The Velvet Underground filed a lawsuit against The Andy Warhol Foundation for its illegal use of its 'banana' logo.
Velvet Underground band members Lou Reed and John Cale confirmed to The New York Post today that the iconic rock band filed a lawsuit against the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for illegally licensing its famous banana image from its 1966 debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico without permission.
Warhol, who passed in 1987, was the band’s manager and created the album cover using a public domain image from a banana ad.
Reed and Cale argued that the Warhol foundation illegally licensed the logo for use on iPad cases and accessories and that with its large number of Warhol designs it can legally license, there was no economic need to use the famous Velvet Underground banana design.
British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Pinewood Studios today, current home to the 23rd James Bond film Skyfall, and generated controversy for suggesting that the British film industry should focus its support on “commercially successful pictures.”
BBC News reported that Cameron displayed his preference for mainstream cinema over specialty fare before enthusiastically praising the Harry Potter films as the types of movies the British film industry should be making.
Cameron’s comments hinted at the possible content in next week’s report on the UK film industry and government funding policies, which attracted a sharp rebuke from veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach.
“If everyone knew what would be successful before it was made, there would be no problem,” Loach told BBC News. “What you need to do is fund a lot of different, varied projects and then you’ll get a really vibrant industry.”
Indie music artist Justin Rice of the duo The Last Names repeated his 2006 project of releasing a new EP every month with his then band Bishop Allen by launching the 52 Covers Project with his band mate and wife Darbie Nowatka.
According to Bitch Media, Rice and Nowatka pledged to release a different cover song every week of 2012 and already released their first cover, a moody rendition of the Dire Straits song So Far Away and took to their TUMBLR blog to ask fans for cover song suggestions.
In addition to 52 Covers, The Last Names also planned to release an album of new material, Wilderness.
I have a fast suggestion for The Last Names. In honor of the current Velvet Underground/Warhol Foundation lawsuit, how about a cover of I’ll Be Your Mirror?