Random music news for Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Jet lag is real. I’m still so dizzy from the time change (12 time zones!) that I’m not even sure that this is, in fact, April 10, 2018. Here’s some music news–and damn, there’s a lot going on.

1. Canadian music sales vs. this time last year: Total albums, -25.5%; digital albums, -23.6%; digital tracks, -19.8%; physical albums, -26.7%; CDs, -30.9%; vinyl, 47,9%; streaming, +55.5%.
2. U2 is apparently rehearsing for their Songs of Experience tour in Laval, Quebec.
3. Spotify, Deezer and SoundCloud have all been sued by an Internet troll.
4. Lindsey Buckingham has left Fleetwood Mac. Or was he fired? Whatever the case, his replacements have already been named.
5. Jay-Z and Beyonce are building a big compound their $88 million Bel-Air mansion. Security, you understand.
6. Ed Sheeran didn’t get quite the emergency treatment he expected when he broke his arm.
7. Did it Elvis kill himself? Priscilla thinks so.
8. An Australian DJ who head-butted an ex-Prime Minister is going to jail for six months.
9. Sure, voice control is cool for smart speakers and other devices, but this is a much more fun use of the technology.
10. Interesting fact: The B-52s prompted John Lennon to come out of retirement. Who knew?
11. Ted Nugent, Second Amendment man. Wow.
12. Can a tribute album save a career? Yes, it can.
13. Fascinating theory: the death of Martin Luther King gave birth to hip-hop.
14. Spice Girl survey, That’s all I can be arsed to write.
15. Manchester is planning a singalong to commemorate one year since the concert bombing.
16. Never thought of this before: The barriers facing deaf and disabled fans when it comes to buying concert tickets.
17. Gavin Rossdale got a little more than he bargained for during a Bush concert the other night.
18. CHVRCHES saved a music school that ran out of funding.