RIAA Declares DRM Dead; Sallie Mae Should Declare That To My Debt
By Ze Pequeno on 07-20-2009
If there is one thing that has annoyed the hell out of the music lovers in recent years, it is the use of DRM (digital rights management) in music tracks to prevent piracy. From the CDs that were impossible to play on Discmans (remember those?), to implementing nigh-impossible-to-remove malware on your computer, to crappy file formats that you couldn't play on your iPod, DRM has been the industry's version of the F-22: blunt, powerful, expensive, and largely useless. In recent years, however, a massive pushback against DRM from consumers, various lobbying groups, and even music stores such as Apple's iTunes have sent messages of the inevitable to the industry's leading anti-piracy mechanism behind lawsuits.
Now, DRM's death, at least in music, is all but a certainty. In an upcoming interview with SCMagazine, RIAA lead spokesman Jonathan Lamy was asked about the organization's view on DRM at this point in time. His response?
"DRM's dead, isn't it?"
This marks the first on-record statement by the organization, which championed DRM as recently as last year, being so overt about its inevitable withdrawal of support. While other anti-piracy fronts such as the IFPI have also admitted that DRM-free music stores would sell a lot more music, the ever-vigilant and ever-litigious RIAA has been, up until now, constantly supportive of DRM, even in the aftermath of the Sony rootkit scandal. Its admission of DRM's death will likely accelerate the process of removing all DRM at major online stores.
Today is but a small victory for music lovers everywhere. Let's all go get cake and hope that the game industry, currently and desperately entrenched in DRM measures, will learn from this.
Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch Diagnosed with Cancer, Tour Canceled and New LP Delayed
By Mr P on 07-20-2009
According to a statement from Beastie Boys, Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed last week with a cancerous tumor. But there is good news: "Luckily it was caught early and is localized in one area, and as such is considered very treatable. It will however require surgery and several weeks of additional treatment. Fortunately the cancer is not in a location that will affect Yauch's vocal chords."
Consequently, all upcoming shows have been canceled, and the band's forthcoming new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1 will be pushed to a new release date. According to Yauch, "I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we'll release the record and play some shows. It's a pain in the neck (sorry had to say it) because i was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later."
TMT wishes Yauch a speedy recovery!
Malcolm Middleton Gets Jiggy With It on Waxing Gibbous, Predicts Change of Direction
By Liz Louche on 07-20-2009
Malcolm Middleton, one of Britain’s strongest frontrunners for the dubiously honorable
(depending on who you are, I guess) title of Gloomiest Songwriter in Indie Rock, is at it again. In 2007, the former Arab Strap frontman reached a certain level of notoriety in the UK after releasing “We’re All Going to Die”--certainly the most poignant Christmas song since Wham!’s 1986 hit “Last Christmas”—in response to the glossy pop numbers cranked out by X-Factor contestants. Last year, the Scotsman released Sleight of Heart, his fourth solo album, and now Middleton’s most recent, Waxing Gibbous has an American date set. The title is a fancy term for when the moon is nearly full, and the album is scheduled to hit stores August 11. It features guest performances from Malcolm’s pals King Creosote and the Pictish Trail, Jenny Reeve, and Barry from Mogwai. AND THERE’S A RAP PROMISED.
Which perhaps leads into Middleton’s statement that this will probably be his last solo effort for awhile. He’s looking to “do an instrumental acoustic guitar album, some electronic music, some collaborations, maybe start a new band, produce someone else etc etc,” according to a press release. Of course what this means in a very veiled but still totally transparent way that he wants to set up a novelty rap crew.* Perhaps Joaquin Phoenix is available?
Tracklisting:
1. Red Travellin' Socks
2. Kiss At The Station
3. Carry Me
4. Zero
5. Stop Doing Be Good
6. Don't Want To Sleep Tonight
7. Shadow
8. Ballad Of Fuck All
9. Box and Knife
10. Made Up Your Mind
*Of course this is what this means. I did not make it up. Unless for legal reasons I need to say I made it up, seeing as it’s not strictly true and all.
TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone Reveals Release Details on Solo Project Rain Machine
By E. Nagurney on 07-20-2009
For eons, humankind has battled the elements. If we’re not being destroyed by hurricanes, the blistering heat is destroying our crops and livelihood. There’s nothing us mere mortals can do about the weather, except pray to the almighty gods above for mercy. TV on the Radio guitarist/vocalist Kyp Malone has a plan to change all that. By constructing an elaborate, powerful weather-control device, Malone hopes to save millions of lives around the world. The “Rain Machine,” as Malone has dubbed it, will change the fate of mankind forever.
Something must have gone wrong in the lab, though. Malone’s creation seems to be less of an atmosphere-affecting super device and more of a solo album (TMT News). Instead of harnessing the mighty power of the atom, Malone harnesses 10 songs blending modern jazz, bluegrass, and guitar rock. Instead of constructing a shell of diamond (the only material capable of containing the device’s awesome might), Malone created music that he describes as “a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear, a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined - some rhythm some rhyme.” Instead of contacting the world’s nations for proper implementation of the revolutionary new machine, Malone contacted ANTI- Records and secured a September 22 release date.
Those close to Malone could have probably predicted the outcome of his ambitious plan. All blueprints for the machine were basically just drawings of naked ladies riding lions, which Malone decided to use for the record’s sort of NSFW cover art.
Rain Machine tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Give Blood
3. New Last Name
4. Smiling Black Faces
5. Driftwood Heart
6. Hold you Holy
7. Desperate Bitch
8. Love Won't Save You
9. Free Ride
10. Leave the Lights On
11. Winter Song
