HOT: Public Domain Crusaders
The lawyers who got “Happy Birthday” put in the public domain are back in court working to have two other iconic songs join it. The firm is going after the two companies that claim copyrights on “We Shall Overcome” and “This Land is Your Land.” The lawyers, who took up the “Overcome” case for filmmakers who were denied usage of it in their movie about the song, say that the anthem is not copyrightable because it was based on a 19th-century African-American spiritual and was in the public domain for years prior to being copyrighted in 1960. More recently, representing the band Satorii, which had paid for the right to cover “This Land,” the lawyers went after the same companies, arguing writer Woody Guthrie’s 1945 copyright expired in 1973, and their overlapping 1956 copyright was illegitimate. If the suit is successful, these dudes might get some money back.
WARM: Rockers vs. Aliens
Ex-Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge recently offered perhaps the greatest excuse for quitting a band ever. Last year, DeLonge’s bandmates said that before quitting he kept putting off recording sessions. Now we know why. In an interview with Mic, DeLonge said he just didn’t have time to do Blink-182 and pursue his other passion — investigating UFOs and aliens. DeLonge called his pursuit a “national security issue,” and when asked about evidence said, “I know of stuff I can’t talk about right now.” Maybe he was kidding. Maybe he’s crazy. Or maybe we’ll all be so sorry we made fun of him, when the inevitable alien invasion comes to Earth, we will make him king of the humans.
UPDATE: DeLonge now says the media is insane for the way they’ve reported on his comments. NOT the UFO and national security stuff — he just says he never quit Blink-182.
COLD: Nuge Plays for a Fiver
A nine-day music festival in New Hampshire featuring acts like Fuel and Bret Michaels was (shockingly!) plagued by poor ticket sales, leaving promoters unable to pay the bills. By the penultimate night, with Rock-star-turned-delusional-right-wing-loudmouth Ted Nugent headlining, ticket prices were dropped from $67 to $5 (the final night, featuring Sevendust, was cancelled completely). But Nugent’s post-show interview with ultimateclassicrock.com made what had to be at least a slightly sad experience (though if they also discounted beer prices, maybe it was indeed a hoot) sound like the best Rock concert ever. Bragging about his set, Nugent talked up the “jamming crowd,” noted the “gaggle of beautiful, sexy, skinny gals” that were totally into him and called the show “an out-of-the-park musical home run.”
This article appears in Jun 15-22, 2016.