This may be a little off topic, but there is another case of one guy "ripping off" someone else's song that has me intrigued to this day:
There is this rap-musician, who goes by the name of "Schoolly D". He took a bit of Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" (the essential bit, to be precise) and made a new song out of it, "Signifying Rapper", a tongue-not-so-much-in cheek story about a "rapper" and a "pimp"; loud, dirty social commentary.
The song was used by Director Abel Ferrara in his film "Bad Lieutenant", it accompanied some crucial scenes and became an integral part of Ferrara's work (quite some social commentary in itself).
Page/Zeppelin, having not been asked for permision, eventually decided to sue, and Ferrara/Schoolly D (unwilling or unable to fight a major legal battle) removed "Signifying Rapper" from any subsequent releases of the film (e.g.: you can't get the "original" version on DVD).
What I'd like to know: Would Ferrara/Schoolly D have had a leg to stand on, had they chosen to fight this case ("1st Amendment" or somesuch)? And if not - why not?
a.c.
P.S.: Half a decade later the song turns up again (or at least that crucial bit) --- in/for Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla", re-interpreted, heavily re-mixed (and probably well-paid for) by one "Puff Daddy"... so apparently there weren't even any artistic qualms about the re-appropriation of the song in a pop/rap/hiphop-context. Abel Ferrara had some choice words to say about the incident in an interview:
"Oh, yeah. I'll strangle that cocksucker Jimmy Page. As if every fucking lick that guy ever played didn't come off a Robert Johnson album. "Signifying Rapper" was out for five years, and there wasn't a problem. Then the film had already been out for two years and they start bitching about it. And these pricks, when their attorneys are on the job, our guys are afraid to come out of their office. You're not gonna fight their fucking warriors, you know what I mean? Can you imagine, this was down at a federal court in New York, with a 70-year-old judge, and they're playing Schoolly D and Led Zeppelin to the guy? It cost Schoolly like $50,000. It was a nightmare. And meanwhile, "Signifying Rapper" is 50 million times better than "Kashmir" ever thought of being. And then, this prick [Page] turns around with Puff Daddy and redoes it for the Godzilla soundtrack. Here's Puff Daddy, where every other song this boy sang was King Of New York this and King Of New York that. And I would never even fucking think of suing these guys. Why sue? You should be happy that somebody is paying homage to your work."
What is that "e-mail" that you speak of? And who needs it anyway? We're perfectly happy with TELEX-messages (link), thank you very much; in fact we can even send "Multimedia" (RING-A-DING-DING) with just one byte!
OK, I kid, I kid...
Of course I don't like (or deem necessary) "rich" or "HTML"-mail either, yet it's here, it's here to stay, and we have to deal with it. So I'm happy for any Mail-Client that's able to properly display "designed" e-mail (without choking or getting infections), and (obviously) for anyone who can properly "design" such an e-mail (ie: make it look interesting without being completely obnoxious).
Lrr just called from a very, veryclose vicinity (adjacent to a place) and he decidedly wants to know what happened to the single female lawyer and her compellingly short garment.
"...everything migrates seamlessly while I go for coffee and a bagel."
Ah, that's where you're hiding the big Mac-Disadvantage:
The "Migration", obviously, is usually over before you're half done with your Bagel. So what do you do now? Cheat on your employer's time, just finishing off that Bagel, or finish off that Bagel while griping about your work overload (you are a SysAdmin, right?).
There was that one time I built a machine that could propel cats to the moon. It almost worked, too.
<Wernstrom>
Ah-haaa... I've got you beat there: I built a device that puts a cat in the state of being on the moon or not being on the moon --- but you won't know until you look... NO! Don't look!... aw shucks. Well, at least I've got tenure.
A cheap condom was probably what caused Mr. G. in the first place. Oh if only his parents had gone for a slightly more expensive (and more reliable) condom... what a load of bullshit or world would habe been spared of.
rounding the edges where your wrists tend to rest wouldn't get a "no" vote from me either
Seconded.
