Headlines for September 14, 2009
By: Christina Ivanowich
Julian Casablancas Announces Album Release
As we told you last month, Julian Casablancas, lead singer of rock revival superstars The Strokes, is releasing his first solo album. He recently announced on his website that Phrazes for the Young is set to be released October 19 in the UK and October 20 in North America. The Strokes are currently on an unofficial hiatus since 2006's First Impressions of Earth. But, since they haven't done anything truly great since Is This It, it might be best to keep your expectations low . . .
People Seem Really Pissed About This Kurt Cobain Avatar Thing...
So much so that it seems everywhere you turn, someone is trying to assign blame. Courtney Love has been Twittering a barrage of angry, nonsensical messages over the last few days, attempting to pawn the responsibility off on remaining Nirvana members, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, saying; "you can assrape dave he was always a bad seed and is stillriding the shit while i take bullets". As the executor of Kurt Cobain's estate, she holds the rights to his image, but she is feigning ignorance, saying; "i dragged my ass and never signed [off] on the avatar, let alone this fucking ‘feature'."
Meanwhile, Grohl and Novoselic have released a statement expressing their disappointment with the way Cobain has been represented. Rolling Stone has published it in its entirety, but it basically says they had no knowledge of or control over how Activision chose to use Cobain's image. So, it all seems suspicious but either way, if you don't want to see Kurt singing Bon Jovi, use another character.
Musicians Throwing their Support behind File Sharing
Recently, members of the British government proposed new legislation that would allow them to cut off the Internet to people who download music illegally. In order to counter this, the Featured Artists Coalition has arisen and is presenting counter measures to the government, which emphasize finding new ways to promote legal means of downloading music. Members of bands including Radiohead, Pink Floyd and Blur are joining this movement, saying that instead of criminalizing the fanbase we need to recognize this "huge paradigm shift" in how fans share music. As members of the FAC, they are trying emphasize that, while downloading may cut into record sales, it also helps increase sales of concert tickets and merchandise. It's nice to see artists from big-selling bands recognizing the need (and benefit) of working with your audience, not fighting against them.
