Morning Music Notes – An Appetite for Destruction and a Recipe for Disaster

Guns N’ Roses Movie Coming? Plus Axl Rose Apologies to Cleveland. No one should apologize to Cleveland!

G’N’R drummer Matt Sorum has said he is in discussions about a Guns N’ Roses biopic (via Gigwise). He failed to note that they were with the voices in his head.

“I’ve talked about doing a screenplay, and that’s actually something that I’m in talks about with a couple of pretty big people,” Sorum said to VH1. “If you look at rock and roll movies, they’ve never been done right… If there was a film about Guns N’ Roses, the thing about Guns N’ Roses that was different than all the butt rock bands in Hollywood was that it was down and dirty and punk rock and real. As much as anyone wants to say they want to try to lump it in with hair metal, it never was because it was a different kind of energy. There was a much sort of more street, dark undercurrent happening that could be great on film.”

So I suppose Matt thinks that a movie about G’N’R would be a rock and roll movie done right. This is interesting, because no other band members have been tied to the project at all – sounds just like every other rock and roll movie of defunct bands.

And because apparently we like talking about bands are are 20 years past their prime – more G’N’R news – Axl Rose has stunned the world by once again showing the world he is not illiterate. Axl has penned another letter on the band’s Facebook page, thanking fans, the media, and other artists (via NME). Axl also raised some decent questions (or he’s just genuinely confused) in part of his letter.

“I still don’t exactly know or understand what the Hall is or how or why it makes money, where the money goes, who chooses the voters and why anyone or this board decides who, out of all the artists in the world that have contributed to this genre, officially “rock” enough to be in the Hall? This isn’t an attack. These are genuine issues I don’t have enough verified information on to have more than rough ideas.”

Axl, if everyone looked into things before just blindly going along with them, where would this get us? Probably some kind of Utopian society, actually….

Johnny Depp Turns Paul McCartney’s “My Valentine” into “My Enemy”, Also Mistakenly Does Sign Language for Tampon

You might have seen the new Paul McCartney video for his cover of My Valentine, starring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp. The video is a novel concept, with Natalie and Johnny (can I call them by their first names?) using sign language to display the lyrics of the song. It turns out there are errors – didn’t they have a consultant on hand to begin with?! Instead of the word ‘appear’, Portman signs the word ‘tampon’ while Depp confuses ‘valentine’ for ‘enemy’ (via Gigwise). Those are what some might call “critical errors“.

Which Hip Hop Artist Earned the Most in 2012?

I don’t have the answer – I’m merely asking hypothetical questions on this blog. Okay, there is an answer. I actually wouldn’t have guessed the answer; it’s not an impossible guess, but I would’ve thought he’d have been lower. Is it Dr. Dre, with his production credits and Betas by Dre headphones? Is it big selling Eminem, and his movie credits, too? The obvious guess to me was Jay-Z, with his albums, Rocawear clothing line, part owner of an NBA team (New Jersey Nets), amongst tons of other ventures. But the answer is actually Diddy aka P. Diddy aka Puff Daddy (via Billboard).

Diddy is worth $550 million, which includes his holdings in Ciroc Vodka, Sean John and Enyce clothing, Blue Flame marketing and his label, Bad Boy Records. Jay-Z is number 2 at $460 million, Dr. Dre is number 3 at $270 (doubling in the past year thanks to his headphones), Birdman is number 4 with $125 million, and 50 Cent is number 5 at $110. MC Hammer – time to make a comeback!

Johnny Rotten Doesn’t Like the Sex Pistols Diamond Jubilee Re-Release

We noted the other day that the Sex Pistols will be re-releasing God Save the Queen, their original Queen’s Jubilee anti-monarchy song in time for the Diamond Jubilee this June. The move is one being done by Universal (the label) and not the band itself – and John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) makes it clear he’s not behind this (via BBC). Apparently giving it more press is the way to do this.

“I would like to very strongly distance myself from the recent stories and campaign to push God Save The Queen for the number one spot,” the singer said. “This campaign totally undermines what The Sex Pistols stood for.” He added, “This is not my campaign. I am pleased that the Sex Pistols recordings are being put out there for a new generation, however, I wish for no part in the circus that is being built up around it.”

It’s good to know you’ll never sell out, Johnny Rotten…..(via The Daily Swarm)

Watch! The Shins – The Rifle’s Spiral

Another new video from the Shins’ recent album, Port of Morrow. The third song getting the video treatment is The Rifle’s Spiral, and you can check it out (via Nowness). The video is an animated one, and is slick and Tim Burton-esque, as done by director Jamie Caliri.

“I have always loved Edward Gorey’s illustration work and his influence is apparent throughout the video,” says Caliri. “Also, seeing Martin Scorsese’s Hugo three times subconsciously veered my thoughts onto the magic theme.”

Did I mention the video has a giant rabbit? Yup, you’re going to watch it now, aren’t you?

The Shins: The Rifle’s Spiral on Nowness.com.