HOT: Campaign Music Trolling
With so many conservative politicians soundtracking their campaign rallies with music by artists whose politics are well-known to be on the other end of the political spectrum, it now seems like perhaps it’s all an act of major trolling. Neil Young was not happy when king troll Donald Trump used one of his songs earlier this year, but that didn’t stop organizers of an “anti-Iran nuclear deal” rally featuring The Donald and candidate Ted Cruz from using an R.E.M. song more recently. The (clearly not conservative) band asked them to stop using its music, with singer Michael Stipe suggesting the politicians also “go fuck (themselves).”
WARM: Musical Holograms to Now Tour
Hologram USA, the company responsible for Tupac’s “performance” at Coachella in 2012, is stepping up its efforts to put dead people back on stage. After announcing a Hologram version of Billie Holiday would be appearing at Harlem’s Apollo Theater as an interactive piece for daytime tours, the company said Whitney Houston fans will be able to see the virtual singer on a world tour beginning in 2016. Assuming the weird new trend is successful, perhaps it could catch on with especially lazy artists who aren’t quite dead, but don’t really like to go on the road much. Hologram Guns ’N’ Roses tours would certainly result in fewer concert cancellations.
COLD: Hardcore Cancer Swindle
When news traveled that the former frontwoman for a Hardcore band from Pennsylvania called Counterfeit had stage-three cervical cancer earlier this year, as is often the case, her fellow musicians rallied behind her to raise money for treatment and other needs. A crowdfunding page was set up and benefit concerts were held, including one by Michigan-based group Hardcore Cares in August. But in recent weeks, rumors that the singer had been faking the illness for the cash have allegedly turned out to be true, and Hardcore Cares issued a statement about the deception (the group removed the statement after threats of violence were made against the singer, replacing it with a shorter message saying she would be held accountable for her actions). Her former bandmates denied involvement, telling the site Lambgoat that “she’s a piece of shit.”
This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2015.