There have been a few questionable decisions on design vs. ergonomy by Apple / J. Ive (Puck-Mouse anyone?), but none that has left me so completely baffeled as the sharp edges on the new MacBooks. It's really, really annoying when your hands rest lower than the MacBook, for example if you're using your laptop on... your lap.
I've had my MacBook for 6 weeks now and I absolutely love it, but I'll really have to sandpaper the edges. If that doesn't work it's Duct Tape Time (well... not really. Though it could look kinda cool...;)
No, no, no he's right. Don't you remember Khafka? That dorky looking kid in Accounts... always got his tentacles stuck in the keyboard? At on point he actually called in sick, claiming -- get this -- he had "turned into a bug". How we laughed!
We had the same thing happen in Arizona a while ago--the guy voted for himself, and his wife voted for him too. Final count: Zero.
Could you please back this up with a link to a newspaper article or some other traceable source of information? I'm not disputing that this happened, yet I'm definitely not taking your statement at face value.
I'd have modded you "insightful" since it appears that with the appointment of the new Sec. of Defense the "elders" (from the reign of GHW Bush) have a say again in this administration.
Say what you will 'bout ole Cthulu -- he sure can't be beaten.
Also, Exposé runs fine on a 1.33 GHz G4 with 32 MB VRAM (although most OS X eye candy like 64 MB VRAM), while Flip 3D will require 64MB or, more likely, 128MB VRAM.
In fact it even works fine on an iBook with 640 MB RAM, 600 MHz-G3-processor an 8 MB V-RAM. Personal experience -- it's the machine I'm typing this on right now.:)
OS X eye candy is subtile while Windows is flashy. It is like a a man in a nice suit vs. a Pimp.
Which has me kinda wondering about the latest Apple-commercials. Make no mistake -- I'm as true an Apple-Fangirl as they come, but I really like the nice guy in the suit and that twerp in the dungarees totally creeps me out. But then I alredy own lots of Macs, so these commercials probably (hopefully) aren't targeted at me.
[...] The 7-year old G4 still runs all the day-to-day software I use regularly just fine.
I absolutely second that.
Even with a G4/400 PowerPC processor and an abysmally ancient 16MB-graphic card my Mac's performance is extremely pleasing (considering the hardware specs) (I have 1 Gig of RAM installed, of course).
Apart from the gripes with the Finder you already mentioned OS X gave me an amount of stability and even eye-candy I had not thought possible when I bought the machine in 2000.
What I particularly like: it's not "full eye-candy" or "none", rather OS X reasonably scales down the eye-candy to what your machine can support; e.g.: you will always have transparency and shaded windows, but might miss out on water-ripple- or flip-effects if your GPU is too weak.
My general impression on my path from Mac OS X 10.2 to 10.4 is: increased usability and speed with each revision on the same hardware-- and usually even some more eye-candy to boot. What's not to like about that?
But is it going to far when you say those itunes you bought can only be played in pristine quality on an ipod? What if you opt for the zune? or if you change to a oss os? Would you want to leave your itunes behind and say "oh well, I'm not allowed to listen to those anymore"?
Well, there's a difference between inconvenient and illegal:
When you (legally) burn your DRM-protected AAC-tracks to an Audio-CD (from within iTunes) they are converted (without loss) to AIFF-files. Still "pristine" (i.e.: there is no further degradation from the original compression). You can now (legally) convert the AIFF-file to any other (lossless) audio-format, whatever yor player (Zune or what have you) supports. Sure, it's a shlepp, but you're absolutely allowed to do this.
Now compare this to ripping a DVD: You could do something similar, but that would actually be illegal.
So (to reiterate): it's not true that you're "not allowed to listen to those [songs anywhere else]" . It's inconvenient, but not illegal.
Two reasons.
One: we love new iPods.
Two: Apple nearly wrote the book on this sort of marketing technique, and we still love to fall for it every single time.
