Its no coincidence that the best music, the best news, the best entertainment is being delivered by non-profit and often times government subsidized companies. If libertarians insist on seeing taxation as coerision they must stop calling themselves libertarians and refer to themselves more accurately as anarchists. We live in a democracy so we chosen to be taxed, you are in minority therefore we pay the taxes we do. The majority of Americans see taxes as neccessary and beneficial. Most liberatarians speak as though we don't live in a democracy (minority ideas often do this as a defense mechanism) so when they say things like coercision it is just another way of saying people disagree with my point of view. In my opinion, this is fortunate, but libertarians are more than welcome to change public opinion. This will be a difficult task though, as no modern civilization has attempted a liberatarian government and as far as I know, no ancient civilization either. You have little to no support intellectually, even the father of modern Free Market Adam Smith will read like Karl Marx to the radical, idealistic, utopian libertarian thinkers of the Libertarian Party.
That's the rant, but I will agree that we live in democratic deficit and that there is a real disconnect between public opinion and what the government is doing. In this case however, that is not the case. So 3 cheers for democracy... even if you disagree with where its taken us:) And let's be honest, even libertarians are secretly thankful for NPR because it is the best source of news and entertainment... even if it boils your blood that the free market has failed you.
"There wasn't an artist on that list that i would pay a dollar to listen to. If the RIAA and the music industry expects to make money, they need to sign up bands that do something new."
There was a handful of bands on that list whose labels are not represented by the RIAA, well at least one with out doing much research (The Postal Service). A good number of the other bands have been working hard for years with indie labels. They are not a product of market research... real musicians, real art. I was pleaseantly suprised to find at least 3 of my personal top 10 on the list.
"they need to sign up bands that do something new."
You'd be pleaseantly suprised if you listened to the albums on this list, there is some very new an inventive music there. My favorites from the list are The White Stripes, Radiohead, The Postal Service, Dizzy Rascal, The Rapture. Check them out, it'll be much more fun then complaining about the RIAA
Seems like you are buying from the wrong artists. I buy about 3-5 albums a week and there are very few throw away tracks from any of the albums I buy. I'd be sad to see the album format disappear, I'd rather the artists not capable of writing a full album's worth of good material would disappear.
God Bless you... here are a few more for your list:
Burnt Toast Vinyl Sub Pop Jade Tree Tooth and Nail Darla Def Jux Misra Saddle Creek Velvet Blue Music File 13 Drag City Nothern Barsuk Kindercore V2 Anticon Po lyvinyl Merge Tiger Style Deep Elm Perfect Pop Pias Fat Cat
The best way to piss off the RIAA is to buy albums from these labels. Other added benefits... a world of music so great you'll swear you didn't know it was possible.
***warning: if you buy just one, you may end up a junkie like me. i tithe about 20% of my paycheck to my local record store***
Remember that RIAA only represents the top 1% of shitty music in America. The rest is free of their tyranny. You can support independent artists. For every average run of the mill band you hear on the radio there are a 100 indpendent artists that can pull off the sound much better. The labels that sign these bands take care of them as best they can (Lets face it they are all dirt poor). Its a good honest industry worthy of your support and you have everything to gain. Save money (concerts and CD's by these kinds or artists are normally under 12 bucks) support a starving artist directly, oh yeah... and enjoy music far better than the shit they feed you on the radio. Check out www.pitchforkmedia.com and www.insound.com. You'll fall in love with music again, and you won't think of stealing music again.
Of the 1000+ albums I own, I can't think of one i would sacrifice the album just to have a song or two off of it. Then again I don't buy albums from artists who can't right a whole album worth of good songs.
I'll be waiting for a service that will offer whole albums (cover art and liner notes included), with uncompressed audio, at a low price. Low price to me would be under 5 dollars (hell it means I have to burn it to a CD-R, use my ink and paper to print out the inserts and booklets)
And now that I think about it, thats some expenisve paper i would have to use, and a lot color ink. I'd still have to pay 10-50 cents per CD-R, maybe a little more to get a jewel case with it. Not to mention that a CD-R won't play in every CD player. Oh I completely forogt some of my favorite CD packaging are gatefold cardboard cases and digipack cases, I can't even begin to recreate those. Oh shit and the CD labels you stick on to CD-R's look horrible... You know what fuck it, i can't think of an online serivice I would use. I'll drive 5 min to my nearest CD store, enjoy some social interaction, and get a far superior product.
