Throbbing Gristle Member’s New Project Threshold HouseBoys Choir Added to Already Stone-Cold Awesome Brainwaves Festival Lineup; Kranky Celebrates 15th Anniversary
By Liz Louche on Oct 3 2008
Have you been lacking in your daily dose of music with heavy thuds, endless loops of unnerving screams, and loads and loads of discordant tones? Your clock radio alarm going off to Einsturzende Neubauten just not cutting it anymore? Well, you're in luck, because you can get more experimental, avant-garde, and just plain off-the-beaten path GOOD music at this fall's Brainwaves festival in Boston, MA.
Tickets for the entire weekend of November 21-23 are only $75 a pop and guarantee a couple blissful days of forward-thinking music, not all of which would inspire a Sarah Palin-esque anti-witch ceremony, but if that's your thing, hey there's that aplenty! There's also eerie minimalist songsters like Marissa Nadler and Rivulets and oscillator luminaries like Silver Apples. The proverbial cherry on top of the lineup is the recent unveiling of Throbbing Gristle (and Psychic TV, Coil, annnnnd SoiSong) member Peter Christopherson's Threshold HouseBoys Choir to the roster.
Lo and behold -- a complete listing of all participating artists, who will be rocking Boston's Regent Theatre for one magical weekend (including a special day in honor of the Kranky label's 15th anniversary. Happy birthday guys! Let the driver's permit jokes begin!):
Threshold HouseBoys Choir, Silver Apples, JG Thirlwell's Manorexia, Meat Beat Manifesto, Matmos, Stars of the Lid, Marissa Nadler, Little Annie, Windy Weber (of Windy & Carl) & Thomas Meluch (of Benoit Pioulard), Major Stars, Reformed Faction (Mark and Robin of Zoviet France, Rapoon, Dead Voices On Air), Boduf Songs, Andrew Liles and Jonathan Coleclough, Nmperign feat. Jason Lescalleet, Glenn Jones, To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie, His Name Is Alive, Gary Wilson, Rivulets, Strategy, Nudge, Lichens + DJ Steven Stapleton & a special Greater Than One video presentation.
Studies Show Owning the New Book by Former Joy Division/New Order Manager Rob Gretton Adds Enough Cool Points to Cancel Out Your Massive Collection of Vampire Romance Novels
By Liz Louche on Oct 3 2008
Whoa, dude! Surf's up! Yes, the Joy Division/New Order nostalgia wave is growing even stronger in force thanks to the revelation that former manager Rob Gretton's band-related notebooks will soon be published in handy paperback format, guaranteed to add that extra touch of "cred" to any bookcase. The book, entitled 1 Top Class Manager, has a UK release date of October 7.
But what exactly can one expect to find in said cred-boosting paperback? Well, you can find diary entries, posters, studio notes, and to-do lists, compiled by Gretton's widow Lesley from over 20 of his original notebooks relating to his time with the bands. Chronicling the period from 1978-1980, 1 Top Class Manager shows the metamorphosis from Joy Division to New Order through documents like a list of possible new band names considered in the wake of Ian Curtis' death. Pick your favorite from the names unveiled in a recent NME article, names such as Arab Legion, Sons of God, Radical Jesuits, and Man Ray.
The book also includes anecdotes like the wacky time Joy Division threw eggs at then tourmates The Buzzcocks and the time when Curtis et al. released LIVE mice during the Buzzcocks' set! As of this date, no info has been released to corroborate reports of a wild slumber party on the same tour where Bernard Sumner and Pete Shelley played light-as-a-feather, stiff-as-a-board, but I'm sure 1 Top Class Manager will have the scoop.
German Court Rules Rapidshare Must Diligently Remove Copyrighted Material
By Mike McHugh on Oct 2 2008
The Hamburg district court ruled Tuesday that the file-hosting giant Rapidshare has insufficiently attempted to prevent piracy on their site. In a ruling that could sound the death knell for Rapidshare, the site must not only continue to remove copyrighted material from the site, but it must also “proactively check content before publishing it" if the material comes from a user who has past infringements.
Unlike the United States, Germany has no “safe harbor” laws that exempt a website from liability when individual users upload copyrighted materials, providing the site administrators remove infringing content once notified. Such provisions have kept YouTube relatively safe from the snares of lawsuits, but unfortunately the same cannot be said for Rapidshare.
In order to curb piracy as much as possible, Rapidshare uses a hash filter to prevent previously removed material from reaching the site and employs six full-time people to scour the site and remove copyrighted material. The German court, however, determined the filter could be too easily circumvented and the anti-piracy staff was not effective in patrolling for infringements. Rapidshare argued if they were required to check every file individually before it was uploaded to the site, there'd be no way for the business to stay afloat. The court replied in its decision, "A business model that doesn't use common methods of prevention cannot claim the protection of the law." Charming.
If you happen to know German, you can read the court’s full decision here. For everybody else, send off those ZIP files of cat pictures to your gramma and pornographic films to your friends while you can, because Rapidshare might not be there forever.
(Via Ars Technica and P2P Blog .)
Sony Corp Officially Acquires Bertelsmann’s Stake in Sony BMG; Sony’s Brand-Extension Department Hosts Company Picnic Celebration
By Mr P on Oct 2 2008
After just four years, Sony BMG is now officially deceased. Sony Corp announced today that is has finally completed the acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in the Sony BMG venture. Rebranded as Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (SMEI) -- clever name! -- the entirety of its operations are now wholly owned by Sony Corporation of America, a company whose annual sales amounted to $88.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, topping TMT's fiscal earnings by what experts might call "a significant margin."
And the cost of acquiring Bertelsmann's stake? Oh, just $1.2 billion. Chump change. Now all Sony has to do is save itself by focusing its leadership and finally settling into manageable roles. And I'd expect increasing crossover between Sony artists and the Playstation console, because as the saying goes, "Money is great!"
Meanwhile, soak in Sony BMG's beautiful website while it's still up. Boy, I'm really going to miss that brand. It really defined who I am as an individual, etc.
