From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2005 #256 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/joni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Saturday, June 25 2005 Volume 2005 : Number 256 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: NJC what is Chicago today??? NJC [Bob Muller ] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [jrmco1@aol.com] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC ["John T. Folden" ] RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC ["Les Irvin" ] RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [Bob Muller ] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC ["John T. Folden" ] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [Randy Remote ] New Joni news [jrmco1@aol.com] Re: New Joni news [Catherine McKay ] Re: Joni stuff now incredibly njc [Catherine McKay ] RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [Catherine McKay ] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [Smurf ] Re: New Joni news [Smurf ] Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC [Mark-Leon Thorne ] Her Majesty gittin' i-jiggy with it [jrmco1@aol.com] Celebrity CD Compilations column [jrmco1@aol.com] Everybody look what's going down NJC [jrmco1@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 13:59:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: NJC what is Chicago today??? NJC Boy, it looks like a real roll of the dice, Em - most of the heavy smarm from Chicago came from Peter Cetera, who left the band a long time ago, so you shouldn't get a heavy shower of schmaltz like "Baby what a big surprise" and such. Robert Lamm is still with them as are most of the horn guys so my guess is that you'll get some nice horn jams (like Anybody Know What Time It Is) and piano stuff (like Saturday In The Park). Of course, when it comes to horns it's hard to top EWF's Phenix Horns - I saw them live in the 70's just when they released their Greatest Hits LP. Great show, but I have to say that what you'll get is gonna be more like a Las Vegas styly revue. They have a DVD coming out this month of their show from last year at the Greek Theatre - I didn't see a setlist but it looks like both bands give you about 90 minutes. Could be cool - could be a disappointment. Both bands are way beyond their 'sell by' date IMO but they sure did some great stuff in their prime. Bob NP: Cubs v. White Sox - --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:02:16 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC Jerry writes: >>A BIG stretch. The JMDL is not a nonprofit, educational institution, AND we >>are not its employees. That would be a matter for the court to decide, wouldn't it? Then there's also the whole issue of "Fair Use" law. But it gives me a headache to even contemplate explicating *that* morass for this discussion. It'd welcome it if someone else wanted to give it a shot though. - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:29:39 -0400 From: "John T. Folden" Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC On Jun 24, 2005, at 4:12 PM, Catherine McKay wrote: > > and that's why they've been going after individuals > who share files, rather than the operators, if they > know that person is in the US. And they've been going Of course, it takes all of two seconds to find out whether most servers are in the US (or where ever). ...and I hope that everyone realizes while using BitTorrent that users automatically are sharing the files back to others even as they are downloading. That's the way it works. John ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:51:08 -0400 From: "John T. Folden" Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC On Jun 24, 2005, at 5:02 PM, jrmco1@aol.com wrote: >>> A BIG stretch. The JMDL is not a nonprofit, educational institution, > AND we >>> are not its employees. > > That would be a matter for the court to decide, wouldn't it? No, it wouldn't. Has the JMDL filed with the appropriate government entities as a not for profit, educational institution in any way? I somehow would think not... John ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 18:07:17 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC >>No, it wouldn't. Has the JMDL filed with the appropriate government entities as a not for profit, educational institution in any >>way? I somehow would think not... >>John Doesn't matter, John. The JMDL could apply with the appropriate government agency for non-profit status tomorrow, if it wanted to. There are "registered" non-profit organizations and un-registered non-profit organizations. I don't believe the regulations we are discussing draw a distinction. One of the main reasons "registered" non-profit organization register is to benefit from tax exemptions. The JMDL engages in no commerce, so that distinction would be unnecessary, I think. Any jurist who peruses the JMDL Home Site and finds that it is NOT educational needs to removed from the bench, in my opinion. - -Julius - -----Original Message----- From: John T. Folden To: jrmco1@aol.com Cc: notaro@stpt.usf.edu; les.jonilist@gmail.com; joni@smoe.org Sent: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:51:08 -0400 Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC On Jun 24, 2005, at 5:02 PM, jrmco1@aol.com wrote: >>> A BIG stretch. The JMDL is not a nonprofit, educational institution, > AND we >>> are not its employees. > > That would be a matter for the court to decide, wouldn't it? