It's been a big week or so for the merry-making musos of Band-Aid, prominent people named Perry and Australia's latest Hall-of-Famer, Missy Higgins. IA music man David Kowalski reports.
Katy Perry vs Katie Perry
U.S. superstar Katy Perry is back in the news this week after launching a legal challenge against Australian clothing designer Katie Perry.
The first lawsuit was raised in 2009 and an ongoing battle has played out in Australian courts on and off since that time. This week, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that the trademark for clothing brand “Katie Perry” (run by Katie Jane Taylor, nee Perry) infringes on the brand identity established by U.S. pop star Katherine Elizabeth Hudson, also known as Katy Perry.
Hudson alleges that the similarly named clothing brand would “deceive” and “cause confusion”.
It seems like a long bow to draw. Taylor tried suing Hudson to preserve her own trademark. However, Hudson made a counterclaim to the Federal Court and emerged victorious. Hudson has been accused of using her substantial financial clout to destroy a small independent business owner.
A business owner – who was actually born with the name in question – is being prevented from using her name as a trademark by an overseas music star who wasn’t. However, Hudson adopted her stage name in 2002, years before the local Katie Perry trademarked her own business name.
This whole episode brings back a memory of when the parent company of Hungry Jacks (Competitive Foods Australi) tried to sue a tiny mum-and-dad hamburger place in Wamberal on the NSW Central Coast, called Wambie Whoppers for trademark infringement.
In that case, the owner of Competitive Foods, Jack Cowin, called off the legal action, saying that most people should be able to tell the difference between the two different brands — therefore, they should be able to co-exist.
In this case, it is now up to Katie Taylor to pay Hudson’s legal costs and rebrand her clothing empire at what looks to be an enormous financial cost. The Scottish Financial News reported this as 'I sued a girl, and I liked it'.
Missy Higgins hits all the right notes at ARIA Awards
The Australian Music Industry’s night-of-nights, the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards, was held last week. Did anyone notice?
The Awards barely disturbed the printers of major newspapers and while it was broadcast in prime time on Channel 9, the lack of attention received was disturbing.
In short, Missy Higgins accepted the Hall of Fame award with a poignant speech where she suggested that any "new" confessional singer-songwriter – like she was when she started out – wouldn’t be so lucky today, to get noticed and receive airplay.
That in itself is not really news to anyone, however it should be enough for the media at large to start making changes to their programming. Higgins' live performance on the night was awe-inspiring.
Local favourites of this columnist, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, won the award for Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist, opening the night with an electrifying performance.
Troy Cassar-Daley won Best Country Album. Troye Sivan won Album of the Year, Best Solo Artist and Best Pop Release. Melbourne rockers Royel Otis won Best Engineered Release, Best Produced Release, Best Group and Best Rock Album.
G Flip won Song of the Year for 'The Worst Person Alive'.
U.S. Indie legends The Pixies also made a surprise appearance with a performance of their 1988 classic 'Where is My Mind'.
Dig the nod to top-flight Aussie rockers Hoodoo Gurus (drummer's stage-wear).
Band Aid 40: The AI version
Did someone say "new version" of the perennial yuletide staple 'Do They Know It’s Christmas?' — well, a group of musicians assembled by Sir Bob Geldof, calling themselves Band Aid, has put one out.
This version is unique as it has been compiled by legendary producer Trevor Horn using artificial intelligence from vocal parts laid down from the 1984 original version, the Band Aid 20 version of 2004 and the Band Aid 30 version of 2014.
It includes a new backing track featuring luminaries such as Johnny Greenwood and Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Sir Paul McCartney and Sting. Bono from U2 appears three times on it, from three different recordings from over the last 40 years.
All proceeds from the sale of the recording go to the Band Aid Trust to assist in humanitarian programs throughout the world.
The new recording hasn’t been without controversy. The biggest comes from one of the all-time recording artists of the last 20 years, Ed Sheeran, who has said he regrets his involvement in the 2014 version and would, if he could, decline being in this new version.
Sheeran cited a conversation with rapper Fuse ODG, who is of Ghanaian descent, saying that the perpetuation of images of regional Africa in famine and crisis have stilted investment and tourism in the otherwise beautiful continent.
Sir Bob has, of course, come out swinging, reportedly saying:
'This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people alive. [They] will sleep safer, warmer and cared for tonight because of that miraculous little record.'
It is true the Band Aid project and Live Aid series of concerts have raised millions of dollars and helped millions of starving people over the last 40 years.
But it is a song that's been criticised from the beginning for having hastily written lyrics and clumsy imagery. Singer for The Smiths, Morrissey, described it as "tuneless".
Nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, it begs some questions — is another version of this song really necessary? Will it have the same impact or generate the same response as it did all those years ago? It all remains to be seen.
Don't have a cow... but do listen to The Dairy Joys
A new release to finish off this week's review comes from the "little engine that could" of the Australian record industry: Half a Cow Records. It's an indie pop label that is almost 35 years old now but keeps on keeping on with new releases.
The Dairy Joys is the latest in a long line of band names from label owner and founder Nic Dalton.
His biggest label success was in the 1990s with the musically spiky yet sugary project Godstar. However, this new band brings yet another new flavour to Dalton's sound. The single 'Wishful Thinking' is a unique blend of southern soul meets inner-suburban grit — with just a hint of swing.
Expect their debut album in 2025. Get amongst it.
Until next time…
David Kowalski is a writer, musician, educator, sound engineer and podcaster. His podcasts 'The Sound and the Fury Podcast' and 'Audio Cumulus' can be heard exclusively HERE. You can follow David on Twitter @sound_fury_pod.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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