Record Labels Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine: Usenet Site Sues Dutch RIAA
By Brom on May 28 2009
Record companies love to sue! There’s nothing quite like cornering some dastardly file-sharer with a class-action lawsuit. However, it seems that the Dutch have got pretty well fed up with the labels’ lawyers taking the world and his wife to court every time an illegal download is made. The Usenet site FTD.nu is suing BREIN, the Dutch equivalent of the RIAA, arguing that "FTD only facilitates communication between people who quite legally download from Usenet. FTD does not facilitate or carry out any upload and therefore can not be held liable.” (via hypebot)
FTD have asked the court in the Netherlands to clarify a number of points, including the idea that downloading is legal even where copyrighted material is the subject of the download and that revealing content to users on Usenet via FTD is legal without the permission of copyright holders. I can already see label executives shuddering at the thought that the court might rule in favor of FTD. Maybe they shouldn’t have been so aggressive with their never-ending lawsuits.
Camera Obscura Touring, In Danger of Depleting Stage Banter Supply by Fall
By Kasia Galaxy on May 28 2009
I challenge you to find a more disgustingly cute couple than the one in Camera Obscura's "French Navy" video. Although watching them frolic and swap spit around Europe kind of makes me feel like this googly-eyed ball of fur getting tickled.
The Glasgow band will tour in support of its latest release on 4AD, My Maudlin Career, ending right before summer goes from excitingly warm to thickly miserable, everyone laying around in pools of their own sweat. Prime time for ice pops!
The tourdates:
05.28.09 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
05.29.09 - Chicago, IL - Metro
05.30.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Centre
06.01.09 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
06.02.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
06.04.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
06.05.09 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
06.06.09 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
06.08.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
06.09.09 - Pomona, CA - Glasshouse
06.11.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
06.13.09 - Mexico City, Mexico - Lunario
06.15.09 - Austin, TX - Antone's
06.16.09 - Dallas, TX - The Loft
06.18.09 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree
06.19.09 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
06.20.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
06.21.09 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
06.22.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts
06.24.09 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
06.25.09 - Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre
06.26.09 - Montreal, QC - La Tulipe
06.27.09 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
06.29.09 - Columbus, OH - Wexner Center (OSU)
06.30.09 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Small's Theatre
Glastonbury Offers Answers of the Holy Grail in the Form of Music Festival; Lineup Finalized, Children’s Crusade to Follow
By Kat Gardiner on May 27 2009
Glastonbury, a small town in Somerset, England, is shrouded in myth and lore. The church on the hill is rumored to have been built roughly 65 years after Jesus died and house the Holy Grail. It is said that the remains of King Arthur and Guinevere were found there and then moved and subsequently lost during reformation. Recently, ancient papers were found regarding the legendary music festival that happens there once a year, previously thought to be unconnected to the cities more mysterious mysteries. Carbon-data testing shows that the texts were written circa 1267, when people in England sounded a lot more like Americans. The text:
So like, Joseph of Arimathea was hanging out with Jesus at Avalon a long, long, time ago, and shit, drinking mead, playing ping-pong, talking about dinosaurs, ya know. Chillin'. When Joseph was like ‘Let's do this all the time, J’ and then Jesus was like ‘For real! We could have some bands come here and play, and shit, like once a year’ and Joseph was like ‘Dude. That's why you're the prophet. You always gots the best ideas and shit.’
The rest of the document was rendered illegible due to the passage of time and bong-water, but from what scientists were able to piece together, Indiana Jones, after finding the grail years later, decided to start Jesus' festival himself, calling it the Glastonbury Festival, since the town of Avalon had been long ago been renamed in favor of something easier to spell.
