In preparation for a Double Dragon-style back alley knife fight with the steadily-growing menace of intellectual property theft in the United States, the US Department of Justice announced the formation of its Task Force on Intellectual Property late last week. As Digital Music News reports, the Task Force was detailed by Attorney General Eric Holder, possibly via a blog he posted in his underwear, because I can’t imagine any press fighting through the blizzards last week to cover this. “The rise in intellectual property crime in the United States and abroad threatens not only our public safety but also our economic well being,” Holder typed in between sips of a hot Roy Rogers (Gross, right? But that’s the way he likes them.)
At this stage, it remains unclear exactly what kinds of “egg-sucking gutter-trash” the Task Force will attempt to carve-up after quipping 90s Woverine-isms, and the potential future-implications for ISPs haven’t been spelled out either. But the whole Task Force thing comes close on the heels of an IP-related meeting with Vice President Joe Biden in December that featured top executives from the film, software, and music industries. That assemblage was heavily tilted towards intellectual property owners, however, with consumer advocates and technology industries conspicuously absent. “This administration is committed to stronger and stricter enforcement of intellectual property rights, and this new task force is a step in the right direction,” Biden stated.
So there you go. There IS a special task force on the way. And it might do some stuff that might have some implications down the road. And it’s coming for your illegal, same sex marriage-supporting Katy Perry downloads.
As reported earlier, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon are releasing a collaborative album, Wu-Massacre, on March 30 via Def Jam. The name of the all-star collaboration has been up in the air for quite awhile now, but today, my friends, we can reveal the group’s name: Meth, Ghost & Rae. (I would’ve preferred Od Man, Face Killah & Kwon — but hey, that’s just me.)
Despite what you think of the name, you should be excited, as the album features Wu-Tangers Inspectah Deck and Cappadona, as well as production by RZA and Mathetmatics. It even has a skit with Tracy Morgan (who may not be the best choice if they’re looking to insert some humor).
According to TwentyFourBit, Jim O’Rourke has produced a Burt Bacharach tribute album to be released April 7 on Japanese label ADWR. Titled All Kinds of People ~Love Burt Bacharach~, the album contains 11 tracks featuring the likes of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Yoshimi (Boredoms, OOIOO), Glenn Kotche (Wilco, Loose Fur, etc.), Bacharach collaborator Donna Taylor, free-jazz musician Akira Sakata, Shibuya-kei musician Kahimi Karie, and, of course, O’Rourke himself. If that weren’t enough, O’Rourke, Kotche, and other artists will perform tracks from the album in Tokyo and Osaka in mid-April.
Now, we don’t have any tracks we can share, but to get yourself pumped for some tribute action, check out O’Rourke’s cover of “Something Big” off his 1999 album, Eureka (yes, we named our Eureka! section after it):
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All Kinds of People ~Love Burt Bacharach~ tracklist:
01. “Close To You” by Haruomi Hosono
02. “Always Something There To Remind Me” by Thurston Moore
03. “Anonymous Phone Call” by Jim O’Rourke
04. “After The Fox” by Akira Sakata, Masaya Nakahara
05. “You’ll Never Get To Heaven” by Aoyama Youiti
06. “Do You Know The Way To San Jose” by Kahimi Karie
07. “Don’t Make Me Over” by Kosaka Tadashi, Jim O’Rourke
08. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” by Koike Mitsuko
09. “I Say A Little Prayer” by Yoshimi
10. “Trains And Boats And Planes” by Jim O’Rourke
11. “Walk On By” by Donna Taylor
O’Rourke’s latest album, The Visitor (TMT Review), was released last year via Drag City. He also donated an exclusive track to our Darfur benefit compilation and was all over our recent decade list feature (Insignificance, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Fenn O’Berg, etc.). We can’t get enough of O’Rourke!
Franz Nicolay (I feel inclined to reference his mustache because everyone else is doing it) recently left The Hold Steady, which is a good thing because The Hold Steady aren’t actually that good at “making listenable music,” and has already set into motion a whole fucking lot of things to do now that he’s livin’ single.
