WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE BEATLES IS TAKEN? Lukas Rossi, winner of this season’s edition of Rock Star, is the lead singer of a band with gigs, a recording contract, press to die for, but no name, thanks to the San Diego district court judge who ruled in favour of Orange County punk band Supernova in a lawsuit against Rossi’s bandmates, who obviously didn’t bother hiring anyone who’d heard of Google when they decided on the name of their band.
Rossi’s new group, which features Tommy Lee (ex-Motley Crue), Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns And Roses), was told by Judge John Houston that “the marks are identical, the parties operate in very similar or identical markets, the Supernova is distinctive and therefore strong, and there is evidence of actual confusion in the market.” Which is an educated person’s way of saying “I hope you have someone else do your taxes.”
Some suggestions for the band’s new name: The Litigated; Bad Lawyers; Your Name Here; Stay In School; Borrowed Credibility; Humbled Goliath; The Trademarks; Intellectual Property; Superdupernova; You’ve Seen Our Drummer’s Weiner On The Internet.
EXPIRY DATE: I’ve always thought that most good things — potato salad, rock bands, soft cheese, election campaigns, TV series — are, or should be in an ideal world, defined by having very strict, and very brief shelf lives. There isn’t a decent band whose career would have diminished if they broke up after their third record, and no TV show, no matter how brilliant, that had much to add after four seasons. As for The Band Formerly Known As Supernova, I think it’s a fair bet that their significance won’t resonate much beyond this week.
Comedian Ricky Gervais — creator and star of the original BBC version of The Office — apparently feels the same way, with the announcement that he’ll be ending his Office follow-up series Extras with its second season.
“Why drag it out and ruin it?” he told the U.K. tabloid The Sun. “I’ve seen that happen to other comedies and I hate it.”
Extras, which airs on HBO in the U.S. but apparently hasn’t made a home here yet, stars Gervais as a wannabe star who has constant brushes with fame by working as an extra on movie and TV sets, and apparently ends with Gervais character becoming a star, at the price of his mortal soul.