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 15:30:15 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Muller Subject: Re: Joni stuff now incredibly njc Firstly Catherine, I take no offense whatsoever to your comments. Believe it or not, the truth of the matter is that I'm not one for clutter at all. True, I have a LOT of CD's but I store them in polysleeves and not jewel cases, which is where all the bulk & weight are. I have one storage rack that's about 3' x 4' that stores all my Joni shows and covers CD's, and a nice cabinet that's about 4' x 5' with storage doors that fold in so it looks like a piece of nice furniture instead of just shelves filled with stuff. A good question, and I'm sure a serious problem especially in these times of the internet, eBay and such when a collector CAN get whatever they want if they have the money. I had a co-worker who collected Barbies, Beanie Babies and a few other things. Her boyfriend eventually broke up with her because her house was filled with the stuff. I admit that sometimes I go out on a limb and spend a crazy amount of dough for a Joni cover, but in my case since I don't need to KEEP the record/CD/45 I can turn around and re-sell it on eBay - sometimes I get a good chunk of my money back, sometimes I take a hit. I consider it my hobby, and like a lot of my peers that go play golf a couple times a week, with greens fees & all the costs that being a golfer incurs, I have a certain amount of disposable income to spend frivolously. By the same token, I'm smart enough and disciplined enough to know when I don't have it and sometimes I have to let things pass. And I NEVER use credit - I only use money I have. I would say that THE main indicator that a hobby is a problem is when you have to use money you DON'T have (ie, credit cards, loans and such) to finance it, or like you say when you spend the grocery/mortgage/car payment money on it. Not a problem...she's very cool and she's very supportive to see me doing something that gives me such joy. By the same token I don't complain about her osessions like shoes, clothes, jewelry and hair products. Neither of us is very controlling of the other, to be so would be problematic I think. Plus we keep our money separate so there's never an issue about who's spending too much money on what. The truth is, I'm more the "Felix" type and she's the "Oscar" - she doesn't give a toss for organization and clutter doesn't bother her at all. I'm not overly anal about it but I do like to have everything in its ordered place, and I have a minimum of "stuff" anyway...I don't collect or keep books, magazines, or DVD's. I watch/read them, and either take them back to the library or sell them (or donate them) as the case warrants. And I spend very little on clothes, as that would mean less money to spend on tunes! I've gotten to where if I can't recycle it or donate it or sell it I have no problem throwing away lots of stuff - although I will admit that I still have 1 couple of hundred cassettes in the basement that I haven't thrown out - but they're in the basement. If they were in my way or visible I could toss them today. People have different levels of addictive personalities, so I almost think that it's REQUIRED that a partner or friend or loved one tell the other that they percieve a problem - though it's all but impossible to do, and likely will not be succesful as you're not going to address a problem until YOU recognize it as such. Like I said - it's a great discussion topic. I'm not offended one iota; I take a lot of ribbing here about my covers obsession, and my wife and son kid me about it too, but not in a "Bob-you-have-a-problem-we-have-to-talk" kind of way. George Carlin has a bit about the great American trap...we buy a house and then but the stuff to fill it up, then when we have more stuff than the house can hold we have to buy a bigger house which only encourages us to buy more stuff and so forth. Me too. Bob NP: The Shins, "Pink Bullets" - --------------------------------- Yahoo! Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:40:01 -0600 From: "Les Irvin" Subject: RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC Hard to argue with Jerry about the definition of copyright law. It's pretty much black and white. But I think the whole issue we are discussing is relative and has shades of grey that have to be debated. Take the Joni/James CD that just sold for $109 on eBay. I doubt there is anyone among us who would have disproved of intercepting that deal ahead of time, providing everyone who bid on it with a free copy, and denying the bootlegger of his profit. Yet, when looked at from the perspective of denying Joni and James rightful profit versus handing out free copies, it takes on another dimension. Shades of grey. Fact is, file sharing is here to stay and will only get more sophisticated with time. Any attempts to stifle and crush it will produce the same effect that Prohibition had on alcohol. Copyright owners must learn how to embrace the technology and use it towards their benefit. Continuing to litigate against the very audience that actually spends money on music at the same time they engage in illegal file-sharing is a fool's battle. The group Pearl Jam has taken a brilliant and creative first step. They sell soundboard