Minimum Gauge: Billy Corgan says he's not Taylor Swift's dad

If Taylor Swift WAS this man’s daughter, she’d have been approximately 2 years old when this photo was taken. Photo: Graham Racher (CC-by-SA 2.0)

HOT: Taylor Swift’s Dad is Not a Pumpkin

Following Drake’s confirmation that the rumor he had a son with a former adult film star is true, another high-profile musician has made a paternity confession. Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan says he is not Taylor Swift’s dad. Corgan took to Instagram to write two posts denying that he was Swift’s pops after a side-by-side photo on TotallyLooksLike.com went viral. Corgan laughed off the accusations, saying he was shocked by how many people had contacted him about it, and then wrote several hundred words about “image/self-esteem/God/and self-love.” The real question is — does his pal Alex Jones of InfoWars believe his denial?

WARM: UMG, Prince and Fair Use: Part 2

In 2007, a 29-second home video a mother took of her toddler dancing to Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” was forced off of YouTube by Universal Music Group for violating the music’s copyright. After outcry and court hearings, the video was restored and an extensive court battle resulted in a decree that rights-holders must consider good-faith “fair use” when issuing such takedowns. UMG is apparently still intent on testing the boundaries of protecting Prince’s music from seeming “fair use,” though. Recently, a short video of a mass of people singing “Purple Rain” in the streets of Minneapolis right after Prince’s death in 2016 was pulled from Twitter after UMG issued a takedown claim. The video was restored a couple of days later, again after the takedown news received widespread attention.

This is what it sounds like when thousands of Prince faithful sing Purple Rain. @StarTribune pic.twitter.com/rqzs4qHPap

— Aaron Lavinsky (@ADLavinsky) April 22, 2016

COLD: TRGT Hearts CBGB

Punk Rock historical site/former club CBGB was recently “lampooned” in the name of capitalism by Target. To celebrate the opening of a new store in the East Village, the retailer recreated CBGB’s famed storefront, changing the awning to read “TRGT” in CB’s distinct font and touting “BANDS” (that turned out to be giveaway boxes of Target-brand Band-Aids) at the makeshift pop-up promotion. Target apologized following backlash. Sort of. The company basically said sorry some people didn’t like it — TRGT literally said, “We sincerely apologize if some eventgoers felt it was not the best way to capture the spirit of the neighborhood.” Next up: Wal-Mart gives away “I Have a Dream” sleep masks to promote the new superstore opening at the site of the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.