Paul McCartney is still rich as hell
Macca is seven years beyond retirement age, still working, and worth millions, as confirmed by the Sunday Times’ list of the wealthiest musicians in Britain. Interestingly, McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell top the list together, with a joint £730m ($1.1b) fortune, so we’re not sure it’s fair to say he would top the list on his own. Whatever the case, it pays to be a former Beatle who married a rich woman and picks up major royalties checks every financial quarter for both recorded performances and songwriting credits. Treat yourself, Paul.
Tidal isn’t even the 700th most-downloaded iPhone app
In potentially disheartening news for Jay Z and his famous friends, their artist-owned music streaming service dropped out of the iPhone top 700 download chart this week. It turns out that millions of people are not keen on paying $10 or £10 per month to listen to music and watch music videos, when they can do so elsewhere on the internet for precisely £0. Still, senior Tidal executive Vania Schlogel argues in an interview with site Smashd that the service will help independent artists, with two new features called Discover and Rising. Maybe, if they can convince people that Tidal isn’t just a back-patting exercise for pop’s biggest names, this thing still has a chance.
If there's a new Kanye album but it's only on Tidal, does it make a sound?
— I'm Gary (@noyokono) April 22, 2015
Bowie said Lulu was Lou Reed’s masterpiece
According to Lou Reed’s widow, the musician and artist Laurie Anderson, David Bowie doesn’t hate the Metallica and Reed collaboration album Lulu – so that’s at least one person who enjoyed the baffling 2011 release. Anderson told the audience at Reed’s posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on 19 April, that Bowie had compared Lulu’s musical mastery to that on Reed’s critically revered album Berlin.
AC/DC’s Phil Rudd pleaded guilty in court
The AC/DC drummer decided to plead guilty to charges of threatening to kill and of drug possession. He was due to stand trial on 21 April in New Zealand, but changed his plea to guilty beforehand. The charges arise from a September 2014 arrest for an allegedly threatening phone call that Rudd made, and a police search of his home in November 2014 that uncovered cannabis and methamphetamine.
Kirk Hammett doesn’t backup files with iCloud
Maybe the Fappening made him nervous last year: the Metallica guitarist told an interviewer that he lost hundreds of potential riffs when he lost the iPhone that he’d saved them on – and, apparently, he hadn’t backed up a single one. Let this be a lesson, kids: back it up, back it up and then back it up again (not in the rap video sense, obviously).
Johnny Marr has little love for Record Store Day resellers
We all know that eBay resellers are one of the worst aspects of Record Store Day’s annual vinyl frenzy. On that point, former Smiths and Cribs guitarist Marr agrees. “I’ll try to do an extra run of I Feel You 7-inch singles, so those who wanted it but didn’t get it don’t get ripped by the eBay tossers,” he wrote on Twitter on 18 April, before ending another tweet with the rather adorable and succinct hashtag “#screwthetouts”.
Do not pay inflated prices for I Feel You on eBay. It's a rip off & not in the spirit of RSD. Johnny #screwthetouts pic.twitter.com/zOREBfLYfd
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) April 18, 2015
Oasis might reform, but have said nothing of the sort
Ah, yes, that entertainment reporting mainstay: the anonymous source. In this case, the Mirror attributed a series of quotes about a possible Oasis reunion to a “well-placed source”. Given that both musicians’ representatives have declined to comment, we’ll peg this one to mere speculation. But the Gallaghers may want to sort it out ASAP: Blur are currently up 1-0 in the revamped Battle of Britpop, after releasing a cracking new album, The Magic Whip, six days early this week.
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s old flat is on Airbnb
Don’t worry, all the graffiti’s been scrubbed off the walls and the miscellaneous rubbish picked up since the grunge couple rented the LA apartment in 1991 and 1992. The listing has been on Airbnb for some time, but earned a little publicity boost after pop culture site Vulture interviewed the property’s current tenant. Fun fact: he barely gets in more than five Airbnb renters per year. Now that the online music press has run this story, that all may change.
Damon Albarn laments music’s ‘selfie generation’
Young musicians who sing about such diverse topics as partying, bum sizes and heartbreak are dumbing down pop music, in the eyes of the Blur frontman. “Look at music now,” he said to the Sunday Times culture magazine. “Does it say anything? Young artists talk about themselves, not what’s happening out there. It’s the selfie generation. They’re talking platitudes.” We should have more politics, less screaming about “turning down for what”, perhaps.
The BBC Proms will celebrate 90s dance music this summer
In a parallel universe where Pete Tong, dance music from 20 years ago and Ibiza clubbing culture still feel relevant, you’ll also find the BBC’s latest Proms venture. The annual classical music festival, which boasts £5 tickets to some pretty incredible performances, involved some rap, soul and R&B in 2013, and has dabbled in elements of indie before. This time, there’ll be a shimmy into dance music for Prom 16: a late night with BBC Radio 1, in July. Though it will likely have little effect in courting a younger audience, it could be interesting nonetheless.
