So, if you’re like me (and I really hope you are because I feel very alone right now) you’ve been following this whole Lauryn Hill tax evasion story closer than a Joy Division reference. You’ve also no doubt seen our previous coverage of the developments in which our Liz Louche loosely compared the folks at Sony to the likes of the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. Well, now the story’s changed and I’ve got one thing to say: Santa Claus is dead and we have killed him.
Okay, I’ve actually got a couple more things to say than that, but most of them are about how Sony are a bunch of jerks, and how, with all due respect, I’m gonna have to go ahead and disagree with Liz Louche about the whole Santa Claus/fairy godparents connection (actually, fwiw, I’m starting to wonder if corporate record labels really only care about money, and not at all about the smiles that may or may not light up our little faces come Christmas/Easter/Monday morning).
First, according to the Associated Press, it turns out Lauryn Hill is going to prison after all, despite her recently inked deal with Sony. She’ll spend three months in prison and an additional three months in “home confinement.” #thanksSony, am I right? I mean, it’s not her fault she got a little “mis-educated” about tax policy. You had one job, Sony! Geez. It gets worse though. Apparently the corporate suits at Sony are forcing Ms. Hill to fulfill her five-song contract EVEN THOUGH THEY DID NOT STOP UNCLE SAM FROM SENDING HER TO THE CLINK. Un-freaking-real! I’ll even bet the bigwigs at Sony are in bed with some of the mediumwigs at the IRS, trying to squeeze every last ounce of creative and monetary blood, sweat, and tears out of her. For her part, Ms. Hill is exuding all sorts of rebellious energy, throwing off the shackles of corporate control the best way she knows how: by adding a parenthetical onto the title of her song, “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix).” Get it! You can find her note about the song on her Facebook, and purchase the song from iTunes.
• Lauryn Hill: http://www.lauryn-hill.com
• Heartless Corporate Monsters: http://www.sonymusic.com