HOT: Shut Up and Sing, Right?
When the Dixie Chicks recently opened their tour in Cincinnati, we were surprised there were still people (as seen on CityBeat’s Facebook page) rehashing the old “traitors!” comments hurled at the members for their statements against former president George W. Bush. Those same Country music fans who think the Chicks should just do their job and keep out of politics are certainly incensed over comments singer Ronnie Dunn (of Brooks & Dunn) made about our current president following the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history, when he briefly mentioned that guns were too easy to acquire. Dunn said President Barack Obama implied that mass shootings will only stop when all guns are taken away (he didn’t and never has). Country radio will no doubt immediately ban Brooks & Dunn music over the anti-patriotic remarks.
WARM: Maiden Scares Kids
Legendary Heavy Metal group Iron Maiden has featured variations of its monster mascot “Eddie” on albums and in concert for decades. But the version of Eddie — red-eyed, holding a bloody knife and a human heart — used on a poster to promote Maiden’s current tour was recently deemed too scary for kids in Lithuania. After promoters received “a letter” complaining about the image’s potential effect on children, all of the posters were reportedly immediately removed.
COLD: Hacking the Dead
Many Twitter accounts of music stars — from Katy Perry to Keith Richards — were hacked recently. Tame Impala’s account was reportedly even used to send a bomb threat to an airline. But one hacker showed some semblance of a conscience after taking over the account run by George Harrison’s estate. After changing the bio to tell “George” to contact him or her about how to “secure” the account, the hacker apparently Googled Harrison and was shocked to discover the Beatle was dead (and has been since 2001). Guilt (or fear of ghosts) apparently got the best of the hacker, who tweeted “YO FUCK IM SO SORRY I ACTUALLY DIDN’T KNOW (Harrison was dead).”
This article appears in Jun 8-15, 2016.