Carleton (and before him James Nord and YouTube user mobius32) brings to my attention this excellent video about the “Amen Break” – one of the most important 6 seconds in recorded music, originally recorded by The Winstons. Check it out:
This is loosely related to a journal article I am writing on sampling rights. I don’t think I’ll be getting as abstract as the “cultural public domain” argued here, and my conclusions might cut directly against some of mobius32’s arguments here, but his concern about copyright re-appropriation and the incoming clash between copyright law and digital sampling are certainly right up my article’s alley. And I’ll certainly be taking up the Bridgeport Musiccase mentioned in passing towards the end of the clip. This is a must-watch to understand the foundations of many of our modern discussions on sampling rights. Check it out.
Gretchen is participating in a contest put together by TravelOregon.com, which is offering a series of “Cuisinternships” to the candidates with the most convincing pitches via YouTube movie. Gretchen is participating for a chance to win a week-long brewmaster internship at the very excellent Full Sail brewery in Mt. Hood. While the final candidate will be picked by those running the program, a “people’s choice” pick – selected as the video with the most positive ratings – will win a basket of goodies. Besides, a boost in the rankings may attract that all-important attention from the Full Sail crew that lands her the gig.
Gretchen is a brilliant scientist and brews some mighty tasty beers. (She is also my girlfriend, but I would say that about her even if she weren’t.) She talks about beer the same way I talk about music and intellectual property. You should really help her land at a spot where she can hone her craft.
Big thanks to the Anti- RecordsBlog for posting up a pair of conversations Beck and Tom Waits shared on Beck’s website. A lot of it is inside jokes about LA, but you get a good discussion on the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and Wienerwhistles, playing live shows, the lifespans and utility of songs, Japan, and yo-yos. Check it out.
For more Waits interviewing, check out this amazing AntiBlog post from May of last year (just before the PEHDTSCKJMBA tour). Quote of the post:
Q: What is a gentleman?
[Tom Waits]: A man who can play the accordion, but doesn’t.
Two articles stand out as great reads on the Twitter Security Breach debacle:
Sam Bayard from the Citizen Media Law Project discusses the constitutional right to publish hacked documents here. The analysis here draws on many of the same cases Sam and I used in an amicus brief sent by CMLP and the Cyberlaw Clinic to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire about a month ago.
Journalism professor and tech pioneer Dan Gilmor takes Sam’s analysis and adds his own spin, coming right to the point on the merits of how Michael Arrington and TechCrunch are handling the breach.
This video has been percolating around the net for a few days, but bears reposting due to its namecheck of my almost hometown Fitchburg, its reference to the Spock endorsement story (see my post on that subject here), and for general Hodgman awesomeness. Enjoy!
As part of the Ignite show (a bureau within the O’Reilly media franchise), Berkman Center compatriot Tim Hwang did a 5-minute, 20-slide talk on the spread of Internet memes. He’s one of the only academic minds seriously studying the RickRoll, LOLCats, Three Wolf Moon, Keyboard Cat, Xzibit, or any of the other strange Internet phenomena. The structure of the talk prevented deep, quantitative analysis, but Tim still manages to throw in a little bit of data, cut with a whole lot of e-mirth. Check it out:
Last June I wrote about the rumors of the Beatles – one of the only major bands to still refuse to release their catalog online – coming into the digital world.
In October I wrote that it was my current neighbors, Cambridge’s own Harmonix, that brought down the beast.
How weird is it to see a video of the Beatles on YouTube, without fear of seeing the “Video removed due to copyright claim from Capitol Records” screen a few hours later? For more on the details of the game, head on over to Pitchfork.
(Jay, at TT the Bear’s in 2005, from Flickr user rustedrobot)
So sad to see this story from Muzzle of Bees: Jay Bennett, former member of Wilco member and one of the masterminds behind their epic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, died in his sleep last night after undergoing hip replacement surgery. He was 45.
Wikipedia points us to this MySpace post just before he went under the knife. After disclosing he had a torn ACL, which he ignored for several years:
Well, it turns out that these types of injuries don’t really heal themselves, as I naively told myself might just magically happen, if I rested that leg, used a cane for a while, and lost a bit of weight. So, major surgery it was to be…the only glitch, I am among our nations under-insured (my previous injury to that leg was listed as a pre-existing condition, and any injury that could be linked to the same root cause, I was told would not be covered). Some time passed as I contemplated my next “move,”—how to come up with the money to pay for the surgery “out of pocket,” and as I brainstormed, my hip finally decided to lock up, and the pain got worse. So I began the arduous, or more accurately, extremely time consuming and endlessly frustrating, process of finding a surgeon and hospital that would perhaps “cut me a deal,” be willing to bargain/barter a bit, or at least allow me to make installment payments. As it turns out, this is possible, but also difficult to arrange, if you can not come up with a sizable down payment as a show good faith, etc. I have been saving as much money as possible ever since I made this new commitment to my health, my future, and my quality of life, and have sold off some vintage recording gear, whose monetary collectors value now far outweighs it’s functional value. As time has passed my mobility has continued to erode, to the extent that, for quite some time now, it has even been difficult to sit at the computer for more than just a few minutes—as I only own an ancient, yet reliable (don’t get mad at me baby), old Dell desk top PC, I can’t lie on the couch with a lap top and leisurely engage in the cyber world as I had so enjoyed since I made the commitment to enter the 21st century (or at least the late 20th) and interact with all of the wonderful people who have chosen to be my friends on myspace. And, even if I have said it enough already, I’ll just keep saying it over and over again; what an thoroughly enjoyable experience it has been, it’s like hanging out at a bar talking to folks with similar interests, swapping stories, answering questions, asking questions, getting to know people, reacquainting myself with old cronies, all without having to shout above the music (which I hate, unless of course it is of my choosing)…and I really have missed these interactions on so many levels. I know that I owe many of you mails (my trips to ye olde Dell are painful and now almost non-existent…this note was hand written and transcribed). I also owe some of you input on music that you have sent to me, for these transgressions, I apologize, but trust that you will understand.
I’m not suggesting that Jay’s lack of insurance gave him any less than the best treatment when he did go under the knife for various leg work, but his problem is one that thousands of musicians in America face: ours is an industry which does not provide for health insurance. So, for Jay, may I suggest donating some money over at Rock For Health, a Northeastern-born organization dedicated to raising money to provide artists with health insurance. You can donate on their MySpace here.
Also, earlier this month, Jay sued Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy for unpaid royalties (see the complaint here). Sad to think Jeff and Jay left on such bad terms, after nearly a decade as bandmates.
(The Flaming Lips at the Green Apple Festival in DC)
You heard it here third: via Paste (via Stereogum). The description of the music certainly piqued my interest:
The way Coyne describes the album, the band’s 12th, it’s almost as if it’s a tale of two cities. On the one hand, it sounds like it’s going to rock, and on the other, some of it sounds like it will be rather sparse. “I don’t think we’ve done this combination on purpose before,” Coyne tells Stereogum. “So that’s kinda where we’re at. We have like 10 or 11 songs that kind of go between being utterly free freakouts and songs that are very simple that are a couple of instruments playing.”
(waveform of the “Amen Break”)
(The Flaming Lips at the Green Apple Festival in DC)
