Actually, it has just been pointed out by a friend that in fact this explaination sucks. It contradicts itself in that they say the band will turn a blind eye to cassette tape 'sharing' but not to MP3/CDr due to the digital nature of such sharing... but then goes on to explain why by saying it's copyright law. Copyright law applies to cassettes too you know?
They also give no real good reason for not re-releasing the tracks people are wanting to get a hold of. It's my personal belief that once a track is released, it's out there and anyone should be able to hear it, any way they can. If the CD isn't released anymore then MP3 and CDr trading is it my friend. If you didn't want the song out there, you shouldn't have released it.
Radiohead Update
Forgot to mention in my rant below about Radiohead. They've been widely quoted as threatening to only release future tracks on the internet in dribs and drabs. They also love Napster.
Very interesting to get Kid A from all that, an album that only really works as a whole, rather than as separate songs.
TLC on MP3.com... not really
Huge band TLC have released some MP3s on MP3.com. Although not really.. it's just an ad with three internet snippets. Very disappointing really. They just don't get it. Not that I even like them.
Correction
That Cure gig I mentioned yesterday was in Sydney. They still rule, even if their official page is so darn average.
VCR
Oh how RIAA must hate the VCR. I was going to miss a Triple J J-Files (3 hour rant, song playing of a particular band or topic) on Underworld last night. BUT thanks to lovely VCR technology I plugged in my radio to the audio input of my VCR, voila, near CD quality recording for 4 hours.
Of course, my computer could have done the same, and for about 30 hours but this was easier, and less scarey for my hardware.
MP3 Again
"MP3.com" has reached an agreement with the five main recording companies. So they're a little less screwed, assuming they can afford the money the agreement includes.
J. William Gurley chats about music and morality. It's a good explaination as to why no-one should care if SDMI is cracked or not.
Radiohead - Kid A
The new Radiohead album recently came out with much ranting and raving from the press. I'm not a huge Radiohead fan, but enough of one to cover their songs during gigs. The album excited me a little, but nothing as much as even Bjork or Powderfinger.
So my opinion of this album is probably a little more believable than bored DJ's or insane fans. Maybe not...
The album isn't songs as such. It's an album. Not an album in the way Dream Theater's 'Scenes From A Memory' is an album, but an album in that it's stupid to listen to part of it without the rest. It's like listening to the middle of Metallica's 'Master Of Puppets' without the heavy parts. Sure it's good but it's not the whole picture.
This isn't a review as such, I just want to say I liked the album. It was an interesting listen. I know that if I get my headphones, find a hour to listen to it in darkness and let myself be taken over.. that I might even love it. But I might not.
Why everyone is making such a fuss over one album, an experiment.. saying that Radiohead are over, that they've gone nuts. It's silly.
I read somewhere that the album is the result of Tom going insane, scared of fame, sitting in a room and writing out his death album. That's crap. Besides the fact it isn't true (the whole band had a huge part in the whole album, even if they didn't play their given instruments all the time), it wouldn't matter. silverchair did something similar, with Daniel Johns going nuts and writing all of Neon Ballroom by himself. And it's their best effort, the most mature and well produced album silverchair could come up with. Is that so wrong.
Bah, ranting my brains out. I'm sick at home. It happens.