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Music News: David Bowie requested his ashes be scattered in Bali

by Staff

January 31, 2016

The Associated Press reports that in his will, David Bowie requested that his remains be cremated and his ashes scattered in Bali. Bowie left the majority of his estate to his widow Iman and his two children.

With Bowie's music proving wildly popular in the wake of the icon's death, Bowie has tied a record set by Elvis Presley: Bowie currently has 12 albums simultaneiously in the U.K. Top 40 albums chart, a feat also achieved by the King after his 1977 death. (Billboard)

On Thursday, the same day that Jefferson Airplane co-founder Paul Kantner died, his former bandmate Signe Anderson — the band's original vocalist — also passed away. Both were 74. Anderson recorded one album with Jefferson Airplane before she left to raise a newborn child; she was then replaced by Grace Slick. (Rolling Stone)

NBC announced that Kanye West will be the musical guest on the Feb. 13 episode of Saturday Night Live, with Melissa McCarthy hosting. (Billboard)

A photo has surfaced with West in a recording studio with André 3000Kid Cudi, and 2 Chainz. It's unknown whether any of the three will appear on West's forthcoming album Waves, due out Feb. 11. (Pitchfork)

Rihanna surprise-released her new album, Anti, last Wednesday — and among the tracks is a cover of Tame Impala's "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" (rechristened "Same Ol' Mistakes"). "We're all really happy with the way the song turned out," say the band, "love it!" (Billboard)

Having just announced his departure from Vampire WeekendRostam Batmanglij has released a new solo song. "Wood" will appear on a forthcoming 7" with Batmanglij's recently-released "EOS." (Rolling Stone)

Meanwhile, the remaining members of Vampire Weekend played at a Saturday rally for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who joined the band for a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land." (Billboard)

At the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Jack White and the Avett Brothers presented a premiere excerpt from the six-hour documentary American Epic — a film about the field recording of traditional American music in the first decades of the 20th century. White is an executive producer of the documentary, along with T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford. (Rolling Stone)

Coldplay and Beyoncé have sparked charges of cultural appropriation with a new video for their collaboration "Hymn for the Weekend." Some say the video, shot in Mumbai, inappropriately cops Indian culture; others see it as an appreciative tribute. (Billboard)

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