Foo Fighters Drop Early Christmas Present With Latest Rarities EP

These are the Foo Files you're looking for.

Happy Foo holidays! The Foo Fighters continued their 25th anniversary celebration over the weekend with the release of their seventh surprise EP, 02050525, a six-track Foo Files effort that features a handful of rarities that will make fans foo their pants.

Among the tracks are the charging "Spill," a hard-to-find B-side from the time of their 2005 double album In Your Honor, the title track of their 2006 Skin and Bones album, an acoustic cover of The Passions' 1981 new wave one-hit-wonder classic "I'm In Love With a German Film Star," the raging 2005 B-side "FFL (Fat F---ing Lie)" and a bouncy cover of Jawbreaker's 1992 song "Kiss the Bottle," with guitarist Chris Shiflett on vocals.

It also features a demo of "DOA," which was originally released on the Five Songs and a Cover b-side collection in 2005.

The new EP is the follow-up to last month's four-track 01020225, which featured two killer covers of classic '80s songs and two of their own tracks.

The ongoing celebration of next year's 25th anniversary of the band's debut album was highlighted by a grungy cover of The B-52s' "Planet Claire," the second single from the band's 1979 self-titled debut album, the dirge-y "Sister Europe," which appeared on the Psychedelic Furs' 1980 debut album, as well as their own "The One" and "Win or Lose." – Billboard - Gil Kaufman

New Mose Allison Tribute Album To Feature Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop And More

On Tuesday, Fat Possum Records announced that they will release If You’re Going to the City: A Tribute To Mose Allison on November 29. To go along with the announcement, the first single from the album was unveiled, Loudon Wainwright III’s cover of “Ever Since the World Ended.”

With Allison’s daughter, Amy Allison, leading the project alongside producers Don Heffington and Sheldon Gomberg, the record will feature Wainwright, Jackson Browne, Chrissie Hynde, Iggy Pop, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Robbie Fulks, The Tippo Allstars feat. Fiona Apple, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite, Richard Thompson, Peter Case, Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin, Anything Mose! Frank Black and the younger Allison herself with Elvis Costello.

“For many years I made a point of going to see Mose Allison play wherever I could,” Wainwright said. “I considered his gigs essential listening and going for me was, not to get too highfalutin’, a pilgrimage. When I nervously would approach to say hello to him after a show, I was always thrilled that he seemed happy to see me. Mose’s cover version of my song ‘I’m Alright’ was an unparalleled highlight of my career and I can only hope he would have approved of my stab at ‘Ever Since The World Ended.’”

Born in 1927 in the Mississippi Delta, Mose Allison grew up listening to jazz and blues and learned to play piano at a young age. After moving to New York in 1956 to perform his songs as the leader of a trio, Allison got the opportunity to play with jazz legends like Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Gerry Mulligan. Developing his own distinctive writing style that blended jazz and blues with succinct lyrics, Allison has been cited as an influence on many iconic artists, such as Van Morrison, The Who, The Clash and more. Allison passed away in 2016 at the age of 89.

Being released in CD, LP and digital formats, If You’re Going to the City will also benefit a good cause. Part of the proceeds will go towards Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, a nonprofit that provides assistance to career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability or age-related problems. Serving a variety of musicians of all genres, the organization helps with medical and living expenses, including insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and procedures, housing and food costs, utilities and other necessities.

CREDITS: Joe Vitagliano/ American Songwriter

Sly Stone Sells US Publishing Catalog to Michael Jackson Estate

The Sly and the Family Stone bandleader sealed the deal ahead of his 1976 U.S. Copyright Act reversion rights taking effect.

The Estate of Michael Jackson and MIJAC Music, Jackson's personal publishing company, have acquired majority ownership of the U.S. rights to Sly and the Family Stone's catalog and, as part of the arrangement, will retain long-term administration rights. The estate already owns the entirety of the band's catalog outside the U.S. through MIJAC, which acquired those rights in 1983.

The acquisition includes a trove of the Bay Area funk band's '60s and '70s classics, like "Family Affair," "Dance to the Music," "Everybody Is a Star," "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Everyday People." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bandleader Sly Stone (real name Sylvester Stewart) commented only, “Thank You Mijac (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” -- a reference to his 1969 song "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”

MIJAC Music was created by Jackson in 1980. Its first acquisition was for the publishing rights to Sly and the Family Stone's catalog in 1983. The company also includes all of the songs written by Jackson, plus hits made famous by artists like Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin. “Sly and the Family Stone were a force for enlightenment and positive change, a message that Michael believed in," said John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Estate, in a statement. "He recognized Stewart’s genius and the power of his words and music which is why he first acquired the catalog and why we at MIJAC follow in Michael’s footsteps today."

The deal comes ahead of the starting date when Stewart could reclaim his publishing ownership under the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act. Under that law, songs written after 1978 can be reclaimed 35 years after they were issued and songs written before 1972 can be reclaimed after 56 years. As such, Sly and the Family Stone songs from 1968 would be eligible for reversion beginning in 2024.

The law provides a window to file for termination beginning 10 years before to up to three years after the song was issued. In 2017, Stewart began that process by filing termination notices for about 100 songs owned by MIJAC. That means he could have otherwise regained the publishing rights after that 56-year period passed on each song and have been entitled to write new licenses and collect publishing royalties on those songs.

This deal represents the acquisition of the reversion/termination rights, which means that MIJAC will own the majority interest in the publishing to the songs for the life of copyright. Sources also suggest that Stewart will retain a minority stake in the songs for the U.S., although it's unclear whether he would get that stake now or when the songs actually come up for reversion. Regardless, MIJAC is the administrator for the Stewart stake in the catalog's publishing.

Ownership of Sly and the Family Stone's royalties appears to be muddled in recent years. In December 2018, when Primary Wave Music Publishing claimed to have acquired an interest in the catalog, The Estate of Michael Jackson issued a statement disputing that claim, clarifying that Primary Wave only bought a "passive writer royalty income stream" in the songs. U.S. Copyright law provides for publishers and the songwriter to split a song’s royalties 50/50, with the songwriter owning the writer’s share and the publisher owning the publishing share. That means Primary Wave bought the Sylvester Stewart writer share of the catalog.

Back in 2010, after falling into financial trouble, Stewart filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against his former manager, Jerry Goldstein, alleging fraud and 20 years' worth of stolen royalties. In January 2015, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Stewart $5 million in damages -- but a judge later ruled that he couldn't collect the payment, because he had signed away those royalties to a production company in the '80s.

The acquisition announcement comes at a busy time for the Estate of Michael Jackson, which is currently continuing to fight HBO's explosive Finding Neverland documentary, preparing a Broadway musical about Jackson, and commemorating the 10th anniversary of Jackson's This Is It, among other projects.

CREDITS: by Tatiana Cirisano , Ed Christman – Billboard Magazine