BECK COVERS PRINCE AT ARCADE FIRE'S COACHELLA SHOW

The set also featured two Daft Punk look-alikes playing 'Get Lucky'

Arcade Fire's streak of wacky concert bobblehead guest appearances remains intact. Toward the end of their headlining Coachella set Sunday night, the band brought out alt-rock legend Beck (wearing an Easter-appropriate Pope Francis bobblehead) for a cover of Prince's 1981 funk classic "Controversy," as Billboard reports.
This wasn't the band's first time tackling the Purple One, having already covered "Controversy" last month in Minneapolis.

During that performance, frontman Win Butler displayed another strange fashion accessory, donning a digital head-box which displayed the faces of Prince and Michele Bachmann. (That wild set also featured snippets of Lady Gaga's "Do What U Want," Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.") Arcade Fire also squeezed in one more goofy collaboration at Coachella 2014 – sort of. Earlier in the set, Butler promised the band would be bringing out "some very special guests," and some audience members claimed to hear him say "Paft Dunk," a gibberish variation on electronic kings Daft Punk.

This led to a slow-motion cover of the latter band's 2013 smash "Get Lucky," featuring two performers dressed in Daft Punk-styled robot costumes. Given Arcade Fire's recent on-stage silliness, it's unclear whether the two robots were actually the real Daft Punk members (Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo) or just a pair of costumed roadies.

The first option seems unlikely: During the band's previous Coachella set, Butler poked fun at the fest's EDM-heavy lineup by dedicating a song to "all the bands at this festival playing real instruments." Add Beck and "Paft Dunk" to the ever-growing list of performers who've graced the stage with Arcade Fire on their Reflektor tour: The band's first Coachella set featured Debbie Harry on a cover of Blondie's "Heart of Glass"; meanwhile, earlier this month, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas helped fake out an Argentine audience by donning a Win Butler bobblehead.

Source : RollingStone

LISTEN: PRINCE RELEASES SURPRISE NEW SINGLE 'THE BREAKDOWN'

Prince has released a surprise new single, reports Rolling Stone.

'The Breakdown' was released last night (April 18) and is available to download on iTunes now. You can listen to the song at the bottom of the page. The release came less than a day after Prince announced he had re-signed to Warner Bros after 17 years.

The Minneapolis singer has signed a deal which will see him regain ownership of his back catalogue, while his albums 'Dirty Mind', 'Controversy' and '1999' will continue to be licensed through the label as part of a new global agreement.

The deal also means 'Purple Rain' will be remastered as a deluxe, remastered edition to coincide with the 30th anniversary in June. Warner Bros have also stated they will release a new album from Prince, with "other projects set to follow".

"A brand-new studio album is on the way and both Warner Bros Records and Eye (sic) are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship," Prince said in a statement.

PRINCE CONFIRMS NEW ALBUM PLANS, ANNOUNCES ‘PURPLE RAIN’ 30TH ANNIVERSARY REISSUE

Prince has been playing gigs with new material and releasing a steady trickle of new songs over the past year — including a duet with Zooey Deschanel stemming from his cameo on New Girl — but he’d been dodgy about what exactly he and his band, 3rdEyeGirl, are up to. But the mystery is over, as Prince today (April 18) confirmed he has a new album in the works.

The news came in a press release announcing the Purple One’s new deal with Warner Bros. Records that will “see the release of long-awaited, previously unheard music” and give him ownership of all his master recordings. “A brand-new studio album is on the way,” he said in a statement. “Both Warner Bros. Records and Eye are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship.”

This all comes ahead of this summer’s 30th anniversary of Prince’s seminal album Purple Rain and its accompanying film. That landmark will get its own showcase, via a digitally re-mastered deluxe reissue of the LP which will include previously unheard material.