Round Up: Madonna, Nirvana, Gary Kurfirst, Death Row Records

In case you haven’t had much time between watching the inauguration and laughing your ass off at Joaquin Phoenix (a.k.a. hip-hop’s newest disaster), here are some interesting news tidbits from the music world that you might have missed:

• If it wasn’t enough already that Madonna was recently renounced by religious bigwigs, it was announced this past week that full-frontal, black and white nude photo, taken in 1979 and used in a 1985 Playboy issue, is up for auction Feb. 12. The photo (which proves that “trimming the hedges” wasn’t a priority in the 70s…) and its specs are available to view online. The print is expected to sell for up to $15,000 at Christie’s auctioneers in New York. More on this story here.
• On his blog for the Seattle Weekly’s Web site, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic was able to shed a little light on the folly of music emulation games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The musician was shopping in a department store and stopped to try his hand at playing the bass line for Nirvana’s 1992 hit “In Bloom” for Rock Band 2.  Novoselic wrote that the game reminded him of Space Invaders with falling music notes, but admitted he couldn’t keep up. Hilariously enough, he passed the controller off to a waiting kid (who had no idea he was standing next to the original artist), who proceeded to shred through the rest of the bass line, leaving Novoselic deliberating the game’s authenticity. Let’s hope the poor guy hasn’t just lost his touch. Check out the entire blog post here.

• And now for the sad news. Label executive Gary Kurfirst, who managed classic punk/new wave bands such as Blondie, Talking Heads, the Ramones and the B-52s, died at age 61 on Jan. 13 while vacationing in the Bahamas. Kurfirst was a four-decade music biz veteran and was known for working with multiple groups that sold upwards of $100 million records worldwide. He also produced three feature-length films for the Talking Heads and launched several record labels and talent firms. Read about more of this music visionary’s accomplishments here.
• On a lighter note, gangster rap is making headlines again (beyond the success of Notorious) with the news that the assets of Death Row Records was auctioned for $18 million Jan. 15 to WIDEawake Entertainment Group, a Canadian development company. The verdict comes after more than three years of bankruptcy issues and multiple offers from labels like Warner Music Group and Koch Entertainment. Rap fans, get your subwoofers ready: WIDEawake CEO Lara Lavi said that significant unreleased material from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur was included in the deal is “forthcoming.” Check out Billboard for more on this story.

Photos available via MySpace.