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Today’s Music News: All-star Carnegie Hall concert to pay tribute to David Byrne and Talking Heads

by Staff

December 17, 2014

Is the all-star tribute charity concert the new all-star tribute charity album? It seems so, as yet another has just been booked: a March 28 concert at Carnegie Hall will feature the RootsPerry Farrell of Jane's AddictionRufus WainwrightAlexis Krauss of Sleigh BellsBilly Gibbons of ZZ TopBeth OrtonSteve Earle, and several other artists paying tribute to David Byrne and Talking Heads. It's the 11th charity tribute concert organized by a local winery owner, with proceeds to benefit music education programs. (Rolling Stone)

BeyoncéJay-Z, and producer Timbaland are being sued by Hungarian singer Mitsou, who alleges that the vocal run that opens Beyoncé's "Drunk in Love" is her own—distorted and incorporated into the song without her permission. Mitsou is seeking financial damages and wants the hit song to be pulled from release. (MTV)

A California jury have unanimously ruled that Apple is not guilty of purposefully deleting music purchased by iPod users at competing online music stores. The case, stemming from a complaint originally filed almost ten years ago, had Apple facing a potential $1 billion in fines. (Billboard)

Data analyst Matt Daniels previously concluded that the rapper with the largest vocabulary is Aesop Rock. Now, another statistician has analyzed a selection of rock bands using the same method. Only ten bands were examined, but among them, Pink Floyd (who use few words, but tend to use very unique ones) topped the class while AC/DC dragged way behind everyone else. Even the brainy Pink Floyd, though, used fewer unique words than 75% of the rappers analyzed by Daniels. (Consequence of Sound)

The Grammys have added 27 recordings to their Grammy Hall of Fame, which now totals 987 classic singles and albums. New inductees include Bob Dylan's Blood on the TracksOtis Redding's single "Try a Little Tenderness," and the Sex PistolsNever Mind the Bollocks album. (NME)

Get ready: the lead single from the next Britney Spears album will be a collaboration with Iggy Azalea. (Billboard) Spears was smart in her choice of duet partner if she was looking for buzz: Google says Azalea was the top trending musician searched via its service in 2014. Lorde and Sam Smith were numbers two and three, followed by "All About that Bass" hitmaker Meghan TrainorBeyoncé's younger sister Solange KnowlesNicki Minaj, and, yes, "Weird Al" Yankovic. (Billboard)

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