Radio personality Casey Kasem died at age 82 on June 15, and culture-jammers Negativland didn’t waste any time in commemorating his legacy.
Negativland’s 1991 EP, aptly titled U2, featured the group parodying one of Bono and Co.’s most well-known works, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Included in Negativland’s “cover” was a clip of Kasem’s extensive on-air rant about U2: “These guys are from England, and who gives a shit?”
U2’s label was not exactly pleased with the jokey record, and they quickly sued Negativland and squashed the release. The band wrote about the experience in a zine called The Letter U and the Numeral 2 — Kasem’s chosen pronunciation for the Irish band’s name.
And now Negativland have announced that they will be releasing “the original un-mixed studio multi-track tape ‘stems’” for fans to play around with as a tribute to Kasem. The band hopes that “entirely new versions of the work are created and disseminated,” and fans are encouraged to post their works to Negativland’s official website. Get to work!
• Negativland: http://www.negativland.com
More about: Casey Kasem, Negativland
