Random music news for Wednesday, March 11, 2020

This infamous orgy club–i.e. a place where people gather to have sex with strangers–doesn’t seem worried about the coronavirus. Ew. Let’s see how everyone feels five days after that last encounter. Hey, even Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are taping shows without audiences. Just something I ran across when I was putting together music news for March 11, 2020–which seems to almost all coronavirus-related.

1. Coronavirus update 1: Because SXSW has been canceled, bars and restaurants have HUGE surpluses of booze and food. And hotel room prices have crashed, too. And the layoffs–wow. Yet some people are still going.
2. Coronavirus update 2: Because Denmark has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people, Simple Minds cut their show in half and will now play two shows of 1,000 people rather than one of 2,000.
3. Coronavirus update 3: A-ha has canceled their Japanese tour.
4. Coronavirus update 4: Neil Young is holding off his next tour until things settle down.
5. Coronavirus update 5: The Winter Music Conference in Miami has been canceled.
6. Coronavirus update 6: The Foo Fighters tour that’s set to start next month is still on.
7. Coronavirus update 7: KISS have canceled all meet-and-greets with fans.
8. Coronavirus update 8: Zac Brown Band has canceled their spring tour.
9. Coronavirus update 9: Apple’s rumoured March event is rumoured to be postponed.
10. Wait: Michael Bolton once auditioned for…Black Sabbath?
11. Tidal and Brain.fm are working on new playlists designed to help us focus and sleep.
12. I like this: Talinda Bennington (Chester’s widow) and Kevin Lyman (founder of the Warped Tour) are creating a mental-health theme music festival.
13. The government of Australia has sued Facebook for US$529 billion over privacy violations. And no, that wasn’t a typo.
14. Bob Geldof: Not Trump fan.
15. Fan clubs of various musicians are going through a weird sort of stan crisis.
16. Meghan Trainor’s father was in a serious car accident.
17. No. Just no.