More ACTA Leaks Show Challenges to American-style Copyright Rules. They Do Agree That Nobody Likes Joe Biden's Shit-Eating Grin, Though.
By Ze Pequeno on Mar 3 2010
Man, it’s a hard time to be America. The economy is in ruins (despite claims of recovery), the legislature seems ungovernable, and nobody wants to really fix it because it would take too long. It makes everyone around you turn into sharks, waiting for you to cut yourself. Such is the case with new revelations come from the incredibly leaky ACTA negotiations. When the current draft of the trade agreement — spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, and the RIAA — was leaked to the public recently, it seemed to be both a massive concession (the three-strikes policy has been all but removed) and a massive expansion (rules resembling the Digital Millennium Copyright Act would be implemented on a global scale) of American copyright policy.
Yet, with leery eyes, nations have indeed exploited the small signs of weakness that the American delegation is falling back, according to new leaks in the negotiations. First, the American delegation seeks ACTA no longer as a treaty but as an “executive agreement.” This allows governments to ratify it without legislative approval, but it also means it CANNOT alter current national law. Both the Japanese and European delegations made note of that, with the Japanese stating it would have to “examine its own laws” before agreeing to any of this, and the Europeans stating that the draft is “not consistent” with EU law.
Further, the American delegation attempted to justify the rules as full implementation of the WIPO Treaty signed back in 1996. However, the vague wording of the treaty granted nations some flexibility in implementing the rules (for example, the use of DRM) agreed to. This was noted heavily by the Japanese delegation, who also questioned how much harm was was actually caused by passing DRM, as well as how useful protections against such bypasses are. (Hey! We know the answer to that one!)
Probably the most revelatory agreement made in negotiations, however, was that all nations agreed that the implementation of ISP monitoring for file-sharing, as well as mandatory enforcement of such a measure to protect ISPs from lawsuits, is off the table. Such harmful and costly monitoring significantly weakens the effectiveness of a three-strikes policy, even though that effectiveness is questionable at best to begin with.
Looks like we don’t have to call Ron Paul, after all.
Nowadays The Black Keys gotta haul off and announce a new LP to let a man know they’re there
By Nobodaddy on Mar 3 2010
The Black Keys know where their money comes from. Sure, they screw around plenty these days with all kinds of kooky projects like solo records, bands comprised entirely of drummers, and blues/hip-hop fusion “supergroups”… but I mean, come on. That shit is all just ridiculous neon-sugar icing on the weathered old vanilla pound cake that is The Black Keys. And if you had to pick either the frosting or the vanilla cake to eat every day for the rest of your life, we all know damn well what you would pick (killing yourself is not an option).
That’s right. You’d release another Black Keys album before it’s too late and everyone just remembers you for all those aforementioned kooky side-projects. Hence, open wide for the sturdy and sensible sixth LP from Carney and Auerbach. It’s called Brothers, and it’s being released on May 18 via Nonesuch.
The duo (not actual brothers, mind you) recorded the bulk of the album at the legendary Alabama studio Muscle Shoals, one of those “if these walls could talk” kinda places that has produced iconic recordings from The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and others. Speaking about the vibe of the new record, Auerbach says, “We like spooky sounds… like Alice Coltrane, where a dark groove is laid down. That’s the headspace we tried to get into for this record.” The album includes one (last?) Danger Mouse-produced song called “Tighten Up,” as well as a cover of the Jerry Butler classic “Never Gonna Give You Up” (!). The remaining songs on Brothers are back to keeping it all in the pseudo-family though, with Carney and Auerbach themselves performing and producing the remainder of the tracks. Sorry, ‘Kwon.
Brothers:
01. Everlasting Light
02. Next Girl
03. Tighten Up
04. Howlin’ For You
05. She’s Long Gone
06. Black Mud
07. The Only One
08. Too Afraid to Love You
09. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I’m Not the One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days
Upcoming dates (Nothing says “Spring Break” in Florida like the Blues, yeah?):
04.08.10 - Iowa City, IA - University of Iowa Memorial
04.17.10 - Live Oak, FL - Wanee Music Festival
04.18.10 - Miami, FL - The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason
04.19.10 - Orlando, FL - The House of Blues
06.11.10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
07.27.10 - New York, NY - Summer Stage (SOLD OUT)
• The Black Keys: http://www.theblackkeys.com
• Nonesuch: http://www.nonesuchrecords.com
[Photo: James Carney]
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson announces spring tour without the use of murder
By E. Nagurney on Mar 3 2010
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, he of the many names and the roots-rock anthem, is heading down the Southeast for a little spring tour action. Like nearly every other band touring the area in the next few months, Robinson’s tour revolves around a visit to that little ol’ festival called South By Southwest. Robinson will celebrate his first release on Saddle Creek, last year’s Summer of Fear, by playing the label’s showcase at the festival. After that, he’ll make his way back up to New York via a little touring through the Midwest.
