Danger Mouse created very unique and original art with his mash-up of Jay-Z's black album with The Beatle's White Album. The bits from the Beatles album were mostly micro-sampled, and not the very recognizable 16-bar phrases like the one in question here.
The entire song "Do It" is built around the first 16 bars of Tempest's Acid Jazzed Evening. A full 16 bars is sampled note for note, including the unmistakeable C-64 arpegios, typical of "oldskool" chip music. The original music appears in the song, the arpegios panned left, and the original melody, note-for-note, panned to the right. The vocal melody is a variation of the original melody.
This is a case where Timbaland took the first 16 bars of a jazzy, obscure chip song, and developed a pop song around them. I actually like what he did with it, but he didn't give credit where credit is clearly due. Danger Mouse didn't try to hide the fact that he used samples from Beatle's songs. He clearly didn't try to hide the Jay-Z vocals, either. The title of the album refers to both. There is a clear difference.
Had Timbaland given credit to the composer, this controversy would not exist.
"Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has criticized the computers' design, including its lack of a hard disk drive -- though many people in the tech world believed he was more irked by the laptops' use of Linux, the free, open-source system that competes with Gates' proprietary Windows systems."
I tend to agree that a really functional computer needs a hard disk.
"Intel executives, meanwhile, have suggested that Negroponte's laptop is a mere gadget that will lack too many PC functions. Last week, Intel announced its own plans to sell an inexpensive desktop PC for beginners in developing countries."
Probably true, as well.
On the other hand, the specifications will obviously mature as the project continues. The concept itself is very admirable.
The change of rules was in response to the increased number of songs doing very well as digital downloads, without a corresponding physical album. It's important, because it's one of the early signs that indicate that the decline in physical sales is due, in large part, to the increase in digital sales. It's an important milestone in a rapidly changing market.
Chip tunes and demo music are a curious tangent, rather than the elephant standing in the room, as was the case with my comment. I'm as big a fan of chip as the next guy, but it's really a bit irrelevant to the current discussion, isn't it?
* Clean design
* Clear workflow
* Easy access to common features
* Wow factor (note that it's last on the list)
More screenshots is better, particularly if we're talking about a large download, or a big application. A walk-thru tutorial of a typical use-case is even better.
There are thousands of indie labels flourishing in online marketplaces like CD Baby and Beatport, selling digital music without DRM. A lot of the bigger labels are just trying desparately to preserve the status quo long enough for them to get their bearings and remain competitive. I don't think it's working.
Exactly my point. It's really a whole different ball-game now. I've been playing ball with a bunch of indie labels and artists, and we're achieving some pretty stunning distribution numbers. Some of the top features on my MP3 blog have been downloaded over 60,000 times each. My own music had a quarter-million downloads last month -- and this is for electronic music, where 10,000 record sales is considered a hit.
My friends in Taxi Doll are just an indie group going it alone (as of this writing), and they've managed to got their music into films staring J-Lo and Harrison Ford. They're taking advantage of digital distribution and free downloads to help them get the word out, and they've got plans to expand the strategy in the future.
Why are people still talking about the music industry like it's 1997? Whole genres have broken off from the major outlets, and started hacking it alone. There are tons of indies on sites like Beatport and CD Baby selling digital downloads and CDs with no DRM. Imagine that -- music producers giving people what they want, rather than force feeding them crippled songs.
There's a huge undercurrent in the music industry right now, and the storm is brewing. The old industry is a sinking ship. Some of us have been saying it for years, but the day of reckoning is coming quickly, now.
This story isn't complete without mentioning MP3 blogs and netlabels. Millions of songs were downloaded last week from the tens of thousands of MP3 blogs and netlabels dishing out free music from mostly non-commercial websites. A quick look at a few of the best ones will reveal that a lot of the music being served up is top quality.
"It's time to drop out of school, quit your job, divorce your spouse, disown your children, cancel your gym membership, upgrade your PC, and clear out your schedule for World of Starcraft."
