Steve Albini, musician and Nirvana producer, dies at 61

Steve Albini, the musician and wellregarded recording engineer behind work from Nirvana, the Pixies, The Breeders, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant among hundreds of others, died May 7. He was 61.

His death from a heart attack was confirmed by Taylor Hales of Electrical Audio, the Chicago studio Albini founded in the mid-‘90s

Albini, who was also a musician in punk rock bands Big Black and Shellac, was a noted critic of the industry in which he worked, often offering withering commentary about the artists who hired him.

He referred to Nirvana as “an unremarkable version of the Seattle sound,” but accepted the job to produce the band’s 1993 album, “In Utero.” Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain said at the time that he liked Albini’s technique of capturing the natural sound in a recording room for an element of rawness. In a circulated letter Albini wrote to the band before signing on, he concurs that he wants to “bang out a record in a couple of days.”

Spanish court dismisses second tax case against singer Shakira

A Spanish court on Thursday dismissed a tax investigation against Colombian pop star Shakira, after the offices of the prosecutor and state attorney opted not to bring charges against the singer.

Shakira, who last year reached a settlement to avoid a trial in Barcelona over charges she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014, had a second investigation pending for alleged fraud on income and wealth tax in 2018.

The court said there was no evidence to prove a complaint raised by a prosecutor that Shakira “consciously and voluntarily omitted information and documentation” in preparing her personal income tax and income returns in 2018.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer, who has sold millions of records worldwide, lived with former Barcelona and Spain soccer star Gerard Pique for 11 years and the couple have two children.