First Bits First: Elvis, Michael, and Peel

Whenever I look through the TwentyFourBit vault for these “First Bits First” posts, certain themes will often arise. Not sure what the significance of today’s might be, but we could probably call it the “Immortal Legends” edition.

No, we didn’t see Elvis Presley at the mall, but we may have seen his grandson Ben. Telegraph reports that Benjamin Presley, Lisa Marie’s teenage son (who looks like a goth Elvis), has been offered a $5.5 million record deal by Universal. Sure, he looks like his grandfather, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be shaking his hips anytime soon. “The music will be nothing like Elvis,” Presley said, “nothing like him at all.”

From the King of Rock to the King of Pop: Michael Jackson’s studio recording vaults are being raided by the suits again, as 3 News reports that Sony’s Rob Stringer ensures us they “will take [their] time with the rest of the material” and “there’s huge money to be made off of these recordings.”

BBC’s Maida Vale Studios, the place where legendary DJ John Peel kept good music alive for decades, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the BBC is planning to sell off some of the studios and eventually “dispose of Maida Vale.” Ugh. More on this one thataway.

Okay, I just realized these bits may have been a downer, but we’ve got more daylight ahead for good news, or you could watch Karen O and Spike Jonze’s uplifting Making of Wild Things video. Also FYI, our Thom Yorke @ Echoplex video set is complete.