The Greatest Hits

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Bob Dylan Apologizes For Controversy Over Autopen Signatures

Bob Dylan has apologized for using autopen to autograph special copies of his new book that had been advertised as "hand-signed."

In a statement addressing the controversy on social media, the legendary musician admitted that it was an "error in judgment."

"I've hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem," Dylan wrote on Facebook.

Dylan said that after a "bad case of vertigo" prevented him from being able to sign the books physically, the idea of using an autopen was suggested to him, "along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds."

"Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately," he added.

The publisher Simon & Schuster offered 900 "hand-signed" copies of Dylan's limited-edition book "The Philosophy of Modern Song" for $599.

But when fans compared photos of his signature, the publisher admitted that the books contained a "penned replica" of Dylan's autograph and offered full refunds.

(Photo: Raphael Pour-Hashemi)

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Peter Buck Says R.E.M.'s Success 'Took Away Some Of The Pleasure' Of Being In The Band

Former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck says that the band's huge success in the 1990s "took away some of the pleasure" of being in the band.

During a recent interview with Classic Rock magazine, Buck told Rob Hughes, "When the non-musical stuff became so intense, it took away some of the pleasure for me. It's just the stuff where you kind of wake up and go: 'God, I don't really want to have my picture taken today. And I don't really want to pretend to be an actor in some video where I can't act.'"

"I loved playing Glastonbury and playing in front of lots of people and selling multiple millions of records," Buck continued, "but it was never the reason I did it. And when we got to the point where we decided that it was the end, it felt like a great shared experience. I wouldn't change it, but I'm not gonna go back to it."

R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, with former members having continued with various musical projects. Several live and archival albums have since been released.

Buck argued R.E.M.'s career ended with two "really strong" albums, 2008's Accelerate and 2011's Collapse Into Now.

"But I just felt like, no matter how good our last record was, it wasn't really our time any more," he said. "And that's fair, I understand that. . when it was over I didn't have a lot of interest in pursuing that type of largeness again."

He concluded, "[A]ll I really want to do is write songs, play them and record them."

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Mötley Crüe To Release Limited Edition 'Crücial Crüe' Box Set

Mötley Crüe are set to release a limited edition Crücial Crüe box set on February 17, 2023.

Crücial Crüe: The Studio Albums 1981-1989 will feature the band's first five Platinum-selling landmark albums pressed on colored vinyl.

According to the announcement made by BMG, Too Fast For Love will be on white and black splatter, Shout At The Devil on yellow and black splatter, Theatre Of Pain will be out on hot pink magenta and black splatter, Girls, Girls, Girls on cyan blue and black splatter, and Dr. Feelgood will be out on Coke bottle green and oxblood splatter.

The albums will be housed in a solid black slipcase with foil imprint and only available in this box set.

The "Crücial Crüe" box set will also be released on CD, with only 10,000 units of each configuration available globally.

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