#WhatsHappening for April 28, 2017

Hells to the yeah- Friday!!! Hope your week hasn't been too painful.

I see where Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the founders of a new magazine. I didn't check, but I'm pretty sure the focus will be pretension and douchebaggery.

So I'm perusing the gossip page (or whatever the hell they call it) and all I see are stories about liars and attention whores. It's my own fault for looking I guess.

Dave Grohl posted this. (But not that Dave Grohl.)

FYI- Playing with Tenacious D is nothing to be proud of.

After a seven year hiatus before the release of last year's Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello, Cheap Trick is going nuts, releasing albums in back to back years for the first time since 1985 and 86 with their new set, We're All Alright!, due out on June 16.

You can check out the first single- Long Time Coming- at Billboard, and catch the band's tour in support of their album, coming soon.

U2 has joined some pretty exclusive company- becoming just the fourth act to hit the Billboard Top 40 in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 10s. 

Michael Jackson was the first artist to do it (though posthumously), followed by Madonna, and... get this: "Weird" Al Yankovic.

I still say U2 peaked with The Joshua Tree and their output since has been spotty- to say the least. And their latest venture on the charts? In support of Kendrick Lamar.

The rerelease of Purple Rain, delayed by the star's death last year- has now been rescheduled for June 23- with unreleased songs and a concert film recorded in 1985 near the end of the Purple Rain tour in Syracuse, New York.

A two-CD version of the album includes the 2015 remaster of the original soundtrack, along with an additional disc titled A From the Vault & Unreleased.

A three disc Expanded Edition will include a third disc of Single Edits & B-Sides and the DVD of the Syracuse show.

Guess which one I'm buying?

Jefferson Starship co-founder Craig Chaquico filed suit yesterday to prevent former bandmates from using the band's name for upcoming performances and merchandise.

The suit, filed in federal court, claims the group has been using the name and using his image without permission.

Chaquico claims the band's members agreed to retire the Jefferson Starship name in 1985 after founding member Paul Kantner left the group. Chaquico then allowed Kantner to use the name for several years until Kantner's death in 2016.

"This case is about tarnishing the legacy of the original Jefferson Starship band," Chaquico said.

"We retired the name in 1985 and we agreed that nobody would use the name again. For this band line-up to tour and call itself Jefferson Starship is woefully misleading to the public and confuses longtime fans."

Birthdays today include:  Too Short; Daisy Berkowitz of Marilyn Manson; Kim Gordan of Sonic Youth; John Wolters of Dr. Hook. #MusicalBirthdays

#WhatsHappening for April 25, 2017

The weekend's over- time to look forward to Friday, right?

"We're doomed."

Further evidence of the decline of civilization: Netflix says its users have now spent "half a billion hours" watching Adam Sandler movies.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine over Russian artists blacklisted in the Ukraine has escalated after singer Lolita Milyavskaya, who was born in Ukraine but lives in Russia, was removed from a train on her way to visit her daughter there.

Milyavskaya was traveling to Ukraine to visit her sick daughter, who lives with her grandmother.

The Security Service of Ukraine said Milyavskaya was barred from entering the country because of her 2015 visit to Crimea, a peninsular region annexed by Russia from Ukraine back in 2014. Milyavskaya accused Ukrainian authorities of separating families and the two peoples.

An editorial in the the Ukranian newspaper Delovaya Stolitsa said "No one has mentioned that the singer's daughter, who is already 17, has been brought up by Lolita's parents for her entire life. And the singer was never going to take her daughter to live with her, saying she was more comfortable in Kyiv."

From the No Shit file: Kathleen Kennedy says more Star Wars spin-off films are on the way after the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Speaking at last week’s Star Wars Celebration event in Orlando, the Lucasfilm president hinted that the next anthology film after 2019’s Episode IX- will likely be announced after the release of the Han Solo "origin" film in the summer of 2018.

"To be honest, we are beginning to talk about (the spinoffs) right now," Kennedy said. "We have four or five weeks immersed in the Han Solo film and we are about to read the script of Colin Trevorrow’s Episode IX, so we have a lot of work at the moment. We will have some meetings about the stories that we will develop here."

Kennedy added that fans are "as much masters of this franchise as we are"- which supposedly alludes to the notion that the producers pay attention to online fan theories. Personally, I think that's code for "as long as you guys shell out the dough, we're gonna make 'em."
And I'm cool with that. For the love of god, though- NO Boba-fucking-Fett movie!

New York's Hot 97 is ready to roll out another Summer Jam at MetLife Stadium this summer, announcing the lineup for their part of their June 11 concert this morning. (Do I even need to say I've never heard of any of these?)

Lil Yachty, D.R.A.M., Young M.A., Don Q, PnB Rock, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Casanova, Phresher, and Dave East have been announced for the festival stage, while the stadium stage lineup will be announced tomorrow.

Tickets will go on sale Friday at noon on Ticketmaster.com.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Jennifer Lopez will be performing at the Billboard Latin Music Awards Wednesday and will also be honored with Telemundo's Star Award. The award recognizes an artist's achievement beyond their musical career. 

Lopez will perform music from her Spanish album, due out this summer. Other performers throughout the night include Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, J Balvin, Nicky Jam, Gente de Zona, Zion y Lennox, Alejandro Fernández and Morat.

Kate del Castillo and Carlos Ponce will host the awards ceremony that airs live on Telemundo.

Kings of Leon has announced new tour dates in support of their Walls album, released last year.

Sixteen new North America shows have been added this fall- including stops in LA, Vancouver, and Tampa.

Tickets go on sale Friday.

Birthdays today include: Kelly Clarkson; Aaron Comess of Spin Doctors; Patty Schemel of Hole; Billy Gould of Faith No More; David Jay of Bauhaus; Boris Williams of The Cure; Jack Blades of Damn Yankees; David J of Love & Rockets; Steve York of Manfred Mann; Ann Kelley of the Hues Corporation; Glen Cornick of Jethro Tull; Doug Clifford of Creedence Clearwater Revival; and Barbra Streisand. #MusicalBirthdays