Interview with Trent Reznor

http://blog.tunecore.com/2012/01/trent-reznor-interview.html

Kinda long, but his take on the music industry is worth noting. I’d love to get a round table together of the following people; a think tank devoted to a fair business model for the digital age that encompasses not only content creation and business models, but also copyright law and redefining some key terms to replace outdated modes of thinking about ownership, intellectual property and commerce:

Trent Reznor, Radiohead, David Bowie, Kevin Smith, David Byrne, Joseph Gordon Levitt, reps from Creative Commons, Kickstarter, Bandcamp, etc.

Towards the bottom of my blog page, you can see links to several of these sites and services.

Red Fang - Hank is Dead, Wires and Prehistoric Dog

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

Get More: The Black Keys, Lonely Boy, Music, More Music Videos

This guy stole all my dance moves.

A Few Thoughts on Politics

Those that know me, know that I had turned off the news over a year ago. I do not need it, and I am not further informed by it. I still get plenty of information in other ways. I am still connected to major world issues. I am even still connected to matters of politics, though I tend to tune out most of the noise and talking heads. Lately, as we move ever closer to the ugliness that will be the election, I've been feeling the pessimism and cynicism that I hold towards human nature in general, and politics specifically, rear it's head once more.

In light of some recent mistakes by our government, primarily the NDAA overwhelming passage (hopefully, the Supreme Court will do what they are meant and deem this unconstitutional), and recent talks of SOPA and PIPA (though shelved for now, will probably be resurrected as an add-on to some sure-to-pass spending bill later), this has gotten me thinking again about our role in government. I mean, it is meant to be our representation after all.

I don't really believe our vote matters that much. We should still do it, because it's one of the few powers (however insignificant) that we have, however. With lobbyists' hold on campaign money, and Congresspeople's ability to gerrymander and/or redistrict, you just shouldn't believe that once you vote, your duty is over. Unfortunately, they will need constant reminders who is in charge, and that takes a lot of effort and energy just to get enough people riled up enough to make a voice loud enough for them to hear. And it always--ALWAYS--comes down to money. I don't care what your belief system is, all their motivation (and big business as well) can be determined by looking at the money.

I leave you with a few quotes, the first of which has been somewhat hijacked (an appropriate pun?) in our post-911 world. It was not meant to only be referring to the outside world, to the "Others" that are trying to "take away our freedoms". It was meant for us, the average citizens, to hold our leaders and lawmakers accountable. Use your voice, your vote, your email, your phone, sign petitions--keep the pressure on them all the time. It's exhausting, but it's the cost.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson

"Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it." - Thomas Paine

(And finally, to show I'm playing fair): "Freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put in this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer." - Ronald Reagan

Juliet - My First Hardcore Song

I think my favorite is the stuffed animal, trampoline mosh pit. Hell. Yes.

A Brief Thought on SOPA and Such. . .

Without getting too much into the general disappointment of our current Congress and White House reverting back to business-as-usual as we get closer to an election, I offer this simple idea/thought/suggestion/promise:

If SOPA passes, what's to keep me (and everyone else) from just spamming large corporations, and more importantly, CANDIDATES WHOM ARE SEEKING ELECTION OR RE-ELECTION on their own websites with comments, images, etc. of copywrited material that will then lawfully require the takedown of said sites? It's going to get harder to raise money for your campaign if your website is down.

Don't force us to make Project Mayhem a reality.

Ani DiFranco - Hearse

RiverLethe's Faves of 2011

Adele - 21
Alfheimr - What Allows Us to Endure
Amiina - Puzzle
Ancestors - Invisible White
A Storm of Light - As the Valley of Death Becomes Us Our Silver Memories Fade / Latitudes
The Atlas Moth - An Ache for the Distance
The Black Keys - El Camino
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
De Staat - Machinery
East of the Wall - The Apologist
Esmerine - La Lechuza
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Glorie - Glorie
Glorior Belli - The Great Sounthern Darkness
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Idol & the Whip - Heavy Sleeper
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Julia Kent - Green and Grey
Junius - Reports from the Threshold of Death 
Lamb - 5
Noah Gundersen - Family
Olafur Arnolds - Living Room Songs
Puscifer - Conditions of My Parole
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Russian Circles - Empros
Saul Williams - Volcanic Sunlight
Thrice - Major / Minor
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps