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Music News: David Bowie’s hair sells at auction for $18,750

by Staff

June 27, 2016

At the same auction where Prince’s signature yellow guitar sold for $137,500, a lock of David Bowie’s hair sold for $18,750 — over four times its estimated value of $4,000. The hair was clipped from Bowie's head in 1983 to aid in the creation of a wax figure at Madame Tussauds. (Pitchfork)

More Prince news

According to court records, 29 people have claimed familial relationship to Prince. The question now is what the timetable will be for those claims to be resolved via DNA testing; setting a tight timetable could keep some claimants from having their results considered by the court. Prince's sister Tyka Nelson argues that the estate's value will diminish if the court takes too much time to adjudicate all the claims. "We're in uncharted waters here," said Judge Kevin Eide, who says the Prince case is in some ways unique in Minnesota history. (MPR News)

Among the many Prince tributes at Sunday's BET Awards, one originally announced name was missing: D'Angelo. For unknown reasons, the singer apparently changed his plans to perform at the ceremony. (Billboard)

More BET Awards news

Justin Timberlake has apologized for a curt tweet responding to a writer who accused him of cultural appropriation. The exchange came after Timberlake tweeted approving comments about a much-lauded BET Awards acceptance speech by actor Jesse Williams, who criticized white people who "[bury] black people out of sight and out of mind, while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil." When a columnist named Ernest Owens wrote that Timberlake himself was guilty of cultural appropriation, Timberlake fired back a testy response that generated a social-media firestorm; he now says he's sorry to anyone who took offense. (Rolling Stone)

"Famous" fallout

Lena Dunham says she feels "sad and unsafe and worried" in light of Kanye West’s video for his song "Famous." In the video, West is depicted sleeping naked in bed with simulations of celebrities including Taylor SwiftKim Kardashian West, Bill Cosby, and Donald Trump. "Now I have to see the prone, unconscious, waxy bodies of famous women, twisted like they’ve been drugged and chucked aside at a rager? It gives me such a sickening sense of dis-ease," wrote Dunham on Facebook. For his part, former president George W. Bush has confirmed via a representative that what appears to be him in bed with Kanye actually isn't — he's "in much better shape." (Pitchfork)

Elliot Marvin Wolff dies at 60

Confirming the fears of fans and collaborators, the body of producer/songwriter Elliot Marvin Wolff has been found in a tributary of New Mexico's Pecos River. The producer was reported missing on June 7 after going camping near Santa Fe. Wolff was best known for collaborating with Paula Abdul, writing and producing her 1988 chart-topping hit "Straight Up." (Billboard)

Gaga meets Lama

Lady Gaga sat down with the Dalai Lama for a live-streamed conversation about mental health and suicide. The religious leader sounded a hopeful note in trying times. (Billboard)

Music: Better than sex (on Mondays, anyway)

According to a Spotify survey, by a large margin people prefer music to sex when it comes to curing the Monday blues. One thing music still can't quite beat, though: coffee. (Billboard)

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.