I propose THREE:
Because - nerd or not - most of us like shiny and/or slick. And Apple usually delivers on both. Whether you'd want to use the new devices/software or not: It's always interesting to see what Apple has come up with, no matter if you want to bash, buy or lick their new stuff.
According to need I usually have an encrypted Mac Diskimage (.dmg) of varying size on my FAT16-formatted USB-Thumbdrives. Thus I can easily transfer data (including any Mac meta-data) safely between Macs, as well as (not quite so safely) anything from most any other PC (as long as they support USB).
Since I mostly transfer sensitive data between Macs the.dmg is about the only "utility" I have on my USB-Sticks.
Slashdot Mirror
There is this rap-musician, who goes by the name of "Schoolly D". He took a bit of Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" (the essential bit, to be precise) and made a new song out of it, "Signifying Rapper" , a tongue-not-so-much-in cheek story about a "rapper" and a "pimp"; loud, dirty social commentary.
The song was used by Director Abel Ferrara in his film "Bad Lieutenant", it accompanied some crucial scenes and became an integral part of Ferrara's work (quite some social commentary in itself).
Page/Zeppelin, having not been asked for permision, eventually decided to sue, and Ferrara/Schoolly D (unwilling or unable to fight a major legal battle) removed "Signifying Rapper" from any subsequent releases of the film (e.g.: you can't get the "original" version on DVD).
What I'd like to know: Would Ferrara/Schoolly D have had a leg to stand on, had they chosen to fight this case ("1st Amendment" or somesuch)? And if not - why not?
a.c.
P.S.: Half a decade later the song turns up again (or at least that crucial bit) --- in/for Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla", re-interpreted, heavily re-mixed (and probably well-paid for) by one "Puff Daddy"... so apparently there weren't even any artistic qualms about the re-appropriation of the song in a pop/rap/hiphop-context. Abel Ferrara had some choice words to say about the incident in an interview:
What is that "e-mail" that you speak of? And who needs it anyway? We're perfectly happy with TELEX-messages (link), thank you very much; in fact we can even send "Multimedia" (RING-A-DING-DING) with just one byte!
OK, I kid, I kid...
Of course I don't like (or deem necessary) "rich" or "HTML"-mail either, yet it's here, it's here to stay, and we have to deal with it. So I'm happy for any Mail-Client that's able to properly display "designed" e-mail (without choking or getting infections), and (obviously) for anyone who can properly "design" such an e-mail (ie: make it look interesting without being completely obnoxious).
rattatta...rattatta...rattta...rattatta... RING-A-DING-DING-DING-DING-DING... rattata.
Lrr just called from a very, very close vicinity (adjacent to a place) and he decidedly wants to know what happened to the single female lawyer and her compellingly short garment.
"...everything migrates seamlessly while I go for coffee and a bagel."
Ah, that's where you're hiding the big Mac-Disadvantage:
The "Migration", obviously, is usually over before you're half done with your Bagel. So what do you do now? Cheat on your employer's time, just finishing off that Bagel, or finish off that Bagel while griping about your work overload (you are a SysAdmin, right?).
;)
Now, I don't know about obscene, but this proposal does sound a little kinky to me...
;)
Ah-haaa
A cheap condom was probably what caused Mr. G. in the first place. Oh if only his parents had gone for a slightly more expensive (and more reliable) condom... what a load of bullshit or world would habe been spared of.
There have been a few questionable decisions on design vs. ergonomy by Apple / J. Ive (Puck-Mouse anyone?), but none that has left me so completely baffeled as the sharp edges on the new MacBooks. It's really, really annoying when your hands rest lower than the MacBook, for example if you're using your laptop on... your lap.
I've had my MacBook for 6 weeks now and I absolutely love it, but I'll really have to sandpaper the edges. If that doesn't work it's Duct Tape Time (well... not really. Though it could look kinda cool...