Let’s do this list-style!
1. Franzy will be releasing a collection of short stories, titled Complicated Gardening Techniques, via Julius Singer Press on February 11.
2. An East Coast tour has been announced in support of last year’s debut album Major General and St. Sebastian of the Short Stage. (You can also buy Nicolay’s new book on the tour.) Tourdates:
02.19.10 - Alfred, NY - Alfred University, Knight Club
02.20.10 - Washington, DC - DC9 (Roman Kuebler of Oranges Band) *
02.21.10 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
02.22.10 - Richmond, VA - The Camel
02.24.10 - Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar (Roman Kuebler of Oranges Band) *
02.25.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Khyber (Ha Ha Tonka, Peasant) #
02.26.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory (book release party) ^
* Roman Kuebler
# Ha Ha Tonka, Peasant
^ Tim Fite
3. Guignol, Nicolay’s “gypsy-punk” (is that an actual genre now?) band, who recently recorded an album with “anarcho-folk” (is that a genre?) hero Mischief Brew, have also announced a tour. The collaboration album, Fight Dirty, is currently waiting for a physical release date, but digital and cassette versions can be bought at the Cottage Records online store..
Dates:
03.04.10 - Boston, MA - TBA
03.05.10 - Bennington, VT - Bennington College
03.06.10 - Barrington, MA - Bat Barn - Great
03.08.10 - Lowell MA - Live on WUML
Anyone who follows the music of C. Spencer Yeh knows how prolific he is, whether it be Burning Star Core records, solo violin tapes, or collaborative vinyl-only releases. Thus, it should be no surprise when I tell you now that Yeh has four brand new records out or coming out.
First, there is the CD reissue of a 2005 tour-only recording, Inside the Shadows, put out by Dominick Fernow of Prurient’s Hospital Productions. Second, there’s a “Compound” 7-inch from Yeh’s ongoing collaborative project with John Wiese, out on Von Archives. Third, there’s a Burning Star Core live recording, culled from over 60 live performances, due March 9 via No Quarter. And last, but certainly not least, is a single-take live recording, pairing Yeh on violin and piano with Tony Conrad on violin and harpsichord and Michael F. Duch on double bass. It’s called Musculus Trapezius and was recorded in the Sofiendberg Church of Oslo, Norway in February 2008 and then mastered by Jim O’Rourke. Check it out on Pica Disk.
Phew! Get them now before they’re gone and you have to resort to watching this guy in your free time.
Meanwhile, Yeh is playing a couple shows this weekend with Chris Corsano, Bill Horist, and Wally Shoup. They’ll rip your ears out, trust me.
Isn’t it everyone’s dream to follow around an awesome band in their heyday? (As in, not 2009-era… well, we won’t say names.) Imagine: if you were born in such-and-such a year, you could’ve been metal as hell and photographed antics too crazy for words. Then you wouldn’t have to feel like such a loser when you watch Almost Famous, wishing that you’d known rock stars once too.
Eerie Von lived the dream, and now he’s releasing a taste of what it’s like. Way back in the day, he was the roadie and unofficial photographer for The Misfits. After The Misfits disbanded in 1983, he went on to play drums and then bass in Glenn Danzig’s subsequent band, Samhain (Undead’s Steve Zing took his place as drummer), and was bassist for Glenn’s eponymous next band, Danzig. Von had his camera all the while, and his new book of photography, Misery Obscura: The Photography of Eerie Von (1981-2006), is divided up into four chapters, each covering a different stage of his involvement with punk and metal’s most famous ripped, greasy frontman in leather. Throughout the chapters covering The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig, and then finally Eerie Von’s own solo work, Von scatters set lists and ephemera throughout for the true Danzig fan.
Misery Obscura is out now from Dark Horse, and for all you people out there preparing corn syrup and food coloring for your new Misfits cover band, maybe you should consult Eerie Von before asking mommy if you can go out and kill tonight.