To each his own though, I suppose a service like this has its place. I am just nervous that we are placing convenience over quality...
The rebuttal to this of course is why complain, both options are available, but each step we take towards worshipping the god of Convenience is a step we can't take back. CD's rule the market now simply because of the convenience factor, and now we can't go back.
Vinyl records are not lossy recordings. Of course, you have to deal with dust, wear and tear. But nothing sounds better then a brand new album on vinyl. Of course here on Slashdot i'll be crucified for suggesting an analog format is superior to a digital one...
This is a great idea and i hope it succeeds, but it simply is not designed with real music fans in mind. I own over 1000 cds and buy about 2-3 albums a week, and this serivice doesn't appeal to me at all. Why ? Because discovering music isn't convenient, its hard work and that's what makes it rewarding. Downloading an mp3 of a song is like like cutting out a square inch of the Mona Lisa, and viewing it as a JPEG on your computer. Its only a portion of the piece of artwork, and it looks/sounds like shit in its compressed/encoded format. Most artists go to great lengths to compile there albums in a coherent package. This includes all the songs, and the order in which chose them to be in, the art work, and the packaging. Downloading "singles" is great, but not for a music enthusiast, its more geared towards teeny boppers wanting to have the latest hit "single". Of course I am deliniating between artists (Wilco, Radiohead, Sigur Ros) and music business persons (Britney Spears, Linkin' Park, Emminem) So in summary... good for business, bad for art. Good for casual music consumers, bad for music enthusiaists.
which is exactly why you make it optional, if you are in fear of a nucler war, medical emergency, etc.. stay away fom the theaters that block signals. For those of us without electronic leashes, we will choose theaters that block cell signals. (By the way, i own a cell phone, and eat up well over 1000 min/month, but i have never felt the need to use it in a theater, or a restraunt, or in situations that will annoy others)
Theaters should take it upon themselves to block Cell phone signals. Clearly mark it, and even use it as marketing strategy. Sounds like after reading this board most people here would go to a theater that advertised this way. Anyone, such as doctors, who is on call can avoid these theaters when they have to and enjoy them when they aren't on call. In the Philadelphia area we have a chain of theaters that cater to a more mature audience, buy not allowing children in and showing more intelligent movies (i.e. nothing with Martin Lawrence in it) The audience is much more well behaved and respectful of each other. I drive an extra 10-15 min for this luxury. Maybe this is a solution.
I think this quote from the Devil's Dictionary describes this alliance best.
ALLIANCE, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.
I'd like to be the first current Comcast customer to welcome the ATT folks into the fold. Now grab you your ankles, this won't hurt a bit...
What you have to look forward to... data caps, no VPN, very strict usage laws, limited television programming, and the most ignorant and arrogant customer service to ever abuse the advantages of a monopoly.
Just pray that they don't buy up your favorite sports team, if they do you certainly won't be allowed to watch them on television. I haven't seen a Flyers or Sixers game this year because i refuse to buy Comcast Cable. They don't allow DirecTV to broacast the local sports teams either in the Philadelphia market... that's right the only place in the world that can't watch Philadelphia sports is Philadelphia... fantastic.
Just one suggestion... take a fork, and shove it in your eye, really it will hurt less, i promise.
I am a computer geek for sure, but probably a much bigger music geek. A lot of the articles on slashdot go over my head, but are interesting none the less. It's obvious though that you computer geeks are in over your heads when it comes to music. My list of music to buy is well over 500 albums long, and that doesn't include all the old LP's i need to get from Dylan, Stones, Velvet Underground (I am waiting till i am little older to take on that project) The point is there is 2 to 3 good to great albums released every Tuesday. I'll admit it takes time to find them, but it's a hobby. It's what being a geek is about... You don't buy your computers at Best Buy, etc... You scour the internet for reviews, specs, etc... and build your machines from the ground up. It takes time but at the end of the day you can sit back and laugh at all the people spending too much on crappy hardware. If you want to be a fan of music again (cause the mainstream certianly has little to offer) you'll have to be a "geek" about that too. No one webpage is going to to explain it all to you, it's hard work and that's what satisfying about it. good luck.
a boycott is not futile with/without the support of the masses. Perhaps it's highest goals could not be reached but the secondary goals are priceless... to quote myself...
