Weezer's New LP Almost Done, Pinkerton Deluxe Reissue Forthcoming, Sugar Ray LP to Include Weezer Song (YES YES YES!!)

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.

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.