No industry should ever sue their customers. Doesn't the very idea sound ridiculous?

I agree with Alexander Wolfe's thoughts on the subject, where he proposes that Copyright benefits should be heavily reduced:

. . .

It's time to end the prohibition on music.

Reducing the now excessive Copyright lifetimes would be a big step. I wish that would happen, but I'm a skeptic and in particular I don't think the U.S. Congress can manage that kind of forward thinking while they have well-paid lobbyists to cater to.

More likely, the RIAA will get reformed instead.

The negative press is piling up and EMI is thinking in this direction now. Once again I'm a skeptic though, I think it's very likely that they may dissolve the current RIAA and just reassemble it under a different name, with a mandate to leverage the legal and corporate system in a less intrusive way. In other words, boiling us slowly in water rather than cooking us with flamethrowers.

The entire Entertainment industry are culprits in this fiasco. Copyright was created with the intent to protect both the public and artists. I don't think the original proponents ever had corporate self-interests in mind.

Products which generate revenue for entities aside from the original artists should have a more limited lifespan, because they naturally try to maximize profit by reducing promotional and creative costs. Our entire culture suffers as we're sold the same material over and over again. How many times should I have to purchase the Beetles? Why is this industry granted protection for multiple vertical markets? If I've purchased the CD, or even Vinyl or Cassette, then I should have the right to listen to the music on my PC, on my cellphone or my portable player.

Sooner or later the music industry will adapt with the times and we'll likely be sold music as a "service". Owning your purchases is clearly an ability that they don't want you to have.

Yeah, I'm a skeptic.

Puck highlighted this, but I figured I'd repost it 'cause that's what teh Intranets is all aboot, right?

Various dances within WoW, coupled with video from the sources they were inspired by.

Speaks for itself, but best if you've seen Fergie making a fool of herself with it first.

Trouble, the quintessential doom metal band (tied in my mind with Black Sabbath) is finally putting out a new album. Simple Mind Condition is slated for a Feb 20, 2007 release, more than 12 years after their last album (the unfortunately lackluster Plastic Green Head).

I was introduced to the band's music in the mid-80's by a friend, at which point I scrounged up any of their recordings and eventually landed all of their studio albums on CD. My Trouble collection is probably the envy of doom metal fans everywhere, at least until the re-mastered re-releases hit shelves soon.

I hope they do exceedingly well with the new material. I can't wait to hear it.

I've had an opinion about this topic for awhile, but just what the hell went wrong with the Punk scene?

Sometime around '92 or so, I went to a party where a DJ-wannabe introduced me to the sounds of Green Day. I think my comments were along the lines of "Not bad for a garage band" and his response was akin to "Garage band? They're punk". I definitely recall laughing and more than a little scoffing. I don't care what scene Green Day grew up in, it wasn't punk to me then and it's even less punk to me now.

The Sex Pistols are punk. Dead Kennedys are punk. Black Flag is punk. WTF Good Charlotte? Emo.

Emo Punk? Fuck off, that's a contradiction in terms. Pop Punk? That's just proof that punk is dead.

I'd have his babies. Weird Al's new video speaks for itself:

Awesome flash bit. I'd describe it, but that might spoil it. Right up there with Badger Badger Badger.

I laughed. I cried. I posted it here.

Update: The tune in the clip is an original track believe it or not, although it sounds very 80's retro. An Australian band called TISM (this is serious mum). The Flash animation is the winning result of a video contest.