"At the very least we discover great music and rediscover our love for music, we stop paying the "majors" exorbitant prices, we enjoy fair use of our property, we use the internet and filesharing to broaden our taste in music, we learn to support real artists by buying cd's, merch and concert tickets."
Do it for yourself
"Oh well." is NOT the attitude to be taken here. This is serious. We have to stop feeding the beast that is looking to destroy us. What I found most interesting about the letter quoted in this article was the the arrogance. We are doing this and you can't stop it, but here is the thing, we can, we absolutely can... we can bankrupt the "Music Industry" it's all within our power, we're the customers and we are always right, and it's time they learn that. Fuck the major labels. As everyone on these boards mentions, the music out there sucks and you couldn't be more right. Their music sucks, soon it'll be copy-protected but who the fuck cares, let the baby have it's bottle. We need to stop whining and realize we have power. Music is everywhere, in your own state alone you could find dozen's of independent label's putting out every kind/genre of music imaginable. It's time to support those labels and the artists under them. Those labels can't make their artists rich, but they take care of them, and they are fair. This is art, this isn't business and as a result the music is good and pure. My CD collection is now aproaching the 1000 mark, about 33% of those are from major labels, and in the past 2 years i'd say only 5% of the CD's i bought were from the "majors" I am very committed to this, and if others were too, music wouldnt' be suffering the way it is and the "majors" wouldn't have a leg to stand on. So lets quite whining, lets quit eating the shit they feed us, lets change their arrogance into fear. At the very least we discover great music and rediscover our love for music, we stop paying the "majors" exorbitant prices, we enjoy fair use of our property, we use the internet and filesharing to broaden our taste in music, we learn to support real artists by buying cd's, merch and concert tickets. Best case scenario though, we bankrupt this so called "Music Industry" There is nothing to lose.
He is completely right, and what's more, is you will still be hard pressed to find an audiofile that will give up his Vinyl for a new digital sampling of that perfect Vinyl sound. Perhaps for convience, but for audiofiles that isn't a factor. To listen to an album, is to experience it, even if it takes 15-20 min to set up. For me and other audiofiles... you'll have to pry the vinyl from cold dead fingers... analog forever!!!
Slashdot Mirror
Its no coincidence that the best music, the best news, the best entertainment is being delivered by non-profit and often times government subsidized companies. If libertarians insist on seeing taxation as coerision they must stop calling themselves libertarians and refer to themselves more accurately as anarchists. We live in a democracy so we chosen to be taxed, you are in minority therefore we pay the taxes we do. The majority of Americans see taxes as neccessary and beneficial. Most liberatarians speak as though we don't live in a democracy (minority ideas often do this as a defense mechanism) so when they say things like coercision it is just another way of saying people disagree with my point of view. In my opinion, this is fortunate, but libertarians are more than welcome to change public opinion. This will be a difficult task though, as no modern civilization has attempted a liberatarian government and as far as I know, no ancient civilization either. You have little to no support intellectually, even the father of modern Free Market Adam Smith will read like Karl Marx to the radical, idealistic, utopian libertarian thinkers of the Libertarian Party.
:) And let's be honest, even libertarians are secretly thankful for NPR because it is the best source of news and entertainment... even if it boils your blood that the free market has failed you.
That's the rant, but I will agree that we live in democratic deficit and that there is a real disconnect between public opinion and what the government is doing. In this case however, that is not the case. So 3 cheers for democracy... even if you disagree with where its taken us
"There wasn't an artist on that list that i would pay a dollar to listen to. If the RIAA and the music industry expects to make money, they need to sign up bands that do something new."
There was a handful of bands on that list whose labels are not represented by the RIAA, well at least one with out doing much research (The Postal Service). A good number of the other bands have been working hard for years with indie labels. They are not a product of market research... real musicians, real art. I was pleaseantly suprised to find at least 3 of my personal top 10 on the list.
"they need to sign up bands that do something new."
You'd be pleaseantly suprised if you listened to the albums on this list, there is some very new an inventive music there. My favorites from the list are The White Stripes, Radiohead, The Postal Service, Dizzy Rascal, The Rapture. Check them out, it'll be much more fun then complaining about the RIAA
Seems like you are buying from the wrong artists. I buy about 3-5 albums a week and there are very few throw away tracks from any of the albums I buy. I'd be sad to see the album format disappear, I'd rather the artists not capable of writing a full album's worth of good material would disappear.
