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Music News: Prince fans go crazy (not in a good way) over Capital One ad

Prince at the Grammys in 2015.
Prince at the Grammys in 2015.Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
  Play Now [9:36]

by Jay Gabler

September 18, 2018

Above, listen to an episode of The Current's daily Music News podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.


Prince fans are not crazy about the use of "Let's Go Crazy" in an ad for Capital One that aired Monday night during the Emmys.

https://youtu.be/MR9uqLRUN3A

The ad is part of a campaign spotlighting the bank's Savor credit card, which offers cash back on dining and entertainment. The ads feature ordinary people having fun to the music of Michael Jackson ("Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" for a bowling night), Whitney Houston ("I Wanna Dance With Somebody" for a karaoke party), and...Prince. "Let's Go Crazy" plays in one ad during a montage of family outings including a movie theater, a baseball park, and a natural history museum. Fans were not having it. (Billboard)

Pussy Riot member possibly poisoned

Doctors say it's "highly plausible" that a member of the protest band Pussy Riot was poisoned. Pyotr Verzilov is currently recovering in a German hospital after falling sick last week in Moscow. In a statement, his bandmate Nadya Tolokonnikova said she believed that Verzilov may have been poisoned by the Russian government, which the band frequently criticizes. (NPR)

Kanye to play SNL, release new music

Kanye West will be the musical guest for the Saturday Night Live season opener on Sept. 29, hosted by Adam Driver. He's also teasing a possible album to be released on that date, titled Yandhi, and announced that his forthcoming collaborative album with Chance the Rapper will be called Good Ass Job. The latter announcement came during a surprise onstage appearance at Chance's open mic event for youth in Chicago. (Pitchfork)

Bob Seger readies final tour

Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band are getting ready to hit the road one last time. Seger says the upcoming Travelin' Man Tour will be his final outing, kicking off Nov. 21 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Dates have been announced through next May, with more still expected. (Billboard)

Musicians boycott SiriusXM over Music Modernization Act

Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, and Stevie Nicks are among 150 signatories of a letter declaring an intention to boycott SiriusXM over its opposition to the Music Modernization Act. The Music Modernization Act, or the MMA, is a law that would update copyright protection for musicians in the streaming era. The bill is moving forward in the U.S. Senate, but Sirius XM says it favors terrestrial radio broadcasters over digital broadcasters like itself, so they're opposing the passage of the bill in its current form. (Pitchfork)

"Momentum is building against SiriusXM and you still have an opportunity to come out on the right side of history," reads the letter. "We look forward to your endorsement but the fire is burning and only you can put this out."

In a response, Sirus says it's just asking for some simple amendments, and that their requested amendments will be favorable to artists.

Remembering Big Jay McNeely

Saxophonist Big Jay McNeely has died of prostate cancer at age 91. McNeely's fame peaked in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when rock and roll was being invented — his over-the-top theatrics set the bar for an era when the horn, not the guitar, was the premiere solo instrument for sizzling R&B. As the New York Times describes:

Mr. McNeely whipped up crowds by reeling off rapid sequences of screaming notes while lying on his back and kicking his legs in the air. Other times he would jump down off the stage and blow his horn while strutting his way through the audience.

McNeely inspired not only sax stars like Clarence Clemons, but rock guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, who adapted some of his crowd-pleasing moves. His breakout hit, from 1949, was "Deacon's Hop." His final album, Blowin' Down the House: Big Jay's Latest and Greatest, was released in 2016, shortly before his 90th birthday.


Songs sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
BoxCat Games: "Against the Wall" (CC BY 3.0)
Bob Seger: "Old Time Rock and Roll"
Big Jay McNeely: "The Deacon's Hop"
Audiobinger: "Good TImes" (CC BY 4.0)
Jesse Spillane: "Ruffling Feathers" (CC BY 4.0)