recordings of the concert you just heard on your way out the door. Someone mentioned the JMDL Library - a cesspool of copyright infringement. :-) I'm not sure if any parallels can be drawn but in the nearly ten years I've had articles on-line, I've been asked to remove two of them. The vast majority of owners who've spoken up seem to be of the opinion that the exposure on the site is good for them and their work, and they are actually pleased to see it there. Les NP: Greg Brown "Poet Game" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:05:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Bob Muller Subject: RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC Les Irvin wrote: This is right on the money, Les. And according to a recent article I read in Rolling Stone, file sharing is actually UP since the RIAA lawsuits started flying - by the same token sites like itunes & Napster have become very popular as well, so there IS an audience who will willingly support downloading that supports the artists. As do moe, Allman Brothers, and lots more. They Might Be Giants puts their shows up on their website for download immediately afterward for $9.99 Ani Difranco puts out a new show for sale on her website every six weeks or so for $10. So far she's done 5 and I've bought them all. And I've had no negativity at all about the Undercover site; matter of fact I've gotten a couple of CD's/records/mp3's from artists who saw their name in the "we're looking for" section - the latest being Haris Blackwood who sent me a gratis copy of her CD with a Chelsea Morning cover on it, and she was cool with me putting her track on a compilation and potentially sending it around the world. Bob NP: REM, "Belong" Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 20:28:53 -0400 From: "John T. Folden" Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC On Jun 24, 2005, at 6:07 PM, jrmco1@aol.com wrote: > Any jurist who peruses the JMDL Home Site and finds that it is NOT > educational needs to removed from the bench, in my opinion. On top of what I said, previously, does the JMDL have approval for every article, review, etc that they have in the library? If one were to legally look at such matters there might be copyright violations aplenty there. I don't imagine that most of the involved organizations care, however. John ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 17:58:02 -0700 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: NJC what is Chicago today??? NJC I saw Chicago on VH-1 a couple of years ago. As SCBob says, they still have Lamm, the voice of most of the hits. The rest of the band is mostly kids that probably weren't born when 25 or 6 to 4 came out. There are still a couple of grayhairs mixed in... Anyway, I thought they were really good. But expect a tight, hit oriented show ala Vegas or wherever they play these days. Seems EW&F were on an awards show or something recently, and very good, too. Em wrote: > this is so perverty..but I'm actually considering going to a show with > Earth Wind and Fire and Chicago. > Wondering if anyone knows what's up with Chicago? If they, by some > miracle, are once again a horn and percussion section-heavy jam band > like when they started out then I'm way interested, but if they are the > sappy crappola (yep, just an opinion) they became in the late 70's then > I surely SURELY want to NOT go. > Anybody know the skinny on the current band? Are they smarm, or do they > wail? I do love fat punchy horns... > :) > thx! > happy Friday all you childs of god.... > Em ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 18:10:02 -0700 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC I haven't read every post, but international copyright standards have been accepted by pretty much all the industrialized companies. The location of the server is not, IMO an issue. I think there are lots of fan groups like jmdl doing this kind of thing, and I don't think anyone is too concerned about it. It's essential, of course, not to make available commercial releases. Technically speaking, a song is automatically copyrighted on it's creation. Copyright is the right to copy (and distribute), and belongs to the author of the work, until transferred to another entity. A recording (when registered, as a studio recording or other label release) is a second type of copyright. In other words, the song itself is copyrighted, and the recording itself is copyrighted, too, separately. RR ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 18:22:05 -0700 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC Randy Remote wrote: > I haven't read every post, but international copyright standards have > been accepted by pretty much all the industrialized companies I mean 'countries' ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:58:58 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: New Joni news This just in from my sources in Canada: - - There's cover story on Joni in this month's Reader's Digest, Canadian edition. - - Joan is selling her childhood home in Saskatoon and her parents are moving into a "condo." Someone Jmdl, and preferably Canadian, buy the old house, now, okay? Thanks. - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 22:11:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: New Joni news - --- jrmco1@aol.com wrote: > This just in from my sources in Canada: > > - There's cover story on Joni in this month's > Reader's Digest, Canadian > edition. > > - Joan is selling her childhood home in Saskatoon > and her parents are > moving into a "condo." > > Someone Jmdl, and preferably Canadian, buy the old > house, now, okay? > Thanks. > > -Julius > I'm amazed Bill and Myrtle would still be in a house at their age. Wow! I thought they'd have gone condo years ago. Did they stay in the house that Joni grew up in all this time? Somehow, I imagined Joan might have bought them something fancy-schmancy, but maybe they liked the place they lived in. I wonder how much they want for the place? Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 22:51:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Joni stuff now incredibly njc - --- Bob Muller wrote: > I've gotten to where if I can't recycle it or donate > it or sell it I have no problem throwing away lots > of stuff - although I will admit that I still have 1 > couple of hundred cassettes in the basement that I > haven't thrown out - but they're in the basement. If > they were in my way or visible I could toss them > today. > Every so often, I become very ruthless and I gather things together and donate them to Good Will or similar charities. Some people hold garage sales, but I figure I'd rather spend the time doing something else than standing around on my front lawn haggling over crappy little things that, if I don't end up selling, I'll either give away or toss. I think it's good therapy and even though I feel a certain amount of guilt about throwing things away, imagining all the JUNK in the garbage dump, especially things that really could be fixed but for the fact that fixing them costs more than buying new ones (this has long been a sore point for me), I also feel good about having freed up some space (for more junk?) I keep trying to remember that you can't take it with you and imagining what a freakin' MESS it would be for my kids to have to go through all my stuff after I died and figure out what to do with it. Not that I'm planning on kicking off for a while yet, but most of us don't plan that at all! My ex- used to collect comic books. At least, he went through a period of buying them, sticking them in plastic holders and acid-free boxes to preserve them, with the intent of holding onto them for years and then selling them and making a lot of money. It kind of bothered me at the time that he was doing that, when in fact, it was fairly harmless. He wasn't spending a lot of money on it. He wasn't buying original Batman comics or anything. I guess what really bothered me was the fact of collecting something just because you thought you could make money off it at some point, and not just because you actually liked the things. When he left, he left the comic books behind and now they're in Matthew's room and they're probably all dog-eared, but hey! comic books are for reading! My daughter went through the Beanie Baby thing for a few years, but now all the Beanie Babies are in the basement, where they're probably getting all mildewy and stinky from being in the basement. Maybe those would be worth selling (as long as they haven't been peed on by one of the cats. One of those beeaatches, but I haven't been able to figure out yet which one, occasionally pees outside the litter box, and beanie babies are nice and soft - but I've closed the door to the room they're in.) Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 23:06:50 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC - --- Les Irvin wrote: > Hard to argue with Jerry about the definition of > copyright law. It's pretty > much black and white. > > But I think the whole issue we are discussing is > relative and has shades of > grey that have to be debated. Take the Joni/James > CD that just sold for > $109 on eBay. I doubt there is anyone among us who > would have disproved of > intercepting that deal ahead of time, providing > everyone who bid on it with > a free copy, and denying the bootlegger of his > profit. Yet, when looked at > from the perspective of denying Joni and James > rightful profit versus > handing out free copies, it takes on another > dimension. Shades of grey. > > Fact is, file sharing is here to stay and will only > get more sophisticated > with time. Any attempts to stifle and crush it will > produce the same effect > that Prohibition had on alcohol. Copyright owners > must learn how to embrace > the technology and use it towards their benefit. > Continuing to litigate > against the very audience that actually spends money > on music at the same > time they engage in illegal file-sharing is a fool's > battle. I totally agree. I think we all know it probably isn't legal copyright-wise, but we also agree that most of us would buy the stuff if the artist or recording company were to sell it; and that we don't believe in sharing freely, but not in selling this stuff. I also believe that many writers and artists would agree to having an article they've written or a recording they've made shared on a website like the jmdl, or via a Joni-covers project, on the basis that it does get their name and their work out there in front of more people who are potential buyers. I know for a fact that I've bought more commercial CDs and been introduced to a lot more kinds of music via file-sharing. I have no idea how typical I might be, but I suspect there are a lot of