Art Gillespie

In yet another essay about startups and founders of same, Paul drops this gem:

“In an artificial world, only extremists live naturally.”

Put that in your quotes.txt file and smoke it.

Aptly. Named.

Over at the BBC, they’re reporting on what will surely remembered as the beginning of the end of civilization.

“Get all these muhfukkin’ cells off my muhfukkin’ plane!”

I have a proposition: Every time you catch someone quoting an entire message in an email or forum reply or top-posting without preamble, politely (or not, as is your custom) refer them to this excellent post from Jon Gruber.

On Top

Does it take more time to edit the portions of quoted text included in your reply? Yes. So does spell-checking and proofreading. It also takes time to shower and brush your teeth each day.

Billy Bragg has a thought-provoking op-ed over on the New York Times’ web site.

The musicians who posted their work on Bebo.com are no different from investors in a start-up enterprise. Their investment is the content provided for free while the site has no liquid assets. Now that the business has reaped huge benefits, surely they deserve a dividend.

The claim that sites such as MySpace and Bebo are doing us a favor by promoting our work is disingenuous. Radio stations also promote our work, but they pay us a royalty that recognizes our contribution to their business. Why should that not apply to the Internet, too?

This is interesting–since most of the ink on the ‘modern age of music’ seems to revolve around the MPAA suing illegal downloaders, I haven’t heard much about the performing rights’ organizations efforts to get residuals for online performance–have they been working on this? I mean, why *shouldn’t* ad-based media companies work like radio stations?

Via eisnein on the Ableton forums.

Gnarls Barkley *The Odd Couple*

This has been on repeat on all my devices for the past two days. Just great–I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t find something to like here. Except people who always find something not to like. Faves: ‘Blind Mary’, ‘Whatever’ (The song the Violent Femmes never recorded in an alternate future where the Femmes are the BIGGEST. BAND. IN. THE. WORLD. and faucets spew candy and *really* cold chocolate milk. Or something.), and the crazy screaming during the chorus of ‘Open Book’. But really I’m digging every single song except ‘Neighbors’… best album I’ve heard since…

since…

Portishead *Third*

I normally don’t grab leaks, but this is *Portishead*, people. That’s right: Art Gillespie, bit-torrenting enemy of the poor downtrodden working class record labels. (To which I say *pshaw!*. With the current exchange rate, that limited edition box set with the sexy ‘P’ usb stick is pretty fucking expensive. So there: now I’m Art Gillespie, friend of the working musician.) Anyway, before *The Odd Couple* was released, I was listening to this over and over and over and over. So. fucking. good. Faves: ‘Nylon Smile’, ‘We Carry On’. Also tracks 1 through 11.

My only nit with the Portishead record is that it didn’t make me 25 again.

Anyway, it’s been an *awesome* year for records so far. Bring on the Raconteurs’ new album! And Beck and Danger Mouse, and Martina-Topley Bird and Danger Mouse, and, is there anyone DM *isn’t* producing this year?