This year's already sold-out Glastonbury Festival, running June 24-28, features many stages and many, many performers, including Neil Young, The Specials, Lily Allen, Fleet Foxes, Regina Spektor, Bloc Party, Doves, Fucked Up, Q Tip, The Streets, Ray Davies, Fairport Convention, Animal Collective, Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, Pussy Parlure, British Sea Power, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Kasabian, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dizzee Rascal, Spinal Tap, Eagles Of Death Metal, Franz Ferdinand, Maximo Park, Peter Doherty, Peter, Bjorn and John, The Broken Family Band, Jarvis Cocker, Passion Pit, Tindersticks, Bon Iver, M Ward, Horace Andy, Bombay Bicycle Club, Noah And The Whale, Rye Rye, Eliza Carthy, Badly Drawn Boy, Stereo MCs, Blur, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Madness, Tom Jones, Bon Iver, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Art Brut, The Boxer Rebellion, Echo And The Bunnymen, Black Eyed Peas, Roots Manuva, Cold War Kids, Alela Diane, Terry Reid, Micachu and the Shapes, Robyn Hitchcock, The Aliens, Magic Numbers, Peaches, Appleblim.... and many more.
No Talkies Allowed This Saturday: The Books, Mission of Burma’s Roger Miller, and More Collaborate on Original Movin’ Pictures at Massachusetts’ SPLIT / SIGNAL Audio/Visual Evening
By Liz Louche on May 27 2009
The crashing of the waves in the bay. The chattering of college students from MIT and Harvard. The distant echoes of pilgrims past, repressing someone in their quaint speech of yesteryear. Ahh, Boston. The unofficial “Capital of New England.” “The Cradle of Liberty.” “Beantown.” And now, home to SPLIT / SIGNAL, the movie/film event where original works of film receive live scores from acclaimed musicians. Well, actually it turns out SPLIT / SIGNAL is occurring at The Center for Arts at the Armory in beautiful Somerville, MA, which is just north of Boston, but for those of us living outside the area, the idea of “Boston” gives a pretty decent geographical idea of where this awesome event will be happening, and besides -- when a town has a nickname like “Beantown,” you gotta work it in as much as possible.
SPLIT / SIGNAL is a one-night only event. The people behind the night describe it with the following words, which I am directly quoting in their near-entirety, because I think they are funny:
Film without music. Music without film. Ripped apart at birth and cultivated in non-neighboring states. Only to be Frankensteined together with fishing wire and a searing-hot needle. Oh yes. It. Is. Alive. And now, all the striking incarnations come together in one place. One night. For your eyes and ears only.
Participating musicians include The Books, Mission of Burma’s Roger Miller, Cul de Sac, Caspian, Black Yodel, Arms & Sleepers, Devil Music, and Mike Dunkley & Todd Brozman. They’ll be working with filmmakers Rich Remsberg, Michael Maraden, VJ Dziga, Bryan Deblasio, Jon Cianfrani, Dado Ramadani, Barrett Films, and Handcranked Productions.
Essentials:
Location: The Center for the Arts at the Armory
Time: Show 7:00pm (Doors 6:00pm)
Admission: 21+
Tickets: $25 (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/67621)
Check out the fest's Facebook page here.
They Might Be Giants Play New Dates, Tour Manager Seems to Have Just Given Up
By Kasia Galaxy on May 27 2009
A few years ago, I was somehow under the impression that John Popper, that guy from Blues Traveler, had died. Turned out, he had just lost a lot of weight. So, if I don't hear from you musicians in a while, assume that I've found an old CD of yours, wondered what you were doing, paid my respects in the event of death or weight loss, and moved on.
On that note, They Might Be Giants, who are not dead, are touring. And they're hitting quite the hodgepodge of places: assorted music fests, museums, a university, a casino. I know they won a Grammy for their children's album Here Come the 123s and all, but these are some rather odd venue choices nonetheless.
Anyway, now it's your turn to have "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" in your head.
The tourdates:
05.30.09 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
06.12.09 - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall
06.13.09 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center (two shows)
06.14.09 - New Haven, CT - New Haven Town Green
07.04.09 - Aspen, CO - Aspen Institute
07.11.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell
07.25.09 - Camden, NJ - XPoNential Music Festival
09.19.09 - Raleigh, NC - North Carolina Museum of Art (two shows)
10.04.09 - New York, NY - American Museum of Natural History (two shows)
10.14.09 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
10.17.09 - Kutztown, PA - Kutztown University
10.18.09 - New York, NY - Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
11.27.09 - Uncasville, CT - Wolf Den at Casino Mohegan
