Monday roundup

The items are arriving in bunches these days, so...

• First of all, it was already widely known that the obnoxious person formerly known as Prince was in the habit of being a jerk to his own fans. Turns out he doesn't like to pay his bills either. What a class act.
  
  
• Raul Malo, lead singer of the superb but star-crossed alt-country group The Mavericks, is preparing to issue his third solo album since the band's most recent hiatus. Lucky One will feature all originals after two albums' worth of covers and Malo will be touring in support.
  
  
• Fans knew this days ago, but for the record and for the rest of you, looks like Bruce Springsteen will be celebrating the new U.S. president's inauguration with a new album coming out in January. No word if "Hail To The Chief" will be on the track list....
  

Bryan Adams confronts fan sites (he has fan sites?)

A few years back when Prince sicced his unholy hordes of attorneys on a bunch of fan sites who were guilty mainly of promoting the man's career for free, Daily Vault Founder Christopher Thelen vented his spleen in the Purple One's general direction. For many years Prince reviews were simply not available on the site, replaced by this note.

So you might be forgiven for wondering how the DV might react to the recent news that Bryan Adams has pulled almost the same bonehead maneuver, sending the Web Sheriff (no, really, that's their company name) after a bunch of fan sites and even a tribute band?

First, obviously, we have to stop laughing. A Bryan Adams tribute band? Seriously?

Fortunately, we understand from this article in the UK Register that Adams has stopped short of lawyering up and is in fact in the process of working out mutually agreeable arrangements with said fan sites. A much better outcome for all concerned, though it may represent a lost opportunity for Adams. I mean, a ban from the Daily Vault certainly would have been the most attention he's gotten from us in years...

Prince vs. Springsteen vs. Neil Young: Who's got the best backing band?

Nice job by Marc Hirsh of MSNBC today rating the best backing bands in the business. The J.B.'s (James Brown), The Attractions (Elvis Costello), the E Street Band (Bruce Springsteen), Crazy Horse (Neil Young) and The Revolution (Prince) are all worthy of consideration for the title. What's truly bizarre is how Hirsh managed to exclude two others who definitely belong in this category. No Heartbreakers (Tom Petty)? And sacrilege of sacrileges, he left out the only backing unit ever to have the nerve to call themselves simply The Band (Bob Dylan, and they lived up to the name)? Can't give this column more than a B with those two glaring exclusions...

Radiohead v. Prince

The Purple One is at it again, and this time the absurd lengths to which the man continues to go to punish his own fans has sparked a dispute with none other than Radiohead. It seems that The Artist Formerly Known As Rational performed a Radiohead song ("Creep") at the recent Coachella Music Festival. Video of which performance someone promptly YouTubed (duh), which video was promptly taken down after Symbol-dude sicced his unholy army of attorneys on them. Ironically, this also blocked Radiohead themselves from seeing the clip, prompting frontman Thom Yorke to reply "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."

Prince F. U.

The Great Prince Fan Site Rebellion of 2007 rages on, now generating coverage from the New York Times (that's prince.org webmaster Ben Margolin in the Times picture at right). By now the Purple One is surely seeing red, having ignored the most important maxim of the last 150 years: never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel (or bandwidth by the terabyte). Gimme a "P," gimme an "F," gimme a "U," what's that spell?

Purple reign

So. About Prince.

Those familiar with His Purpleness are probably aware of his checkered legal past -- his lawsuit against his former label, his performing in public with the word “SLAVE” written on his face, and his name-change to an unpronounceable symbol in an effort to make some sort of obscure point about his label owning the rights to market his public image. Points for creativity and all, but I’m not sure what that’s going to accomplish.

And as much of a creators’ rights advocate as I am, there is a line in this area that should not be crossed. You don’t win points in my book by being a control freak, and you don’t win points in just about anybody’s book by suing your own fans. Let me say that again: suing your own fans. This is the second time Prince has sent his legal minions after his own biggest fans -- the ones who have spent their own time and money setting up websites designed to promote his career. Their alleged offense? In their efforts to promote the man and his music at no cost to him, they have supposedly displayed images of Prince and Prince-related items on which he holds the copyright.

The fans running these sites understandably aren't very happy about this, and in response have formed the ingeniously-named organization Prince Fans United. Yes, that's Prince F.U. for short.

The legal foundation for the Purple One's actions is tenuous at best -- he’s a public figure and there is such a thing as fair use. The moral foundation is non-existent. The people he is suing are helping him, not harming him. What can you say about such behavior but: whatta maroon.