03.10.10 - New York, NY - LPR
03.11.10 - Philadelphia, PA - M Room
03.12.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat Mainstage
03.13.10 - Carrboro, NC - Local 506
03.14.10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
03.15.10 - Nashville, TN - Matty’s Basement
03.18.10 - Austin, TX - Maggie Mae’s Gibson Room (Saddle Creek SXSW Showcase)
03.21.10 - Denton, TX - Haileys
03.22.10 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingers
03.23.10 - St. Louis, MO - Firebird
03.24.10 - Columbus, OH - The Summit
03.25.10 - Akron, OH - Musica
03.26.10 - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA - Corner Café
03.27.10 - Buffalo, NY - Soundlab
• MBAR: http://myspace.com/milesbenjaminanthonyrobinson
• Saddle Creek: http://www.saddle-creek.com
Break out your black t-shirts: Caspian announce US tour with Red Sparowes
By Annapocalypse on Mar 3 2010
If you look like this, you are probably freaking out (and by freaking out, I mean contemplating deeply while listening to some Mogwai) that Caspian and Red Sparowes are touring together this spring. You’re also most likely stoked that Caspian is reissuing two of their older releases, including their You Are the Conductor EP and older-full length, Four Trees. Both reissues are due March 16 on Mylene Sheath.
You Are the Conductor tracklisting:
01. Quovis
02. Further Up
03. Further In
04. Loft
05. For Protection
06. Last Rites
The Four Trees tracklisting:
01. Moksha
02. Some Are White Light
03. Sea Lawn
04. Crawlspace
05. Book IX
06. The Dropsonde
07. Brombie
08. Our Breath in Winter
09. The Dove
10. ASA
11. …Reprise
Crescendos, crescendos, crescendos:
03.09.10 - Washington, DC - Black Cat **
03.10.10 - Harrisonburg, VA - Blue Nile **
03.11.10 - Johnson City, TN - The Hide Away **
03.12.10 - Nashville, TN - The Muse **
03.14.10 - Orlando, FL - Wills Pub **
03.16.10 - New Orleans, LA - Dragons Den **
03.17.10 - Shreveport, LA - The Rustic Cowboy **
03.18.10 - Houston, TX - The Mink **
03.19.10 - Austin, TX - SXSW Festival
03.20.10 - Austin, TX - SXSW Festival
03.21.10 - Austin, TX - SXSW Festival
03.23.10 - Tucson, AZ - TBA **
03.24.10 - Scottsdale, AZ - Rouge Bar **
03.25.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Pehrspace **
03.26.10 - San Diego, CA - Che Cafe **
03.27.10 - San Francisco, CA - TBA **
04.01.10 - Murray, UT - SHO **
04.02.10 - Denver, CO - 3 Kings **
04.03.10 - Albequerque, NM - Winnings **
04.05.10 - Austin, TX - Mohawk **
04.06.10 - Dallas, TX - Lounge on Elm Street **
04.07.10 - Kansas City - Record Bar **
04.08.10 - Vernon, IA - Orange Carpet **
04.10.10 - Champaign, IL - Mike N Mollys **
04.11.10 - Fort Wayne, IN - TBA **
04.13.10 - Toronto, ON - Rancho Relaxo **
04.14.10 - Montreal, QC - Divan Orange **
04.15.10 - New York, NY - Webster Hall Studio **
04.16.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Northstar Bar **
04.18.10 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop ^
04.21.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall ^
04.22.10 - Madison, WI - High Noon ^
04.23.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar ^
04.24.10 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr. ^
04.26.10 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge ^
04.27.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge ^
04.29.10 - Seattle, WA - Neumos ^
04.30.10 - Vancouver, Canada - Biltmore Cabaret ^
05.01.10 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne ^
05.02.10 - Eugene, OR - WOW Hall ^
05.05.10 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera #
05.06.10 - Njimegen,Netherlands - Doornrosjie #
05.07.10 - Koln, Germany - Gebaude 9 #
05.08.10 - Karlsruhe, Germany - Jubez #
05.09.10 - Weisbaden, Germany - Schalctof #
05.10.10 - Bochum, Germany - BHF Langendreer #
05.11.10 - Hamburg, Germany - Hafenklang #
05.12.10 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen #
05.13.10 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall #
05.14.10 - Malmo, Sweden - Debaser Malmo #
05.15.10 - Warsaw, Poland - Basen Artystyyczny #&
05.16.10 - Poznan, Poland - Pod Minoga #&
05.17.10 - Krakow, Poland - Lodz Kaliska #&
05.18.10 - Prague, Czech Republic - Chapeau Rouge #
05.19.10 - Vienna, Austria - Chelsea #
05.20.10 - Wurzburg, Germany - Cafe Cairo #
05.21.10 - Leipzig, Germany - Wave Gothik Theatre
05.22.10 - Athens, Greece - An Club
** Arms and Sleepers
^ Red Sparowes
# Constants
& Ef
• Caspian: http://www.myspace.com/caspiantheband
• Red Sparowes: http://www.redsparowes.com
• Mylene Sheath: http://www.mylenesheath.com
Today was a good day, I didn’t even have to use my AK: Ice Cube to headline 2010 Paid Dues Festival alongside Raekwon, Murs, 9th Wonder
By Kid Midnight on Mar 3 2010
San Bernardino is heading back to the big leagues! Well, not really… but the 2010 Paid Dues Festival is going to be in ol’ San Berdoo, and they’ve announced their lineup of acts. Ice Cube, the legendary “gangsta” rapper, former (jheri-curled) member of N.W.A. and star of modern classics Are We There Yet? and Friday After Next, has been announced as the headliner. The fifth-annual celebration will be held at the Nos Events Center in San Berdoo on April 3, a Saturday.
Other acts announced to play include Murs and 9th Wonder, Tech N9ne and Raekwon, Tha Dogg Pound, Del The Funky Homosapien, Freeway and Jake One, Dilated Peoples, and plenty more. Further information is available… HERE!
• Paid Dues: http://www.guerillaunion.com/paiddues
• Ice Cube: http://www.icecube.com
