From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V11 #265 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, September 30 2005 Volume 11 : Number 265 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store [Troy J Shadbolt ] Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store [DanStark <2005.carnivore99@v] Re: SiG 4 (& Milla) ["Xenu's Sister" ] More information about the Live 8 dvd for those interested [angiegamgee@j] Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store ["andrew fries" ] Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store ["Simon Barker" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:05:04 -0700 From: Troy J Shadbolt Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store It basically means we're screwed unless we purchase digital files directly from Sony (in the evil Windows Media format, where you "lease the music") or from Apple's iTunes. Of course, if you buy from iTunes, you can then burn to CD so you have a hard backup which is what I'll most likely do. I hope they have a digital booklet when it's released to iTunes. Quoting Sue Trowbridge : > > >The people at Sony are saying that this CD is the first one they release > that > > >will include DRM in all pressings, using different technology > > >depending on the > > >location. > > Maybe I'm being dense here, but what does this mean for those of us > who habitually buy CDs and then rip them so we can transfer the songs > to our iPods? I always figured I was well within my rights to do > that... it's just a more high-tech version of what I used to do as a > kid (tape my LPs so I could listen to them on my Walkman). > > --Sue > - -- troy j shadbolt www.voyuz.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:08:35 -0700 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store Bowen Simmons wrote: > If you REALLY want to screw over the system, buy, open, and return for > a refund works even better - and you can do it again and again with > different retailers and different disks. And which part of the system might you believe that you would be screwing over here? As a guy who works in a record store (yeah, I still call them that), it would fall on me to take the return, offer to replace the defective one with another copy, listen to someone complain that that won't work, call a manager, get that manager to listen to the story, and have that manager mark the thing as defective. If it happens in small enough numbers at the store (and I know the numbers of expected sales, though I can't say them here, well enough to know that it would undoubtedly be in such small numbers), there would be too few for it to be cost-effective for the store to even notify the record company. Total effect on innocent people caught in the middle? Much wasted time, effort, and good will. Total effect on the record company? That of the proverbial fart in a hurricane, if they notice at all. And, if they see KaTe's fans returning her discs in what droves might be summoned, an even lesser interest in putting out good music. So, um, other than some sort of retro-revolutionary self-congratulation on "sticking it to the Man", the net benefit is vanishingly close to nil. And the net loss to KaTe's fans and popularity is quite possibly negative. Before pulling off this scam, it might be worth explaining to each of us why you want to hurt KaTe and her present and potential listeners. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 00:17:05 -0700 From: Irvin Lin Subject: Copy protected CD's and KATE DVD. > Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store > > Hi, > > neal copperman wrote: >> Heh, that will test people's boycotting abilities! > > Well, according to amazon.de there is a vinyl version of both the single > and the entire album coming -- there's no way to copy-protect *that*. ;> *sigh* Well I guess I won't be buying the album either. I try to support artists that I believe deserve my support, but I refuse to purchase a CD that pressed with "errors" just to keep me from ripping it and listening to it in whatever format that I want. Either way, it'll hit the P2P community the day promos go out/street release. Either via Vinyl rip, or more likely through an audio output jack to soundcard rip. If it's available on iTunes, people will just burn the CD, and then re-rip the music without the protection. Sure there will be degradation and loss, but I'm guessing the P2P community really doesn't care about sounds quality THAT much. Or else they would trading more lossless formats like FLAC. The copy protection also probably won't work on older/less popular operating systems like MAC OS9 or LINUX, in which case some computer geek will just pop it into his LINUX box and dupe the CD sans protection and it'll be all over P2P networks. I personally don't like to buy from iTunes, mostly because I've had my hard drive crash one to many times, where I've lost the MP3's on them (luckily most were ripped from my collection, or backed up). I also really wish that iTunes had the option of purchasing lossless compressed files like FLAC or their own APPLE lossless format. Even though I'm not an audiophile, and the files you download are "suppose" to be CD quality to the ear, I'd rather get the real thing - just in case some time the road, I actually buy decent audio equipment. *sigh* Right now my cheap ass bookshelf speakers are the weak link to an other wise middle of the road amp/receiver. And by the way, KING OF THE MOUNTAIN is already making the rounds on the P2P community. Probably a re-encoded version of the iTunes version.... Irvin PS. Apparently the JAPANESE edition of AERIAL comes with a DVD. Does anyone know 1) what is on the DVD, and 2) whether or not it is region free or encoded for the Asia territory only? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 03:16:00 -0400 From: DanStark <2005.carnivore99@verizon.net> Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store I'd still rather do it the old fashioned way with a real store-bought CD. All of the Digital Rights Management schemes work by deliberately encoding errors into the data on the CD. This just foils most computer-based ripping programs because they need to be able to read every bit of data. When ripping software encounters those errors, the song skips or the extraction fails altogether. Regular audio CD players all have built-in error correction though -- that's why so many of them are able to play copy protected CDs without audible glitches. So you can effectively bypass the copy protection by connecting the regular audio output jacks from a standard CD player into the line input on either your computer sound card or mp3 player (if your player has a line input), and manually recording the songs just like back in the days of cassette tapes. It won't be a perfect bit-for-bit transfer, it will be an "analog" transfer, but in most cases you can get a pretty good sounding copy anyway if you set the record levels correctly. Using this method it's possible to buy the real CD with all the nice artwork and still put the songs on your computer and/or mp3 player. Personally I would rather do that than pay for lossy, restricted WMA files from Sony. By the way, it might be worthwhile to write directly to Kate (likely through her management, not the label) and make your thoughts about disc copy protection known. It seems to me that strategy has actually been effective with other artists. Didn't Charlotte Martin get RCA to stop DRMing her CDs after enough fans wrote to her complaining about it? I think she said she was never even told by her label that her discs would be copy-protected, and she was opposed to it. Dan Troy J Shadbolt wrote: >It basically means we're screwed unless we purchase digital files >directly from >Sony (in the evil Windows Media format, where you "lease the music") or from >Apple's iTunes. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 02:18:16 -0700 (PDT) From: "Xenu's Sister" Subject: Re: SiG 4 (& Milla) - --- Ken Descoteaux wrote: > SiG4 sounds great Vickie! I'm looking forward to the track > listing since there are several artists that I can't > identify... Oooh, Ken's a sly one. A "show" was in a directory, but no web page was made for it yet, but he found it anyway. :) It was a gentle kick to get me to finish the thing. However Ken, the show you downloaded wasn't my final version, which is up there now, so you might want to get it again. http://suspended-in-gaffa.com Here's the, sigh, final lineup: 01. Victoria Williams - Main Road 02. Danielle Dax - When I Was Young 03. Happy Rhodes - Ecto 04. Noe Venable - Garden 05. Velvet Belly - Wide Open Spaces 06. Mary Lorson and Saint Low - Oh Regret 07. Laurie Freelove - White Hail 08. Mary Margaret O'Hara - My Friends Have 09. The Innocent Mission - Surreal 10. Kat Terran - Caravan 11. Banderas - May This Be Your Last Sorrow 12. Tricky with Martina Topley-Bird - Overcome 13. Single Gun Theory - Fall 14. Judie Tzuke - For You 15. Wendy MaHarry - Brother 16. Sam Phillips - Tripping Over Gravity I sigh because this show went through at least 10 different incarnations. It was one thing before Katrina, a few different things during the immediate aftermath, and several things since. It's been very somber, it's been very upbeat, it's been full of rain/hurricane/flood/river songs (that got scrapped quickly because it seemed very disrespectful). I even did a silly "Cheer Up" show which I deleted before I had to scratch my eyes out. I talked, I didn't talk. I talked a lot, I talked a little. I decided that I really despise talking and still have to work on my talk loathing. When I finally got all the "theme" presentations out of my system, I had to start thinking seriously about a serious show. Part of the problem is that I don't think people were very happy with #3, and I think that was a GREAT show, so I kept thinking, how can I top that? and kept trying various songs in various configurations, and figured, no, I can't do better than #3. That's my ultimate. Depression ensues and must be worked through. I'm so weird. But you knew that. Well, anyway, enjoy this one. (And please download #3 if you haven't already! Man I love that one.) > You caused me to lose several hours of work this week. First > I started wondering whatever happened to Pamela Golden and > doing web searching. And that sent me off on Milla, but there > at least I found something. There are 14 "demo" mp3 files > available for download here: > > http://www.millaj.com/music/demos.shtml > Thanks for that! Vickie - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Music, all I hear is music, guaranteed to please... - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ - -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 04:07:20 -0700 (PDT) From: angiegamgee@jherusalem.com Subject: More information about the Live 8 dvd for those interested This article in Rolling Stone has what's going to be on the DVD. I'm definitely NOT happy about what they cut out of it. