Odds & Ends: U2, Aerosmith, Lorde, Sinead O’Connor

Last week Bono made headlines for saying sorry to fans about U2’s innovative album release strategy.  Some iTunes users were annoyed that the band’s new LP, Songs of Innocence, automatically appeared in iTunes libraries, whether you wanted the tunes in your collection or not.

During a video interview on Facebook, Bono said, “Oops … I’m sorry about that.” The U2 frontman added that he and his bandmates “might have gotten carried away with ourselves.”     

Now he’s reconsidering the apology.  Bono and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., recently appeared on the  “iHeartRadio Icons Live” series to talk about the new album and the subject of the apology came up during the Q&A.

“I’m already working on the apology for the apology,” Bono said. “We are so proud of this and it really is one of the proudest moments in the history of U2. We have a whole new audience and our existing audience were very pleased to receive a gift from Apple…and ya know, what is the point of being in U2 if you can’t take these risks? What I was apologizing for was this very nice young woman on Facebook who thought it was rude, I’m sorry she felt that way, of course I am.”

Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer has set the record straight about the health scare that forced him to miss a few shows this summer. 

After TMZ reported that the drummer was planning to undergo heart surgery, the band released a statement in August saying Kramer “had no history of heart problems” and that he was having “a minor medical procedure.”

Kramer was recently the guest on the Eddie Trunk podcast, in which the drummer reiterated that he had never experienced previous heart problems but confessed that he underwent an angioplasty and had two stents added (via UltimateClassicRock.com). Kramer noted that it was “strictly a hereditary thing. There’s a family history, and I was the victim. But no more.”

The musician said that he was experiencing a “burning sensation” in his chest, which he thought was acid reflux. His general practitioner had Kramer take a stress test to rule out anything cardiac related.

“I got through the echogram [echocardiogram] with flying colors. He said that my cardiovascular system looked like that of a 48- or a 50-year-old, and I’m 64. And then I got on the treadmill, and when I got on the treadmill, it started to bother me a little bit.”

But after undergoing an angioplasty and just taking seven days off, Kramer says, “I’m back 150 percent, and everything is as good as it can possibly be.”

Even if you were too young to watch “Saturday Night Live” in 1992, you’ve probably heard the story about how Sinead O’Connor ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance.

The Irish singer/songwriter claims that a few bigwigs at Dick Clark Productions thought it would be a brilliant idea for Pope Francis to introduce O’Connor at the American Music Awards.

O’Connor explained the whole story in a blog post that was composed of more than 1,600 words. Apparently, the AMAs passed on the concept because the Pope never responded to Dick Clark Productions’ pitch. The story goes that “three stooges” from Dick Clark Productions attempted to get in touch with the Pope solely via his Twitter account.

“Since naturally their idea was not only disrespectful to the pope and to millions of catholics (The idea he ought [to] consider lowering his feet into the disgusting world of show business and celebrity at all! Never mind with Sinead O’Connor) they didn’t get a response and consequently I’m now not doing the show,” O’Connor wrote.

She later added, “This wouldn’t have happened if women were in charge of Dick Clarke Productions, because well, women just aren’t fuckin’ idiots. Did you ever hear of such ‘Dickery’ in your life?”

Claiming an exclusive report, TMZ says that sources close to the AMA production told the gossip site that O’Connor’s team actually contacted the AMAs, rather than the other way around.

“We’re told show producers were interested in Sinead being on the show … but they say her claims about the Pope – which she made on her blog – are ridiculous and a tweet was never sent,” TMZ says.

With the first game of the World Series starting Tuesday, the rivalry between the Kanas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants couldn’t be more intense. To show their loyalty to the team, Bay Area radio stations KFOG and KOIT have taken Lorde’s “Royals” song out of rotation for the duration of the World Series.

Lorde has previously said that her hit “Royals” was inspired by a photo of Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett signing autographs.  

KOIT programmer director Brian Figula said listeners requested the ban on the tune.

Although if you examine the lyrics, the song is perfect for Giants fans, what with its proclamation that, “We’ll never be royals.”