Sounds about right to me.;)
Sure, and that's not the only really cool thing he's done, but he's done a lot of really bad things -- not little mistakes, like voting down an okay idea, but really big mistakes, like draft or co-sponsor legislation that has had a tremendously negative impact on the economy, and the availability of creative works -- arguably, some of societies greatest assets. Bottom line: He's screwed us many times in many awkward ways, and we need to get him out of office before it gets worse.
He is an eloquent, level-headed speaker. He is good at debate. He is a very smart man -- and all of those things make him very dangerous, because he's frequently on the wrong side of the debates -- typically as a champion.
Back and forth doesn't bother me. It was a bit strange for a week or so, but once you get good, it's like knowing another language. Do I sometimes forget which layout I'm using and make a quick typo? Sure, but probably less often than you make typos on that ridiculous QWERTY layout.
Your biggest danger is that you'll realize just how bad QWERTY really is.
I switched to Dvorak a long time ago. At the time, I was suffering from fairly severe wrist pain. You see, I am a piano player, and a computer nerd, and a guitarist, and a bass player, and I occasionally practice them all obsessively.
When I switched to Dvorak, I was typing about 90 WPM on QWERTY, after years of typing classes, and quite a bit of chatting (BBS and then IRC).
Within two weeks, I was up to about 100 WPM, and last time I checked, my top speed clocked in around 120 WPM.
As for the wrist pain, it vanished after a few weeks on Dvorak, and only returns when I play the piano for 12 hours at a sitting (which happens, sometimes).
I think that the Chinese government is doing a remarkable job at making the people believe that their government is really much kinder to them than it really is. I've had Chinese people accuse me of being crazy because I like to have the freedom to bad-mouth my government if it needs bad-mouthing.
The best slaves are the ones who think they're free -- and yes, that was a bit of irony. The Chinese government does not have a monopoly on oppressive policy.
I'm going to buy a powerbook. Why? Because it has the best damned OS on the planet - a great UI (with solid OO design) on top of a great OS... It has absolutely nothing to do with iPod.
On the PC, you can get an OK desktop, OR a great OS, but not both in the same package (sorry, Linux fans... the desktops STILL suck, and it still sucks trying to get everything to play nice, and no, my favorite software STILL doesn't run on Linux, and no, I'm not going to switch to a lame-ass alternative... especially since my favorite software DOES work with all my hardware on OS X).
It's all about good software running on a good OS, playing nice with my good hardware that isn't supported on Linux (even though I've complained to the manufacturers).
In this case, the page is highly relevant, and the links are being placed by website owners on their own websites, rather than spammed to comment pages and referrer logs by automated spambots.
There's a big difference.
I agree with the tone of that article. I think this ruling is very bad, for some very good reasons:
A person living outside the United States should not need to worry about US laws -- just as citizens of the United States don't have to worry about China's laws. This sort of thing sets a very scary precident for international law in general.
The warez industry provides a very valuable service. I certainly would never shell out cash for expensive software I have never tried. I have never purchased a piece of software I didn't try first -- from Comander Keen, to Photoshop -- try before you buy rules.
Some software comes with really annoying copy protection that seems to punish people who purchase a license. I HATE dongles. They often don't work correctly and the copy protection causes weird problems. Warez versions have come to my rescue on numerous occaisions. In short, cracking should not be a crime.
I would have demanded my money back for several software packages if a warez version didn't fix the problems with copy protection. The software industry should be kissing this guy's ass, not putting him in jail.
I'd like to see the same story aproach done for closed source projects. Since the focus here was on open source, specifically, it wasn't really well balanced, and it didn't tell us anything new. Anybody who's browsed sourceforge could have told you that open source development has its share of problems.
The real question is whether or not closed source projects are all that better off.
I agree with you, of course, hense the title of my post, but most open-source projects lack strong leadership, and several have forked for various reasons and produced competing formats, API's, etc...
You can look at it as an interoperability problem (which it can be), or productive competition, which can encourage innovation.
There are a lot of issues with open source software, but he's really not one to talk on issues of interoperability. Nothing to see here, really. The article doesn't go into much depth.
..."open source development approach encourages the creation of many permutations of the same type of software application, which could add implementation and testing overhead to interoperability efforts," Gates wrote
Partially true, of course, but I haven't actually seen it cause many interoperability problems...