God Bless you... here are a few more for your list:
o lyvinyl
Burnt Toast Vinyl
Sub Pop
Jade Tree
Tooth and Nail
Darla
Def Jux
Misra
Saddle Creek
Velvet Blue Music
File 13
Drag City
Nothern
Barsuk
Kindercore
V2
Anticon
P
Merge
Tiger Style
Deep Elm
Perfect Pop
Pias
Fat Cat
The best way to piss off the RIAA is to buy albums from these labels. Other added benefits... a world of music so great you'll swear you didn't know it was possible.
***warning: if you buy just one, you may end up a junkie like me. i tithe about 20% of my paycheck to my local record store***
Remember that RIAA only represents the top 1% of shitty music in America. The rest is free of their tyranny. You can support independent artists. For every average run of the mill band you hear on the radio there are a 100 indpendent artists that can pull off the sound much better. The labels that sign these bands take care of them as best they can (Lets face it they are all dirt poor). Its a good honest industry worthy of your support and you have everything to gain. Save money (concerts and CD's by these kinds or artists are normally under 12 bucks) support a starving artist directly, oh yeah... and enjoy music far better than the shit they feed you on the radio. Check out www.pitchforkmedia.com and www.insound.com. You'll fall in love with music again, and you won't think of stealing music again.
Of the 1000+ albums I own, I can't think of one i would sacrifice the album just to have a song or two off of it. Then again I don't buy albums from artists who can't right a whole album worth of good songs.
I'll be waiting for a service that will offer whole albums (cover art and liner notes included), with uncompressed audio, at a low price. Low price to me would be under 5 dollars (hell it means I have to burn it to a CD-R, use my ink and paper to print out the inserts and booklets)
And now that I think about it, thats some expenisve paper i would have to use, and a lot color ink. I'd still have to pay 10-50 cents per CD-R, maybe a little more to get a jewel case with it. Not to mention that a CD-R won't play in every CD player. Oh I completely forogt some of my favorite CD packaging are gatefold cardboard cases and digipack cases, I can't even begin to recreate those. Oh shit and the CD labels you stick on to CD-R's look horrible... You know what fuck it, i can't think of an online serivice I would use. I'll drive 5 min to my nearest CD store, enjoy some social interaction, and get a far superior product.
To each his own though, I suppose a service like this has its place. I am just nervous that we are placing convenience over quality...
The rebuttal to this of course is why complain, both options are available, but each step we take towards worshipping the god of Convenience is a step we can't take back. CD's rule the market now simply because of the convenience factor, and now we can't go back.
"unironic is the new ironic"
Vinyl records are not lossy recordings. Of course, you have to deal with dust, wear and tear. But nothing sounds better then a brand new album on vinyl. Of course here on Slashdot i'll be crucified for suggesting an analog format is superior to a digital one...
This is a great idea and i hope it succeeds, but it simply is not designed with real music fans in mind. I own over 1000 cds and buy about 2-3 albums a week, and this serivice doesn't appeal to me at all. Why ? Because discovering music isn't convenient, its hard work and that's what makes it rewarding. Downloading an mp3 of a song is like like cutting out a square inch of the Mona Lisa, and viewing it as a JPEG on your computer. Its only a portion of the piece of artwork, and it looks/sounds like shit in its compressed/encoded format. Most artists go to great lengths to compile there albums in a coherent package. This includes all the songs, and the order in which chose them to be in, the art work, and the packaging. Downloading "singles" is great, but not for a music enthusiast, its more geared towards teeny boppers wanting to have the latest hit "single". Of course I am deliniating between artists (Wilco, Radiohead, Sigur Ros) and music business persons (Britney Spears, Linkin' Park, Emminem) So in summary... good for business, bad for art. Good for casual music consumers, bad for music enthusiaists.
which is exactly why you make it optional, if you are in fear of a nucler war, medical emergency, etc.. stay away fom the theaters that block signals. For those of us without electronic leashes, we will choose theaters that block cell signals. (By the way, i own a cell phone, and eat up well over 1000 min/month, but i have never felt the need to use it in a theater, or a restraunt, or in situations that will annoy others)
Theaters should take it upon themselves to block Cell phone signals. Clearly mark it, and even use it as marketing strategy. Sounds like after reading this board most people here would go to a theater that advertised this way. Anyone, such as doctors, who is on call can avoid these theaters when they have to and enjoy them when they aren't on call. In the Philadelphia area we have a chain of theaters that cater to a more mature audience, buy not allowing children in and showing more intelligent movies (i.e. nothing with Martin Lawrence in it) The audience is much more well behaved and respectful of each other. I drive an extra 10-15 min for this luxury. Maybe this is a solution.