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7605160/u2?pageid=rs.Ho I think I'm going to pass on it now. >_< ~Angie ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 21:22:24 +1000 From: "andrew fries" Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 16:08:35 +1000, Joseph Zitt wrote: > Total effect on the record company? That of the proverbial fart in a > hurricane, if they notice at all. So can you offer any other way of showing our displeasure that would be more effective? Do you think that writing letters saying 'hello, respect our rights pretty please' will do the trick? Or do you think that bending over and letting them screw us any way they like *is* the right response? That's exactly how change usually starts out: as a proverbial fart in a hurricane... One of the tricks used to keep the status quo is convincing people their actions can not have any effect on the greater picture! Don't worry about the greater picture - just do what YOUR conscience tells you is right. I think that's the most sensible response to life in general, really. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:04:33 +0000 From: ken_d.lists@comcast.net (Ken Descoteaux) Subject: Re: SiG 4 (& Milla) > --- Ken Descoteaux wrote: > > > SiG4 sounds great Vickie! I'm looking forward to the track > > listing since there are several artists that I can't > > identify... > > Oooh, Ken's a sly one. A "show" was in a directory, but > no web page was made for it yet, but he found it anyway. :) > It was a gentle kick to get me to finish the thing. Ooops. I thought that was the point of you saying that it was finished, but without a web page. > > However Ken, the show you downloaded wasn't my final version, > which is up there now, so you might want to get it again. > Will do! I just wish that there was a way to tag the files so that (just like a Radio Paradise stream) the player can display tags correlated with the current music. > 15. Wendy MaHarry - Brother > Dang, it was Wendy MaHarry, not Pamela Golden, so I was searching for the wrong Musician MIA. She's got a 2002 CD available at http://www.wendymaharry.com/index2.html but I have not ordered it myself. > I decided that I really despise talking and still have to > work on my talk loathing. Vickie, I always thought that the breaks on the HGPs and HBPs were pretty good. You are too hard on yourself. On the other hand, there's a live Happy track from years ago that I'm convinced has me on it sounding like a moronic heckler. Which let's me understand why Happy hates the live tracks! > > show. Part of the problem is that I don't think people > were very happy with #3, and I think that was a GREAT show, > so I kept thinking, how can I top that? and kept trying > We're all in different places when we listen to the music. The songs have different associations (or no associations) that affect our perception of them. I'm re-listening to SiG3 right now, and its very nice, but rather mellow. So if you aren't in a mellow mood, its not going to punch your buttons... or it goes in as background music (while you work)... Just like I can NOT listen to The Ninth Wave, unless I want some catharsis. I identify with the sense of loss too much. - -Ken n.p: SiG3 - Pamela Golden - Happens All the Time ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 13:21:30 -0500 From: Sander Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store DanStark wrote: > All of the Digital Rights Management schemes work by deliberately > encoding errors into the data on the CD. There's a new one that I thought was getting fairly 'popular', as it isn't likely to give problems with playing on car systems (I might be mistaken about its popularity though; I don't buy cds that include Digital Restrictions Management either), which basically works by including some malware on the cd, and having windows autoplay install new cd drivers preventing copying (and presenting you with some crappy proprietary player to play also-included DRM-ed versions). If you disable autoplay (either by holding down the shift key for about a minute after popping in the cd, or by disabling it altogether, as per the instructions found with a simple google search depending on your windows flavour), you should be able to rip it as usual. The problem is that if these drivers are allowed to install ever, you basically have no option to get rid off them outside reinstalling windows. Needless to say, this scheme is ineffective on Mac and Linux. Sander ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:51:36 +0100 From: "Simon Barker" Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store > > >The people at Sony are saying that this