While this video isn't quite the Citizen Media and the Puplic Sphere rendition of auto-tune the news that I had hoped to produce, I think it still reflects some of the major piracy and copyright issues we discussed in class.
I have say, after weeks of research and trial and error, I have developed a new found respect for many of the mash-up artists on the web. Some of the projects online are serious undertakings that involve some pretty advanced techniques... One day I'll get there.
To make this video, I experimented with Final Cut Pro, GrageBand and a free ten day trial auto-tune program I found on the net.
With all the chatter circulating the web regarding the iPad and its travel friendly nature, I couldn’t help but also posit the question, will the iPad spark a man purse/satchel renaissance? In all seriousness, I was always pretty skeptical about the iPad’s fragility. Could it be safely stowed in a nap sack or an oversized tote without getting scratched or damaged? I suppose this answers my question.
The most severe and at times sadistic copyright lawsuits are the ones where the lives of ordinary internet users like you and I destroyed because they’ve been sued by organizations such as the RIAA for file sharing. Often times the culprits of these crimes are children. I must say, (and though I realize this must be the last thing on the minds of the parents who are burned with $80 000 for every Justin Bieper song their sweet little Susie downloaded) I applaud these kids for their deft work in challenging such a tyrannical and capitalistic system at such a young age.
So to put this in perspective, while outdated copyright law continues to ruin lives, lawsuits surrounding copyright have become simply business as usual for huge corporate powerhouses, such as the very messy one billion dollar debacle between YouTube and Viacom.
Just a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this article, which I thought made for some pretty juicy news.
Although the lawsuit ended two years ago, the wrath of YouTube (the web’s bandwidth cannibal of the decade) still lingers as Zahavah Levine, chief counsel for YouTube wrote on the YT blog:
“For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately "roughed up" the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko's to upload clips from computers that couldn't be traced to Viacom.”
So let me get this straight, not only did Google have to fork over an outrageously large sum of money as the result of their litigation with Viacom, but in the meantime Viacom was getting free YT advertising. Ouch!
Tis that time in the term when papers are due and exams are just around the corner. Every year is the same -- I date all my assignments in my WLUer and I create a fairly reasonable game plan for how and when I will complete every paper, plan every presentation and study for every test, while still keeping up on my readings. In theory, this should work no? Well even in my fourth (and a half) year the work load picks up right at the end of the term, despite my efforts to keep it at a minimum. I have no one to blame for this but... YouTube. It distracts me with hours upon hours of time suckage material that seems (at the time) so much more pressing than finishing my Philosophy paper.
Today I stumbled on a gem that I felt was worth sharing. If you are like me and you have never heard of Chat Roulette, because you find video chatting with complete strangers very creepy, then you will appreciate this video.
What I know about Chat Roulette is that it matches people up at random for a one on one chat discussion, and that it was invented by a 17 year old boy from Russia. What his purpose was for creating it, I don’t know, but I can only imagine that a site such as this probably attracts a whole slew of people, who don’t use it to converse about the weather if you know what I mean...
I can appreciate that when you talk to a webcam for everyone to see, you are facilitating communication among people on a mass scale, despite the geographic constraints that may divide you from the world. I can’t say however that I do it. I’m not a fan of video blogging or chatting with an unknown audience. Personally, I feel that not only is it a huge invasion of privacy, but it borders too closely with voyeurism and issues of surveillance. With that being said, I think that because I feel this way, I have a greater appreciation for Chat Roulette’s piano playing mystery man.
I think that what this guy is doing is genius and absolutely hilarious for the fallowing reasons: first, he outwardly makes fun of the chatters (in a very non-offensive and playful way) and the idea behind the site. As his antics disrupt the flow of the site, his behavior adds a kind of self-reflexivity to video chatting, because while he is doing something completely different than the rest of the folks participating, he is also confronting users with the reality that you will never know who or what to expect when you connect with perfect strangers on the net. Secondly, he is a phenomenal pianist who can make people laugh, not just at his clever wit but at themselves. Lastly, there is no doubting that this guy is not in fact Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five. I think it’s amazing that he is two separate celebrities, both in the offline and online world, one as Ben Folds and the other being the hooded practical joker/piano playing prodigy.
