Shaolin Bonds

The album formerly known as MARTIN SHKRELI's WU-TANG CLAN album is now some anonymous other zillionaire's Wu-Tang album, having been sold by the US government to pay off the remainder of the disgraced hedge fund manager's debt. The price wasn't disclosed but Shkreli's lawyer believes anonymous zilli paid at least $2.2 million, or a little more than Shkreli paid six years ago for the only copy of an unreleased and unheard Wu-Tang album that came with a 50 percent split of the sound recording copyright, no publishing rights, and permission to do anything he wanted to do with the album except release it commercially. Wu-Tang's RZA described ONCE UPON A TIME IN SHAOLIN at the time as "a single-sale collector's item" and as an art project, which is to say, he was more or less describing a music NFT several years before most anyone knew what such a thing was. Wu-Tang's non-fungible thing was stored not on a virtual token but on two CDs packaged in a hand-carved box. But otherwise, same idea. You might say it was to NFTs what BOWIE BONDS were to music publishing investment funds. Equally visionary and ominous. The new, anonymous buyer presumably is bound by the same restrictions as Shkreli, meaning he or she paid seven figures for the bragging rights to two Wu-Tang Clan CDs that no one else has. People have, no doubt, paid more for less. And this one, improbably, has already proved itself to be profitable. Bong bong.

Livesick Blues

As the live music capital of the world ponders the essential question for any artist or venue finding its way back to live music in 2021, some artists are polling fans, some are canceling shows (again) and some are wrestling with logistics they never had to wrestle with before. But the advocacy group AUSTIN TEXAS MUSICIANS isn't wavering: It stands "in support of proof of vaccination or masks for all musicians, staff and guests"... A thousand-ish miles away, in Chicago, "there will be some cases" at LOLLAPALOOZA, the city's health commissioner says, but that appears to be an acceptable price of being open for business (and music). "I certainly know we’re being a lot more responsible than many other settings that are just as large," DR. ALLISO ARWADY said Tuesday... The US Small Business Administration has awarded $7.5 million so far in Small Venue Operators Grants to independent venues that suffered big losses in the past year, and has actually paid out $6 billion of that money. Some 2,500 applications, out of 15,000, were rejected.

Etc Etc Etc

The 17,000th TRAVIS BARKER sighting of 2021 is behind the drums for one track in this very good performance by YOUNG THUG at NPR's virtual TINY DESK, which in this case is the grounds of the Houdini Estate in LA, and which finds YT and a live rock band debuting songs from his upcoming second album, PUNK... 73 questions with LORDE... For DABABY, sorry seems to be the hardest word... Rest stops on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway will be named for WHITNEY HOUSTON, CELIA CRUZ, JON BON JOVI and FRANK SINATRA, the state announced Tuesday, and I'm genuinely curious how the one of those people who's still alive, who's been awarded the Cheesequake service area at mile 124, feels about this. (The most famous living New Jerseyan whose name isn't in the previous sentence "respectfully declined")... That is *not* how you alphabetize Rock and Roll Hall of Famer LL COOL J's name.

Rest in Peace

JOEY JORDISON, whose fast, tribal, double-kick drumming helped define the sound of SLIPKNOT, a band he co-founded (and named). He was also one of the metal band's principal songwriters. Jordison and Slipknot parted ways acrimoniously in 2013 after he was diagnosed with a nerve disease, transverse myelitis, but he'll be remembered as the band's "beating heart"—and as #1, his name when the bandmembers were known only by numbers... DINO J.A. DEANE, a multi-instrumentalist and electronic innovator who performed with Butch Morris, Jon Hassell, Wayne Horvitz and others. He began his career in Ike & Tina Turner's horn section and later was known for his sound design for several Sam Shepard plays and his life partner Colleen Mulvihill's dance performances... CLARENCE "MAC" MCDONALD, a keyboardist and songwriter who produced albums by Bill Withers and the Emotions, played on records by Ray Charles, James Taylor and countless others and can be heard on "Movin' on Up," the theme to the classic TV sitcom "The Jeffersons."