Entertainment

On August 23, a tribunal at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sided with the Prince Estate by formally rejecting a company that tried to trademark “Purple Rain,” reports Billboard. The company, Bang Energy, hoped to apply the phrase to their energy drinks, dietary supplements, and sports beverages. When announcing their ruling, the judges stated that phrase “uniquely and unmistakably” belongs to the late musician.  “Consumers encountering applicant’s mark, when used in connection with applicant’s goods, will presume a connection between ‘Purple Rain’ and Prince,” said one judge during the ruling. As evidence, the ruling cited a survey that asked participants what “comes to mind” when they saw the phrase “Purple Rain.” Roughly 63% responded with “Prince,” his album of the same name,...

NOFX—the Los Angeles skate punk band currently made up of Michael “Fat Mike” Burkett, Eric Melvin, Erik “Smelly” Sandin, and Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta—are officially breaking up in 2023, Rolling Stone reports. Burkett indirectly announced the news on Instagram, where he replied to a fan asking why they don’t tour Canada very often. “Actually, we love Canada, it’s just that next year will be our last year,” he wrote. “We will be announcing our final shows soon. It’s been an amazing run…” A rep for the band later spoke with Rolling Stone and confirmed the accuracy of the statement. NOFX formed in 1983, when Burkett met Melvin and first adopted the band name. In 1984, they released their first demo recording, Thalidomide Child, which was reissued in 2012. They were later joined by Sandin on drum...

Earlier this year, Rina Sawayama released the single “This Hell” from her upcoming album Hold the Girl. The pop-country track opens with a prominent guitar riff that sounds similar to the melody of ABBA’s 1979 song “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” In a new interview with the BBC, Sawayama said she noticed the similarity between the two songs while recording, and took action to change the melody before receiving “the blessing of ABBA,” allowing her to release the original version of the song. In the interview, Sawayama said that she “freaked out” when she realized how much her song sounded like “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).” “Then I contacted my publishers, and they freaked out, too,” she told the BBC. “They were like, ‘ABBA are absolutely going to say no to th...

Cam’ron and A-Trak have announced a new collaborative album. U Wasn’t There is due out September 23 via Empire. The new album features cover art by the New York street artist Kunle Martins. Ahead of the release, the musicians have shared a new singled called “All I Really Wanted.” The song was produced by A-Trak, Beautiful Lou, and G Koop, and is built around a prominent, pitched-up soul sample. U Wasn’t There follows an earlier Federal Reserve EP, which the duo announced in 2014. While they put out two songs together—“Humphrey” and “Dipshits” with Juelz Santana and Dame Dash—the EP was ultimately never released. The latter single is set to appear on U Wasn’t There as a bonus track. Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.