Annexing a year is a rare Swift misstep

There's a couple of reasons why Taylor Swift trying to own 1989 is disappointing.

First of all: you can't trademark a number. You can't trademark a year. To be fair, Swift wasn't quite trying to claim ownership of that, just 1989 scribbled down, but it's the same thing. Even at his worst, Billy Corgan never tried to command how people might use 1979, even in his favourite font.

Secondly, and what's more strange: Taylor Swift (or Corporate Taylor Swift Inc.) knew 1989 was going to be a big deal; didn't it occur to them that the best time to try and trademark something might be before signing the exclusive special edition deals with Target and launching the product?

In other odd Taylor Swift news, somehow I Knew You Were Trouble appeared on Spotify but credited to Lostprophets. Yeah. Lostprophets. In terms of 'making a prank as uncomfortable as possible' that's up there

Spotify's response was "someone gave us it like that" and a swift (ho-ho) pulling of the track.

HMV pulls Lostprophets from the shelves

I suppose, pragmatically, there's not a person in the country who would want to buy a Lostprophets record in public now, and in that sense HMV's decision to remove their records from stores makes sense.

On the other hand, it's an interesting precedent that HMV has set, now it's decided that conviction for some child abuse crimes makes an artist's work unacceptable. But only some - Roman Polanski's drugging and rape of a girl, for example, is not a a bar to the chain selling his work; and their Gary Glitter artist page even mentions his convictions while still offering a chance to buy his tracks.

I don't think it's a bad move to have a policy on this. It's just not clear what HMV's policy is.

Ian Watkins changes his plea to guilty

I suspect this isn't the greatest day to be called @ianwatkins on Twitter - an underscore away from being the child-raping lead singer of Lostprophets, @ian_watkins.

This, though, is a pretty astute point:

Pop media demonises *former* child Miley for "sexualisation" of youth over Lostprophets' male heartthrob who raped *actual* children.

— Ms Slide (@sliderulesyou) November 26, 2013

...but I guarantee that he won't be brought up as an example of "sexualisation" of children in the same way Miley Cyrus is.

— Ms Slide (@sliderulesyou) November 26, 2013

It does look from the evidence reported in court that Watkins used the band as a way of persuading young women to do things that were criminal. The biggest risks aren't the ones on stage.

Lostprophets call it a day

It's surprising that they've managed to drag on for a year, what with their singer Ian Watkins being accused of raping a baby, but finally Lostprophets have accepted they're a lost cause:

After nearly a year of coming to terms with our heartache, we finally feel ready to announce publicly what we have thought privately for some time. We can no longer continue making or performing music as Lostprophets. Your love and support over the past 15 years has been tremendous, and we'll be forever grateful for all you've given us. As we look forward to the next phase of our lives, we can only hope to be surrounded by people as devoted and inspiring as you guys have been.

Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike, and Stu

Ian Watkins has denied the charges against him; his trial is due to start on November 25th.

Kerrang: Lostprophets still "best" British band

It'll come as something of a surprise to most people, but - according to the Kerrang Awards - Lostprophets are still the best band in Britain.

Say what you like about K!, but their awards are about the only rock music prize with a profile in the UK which doesn't shuffle the same winners as everyone else. Not a sniff for Amy Winehouse.

The winners in full, then:

Kerrang! Hall Of Fame: Judas Priest
Icon: Nine Inch Nails
International band: Panic At The Disco
British band: Lostprophets
Hard rock hero: Machine Head
Spirit of independence: Enter Shikari
Classic songwriter: Deftones
Best video: Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scence
Best album: Machine Head - The Blackening
Best single: 30 Seconds To Mars - The Kill
Best live band: Enter Shikari
Best international newcomer: Madina Lake
Best British newcomer: Gallows

We didn't say the winners were any better than at the NME awards, just different.

Incidentally, last year's Best British Newcomer was Bring Me The Horizon. Shortly before they disappeared over it.

[2006 Kerrang awards]

Prophet unlost

This gives us a shudder, and not in a good way: Lostprophets are in the studio, working with John Feldmann.

Nothing can tempt them away from their work. Apart from playing T in The Park this weekend.