CarCdrCons

Ben Lee covered the entire Against Me! album New Wave and made it a free download on Bandcamp.

Ben Lee Sings Against Me! New Wave

311 -> 312 to 212 to 213

Cover of a Bobby Womack song

More summer. Both from 1984, though Cruel Summer was initially released as a single in '83.

Motherless children decidedly don't share their mother's health. Kind of an anti-connection, I guess.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sparked an online backlash after a social media post in which he said the cost of creating "content" is "close to zero".

The boss of the streaming giant said in a post on X: "Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content. This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life.

"While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.

"Also, what are we creating now that will still be valued and discussed hundreds or thousands of years from today?"

Music fans and musicians were quick to call Ek out, with one user, composer Tim Prebble, saying: "Music will still be valued in a hundred years. Spotify won't. It will only be remembered as a bad example of a parasitic tool for extracting value from other peoples music. (or "content" as some grifters like to call it)."

Musicians weighed in too, with Primal Scream bassist Simone Marie Butler saying: "Fuck off you out of touch billionaire."

McDonald’s is fighting back against viral tweets and media reports that it says have exaggerated its price increases.

In a post on the company’s website Wednesday, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said reports suggesting the price of the average Big Mac has doubled since 2019 were false. McDonald’s said the average U.S. Big Mac was $4.39 in 2019 and now costs $5.29, a 20.5% increase.

Erlinger acknowledged that he and many franchisees were frustrated by a post on X last summer about a Big Mac meal in Connecticut that cost $18, calling the price “an exception.”

McDonald’s saw a marked slowdown in store traffic in the first three months of this year as inflation-weary customers in the U.S. and other big markets ate out less often.

“It’s clear that we — together with our franchisees — must remain laser-focused on value and affordability,” Erlinger said.

Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole

New York is known as the Big Apple. Minneapolis once promoted itself as the Mini-Apple.