exploremusic

Here’s what I’ve discovered today.

Here’s the Deal with New Green Day

Apparently, Green Day thinks it’s time to start working on a new album—which is a bit surprising because there was five years between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. According to sources, though, Billie Joe and the guys have been demoing stuff for months now and want to strike while things are feeling good.

There’s still the matter of who will produce the record. Do you go with Butch Vig (who did a great job with 21st Century Breakdown)? Or do you go back to Rob Cavallo (who did everything from Dookie to American Idiot)? Or do you find someone else? Green Day has the luxury of being able to get just about anyone they want.

Here’s the Deal with Music in Burger King

This is pretty cool. A new Burger King in Japan has iPod docks at each table. They’re connected to a bowl-shaped speaker hanging over your head. That speaker directs the tunes downward onto you and whoever is sitting with you in your booth, drowning out the other noise in the restaurant—or many of them, anyway. It’s a cool idea.

Here’s the Deal with Labels vs Porn

I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen. Eleven record labels are suing a porn site called RealityKings.com for using songs in their movies. They’re tired of hearing their copyrighted music used in the background—songs like “I Kissed a Girl” and “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough.” They’re also shocked—SHOCKED!—that producers would even go so far as to have their clips inspired by the titles of these songs.

The labels are asking $150,000 per infringed song—and there are eighteen pages of songs in this lawsuit.

You know how RealityKings.com is defending themselves for using copyrighted songs without permission? Free speech. They’re trying to turn this into a First Amendment issue. Good luck with that.

Here’s the Deal with the Anniversary of Live Aid

And finally, a nod to the 25th anniversary of Live Aid. It was on this date in 1985 that about fifty acts played on two stages—one at Wembley Stadium in London and the other at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The estimate was that 2 billion people from 60 countries watched on TV. Up to 50 million pounds was raised that day and more than 150 million pounds through subsequent efforts.

If you were around then, you’ll understand what a huge cultural and sociological event Live Aid was. It was a technological triumph, too. And it was also still very, very new to see the biggest musical stars in the world performing on TV. There was also that moment where organizer Bob Geldof lost it when the donations weren’t coming fast enough and dropped the F-bomb multiple times live on the BBC.

There was nothing like Live Aid before it and there will never be anything like it ever again. I’ve written up some stuff about the 25th anniversary.