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Today’s Music News: Apple and U2 face backlash for free-and-it’s-yours-whether-you-like-it-or-not album

by Staff

September 16, 2014

Now that the media buzz from U2's surprise free album drop has died down, users who weren't necessarily excited about the album—but found it in their music libraries anyway—are making their voices heard. Exactly how many copies of Songs of Innocence were actually downloaded is unknown, but it may be as few as 200,000. (Death and Taxes) Apple has responded to complaints from users trying to get rid of the album they never wanted by setting up an official page for people who want to ditch the new U-tunes. (BuzzFeed) Of course, there have been stranger music promotions—a lot of them.

Having already demonstrated her taste for Upper Midwest music by covering the Replacements' "Swingin' Party," Lorde has now added Bon Iver's "Heavenly Father" to her repertoire. (Billboard)

A New Zealand musician less famous outside his home country but an indie rock icon inside it, Peter Gutteridge of the Clean and the Chills, has died in his early 50s. (SPIN)

Yusuf Islam hasn't toured the U.S. since the Carter Administration—back when he was known as Cat Stevens. He's just announced a comeback tour, with a new album to be released on Oct. 27. (Consequence of Sound)

On Sunday night, Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the title of Miss America. Her talent? A cover of Anna Kendrick's "Cups" routine from Pitch Perfect, along with a cupperiffic cover of Pharrell's "Happy." (Billboard) Now will P.O.S. become Mr. Universe?

Meanwhile, Pharrell has been giving depositions in the ongoing legal battle with the estate of Marvin Gaye over whether or not Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," which Pharrell co-wrote (or entirely wrote, Thicke now says), treads on the copyright of Gayes's "Got to Give It Up." In Thicke's testimony, he claims to have basically been high for all of 2013. (Stereogum)

Queen is about to release a "Freddie Mercury celebratory vodka" in the United Kingdom. Guitarist Brian May says it's not at all disrespectful or awkward: "Freddie loved vodka and used to carry a dry ice cooler full of vodka with him on tour. Killer Queen Vodka is the perfect tribute." (NME)

Lindsay Lohan says that when she was working at the Los Angeles morgue as part of a court-ordered public service stint, she was one of the staffers who handled Whitney Houston's remains. (Gawker)

No one does the Bill-Murray-crashes-a-party meme better than Bill Murray himself. Watch him get down to Lil Jon and DJ Snake's "Turn Down For What" at a South Carolina birthday bash catered by a friend of Murray's who invited the actor to come on over. (SPIN)

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