Trent Reznor Gets It Right

Ok, so here's an interview with Trent Reznor & Saul Williams about talking about their new album, but what most caught my eye was the following:

What do you think about OiNK being shut down?
Trent: I'll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now. iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc. Amazon has potential, but none of them get around the issue of pre-release leaks. And that's what's such a difficult puzzle at the moment. If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it? People on those boards, they're grateful for the person that uploaded it — they're the hero. They're not stealing it because they're going to make money off of it; they're stealing it because they love the band. I'm not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want.

I think this is the best explanation I've ever read about a file sharing site/program and the motivation of people behind it..

RIAA - 1, Single Mother - 0

Well, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has successfully won in court against a single mother for file sharing. For those who don't know the RIAA is, they are comprised of many companies, the big four of which are EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, & Warner Music Group. These companies hide behind the RIAA so they won't be associated with all the bad PR that surrounds suing their customers.

I personally have only bought a few CD's in the last 7-8 years (the few I have were after/before a concert, and I'm 98% certain unassociated with the RIAA). The companies in the RIAA have alienated me as a customer. I refuse to support them. I encourage as many other to quit supporting them as well.

Here are a few sites that I've found to be quite useful:
http://riaaradar.com/

http://www.boycott-riaa.com/

Full List of RIAA Members

Two major bands have shown they are fed up with the recording industry's antics. Trent Reznor , aka. Nine Inch Nails - has recently split from his contract with his label, probably because of all the bad press he's generated for them recently, they were probably glad to let him go..

Also Radiohead's latest album will be released tomorrow and they will allow the customer to set the price at what the customer thought the album is worth to download. They also will offer a boxed set for a set price, but the key here is they are doing it without the record companies.

These two examples are just the beginning of what I think will be a massive exodus of bands from being tied to the useless labels trying to promote them.

Huskers, Boo!!

What. The. Hell.

Did we even show up to the game on Saturday? Because I didn't see any football players from Nebraska on TV. There were some college kids dressed up in pads and jersey's, but they certainly didn't act like football players.

The offense seemed like it was going to get going a few times only to sputter and eek out a few field goals. The Blackshirts were no where to be found. Turn those shirts in boys, because you don't deserve them. Why were we only blitzing three men all the way up until the point where it no longer mattered?! (Hey, i know, lets give them a 35 pt lead, THEN put some pressue on their QB). And then when the announcers said that Cosgrove said they were going to make some "USC like" changes to the defense, uhhh Hello? did those changes seem to work then? I didn't think so...

I sincerely hope that Cosgrove is fired, then tar and feathered and ran out of town. That's all I have to say about him. Calahan seems to be doing a good job with the offense and if only the defense could keep the games close enough that the offense doesn't start loosing heart, we will begin winning football games again.

That game was painful to watch, is painful to think and talk about, and hopefully will be the last painful thing we have to endure this year.

On a lighter note, I will actually be making it to two of the next three games, Oklahoma St for homecoming this Saturday, Oct 13th, and then will be making a road trip down to enemy territory for the Texas game on Oct 27th. Tickets are in hand for the Texas game, and still on the lookout for a few more tickets to ensure there is enough for the entire family. I can't wait...

Birthday Results

Welp, the birthday weekend is finally over and I feel fresh and relaxed.

I went out Friday night and ended up staying out a bit later than expected (3AM, oops) because of this and a lack of planning, I put off the paintball adventure on Saturday morning until a later date when I can get a hold of more than a few people. Saturday I spent lounging around doing a whole lot of nothing until about 9 when we went out for dinner at Granite City, followed by drinking at the My Way, and ending with an after hour party at my place. Many thanks to Andy, Chris, Micaila, Angie, Kalinda, Mikey for the shots and drinks and making the time enjoyable with your presences.

I crashed somewhere around 3AM again Saturday night and slept in until almost 11, it was awesome. I then spent the next 3 hours playing Halo 3, took a break for some lunch, then played about 8 more hours before calling it a night. That's right, something like 11 hours of Halo, this was also awesome, no I'm not an addict, really. I swear.

Next on the agenda is getting the basement painted, steam cleaning the living room and having an electrician investigate some issue M.U.D. found while replacing my Gas/Water meters, hopefully this doesn't end up costing *too* much...