Bob Dylan sold the rights to his entire catalog of songs this week to Universal Music Group for $300 million. Of course, the real value is in the hits from his early albums, not the later ones, which even the NSA’s top artificial intelligence software can’t decipher. The deal means Universal can now license the tunes for commercial use, so expect to hear “Tangled Up In Blue” on a Viagra ad. Or a potato chip promotion with “Lays Lady Lays.” But hopefully not “Blowin’ In the Wind” in a Taco Bell spot.
All through the pandemic, I have heard radio stations urging listeners to buy local from small businesses. But I wonder how many of the business owners are returning the favor by playing those stations in their stores.
The International Olympic Committee announced this week that breakdancing will become an official Olympic sport at the 2024 Summer Games. Thus, it has modified the official Olympic motto to “Citius, Altius, Fortius, Invertius,” meaning “Faster, Higher, Stronger, Upside-Down-Spinning-On-Your-Head-ier.”
I’m happy to see that Apple TV+ has renewed “For All Mankind” for a third season — even though its second season won’t premiere until February. The show is about what would have happened if the Soviet Union had gotten to the moon before the US, thus keeping the global space race going, rather than stalling in 1972 when NASA cancelled further lunar missions after Apollo 17.
Two friends have recommended podcasts I might enjoy, but I know I’ll never get around to them. Here’s why. In the before times, I used to listen to podcasts whenever I was in the car or at the gym. But during the pandemic, I haven’t spent nearly as much time in my car because I have fewer places to go, and I stopped working out indoors in March. I still listen to them when I go out for a walk, but that’s not enough time each week to listen to all the episodes of the podcasts already on my iPhone. Although I’ve tried, I’m too fidgety to just sit in a chair in my house and pay attention to the hosts and guests for more than a few minutes, so that’s not an option. I tell myself that eventually our world will return to normal, and I’ll be back in the car and at the gym, where I’ll once again be able to listen to everything I’ve downloaded, but for now, they’re getting more backed up than the line at Trader Joe’s on Buy-One-Get-One-Organic-Artichoke Day.