Slashdot Mirror
Danger Mouse created very unique and original art with his mash-up of Jay-Z's black album with The Beatle's White Album. The bits from the Beatles album were mostly micro-sampled, and not the very recognizable 16-bar phrases like the one in question here. The entire song "Do It" is built around the first 16 bars of Tempest's Acid Jazzed Evening. A full 16 bars is sampled note for note, including the unmistakeable C-64 arpegios, typical of "oldskool" chip music. The original music appears in the song, the arpegios panned left, and the original melody, note-for-note, panned to the right. The vocal melody is a variation of the original melody. This is a case where Timbaland took the first 16 bars of a jazzy, obscure chip song, and developed a pop song around them. I actually like what he did with it, but he didn't give credit where credit is clearly due. Danger Mouse didn't try to hide the fact that he used samples from Beatle's songs. He clearly didn't try to hide the Jay-Z vocals, either. The title of the album refers to both. There is a clear difference. Had Timbaland given credit to the composer, this controversy would not exist.
That patent will not stand up in court. He OSS project qualifies as prior art!
Perhaps I still don't get it, but didn't public key encryption solve this problem years ago?
"Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has criticized the computers' design, including its lack of a hard disk drive -- though many people in the tech world believed he was more irked by the laptops' use of Linux, the free, open-source system that competes with Gates' proprietary Windows systems." I tend to agree that a really functional computer needs a hard disk. "Intel executives, meanwhile, have suggested that Negroponte's laptop is a mere gadget that will lack too many PC functions. Last week, Intel announced its own plans to sell an inexpensive desktop PC for beginners in developing countries." Probably true, as well. On the other hand, the specifications will obviously mature as the project continues. The concept itself is very admirable.
The change of rules was in response to the increased number of songs doing very well as digital downloads, without a corresponding physical album. It's important, because it's one of the early signs that indicate that the decline in physical sales is due, in large part, to the increase in digital sales. It's an important milestone in a rapidly changing market.
Chip tunes and demo music are a curious tangent, rather than the elephant standing in the room, as was the case with my comment. I'm as big a fan of chip as the next guy, but it's really a bit irrelevant to the current discussion, isn't it?
* Clean design * Clear workflow * Easy access to common features * Wow factor (note that it's last on the list) More screenshots is better, particularly if we're talking about a large download, or a big application. A walk-thru tutorial of a typical use-case is even better.
There are thousands of indie labels flourishing in online marketplaces like CD Baby and Beatport, selling digital music without DRM. A lot of the bigger labels are just trying desparately to preserve the status quo long enough for them to get their bearings and remain competitive. I don't think it's working.
Exactly my point. It's really a whole different ball-game now. I've been playing ball with a bunch of indie labels and artists, and we're achieving some pretty stunning distribution numbers. Some of the top features on my MP3 blog have been downloaded over 60,000 times each. My own music had a quarter-million downloads last month -- and this is for electronic music, where 10,000 record sales is considered a hit.
My friends in Taxi Doll are just an indie group going it alone (as of this writing), and they've managed to got their music into films staring J-Lo and Harrison Ford. They're taking advantage of digital distribution and free downloads to help them get the word out, and they've got plans to expand the strategy in the future.
Why are people still talking about the music industry like it's 1997? Whole genres have broken off from the major outlets, and started hacking it alone. There are tons of indies on sites like Beatport and CD Baby selling digital downloads and CDs with no DRM. Imagine that -- music producers giving people what they want, rather than force feeding them crippled songs.
There's a huge undercurrent in the music industry right now, and the storm is brewing. The old industry is a sinking ship. Some of us have been saying it for years, but the day of reckoning is coming quickly, now.
This story isn't complete without mentioning MP3 blogs and netlabels. Millions of songs were downloaded last week from the tens of thousands of MP3 blogs and netlabels dishing out free music from mostly non-commercial websites. A quick look at a few of the best ones will reveal that a lot of the music being served up is top quality.
- 3Hive
- Gorilla vs Bear
- Clever Titles are so Last Summer
- Music for Robots
Enjoy some free music.And if that didn't do it.. the BurgerCraft thing would have sunk it home, right?