No, no, no he's right. Don't you remember Khafka? That dorky looking kid in Accounts... always got his tentacles stuck in the keyboard? At on point he actually called in sick, claiming -- get this -- he had "turned into a bug". How we laughed!
His father seemed to be a nice guy, though.
I'm not disputing that this happened, yet I'm definitely not taking your statement at face value.
I'd have modded you "insightful" since it appears that with the appointment of the new Sec. of Defense the "elders" (from the reign of GHW Bush) have a say again in this administration.
Say what you will 'bout ole Cthulu -- he sure can't be beaten.
I happen to be brown, you insensitive clod!
Make no mistake -- I'm as true an Apple-Fangirl as they come, but I really like the nice guy in the suit and that twerp in the dungarees totally creeps me out. But then I alredy own lots of Macs, so these commercials probably (hopefully) aren't targeted at me.
Even with a G4/400 PowerPC processor and an abysmally ancient 16MB-graphic card my Mac's performance is extremely pleasing (considering the hardware specs) (I have 1 Gig of RAM installed, of course).
Apart from the gripes with the Finder you already mentioned OS X gave me an amount of stability and even eye-candy I had not thought possible when I bought the machine in 2000.
What I particularly like: it's not "full eye-candy" or "none", rather OS X reasonably scales down the eye-candy to what your machine can support; e.g.: you will always have transparency and shaded windows, but might miss out on water-ripple- or flip-effects if your GPU is too weak.
My general impression on my path from Mac OS X 10.2 to 10.4 is: increased usability and speed with each revision on the same hardware-- and usually even some more eye-candy to boot. What's not to like about that?
... ok, sorry.
You misspelled "pelvis".
;)
But is it going to far when you say those itunes you bought can only be played in pristine quality on an ipod? What if you opt for the zune? or if you change to a oss os? Would you want to leave your itunes behind and say "oh well, I'm not allowed to listen to those anymore"?
:
.
Well, there's a difference between inconvenient and illegal
When you (legally) burn your DRM-protected AAC-tracks to an Audio-CD (from within iTunes) they are converted (without loss) to AIFF-files. Still "pristine" (i.e.: there is no further degradation from the original compression). You can now (legally) convert the AIFF-file to any other (lossless) audio-format, whatever yor player (Zune or what have you) supports. Sure, it's a shlepp, but you're absolutely allowed to do this.
Now compare this to ripping a DVD: You could do something similar, but that would actually be illegal
So (to reiterate): it's not true that you're "not allowed to listen to those [songs anywhere else]" . It's inconvenient, but not illegal.
Two reasons.
One: we love new iPods.
Two: Apple nearly wrote the book on this sort of marketing technique, and we still love to fall for it every single time.
I propose THREE:
Because - nerd or not - most of us like shiny and/or slick. And Apple usually delivers on both. Whether you'd want to use the new devices/software or not: It's always interesting to see what Apple has come up with, no matter if you want to bash, buy or lick their new stuff.
(But please don't eat Shuffle!)
"... they passed laws forbidding the use of electrical small personnel vehicles,..."
.... oops. Sorry.
*Must* *not* *make* *Brazil* *reference*...*must* *not* *make* *Brazil*
;)
Let me guess: your ex is 32 and fat?
According to need I usually have an encrypted Mac Diskimage (.dmg) of varying size on my FAT16-formatted USB-Thumbdrives. Thus I can easily transfer data (including any Mac meta-data) safely between Macs, as well as (not quite so safely) anything from most any other PC (as long as they support USB).
.dmg is about the only "utility" I have on my USB-Sticks.
Since I mostly transfer sensitive data between Macs the
"I've always wondered what they're going to call the updates when they run out of big, dangerous cats"
Snakes? Snakes on a platform?
(OK, agreed, that joke is so dead it should actually trigger the Slashdot-Lameness-Filter)
"And I am the Jackson Pollack of data! They don't let me near the spreadsheets much anymore though...."
But your scatterplots were awesome!