The Contrarian

Free Is The New Lame.

Taking a break from arguing with Ben (hard to do — he's got a fascinating mind) to wish everyone a happy weekend.

Brooke and I are gonna look at houses tomorrow with a realtor. Whee!

There's an article in Wired by Chris Anderson (The Long Tail) about how everything in business is destined to be "free." (Does this apply to gasoline and groceries?) Here's two takes on the piece: the first is by Future of Music Coalition's kick-ass intern Alexei Painter (that's his real name!); the second from ex-radio honcho and current music-media whiz Jerry Del Colliano.

For the record, I think Anderson is off the mark here. Believe me, I understand how the internet has undermined certain long-standing business models; I deal with the fallout every day at work. But I don't want to live in a world where recorded music has no value other than to get people to your live show, where they might buy a t-shirt. Mostly because I abhor playing live.  (It's got nothing to do with stage fright, just good old fashioned misanthropy.)  Yet I live for the studio, where I can tweak and experiment to my heart's content.

I've said it before: you wouldn't expect Da Vinci to recreate the Mona Lisa from scratch in one after another dive bar, so  why should musical artists be compelled to regurgitate their songs night after night? Unless they want to, that is. And not all of us do.

Boring Is The New Quiet Was The Old Loud.

"I've got a few minutes to kill before my shift at Starbucks. Wanna collaborate on a toothless weeper for the masses?"

Why does everyone think that song from Once is so damn great, when it plainly sucks farts? Is this continued evidence of the adult-contemporarification of so-called "indie" music?

Scruffy Redhead and his Shy Girl Friday seem like sweet kids and everything (at least from what I saw on the Oscars), but their little duet is the definition of pap.

Just had to get that off my chest.

In Defense of Lobbying.

And, somewhat secondarily, John McCain:

Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, February 29, 2008.

Let's agree to frown upon bad lobbying, such as getting a tax break for a particular industry. Let's agree to welcome good lobbying -- the actual redress of a legitimate grievance -- such as protecting your home from being turned to dust to make way for some urban development project. . .

. . .free advice to the K Street crowd: Consider a name change. . .

That's exactly what our Policy Director and I were talking about the other day. What should we call the perfectly legitimate activity of petitioning representatives on behalf of their constituencies?

Google's AdSense Not as Smart as All That.

Check out the ad they just placed on this site:

Because, you know, I'm such a McCain man.

Comcast Pays People to Fill Seats at FCC Hearing.

Federal inquiries aren't as exciting as NASCAR.

You're probably already aware of the FCC's ongoing investigation into Comcast's "network management" practices, which include the delaying of traffic associated with BitTorrent technology.

Well, in addition to providing horrendous customer service and strangling an already uncompetitive market through shady arrangements with apartment complex managers, Comcast has stooped to stacking the deck with hired stooges.

At a recent FCC hearing in Boston, the cable co. paid  folks to stand in line and take up space so the opposition couldn't voice their opinion. Comcast's scabs didn't even testify on its behalf — in fact, many of them fell asleep in their seats.

The shocking part is that Comcast admits this reprehensible behavior. Sort of, anyway. A spokesperson claims the company paid "some people" to arrive early and hold places in the line for area Comcast workers who wanted to attend the hearing.

If you believe that, you probably still think that Saddam was behind 911 and Jesus is coming to spirit you into the seraphic sky.

[Note: he's not.]

Chart.

Borrowed from Sentient Developments, who linked to a project involving a prosthetic device for a lost human instinct.

Stuff White People Like.

Highly amusing, scarily true.

Thanks to Highgate for this one.

Up to the Hill. . . catch ya laters.

Little Kid is Posessed by MySpace.

This young man could give Linda Blair a run for her money. Watch it all. But if you work in a cubicle, you might want to slip on some headphones and turn the volume down, lest your co-workers think you're rasslin' a rabid ferret.

What We Did.

Brooke and I really shot the moon this weekend. Well, compared to what we usually do, which is stay in, watch stuff On Demand, play with the cats, read magazines and dick around online.

This weekend we saw two movies in the theater back-to-back: Be Kind Rewind and Persepolis. We ate every meal at a restaurant. and. . . AND. . . We cruised around select neighborhoods to see where we might want to buy our first house. That's right, we're looking into becoming homeowners. It seems like the right time. The unceremonious bursting of the real estate bubble has created a buyers market. Add to that the fact that most mortgages in our price range are less than what we pay in monthly rent, and we've got all the reason we need.

Today was all about scouting 'hoods, but we'll probably make an appointment with a realtor soon.

Say, let's talk about those movies. Be Kind Rewind is the new Michel Gondry flick starring Mos Def and Jack Black. It's so much better than I could've anticipated. Who cares if the plot arc resembles the Brady Bunch Movie? Mos Def is a fantastic straight man. His laconic delivery is earnest and droll, and helps temper Jack Black's manic bluster. This movie requires a considerable suspension of disbelief, but if you can accept it's odd-cute-goofy gimmick, you'll be rewarded by an effortlessly charming film. I really liked the fact that it had poor people in it. And they had dignity. In fact, that's kind of what the whole thing is about. Oh, and I still think Mia Farrow is hot.

Persepolis, the animated story of a young girl living in brutal and socially backwards post-revolutionary Iran, is more important than it is exhilarating, but that's OK.  Based on a celebrated graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, it's visually agreeable and tells its story well. But man, did it make me angry at repressive monotheistic religions. Required viewing. (Or at least pick up the comic.)

Watching the Oscars right now. I rarely make it through the first half-hour. Not expecting to beat this record tonight.

On Tuesday, I'll be bringing Low-Power FM advocates to the offices of Senators Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand. Hillary won't be there, of course, but we'll meet with her staffers. Schumer and Gillibrand might be kicking around, though. Wish me luck.

Teo Macero, R.I.P.

Miles Davis' man with the razor blade (that's a reference to tape-splicing, kids), Teo Macero, has gone to the amorphous, jazz-funk gig in the sky.

Macero got his start as a saxophonist and composer, but he's best known as Columbia Records' in-house jazz producer. Before helping Miles blast off into the Deep Black Cosmos, Macero delivered classic sides from dudes like Dave Brubeck and Thelonious Monk.

Macero will most likely be remembered for his collage-approach to Miles' compositions, artfully threading disparate jam sections into throbbing fusion masterpieces. Bitches Brew, the avant-funk shot heard 'round the world, was only the beginning. By the time Miles got to On the Corner, Macero had reached the outer limits of splicing and dicing.

Mighty fine work for a lifetime.