Music News: Flaming Lips to appear in X-Men comic
by Staff
May 11, 2016
The Flaming Lips plan to hire the X-Men as security — no, not at Rock the Garden, in a comic book set in the '90s. "I should have written a song about that," says Wayne Coyne about his band virtually meeting the mutants. (Billboard)
In other comics news, Run the Jewels provide the score for a video launching a new video series starring the Marvel superhero Black Panther. (Billboard)
Today's Prince news
Madonna will pay tribute to Prince at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22. "Details on her tribute to the late music great remain a closely-guarded secret," reports the sponsoring publication. After the deaths of Prince and Michael Jackson, Madonna is the sole survivor among the trio of music greats who dominated pop music in the 1980s; when she was in town for a concert last fall, Prince invited Madonna and her crew to Paisley Park for a private concert.
The PRINCE (Personal Rights in Names Can Endure) Act is moving quickly through the Minnesota Legislature so that Prince's heirs can protect the late star's name and likeness from commercial exploitation — but is it a good idea? MPR News talks to experts who say that while legislation like this is common, it has wide-ranging consequences that some think merit further discussion.
Gene Simmons has apologized for saying that Prince "killed himself" with "drugs and alcohol." On Twitter, the KISS frontman blames his "big mouth." (Billboard)
New Lizzo vid
Lizzo released a new video for her Barbershop: The Next Cut soundtrack single "Good as Hell."
Desert Trip sold out
No surprise here: Desert Trip sold out in hours, and is almost certain to be the highest-grossing concert ever, reports Billboard. The two-weekend California festival features six of the most acclaimed acts in rock history: Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Roger Waters, and Neil Young.
Are downloads going the way of the dodos?
Apple's iTunes Store is planning to phase out music downloads over the next two years, reports Digital Music News. The report is unconfirmed, but the move wouldn't be much of a surprise given Apple's history of aggressive innovation and the fact that downloads are projected to continue declining as a source of music revenue.
Pearl Jam perform another album front-to-back
On Tuesday night in Toronto, Pearl Jam performed their 2000 album Binaural in its entirety, making it the third album (after Ten and Vs.) the band have played front-to-back on their current tour. (Rolling Stone)
Ghost Town DJ's back on the charts
Ghost Town DJ's had a top 40 hit in 1996 with their song "My Boo." The song is back on the charts — and at a new high, landing at #29 on this week's Hot 100 — thanks to becoming the soundtrack for a hot meme called "the running man challenge." (Billboard)
