-Wyclef Jean, who had been ruled ineligible to run for the president of Haiti in that country's upcoming election, says he'll fight the ruling, despite the fact that he isn't a resident of Haiti, and doesn't speak French, the country's official language. [The New York Times]
-The Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that represents the interests of major labels and distributors, spent last week carving out a set of demands that address some developments in the digital world. Along with the National Association of Broadcasters, the RIAA told Congress that it wants every smart phone to include an FM reciever. It then turned its attention to the much talked-about Google/Verizon proposal on net neutrality to make sure that the new Internet landscape as laid out by these giants wouldn't make it harder for them to locate copyrighted material being shared illegally on the web.[both links via Ars Technica]
-New York magazine says Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes is now a "legitimate pop star" and traces his development from rebellious teenage guitar-strummer to cross-dressing, on-stage horse-riding one man band with an "aging black, transexual, ex-con soul singer" alter ego named Georgie Fruit and a new album featuring ladies of soul Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae. [New York]
-Maybe Barnes will get an idea for a new collaborator from this weekend's New York Times profile of the "not very threatening," self-described "walking cartoon" Katy Perry. Like Barnes, Perry's frequently "pretty naked," sings about same sex experimentation, and traffics in camp sexuality. Weirder things have happened. (Also worth noting: Perry herself is as sick of "California Gurls" as you are.) [The New York Times]
-Erykah Badu was fined $500 for disorderly conduct related to her video for the song "Window Seat," in which she disrobes on a street in Dallas and is shot by an assassin. [Pop & Hiss]
-Fans of indie and pop from the '80s and '90s will want to check out this great series of interviews on Fluxblog, where Matthew Perpetua interviews Rob Sheffield at length about his new book, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, the way people talk about music in the internet era, and a handful of the bands they've loved. The list is quirky (Sonic Youth, Stacey Q, LCC Soundsystem, Tori Amos, Erasure) and the commentary is highly entertaining. [Fluxblog]
-On Friday, Sufjan Stevens released an eight-song, sixty minute "EP" of new music, called All Delighted People, via his own website.
-This is just about the most awful set of coincidences imaginable. Last Wednesday, a man fell 25 feet off a balcony during a Phish concert at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island (he's now recovering in a hospital). On Thursday, during a concert by the Swell Season in Saratoga, Calif., a man committed suicide by jumping from a roof onto the stage as the band were finishing a song. Then on Friday, the lead singer of the British trio Ou Est Le Swimming Pool killed himself by jumping from a telecommunications mast at a festival in Belgium immediately after finishing a performance. [via New York Daily News, SF Weekly, and The Daily Swarm]
Comments
Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.