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Music News: Black Keys say they regret inducting Steve Miller into Rock Hall

by Staff

April 13, 2016

Dan Auerbach says that he and Black Keys bandmate Patrick Carney now "regret" taking the stage to induct Steve Miller into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone calls this the first time in the Rock Hall's history that "an artist has essentially recanted his induction speech."

Miller sharply criticized the Rock Hall during his acceptance speech, later expanding on his criticism in backstage comments. Auerbach says that the awkwardness started when it became clear that Miller "had no idea who we were." Auerbach says that he and Carney were so disappointed in Miller's ungracious behavior, they left before Miller even finished playing his set. "Music is about sharing and passing on inspiration and that was his opportunity to do that; not just lashing out in a way that was just completely unfocused," said Auerbach.

Bataclan announces reopening plans

The Bataclan in Paris has announced plans to reopen after being closed since last fall's deadly terrorist attacks. On Nov. 16 — the one-year anniversary of the attacks — Pete Doherty will play a solo show. Performances by Youssou N'DourNada Surf, and MZ have also been scheduled for dates following the Nov. 16 reopening. (Billboard)

Ringo cancels on N.C.

Ringo Starr is the latest high-profile artist to cancel a North Carolina show in the wake of the state's passing restrictive legislation aimed at transgender individuals. "I'm sorry to disappoint my fans in the area," said the former Beatle, "but we need to take a stand against this hatred." Bruce Springsteen also recently canceled a planned North Carolina show. (Guardian)

For her part, Cyndi Lauper plans to go ahead with a scheduled show in Raleigh, but plans to donate the proceeds to a nonprofit working to overturn the law in question. "I think the best way I can do my part is to turn my show into an entire day to build public support to repeal" the law, said Lauper. (Billboard)

Bob Mould drops new vid

Bob Mould has released a new video for "Hold On," a song from his recent album Patch the Sky. (Stereogum) Mould will be at First Avenue on April 22 and 23 — and he'll be playing an exclusive micro-show on April 21 at the Turf Club. You can enter here for a chance to win tickets to that intimate gig.

Radio hosts help spread fake news

A BuzzFeed investigation finds that some radio hosts, pressed for time, are among those who are helping to spread fake news on Facebook. Sadie, a DJ for a Florida radio station, tells BuzzFeed that some hosts are having to maintain their stations' Facebook pages while on the air, and "sometimes we see something that we think is funny or entertaining and share it without realizing it’s fake. It’s not intentionally used to be deceptive, we just probably didn’t have time to research it."

Today in court

The Guardian is making waves with an exposé of a Chicago facility where police investigators have been conducting off-the-books interrogations. Among those detained at the facility, it seems, have been almost a dozen music bootleggers. The Recording Industry Association of America helped finger the suspected bootleggers, but an RIAA representative tells Billboard "we are not involved in the detention, interrogation, or other related practices of local police departments."

It looks like Katy Perry is going to be able to move into a former convent. Nuns from the order that formerly occupied the convent were trying to sell the property to an alternate buyer due to their objections to Perry's music and image — but a judge has blocked the nuns' planned sale, saying that it's the archdiocese (which wants to sell to the "I Kissed a Girl" singer) that has the legal authority to choose a buyer. Perry's $14.5 million bid still has to be approved by Pope Francis. (Billboard)

A lawsuit over performance royalties for pre-1972 sound recordings, filed by Flo & Eddie of the Turtles, is headed towards appeals court in New York. A Second Circuit judge kicked the case up to the court of appeals, saying he needed further guidance regarding "whether New York common law affords Appellee a right to prohibit Appellant from broadcasting the sound recordings in question." the Appellant, in this case, would be SiriusXM — which, in 2014, was told it could not broadcast songs like "So Happy Together" without paying agreed-upon performance royalties to the artists. Federal law definitely protects sound recordings made in 1972 and later, but the status of earlier recordings in the digital era has been called into question. Since terrestrial radio in the U.S. pays no performance royalties to recording artists, this wasn't an issue prior to the advent of the Internet. (Billboard)

Not so happy together

Captain & Tennille notched one of the signature hits of the 1970s with their smash "Love Will Keep Us Together" — but relations between the duo were never quite as tight as they sounded on record, says Toni Tennille. As she recounts in a new memoir, Tennille — now 75 — "never felt loved by him." This despite the fact that the couple were married from 1975 to 2014. (Billboard)

All about that bass (and America)

To honor Kobe Bryant’s last NBA game, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea played a bass-only rendition of the National Anthem Wednesday night in Los Angeles. (Pitchfork)

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