I think this quote from the Devil's Dictionary describes this alliance best.
ALLIANCE, n.
In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.
I'd like to be the first current Comcast customer to welcome the ATT folks into the fold. Now grab you your ankles, this won't hurt a bit...
What you have to look forward to... data caps, no VPN, very strict usage laws, limited television programming, and the most ignorant and arrogant customer service to ever abuse the advantages of a monopoly.
Just pray that they don't buy up your favorite sports team, if they do you certainly won't be allowed to watch them on television. I haven't seen a Flyers or Sixers game this year because i refuse to buy Comcast Cable. They don't allow DirecTV to broacast the local sports teams either in the Philadelphia market... that's right the only place in the world that can't watch Philadelphia sports is Philadelphia... fantastic.
Just one suggestion... take a fork, and shove it in your eye, really it will hurt less, i promise.
I am a computer geek for sure, but probably a much bigger music geek. A lot of the articles on slashdot go over my head, but are interesting none the less. It's obvious though that you computer geeks are in over your heads when it comes to music. My list of music to buy is well over 500 albums long, and that doesn't include all the old LP's i need to get from Dylan, Stones, Velvet Underground (I am waiting till i am little older to take on that project) The point is there is 2 to 3 good to great albums released every Tuesday. I'll admit it takes time to find them, but it's a hobby. It's what being a geek is about... You don't buy your computers at Best Buy, etc... You scour the internet for reviews, specs, etc... and build your machines from the ground up. It takes time but at the end of the day you can sit back and laugh at all the people spending too much on crappy hardware. If you want to be a fan of music again (cause the mainstream certianly has little to offer) you'll have to be a "geek" about that too. No one webpage is going to to explain it all to you, it's hard work and that's what satisfying about it. good luck.
a boycott is not futile with/without the support of the masses. Perhaps it's highest goals could not be reached but the secondary goals are priceless... to quote myself... "At the very least we discover great music and rediscover our love for music, we stop paying the "majors" exorbitant prices, we enjoy fair use of our property, we use the internet and filesharing to broaden our taste in music, we learn to support real artists by buying cd's, merch and concert tickets." Do it for yourself
"Oh well." is NOT the attitude to be taken here. This is serious. We have to stop feeding the beast that is looking to destroy us. What I found most interesting about the letter quoted in this article was the the arrogance. We are doing this and you can't stop it, but here is the thing, we can, we absolutely can... we can bankrupt the "Music Industry" it's all within our power, we're the customers and we are always right, and it's time they learn that. Fuck the major labels. As everyone on these boards mentions, the music out there sucks and you couldn't be more right. Their music sucks, soon it'll be copy-protected but who the fuck cares, let the baby have it's bottle. We need to stop whining and realize we have power. Music is everywhere, in your own state alone you could find dozen's of independent label's putting out every kind/genre of music imaginable. It's time to support those labels and the artists under them. Those labels can't make their artists rich, but they take care of them, and they are fair. This is art, this isn't business and as a result the music is good and pure. My CD collection is now aproaching the 1000 mark, about 33% of those are from major labels, and in the past 2 years i'd say only 5% of the CD's i bought were from the "majors" I am very committed to this, and if others were too, music wouldnt' be suffering the way it is and the "majors" wouldn't have a leg to stand on. So lets quite whining, lets quit eating the shit they feed us, lets change their arrogance into fear. At the very least we discover great music and rediscover our love for music, we stop paying the "majors" exorbitant prices, we enjoy fair use of our property, we use the internet and filesharing to broaden our taste in music, we learn to support real artists by buying cd's, merch and concert tickets. Best case scenario though, we bankrupt this so called "Music Industry" There is nothing to lose.
He is completely right, and what's more, is you will still be hard pressed to find an audiofile that will give up his Vinyl for a new digital sampling of that perfect Vinyl sound. Perhaps for convience, but for audiofiles that isn't a factor. To listen to an album, is to experience it, even if it takes 15-20 min to set up. For me and other audiofiles... you'll have to pry the vinyl from cold dead fingers... analog forever!!!
Blockbuster is slated to remove all VHS off their shelves by 2004