CD is the first one they release that > > >will include DRM in all pressings, using different technology > > >depending on the > > >location. > > Maybe I'm being dense here, but what does this mean for those of us > who habitually buy CDs and then rip them so we can transfer the songs > to our iPods? I always figured I was well within my rights to do > that... it's just a more high-tech version of what I used to do as a > kid (tape my LPs so I could listen to them on my Walkman). > It means that the disk is deliberately designed not to play on a PC unless you use the media player that comes on the disk. The chances are, when you insert the disk it will try to run their media player. This may in turn install software on your PC that runs in the background to actively prevent you from ripping the disk. Even if you disable the auto-run, you may find that the audio tracks have been subtly corrupted. An audio CD player may correct or ignore the corruptions during playback, but a CD-ROM drive would reject the disk as unreadable. I just hope that one of the DRM systems used is Sunncomm Mediamax, since that system is ridiculously easy to bypass. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 12:47:49 -0700 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store andrew fries wrote: > On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 16:08:35 +1000, Joseph Zitt > wrote: > > >> Total effect on the record company? That of the proverbial fart in a >> hurricane, if they notice at all. > > > So can you offer any other way of showing our displeasure that would > be more effective? Do you think that writing letters saying 'hello, > respect our rights pretty please' will do the trick? Or do you think > that bending over and letting them screw us any way they like *is* > the right response? Not off the top of my head. But you can't justify doing something that you know is wrong by saying that you weren't clear on the right thing to do. > That's exactly how change usually starts out: as a proverbial fart in > a hurricane... One of the tricks used to keep the status quo is > convincing people their actions can not have any effect on the > greater picture! The history of protest is full of useless actions that pulled people away from the search for effective action. > Don't worry about the greater picture - just do what YOUR conscience > tells you is right. > I think that's the most sensible response to life in general, really. In what sense is that sensible? That sounds like the solipsism that is destroying our civilization now. If you ignore the greater picture, your conscience cannot possibly make a valid suggestion as to what is right. Those of us who care about each other know this. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 12:55:58 -0700 (PDT) From: Anthony Kosky Subject: Dr. Atomic - Bay Area ecto-folk take note It's probably not normal ecto-fodder, but I saw the dress rehersal for Dr. Atomic, by John Adams and Peter Sellars, last night at the SF Opera, and I'm pretty sure it would appeal to a lot of people here. I suspect the tickets are going to get very hard to get once the reviews come out, so I'd strongly suggest any Bay-area ecto-folk get tickets now if they possibly can. The subject is the lead-up to the first test of an atomic bomb at Trinity, and particularly deals with the conflicts and feeling of the scientists and workers at Los Alamos. Oppenheimer is the key figure, but it also brings out the feelings of Kitty Oppenheimer, who waits at home during the test, and all the many thousands of workers and people involved (represented by the chorus which is amazing). The lyrics are all based either on written material and actually documents from the times, or from the poems and writings that Oppenheimer carried with him and read from. The music is just wonderful - definitely the best thing I've head by Adams, and I think the best modern opera I've yet seen (previous favorate was Ahknatten by Philip Glass). The sense of tension that builds toward the test at the end of the second act is phenomenal, and there's also an incredibly intense and moving aria by Oppenheimer at the end of the first act. The staging, choreography, and pretty much everything else about it were also excellent - definitely the best thing I've yet seen at the SFO. There's a good article on it in last Sundays SF Chronical at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/25/PKG7JEO5A31.DTL&hw=doctor+atomic&sn=002&sc=189 and I suspect there's going to be a lot more news about it in the next few days. - -Anthony ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 01:33:54 +0200 From: Kjetil Torgrim Homme Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store [Joseph Zitt]: > > > So can you offer any other way of showing our displeasure that > > would be more effective? > > Not off the top of my head. But you can't justify doing something > that you know is wrong by saying that you weren't clear on the > right thing to do. I wouldn't advocate buying the album with the intent to return it, that's just a waste of time all round, not least mine. these days I avoid physical record stores simply due to the stressfulness of non-CDs and arguing with the clerks. buying