HOT: Prince’s Website Museum
There have been reports that Prince’s Paisley Park facilities might be turned into a tourist attraction (à la Graceland), which clould be a gaudy mess. A very different “museum” honoring the musician launched on July 4. The Prince Online Museum compiles working versions of the artist’s many different sites launched since 1994’s “Prince Interactive.” Though Prince infamously once declared the internet “over,” the museum shows his forward-thinking attempts to connect with fans directly online, helping create the template that allows musicians to be “independent” and successful without interference from corporate middlemen.
WARM: No Crabs, No Metallica
This year, Facebook hoaxes announcing “secret shows” by Limp Bizkit and Smash Mouth have fooled a few fans into thinking the bands would be performing at a gas station and abandoned hotel (respectively). The latest fake-gig trickery happened in Tuscon, Ariz., where a TV station reported that several Metallica fans were calling Mexican restaurants in the area where a fake Facebook event page said tickets were on sale for low-key concerts by the Metal legends in August. Some gullible fans fell for the hoax despite the concerts’ alleged location (a recently closed Joe’s Crab Shack) and promises that the band would be playing all of their albums in their entirety and there’d be “an unlimited buffet of crab legs for all concert-goers!”
COLD: Mosquitoes Kill Music Fest?
The mosquito-transmitted Zika virus is having an impact on the Olympics in Rio next month, with some athletes withdrawing due to Zika fears. Now reports say those fears have also led to the cancelation of September’s first Lollapalooza festival in Colombia. Rihanna reportedly was slated to headline the two-day fest, but her cancelation over Zika concerns led organizers to can the entire event. (Conflicting reports say neither Rihanna nor Zika caused the cancellation).