"It's time to drop out of school, quit your job, divorce your spouse, disown your children, cancel your gym membership, upgrade your PC, and clear out your schedule for World of Starcraft." Sounds about right to me. ;)
Did you look at the photos? I love the big OBEY commandment. ;)
Finally! A serious article. I totally agree with this concept. I'm going to buy real shoes tomorrow!
I feel your pain. Especially with the pink borders staring me in the face. Argh!
So, urm. Quality filtering is completely turned off today? =)
Sure, and that's not the only really cool thing he's done, but he's done a lot of really bad things -- not little mistakes, like voting down an okay idea, but really big mistakes, like draft or co-sponsor legislation that has had a tremendously negative impact on the economy, and the availability of creative works -- arguably, some of societies greatest assets. Bottom line: He's screwed us many times in many awkward ways, and we need to get him out of office before it gets worse.
He is an eloquent, level-headed speaker. He is good at debate. He is a very smart man -- and all of those things make him very dangerous, because he's frequently on the wrong side of the debates -- typically as a champion.
Back and forth doesn't bother me. It was a bit strange for a week or so, but once you get good, it's like knowing another language. Do I sometimes forget which layout I'm using and make a quick typo? Sure, but probably less often than you make typos on that ridiculous QWERTY layout.
Your biggest danger is that you'll realize just how bad QWERTY really is.
I switched to Dvorak a long time ago. At the time, I was suffering from fairly severe wrist pain. You see, I am a piano player, and a computer nerd, and a guitarist, and a bass player, and I occasionally practice them all obsessively.
When I switched to Dvorak, I was typing about 90 WPM on QWERTY, after years of typing classes, and quite a bit of chatting (BBS and then IRC).
Within two weeks, I was up to about 100 WPM, and last time I checked, my top speed clocked in around 120 WPM.
As for the wrist pain, it vanished after a few weeks on Dvorak, and only returns when I play the piano for 12 hours at a sitting (which happens, sometimes).
I think that the Chinese government is doing a remarkable job at making the people believe that their government is really much kinder to them than it really is. I've had Chinese people accuse me of being crazy because I like to have the freedom to bad-mouth my government if it needs bad-mouthing.
The best slaves are the ones who think they're free -- and yes, that was a bit of irony. The Chinese government does not have a monopoly on oppressive policy.
I'm going to buy a powerbook. Why? Because it has the best damned OS on the planet - a great UI (with solid OO design) on top of a great OS... It has absolutely nothing to do with iPod.
On the PC, you can get an OK desktop, OR a great OS, but not both in the same package (sorry, Linux fans... the desktops STILL suck, and it still sucks trying to get everything to play nice, and no, my favorite software STILL doesn't run on Linux, and no, I'm not going to switch to a lame-ass alternative... especially since my favorite software DOES work with all my hardware on OS X).
It's all about good software running on a good OS, playing nice with my good hardware that isn't supported on Linux (even though I've complained to the manufacturers).
- Eric
In this case, the page is highly relevant, and the links are being placed by website owners on their own websites, rather than spammed to comment pages and referrer logs by automated spambots. There's a big difference.
I agree with the tone of that article. I think this ruling is very bad, for some very good reasons:
I would have demanded my money back for several software packages if a warez version didn't fix the problems with copy protection. The software industry should be kissing this guy's ass, not putting him in jail.
I'd like to see the same story aproach done for closed source projects. Since the focus here was on open source, specifically, it wasn't really well balanced, and it didn't tell us anything new. Anybody who's browsed sourceforge could have told you that open source development has its share of problems.
The real question is whether or not closed source projects are all that better off.
I agree with you, of course, hense the title of my post, but most open-source projects lack strong leadership, and several have forked for various reasons and produced competing formats, API's, etc...
You can look at it as an interoperability problem (which it can be), or productive competition, which can encourage innovation.
There are a lot of issues with open source software, but he's really not one to talk on issues of interoperability. Nothing to see here, really. The article doesn't go into much depth.
Partially true, of course, but I haven't actually seen it cause many interoperability problems...