Orcs, night elves, a couple dragons, a 25-man guild raid... order some Domino’s and a bottomless cup of Jolt cola -- this is the perfect saturday evening. Well, unless you have a life and friends outside the realm of Azeroth.
This is the reality for 11.5 million World of Warcraft subscribers world wide. It wasn’t until I stumbled on this article that I realized what a huge cultural force this MMORPG is. While I’ve never played the game, I can’t help but be intrigued at the amount of attention it has garnered both on and offline.
What was once an unspoken guilty pleasure--like Zac Efron--is now a huge cultural phenomenon -- like Zac Efron. But, even Disney is jealous of Blizzard's cash cow. Selling 2.8 million copies on its release day, the latest expansion pack is the fastest selling game of all time.
Relative to its commercial success, Warcraft has been a well kept secret among the nerd community (and I say that in the most endearing way). It is worth noting that 1 in 5 WoW subscribers are female. Perhaps the largest appeal behind WoW (and most MMO games) is that it allows you to create a virtual persona that may differ from your real life counterpart.
This video from The Onion pokes fun at how eager players are to upgrade to the latest content release by Blizzard.
Behold... “The World of World of Warcraft”.
My favorite example is the South Park episode “Make Love not Warcraft”, which makes fun of the stereotypes and gaming culture itself.
What I find most interesting about these cultural critiques is that it seems as though the WoW community embraces this self deprecating humor. Its never been cooler to be a nerd.
Today iTunes announced that it hit its 10 billion mark for songs downloaded to date. As promised by their Countdown to 10 Billion Songs contest, the company gave a $10 000 iTunes gift card to the individual that downloaded “I Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash.
Mashup extarodinaire, producer and DJ, Brian Burton, (in)famously known by the self titled moniker, Dander Mouse is an artist with exceptional talent. His immediate yet unsuspecting success erupted when his music experiment, which was intend for him and his close friends, went viral and soon became an internet phenomenon.
Danger Mouse’s Grey Album is an ingenious collaboration that layers Jay-Z’s A Capella Black Album overtop instrumental tracks and George Harrison’s vocals off The Beatles' White Album.
While listeners celebrated DJ Danger Mouse’s creative mastery, EMI issued acease-and-desist order in attempts to squash the album for Burton’s unsolicited use of The Beatles music. By downloading and streaming his creation, fans and anti-copyright activists together challenged archaic copyright law on what was known as Grey Tuesday (exactly six years ago today).
Since the release of the Grey Album, Danger Mouse has embarked on many music projects which have been tremendously successful. I can’t help but fallow his musical endeavors-- album after album Danger Mouse will not disappoint. In fact, within the last couple of years he has produced some of my faveourite musical masterpieces including his most recent collaboration project Broken Bells, with The Shins’ James Mercer. He has also produced Beck’s Modern Guilt, Gnarls Barkley and Gorilaz’s Demon Days (a little ironic, seeing as how their manager is admittedly adverse to P2P sharing).
Even after years of his debacle with copyright law and the corporations that lobbied them, Danger Mouse still preservers. Some have even suggested that EMI has repudiated their animosity towards the Grey Album so that they can continue to harpoon other re-mixers and further clamp down on creativity.
Last year Danger Mouse teamed up with Sparklehorse and David Lynch, on one of his most impressive collaboration projects called Dark Night of the Soul, which featured a wealth of musical talent including, Iggy Pop, The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas and The Flaming Lips. Nonetheless, his rift with EMI still managed to impede the release of his personally funded project. Instead of allowing the album to falter however, listeners were encouraged to buy a blank CD-R that came with a 100+ page book adorned with Lynch’s photographs.
“All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will,’ ” a spokesperson for Danger Mouse said. “Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI.”
"All copies will be clearly labelled: 'For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.'"
-Billboard Magazine
If we can learn anything from Danger Mouse and his ongoing dispute with EMI, it is that creativity should not be stifled by copyright law. It is about time the music industry reshapes their corporate structure to include and embrace this paradigm shift that is the internet and a thriving re-mix culture.
