered in the often-doomed mid-season slot, the NBC drama Southland has been renewed for 13 more episodes. Apparently, star Ben McKenzie is capable of doing more than rescuing Mischa Barton from The O.C.
Sunday: This really isn’t a surprise, but X-Men Origins: Wolverine wins at the box office! A $160 million worldwide haul doesn’t sound too shabby, especially when its critical reception has been less than glowing. We’ll just have to see how it holds up against J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek: Generation Awesome when that premieres this week.
Monday: Cory and I talked about the feud between indie rock’s favorite grandpa, Wayne Coyne, and Arcade Fire a couple of podcasts ago. It looks like we finally have our happy ending…and a fight winner—Coyne apologized in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He says that his remarks were meant for “the guys that were running their stages at a couple of festivals.” As reassurance, he also states that he “likes enough of their music.” Oh, well then. At least he likes enough of it! Win wins this one. God, I’ve been waiting forever to write that.
I’m not sure if you guys know this, but Coldplay actually stole the melody of “Viva la Vida” from me. Yup. From an untitled EP I released in the late ‘90s. Seriously though, everyone is jumping on the “Coldplay stole from me” bandwagon. First, we had the issue with Joe Satriani, who claimed that the band lifted from his 2004 song “If I Could Fly.” Now, Yusef Islam (it’s Cat Stevens) is claiming that “Viva” actually comes from his 1973 song “Foreigner Suite.” Note to Coldplay: be more careful with the next album. Otherwise, every revolutionary manifesto you write will be fodder for copyright battles.
Tuesday: Wilco drama! Former member Jay Bennett is suing Jeff Tweedy for royalties and money from the 2002 documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart. Tweedy is quite disheartened about this, as he should be. If any of you legal eagles want to read the whole suit, check it out here.
Wednesday: OK, this sounds fun. The Fiery Furnaces want you to describe how their album sounds. However, you don’t get to listen to it. All you get are song titles and free reign. These have been deemed “Deaf Descriptions” by the band, and word on the street is that they’ll release a word-only version of the album—based on these descriptions—on the same day as I’m Going Away. So, if you’ve ever wanted indie fame, now’s your chance. E-mail your descriptions to thefieryfurnacesemail@gmail.com.
Thursday: YES. Simian Mobile Disco is coming out with their second album. So far, there’s only a UK release date of August 17, but the U.S. shouldn’t be far behind. Better news? The guest list on the album, titled Temporary Pleasure. Beth Ditto, Jamie Lidell, and Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor all contribute their talents. Time to get ready for the dance floor, kids.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent, Alyssa Vincent on May 08, 2009 @ 12:00 am
