…with apologies to Aristophanes.

As I previously stated, I’m pretty sure that piracy will soon be a thing of the past. And that’s because the concept of ‘ownership’ will soon be a thing of the past. People will no longer need to steal music because they will get it all from ‘the cloud’. They will give up ownership in order to pay for convenience.

The question for me is how will artists get paid when this happens, because it sure as shit ain’t part of the business model now. There is also this whole fantasy world which is finally being questioned that states that artists will be able to derive all manner of revenue from this magical new cloud-based entertainment world. Every wannabee musician I know is amazed at the number of ‘options’ available to them for getting ‘streaming revenue’ for their work. That’s the cuckoo part of this whole cloud deal.

Here’s a quick bit of statistics courtesy of Billboard Magazine:

Here’s a quick overview: To generate revenue equal to the $1,160 […]

I have wondered aloud about the futility of fighting software piracy. Certainly, I’ve given up on any personal relief (ie. within the next 5-10 years.) But the recent ‘3 Strikes’ ruling by the Irish High Court, has given me a possible new way to think about the issue that does offer some glimmer of hope.

I call it…

The Anti-Smoking Campaign

People don’t smoke nearly as much anymore—well, at least in ‘the west’. Like our use of fossil fuels we’ve pretty much had our fun and realised that there’s a price to pay. So most people don’t smoke anymore; or if they do? They wish they didn’t because of the obvious issues (death being one, expense another.) Only the nuttiest of libertarians still proffer ‘equal rights’ to smokers.

I’m pretty sure that framing piracy like smoking is the way to go;#8212;not only as personally damaging but also injurious to the society as a whole. Seen from that POV, it’s possible to envision a marketing campaign that could change hearts and minds over the […]

As I said last time, I put out a number of ‘blind requests’ for musicians to rebuild the band. I got a bunch of people who listened to my stuff and then replied that though they thought what I do is nice enough, it sure as shit ain’t prog, buddy! I beg to differ. And I’m gonna tell ya why using a number of specific examples from my ‘oeuvre’ to demonstrate the points I wish to make. But first, I’m gonna tell ya why I’m gonna tell ya why!

I actually started this post back in August. So the immediacy has worn off. But, like world hunger, the war in Iraq and my various ex-wives, it’s an issue that just won’t seem to go away. 😀

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/aug/14/beatles-rock-band-videogame-preview

I have rarely had such a combination of out and out fear, revulsion and lust as when I first saw this. And both times, the lawyers got the lion’s share of the leavings. 😀

Look, you know I’m totally with the arriere garde (I do prog rock fer cryin’ out loud!) But, this, like nuclear science, begs the question that even Einstein couldn’t figure out: just because we can do a technology, does it really mean we should? Are there not some machines that ought not be built?

Does the need to have a machine that women in bikinis will ride in the water merit something as loud as a Waverunner? Is it really crucial to mankind to develop a strain of marijuana that doesn’t cause cancer? A microwave-able pizza with a genuinely crispy crust?

Like […]

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last five years about hip hop and the dreadful state of pop music.

And I blame it all on Phillip Glass and C.P.E. Bach.

Back in music school there was this discussion of the constant tidal movements of complexity v. simplicity in all the arts. Some argued that this is ‘the Dionysian v. the Apollonian’, but I disagree.

Basically it works like this: every artistic movement starts out simple. Simple. A reaction to the mature prior aesthetic which has run out of gas. This can be a very good thing. The incoming group has fresh ideas that are stark and stripped down to their essence. They make the establishment look old and slow.

To contemporaries, ‘baroque’ music was a totally stripped down and simple aesthetic. But to modern eyes and ears, the term is applied to the overly ornate filigree that was only a part of the deal at the very end–when it was already being replaced by the classical period. Remember that J.S. Bach was considered […]