Today's breaking news – Monday 27th February 2012
Jay Z and Kanye West’s Maybach goes up for sale
Jay Z and Kanye West famously took a fabulously expensive Maybach to pieces in the video for Otis, the duo’s fabulously expensive Spike Jonze-directed video. If you’re one of the few people whose reaction to the below video was reaching for your chequebook, the car will finally be auctioned on the 8th March at 450 Park Avenue. Auction host Simon de Pury (Phillips de Pury & Company) said, “Jay-Z and Kanye West are towering figures in contemporary culture. They have greatly contributed to the artificial barriers between art, music, fashion and cinema to come down. Their video for ‘Otis’ became an instant classic. The Maybach they have transformed for it has the starring role.” If you’re sticking it on your card, the limit will have to be around the $100,000-$150,000 mark, and “a good portion” of proceeds will go to Save the Children.
Death Grips sign to major label
Death Grips, the outrageously visceral rap band behind one of the era’s most essential mixtapes, ‘Ex-Military’, has signed to Epic. The sum is undisclosed, but considering Outkast, Ciara and Avril Lavigne are labelmates, we can presume it’s quite enough. ‘The Money Store’ will be out on April 21st, with No Love scheduled for autumn.
Punk cashes in (again)
35 years on from the release of the Sex Pistols’ album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’, punk’s original poster boys have signed a new publishing deal with Universal Music in the UK. The deal will see a revamped, re-release of their seminal debut this year, as well as further releases for “2012 and beyond”. Which hopefully saves John Lydon – and us – from another butter advert featuring the former anarchist.
Red Bull brings James Murphy, Frankie Knuckles and Hudson Mohawke to London for day of lectures
Londoners are soon going to have the chance to hear James – you know he was meant to write for Seinfeld? – Murphy speak alongside legendary house producer Frankie Knuckles. Part of Red Bull Music Academy’s series of lectures, it’s a chance to hear two of modern music’s most inspiring creatives chatting loosely, and will take place on March 28th, in London Bridge. Watch Oneohtrix Point Never’s lecture here, and head to the RBMA website for more details.
No new OutKast album on the way :(, Andre 3000 solo album on the way :), plus clothing line 😀
Andre 3000, in an interview with GQ has stated that “I have to say that as of now, there are no plans for another OutKast album.” The rapper is concentrating on his own clothing line, Benjamin Bixby, and his solo album.
The Artist’s composer strikes gold in Hollywood
The powerful musical score of multi-award-winning film The Artist won French composer Ludovic Bource the Oscar for Best Original Score at the ceremony in Hollywood last night. Having already scooped the BAFTA for Best Film Music, at last Wiki count that’s the seventh award the score has won. Not bad for a silent movie, eh?
Full Oscar winners list here.
And finally…
Former teen opera star Charlotte Church has been awarded £600,000 in a settlement from News International following the phone hacking scandal. Church, who moved from a career in opera to pop chart stardom in the early 2000s, had previously said that being hounded by the press had destroyed her career.
