In today’s Soundbites, our weekly look at news, reviews and tabloid gossip, The Beach Boys find themselves embroiled in controversy in Australia, Tony Wilson is given a fitting tribute from his old Factory mate and NME’s latest darlings release a new single. There’s also news of Michael Jackson’s bank account continuing to grow and a boyband has a go at being outspoken.
The Beach Boys, currently being led my Mike Love, were involved in a lip-synching row during a gig in Australia, Sky News reported this week. According to the report, fans complained the band were not singing live during their appearance at the Gold Coast 600 inaugural concert, and while organisers have insisted they did play live, one fan is quoted as saying: “The Beach Boys were a fraud, they were miming everything. You could tell they weren’t even singing; Mike Love was barely even moving.”
Unsurprisingly, ‘shrewd negotiations of his estate’ has put Michael Jackson, who passed away in June 2009, top of the list of highest earning dead celebrities according to Forbes. Jackson’s estate raked in $275 million, comfortably ahead of Elvis Presley ($60 million) and J. R. R. Tolkein ($50 million) who are second and third respectively. “Jackson’s posthumous earnings have been bolstered by shrewd negotiations by his estate, including a merchandising deal and the rights to his name,” Forbes said.
As the subject of fevered over-the-top praise being led by NME, London-quartet The Vaccines, through no fault of their own, are already in danger of adopting the ‘hipster-shit’ label. Fighting through the bluster, their new offering, double A-sided single ‘Wreckin Bar/Blow It Up‘ does represent an impressive start, with ‘Blow It Up‘ featuring a memorably earnest chorus and early 90’s atmosphere, while in contrast ‘Wreckin Bar‘ could be their own 21st century dancefloor filler already bagged. It’s good stuff, but you just wonder if the relentless hype already surrounding the band is only going to lead to inevitable disappointment in the future. ‘Wreckin Bar/Blow It Up‘ is released on November 22nd.
Tony Wilson, the late founder of Factory Records, has had a new headstone unveiled which has been designed by his former colleague Peter Saville, who referred to him as a “broadcaster and cultural catalyst.” The black granite headstone is now seated at The Southern Cemetery in the Chorlton-Cum-Hardy area of Manchester.
The Wanted, the latest act to emerge from the UK’s Boyband Clay Modelling production line, have attempted to stir some interest this week by declaring indie music ‘pretentious’. Group member Jay McGuiness told Metro: “At first, it was just incredibly fun. We got on, had a laugh, drank quite a lot. A lot of the rock and indie industry seems quite pretentious; with pop, people are really honest about how they judge you. When Lady GaGa came out wearing ridiculous outfits, nobody really cared whether it was ‘cool’.”