non-CDs is completely out of the question. instead I get a copy of music from the Internet (this is completely legal according to Norwegian law, BTW). I would like to support the artist, but the avenues are limited. the obvious solution would be to buy the non-CD, the coaster the record company is selling, but that is not satisfactory. there is a lot of overhead going to the record company, the shop, the transport company -- only a fraction will reach the artist and compensate her for her work. a better approach would be to send a message to the artist and ask for alternatives, e.g. Paypal or similar. this will be an honest and moral thing to do, and will hopefully also open the eyes of the artist. n.p. Veda Hille - Auditorium (I've been listening to MP3s from Audiogalaxy for the longest time, but finally I ordered her back catalogue from Harmony Ridge. I still miss "Return of the Kildeer", but I haven't found anyone who accepts electronic money selling it. I guess I should just bite the bullet and look into where money orders can be bought.) - -- Kjetil T. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 10:00:56 +1000 From: "andrew fries" Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 05:47:49 +1000, Joseph Zitt wrote: > andrew fries wrote: > >> On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 16:08:35 +1000, Joseph Zitt >> wrote: >> So can you offer any other way of showing our displeasure that would >> be more effective? Do you think that writing letters saying 'hello, >> respect our rights pretty please' will do the trick? Or do you think >> that bending over and letting them screw us any way they like *is* the >> right response? > > Not off the top of my head. But you can't justify doing something that > you know is wrong by saying that you weren't clear on the right thing to > do. I'm calling you out on this one! What do you mean, 'off the top of your head'? This is not a new issue and I know you've been aware of it for at least as long as I have, because this is not the first time we mention this. If you've got nothing, it's not because the question took you by suprise, but because there is no better answer. You can't hope to argue with corporations, because they are motivated by profit, not reason. You can't expect a legislative solution, because legislation is their turf. This government is not going to declare copy-protection illegal. Mine will, but I estimate it is going to take a few more years before I'm in control (I'm currently having some technical glitches with the death ray but I'm sure they can be overcome). The only solution that has even the most remote hope of achieving anything is the appeal to the bottom line. Yes, we need to educate the artists and sometimes this will work. And we need to create a supportive environment where independent artists can make some money so they don't have to sell away their rights to the record companies: go to the gigs, buy independent releases, organise house concerts and so on. To me, that is what Ecto is really about. But that in itself is not going to be enough unless their spreadsheets show clearly that copy protected music doesn't sell. And the only way of doing that is by consistently refusing to buy it! We cannot make exceptions for anyone because that sends precisely the wrong message. I am very, very clear that this is the only right thing to do. > In what sense is that sensible? That sounds like the solipsism that is > destroying our civilization now. If you ignore the greater picture, your > conscience cannot possibly make a valid suggestion as to what is right. That's not what I meant - you do need to consider the big picture when making your choices. What I am saying is that once you make them, you should carry them out without worrying whether your actions will be significant enough to make a difference. Thinking 'I am only one person, nothing I can do could possibly matter' leads directly to 'well, I won't bother then!' and that is exactly what They want. Trust me, this is one of the basic lessons of "Them-ness 101', a class you can't even enrol in unless you can demonstrate the secret handshake :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 18:23:39 -0700 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store Kjetil Torgrim Homme wrote: >a better approach would be to send a message to the artist and ask for >alternatives, e.g. Paypal or similar. this will be an honest and >moral thing to do, and will hopefully also open the eyes of the >artist. > This would be good. Is it possible to reach an artist of KaTe's stature with such a message? And is there actually anything that she could do about it? With most major artists, I would guess that it would be impossible, due to record company contract restrictions. But as I understand it, she's been canny enough over the years in creating Novercia that there might be a way. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 18:45:18 -0700 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store andrew fries wrote: > On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 05:47:49 +1000, Joseph Zitt > wrote: > >> Not off the top of my head. But you can't justify doing something >> that you know is wrong by saying that you weren't clear on the right >> thing to do. > > > I'm calling you out on this one! What do you mean, 'off the top of > your head'? What I mean is, after having had it as a background process in my mind for some years, I wasn't able to bring up any useful solutions that I'd discovered. > But that in itself is not going to be enough unless their > spreadsheets show clearly that copy protected music doesn't sell. And > the only way of doing that is by consistently refusing to buy it! Right. But that is a *very* different solution than the proposed buy-and-return scam. And, again, how do we get them to distinguish the lack of sales due to the DRM from a lack of sales due to people not being interested in the music? >> In what sense is that sensible? That sounds like the solipsism that >> is destroying our civilization now. If you ignore the greater >> picture, your conscience cannot possibly make a valid suggestion as >> to what is right. > > > That's not what I meant - you do need to consider the big picture > when making your choices. What I am saying is that once you make > them, you should carry them out without worrying whether your actions > will be significant enough to make a difference. OK, that, too, is very different from what the earlier statement conveyed. And the cost-benefit analysis of the situation is essential. And considering the big picture in this way must involve weighing the probability of the negative effect on the chain of people involved most closely to you against the possibility of the remote benefit. Being the guy who would be directly dealing with the returned disc, I'm perhaps more keenly aware of the process and who it reaches than, say, I was when I was a Computer Guy. > Thinking 'I am only one person, nothing I can do could possibly > matter' leads directly to 'well, I won't bother then!' and that is > exactly what They want. Trust me, this is one of the basic lessons of > "Them-ness 101', a class you can't even enrol in unless you can > demonstrate the secret handshake :) Right. (Although this sounds quite like the famous canard, "If we don't [do what the speaker wants], the terrorists will have won.") ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 12:48:24 +1000 From: "andrew fries" Subject: Re: king of the mountain @ sony music store On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 11:45:18 +1000, Joseph Zitt wrote: >> But that in itself is not going to be enough unless their spreadsheets >> show clearly that copy protected music doesn't sell. And the only way >> of doing that is by consistently refusing to buy it! > > Right. But that is a *very* different solution than the proposed > buy-and-return scam. Well, I suppose it is different from the point of view of the store clerk but I kind of see them as one and the same - 'buy and return' simply sends the same message a couple of times; refraining from buying sends it only once. But OK - to remove the store clerks from the equation, let's just agree we are talking about simply not buying, which is my original point anyway. > And, again, how do we get them to distinguish the lack of sales due to > the DRM from a lack of sales due to people not being interested in the > music? By consistently refusing ALL OF THEM! Don't you think they know perfectly well they are trying to ram copy protection down our throats against our wishes? Of course they do, and you can bet they are watching the results like hawks. I do not doubt for a second they will compare, corelate and detect any trends if they are there to be detected! They will not mistake it for lack of interest in the genre or the artist, because they will not be looking at one piece of info in isolation, but at all kinds of data across the board. > Right. (Although this sounds quite like the famous canard, "If we don't > [do what the speaker wants], the terrorists will have won.") That is correct - If you don't do what I want, the terrorist will have won. I do believe that, and here is the proof: You (the public) are not doing what I want, and the terrorists (RIAA) are in fact winning! And since you remain deaf to the voice of reason, I am forced to keep working on my death ray :) Bonus points for those who recognise the quote without Googling : "Some of you are going to die - Martyrs, of course, to the freedom that I shall povide!" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 14:36:17 +1000 From: Ms Heidi Maier Subject: guardian's kate bush profile. 