1. Coachella: The first weekend of the desert alternative music festival gets underway. Rinse and repeat next weekend.
2. Brad Paisley: He wanted to “start a conversation” about race with his song “Accidental Racist” with LL Cool J. He may have gotten more than he bargained for, although it looks like the album will be his eighth Top 10 on the Billboard 200, so all press is good press.
3. Twitter: Following the company”s purchase of music tracking site We Are Hunted, the only question is how soon will Twitter”s music app launch? It could be while you are reading this and waiting for your invitation to music.twitter.app.
4. Republic Records: Speaking of Coachella, the road to Indio, Calif. is paved with signs promoting Republic Records, home to five acts playing the festival. In a canny marketing move, the label bought eight billboards along the road to Coachella. Who”s in now for the road to Bonnaroo?
5. “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead”: The “Wizard Of Oz” ditty climbs the UK charts following the passing of the polarizing former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. However, as far as we know, a house falling on her was not the cause of death.
6. Psy: Can “Gentleman” come close to topping “Gangnam Style?” All we know is the S. Korean artist is drawing more attention in his native country than the missiles possibly pointed its way by its neighbors to the north.
7. Jay-Z: C”mon Hova… No more songs like “Open Letter,” where you address a litany of negative press. We know you can take the heat. Stop your whining. Can you talk about me in a song now?
8. Rick Ross: He apologizes a lot too late for his rape lyrics in “U.O.E.N.O” after Reebok drops him like it”s hot. Smart move, Reebok… last we checked, women buy your shoes too.
9. Luke Bryan: No one was more shocked that he captured the ACM Awards” coveted entertainer of the year trophy more than he was. One of the truly all-time great award reactions with humility and delight ruling the day.
10. Universal Music Group: A lawsuit alleges there is “massive marijuana use” going on at the Santa Monica headquarters. Between that and the cocaine ring bust a while back, it looks like UMG may have found its way to deal with continuing declining album sales.