Dear Stephen Green,

First, thanks for posting the Link to the article about MP3 Bloggers. It is an interesting detail of the general phenomenon of blogging as a response by a public that increasingly feels ill-served by traditional sources of information, entertainment, and ideas.

It was a little jolt to fetch up against the descriptor “conservative” as applied to the music industry---

“Michaels and Co. are bypassing the conservative airwaves in favor of the limitless span of cyberspace...”

--- but on reflection, I see the point. The entertainment industry has a long history of trampling on the people who compose, the performers that record, and the audiences that want to HEAR the music.

The MUSIC industry so blatantly ripped off the creators of the music over the early decades of the industry, that the two RIGHTS-MONITORING agencies, BMI and ASCAP, were given authority under a federal consent decree, to take the distribution and auditing of revenues owed to the composers and performers out of the hands of the bandits that ran the studios and distribution companies.

It really is sickening to hear those same cheating bastards whinging about how the internet is violating their rights and stealing their profits. If anything, the internet is serving, as the article points out, to promote interest in many more performers and recordings than those companies are willing to invest their advertising budgets in.

David March, animator & fiddler
http://apsnyblog.blogspot.com

You want music? Go see "De Lovely." Kevin Kline does a wonderful job playing Cole Porter. Yes, I know the plot isn't totally accurate, but the music is fabulous. Opening number of "Anything Goes" starts the toes tapping and reminds you what American music was once before the vulgar, discordant, shrieking, atonal, unsophisticated and ear-jarring noise that's bweing passed off for music today.

Cole Porter's lyrics are filled with double ententres, puns, plays on words, etc. They are subtle little jabs enjoyed only by those smart enough to get them contrary,
to rap which is all too clear in its violence.

A complementary alternative I just found: iRate downloads only music posted by bands for free publicity (i.e., no RIAA troubles): you rate what you like, and it adjusts to your tastes. I thought it was a nifty idea:

http://irate.sourceforge.net/

Sad that DJs are going the way of vinyl, Elvira, & the Kerry campaign. They used to be artists. It must be dull to sit there all day playing the same 12 songs.