'We don't know what's gone on in her life in the last 12 years. That's the key to longevity. There's a lot held back' After 12 years the enigmatic singer-songwriter prepares to break her silence with a 'properly eccentric' new double album Patrick Barkham Friday September 30, 2005 The Guardian When Kate Bush materialised with a wail, a waft of huge hair and the startling melodrama of her first single, Wuthering Heights, the teenage daughter of a doctor from Kent could have hardly made a bigger or odder impression against a backdrop of angry young men in punk bands. Nearly 28 years on, the country is again awash with angular guitar bands, and Bush, a 47-year-old mother of one, is preparing to break 12 years of silence and release her eighth studio recording. While Aerial, a double album described as "properly, properly eccentric" by one critic, won't have quite the same shock value, many in the music industry believe it will have as much resonance as ever. Twelve years without producing a record would be a catastrophe for most popular artists - and their record companies. But the allure of Bush has only increased since her retreat from public view after 1993's The Red Shoes. The twilight imagery of her songs chimes perfectly with the mystery of her personal life. When she gave birth to a son, Bertie, she saw no reason to announce it, and the press did not find out for 18 months. Frustrated by her refusal to play the celebrity game, tabloids have compared her to Greta Garbo and Miss Havisham, suggesting she is obsessed with her privacy. The title of one of her new songs: How to be Invisible. EMI, her record company, says suggestions she is a tortured recluse are nonsense. "I'm a quiet, private person who has managed to hang around for a few years," she said recently, with characteristic understatement. Spotted by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Bush was just 16 when she signed a #5,000 deal with EMI. In contrast to today's production line of adolescent superstars, executives felt she was too young for fame and let the teenager quietly compose, study dance and play the odd pub in south London. Their patience paid off: she became the first female British artist to reach number one with a self-penned song in 1978. From The Dreaming to The Sensual World, she matched esoteric and playful innovation with commercial success. Bush is estimated to be worth #25m, the second wealthiest British female solo artist after Annie Lennox. EMI has been equally patient with Bush in middle age. She has recorded Aerial on and off for six years. "Kate's one of those artists who records and makes music to her own timescale rather than meet a record company's deadlines, which is fine by us," said an EMI insider, with no hint of gritted teeth. Contrary to reports, Bush will go on television to actively promote Aerial, released on November 7 between new offerings from Robbie Williams and Madonna. Paul Rees, editor of Q magazine, believes a comparison with Madonna is instructive. Both women are 47, both have played totally by their own rules, but their careers could not be more contrasting. "There's nothing left that you don't know about Madonna whereas with Kate Bush there is everything left to know," he said. "She's retained that sense of enigma. We don't really know what has gone on in her life in the last 12 years. That's the key to her longevity. There's a lot held back." The extraordinary voice of singer-songwriter Roy Harper was one of Bush's formative influences and he collaborated with her in the 1980s and 1990s and is still a friend. He believes Bush has been more influenced by literary writers than songwriters. "She is lovely to work with, a true musician. There is no need to tell her what to do, she has already done it and she is ahead, making suggestions. She is very honest and very gentle, bright and full of creativity, the kind of girl you should've married, really. She is very private and family orientated now. When you are that good a person, the danger is that everybody takes the piss. The cure for that is to keep yourself out of the public eye." Those who have heard Aerial are, typically, amazed and slightly baffled, with Bush addressing a pigeon on one of the two albums, said to be inspired by bird song. Bush told Harper that one was a concept album and, "to lessen the blow" the other was "just Kate songs". Firmly in control of her career, it is ironic that by complete chance 2005 has turned out to be the perfect year to craft a comeback. She has always enjoyed the praise of her peers but a raft of up-and-coming bands are inspired by her, from Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons to The Futureheads, whose cover version of Hounds of Love was a bigger hit than Bush's. Harper ranks her alongside Tracey Emin and Germaine Greer as "a teacher", although "a rather more gentle woman than a lot of teachers". Bush has been ahead of her time, with dramatic videos in the 1970s and singing about seeking solace in computers in the 1980s, but mostly she has been in her own time, working to her own timescale. With the cycle turning in her direction, her moment may have come again. The CV Born Catherine Bush on July 30 1958, in Bexleyheath, Kent. One son, Bertie. Career Debut single Wuthering Heights (1978, UK No 1 for a month). Albums: The Kick Inside (1978), Lionheart (1978), Never For Ever (1980), The Dreaming (1982), Hounds of Love (1985), The Whole Story (1986), The Sensual World (1989), This Woman's Work (1990), The Red Shoes (1993). Ivor Novello Award 1978-79. Best British Female Artist Brit Awards 1987. David Gilmour on her success: "I thought of her as very talented but appealing to an esoteric audience. But she had different ideas." Kate on being a musician: "School inhibited me. It wasn't until I left school that I found the real strength inside. All the rest was karma." ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V11 #265 ***************************