people who have experienced this and who probably end up spending more money on things they might not otherwise have bought, because they listened to a sample mp3 (a whole one, not the 20-second snippets on a lot of websites), or because they downloaded a live show of an artist they had heard about and wanted to check out. Just my opinion, but I think it will help out both the artists and the recording industry in the long run, and it's just another phase the industry is going through. I also add a big "hooray! me too!" to Julius's educational value argument. We know that people have used the material on the jmdl site to research books or articles which they have then published. The jmdl is like an online library devoted to Joni Mitchell. I don't think there are too many websites that have so much information on anyone gathered together in one place and growing every day. The writers of the articles are always given credit and the title and date of the publication are there too, so even the bibliography is there. I know we've had discussions here about early versions of Joni songs, different wording she might have used and so on. If it weren't for sharing music files, these discussions wouldn't happen. Yeah, there are many shades of grey, but I believe that's preferable to strictly black and white. Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 23:10:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: RE: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC - --- Catherine McKay wrote: > we don't believe > in > sharing freely, but not in selling this stuff. > Dang! I meant, we DO believe in sharing freely. Catherine Toronto - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 20:40:35 -0700 (PDT) From: Smurf Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC - --- Randy wrote: > international > copyright standards have > been accepted by pretty much all the industrialized > companies. Ha-ha! Good one, Randy. - --Smurf "The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with." --Bruce Springsteen Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 20:43:33 -0700 (PDT) From: Smurf Subject: Re: New Joni news - ---About Joni's childhood home, Julius wrote: > Someone Jmdl, and preferably Canadian, buy the old > house, now, okay? Wouldn't it be just wickedly perverse to buy the old place, knock it down, and put up a parking lot? - --Smurf "The best music is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with." --Bruce Springsteen __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 14:34:25 +1000 From: Mark-Leon Thorne Subject: Re: BitTorrent Covers CDs NJC I am not an expert on Australian or international law but, as far as I am aware, it is not an offence to share copyrighted material. It is only an offence to publicly broadcast that material or to sell it. To outlaw the sharing of privately owned material would breach the Australian Constitution. It is also not illegal to copy that material for private use. That's why CD and DVD burners are in most computers and DVD recorders. It's similar to recording a TV program. It is legal as long as it is not publicly broadcast. Mark in Sydney On 25/06/2005, at 7:29 AM, John T. Folden wrote: > > On Jun 24, 2005, at 4:12 PM, Catherine McKay wrote: > >> >> and that's why they've been going after individuals >> who share files, rather than the operators, if they >> know that person is in the US. And they've been going > > Of course, it takes all of two seconds to find out whether most > servers are in the US (or where ever). > > ...and I hope that everyone realizes while using BitTorrent that users > automatically are sharing the files back to others even as they are > downloading. That's the way it works. > > John ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 01:45:25 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: Her Majesty gittin' i-jiggy with it Is Elizabeth a dancing queen? Everyone wants to know what QEII has on her brand-new iPod. - - Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle Pop Music Critic Friday, June 24, 2005 Queen Elizabeth is getting crunk these days at Buckingham Palace. That means QEII is gettin' jiggy widdit with her new iPod. The British press has reported that Her Majesty commanded a member of her staff to ye olde Apple Store on London's Regent Street to procure for her personage one silver 6 GB iPod Mini, capable of holding 1,500 songs. And, yes, she got a royal discount. Now everybody is wondering exactly what tunes are making it onto the 79- year-old monarch's playlist. The most popular guesses seem to be Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," the Stone Roses' "Elizabeth My Dear" and, naturally, ABBA's "Dancing Queen." Those might seem good choices until you consider the lyrics for the second song: "Tear me apart and boil my bones/ I'll not rest till she's lost her throne/ My aim is true my message is clear/ It's curtains for you, Elizabeth my dear." You're more likely to catch Prince Charles' break-dancing in the front lawn of Buckingham Palace to Prince's "My Name Is Prince." Assuming Elizabeth enjoys repeatedly hearing her own title in song, she might consider something a little more sophisticated, for example David Bowie's ode to transvestites and heroin, "Queen Bitch." Or if she's having a bad day and needs something to lift her spirits, it's hard to beat the verses of Queen Latifah's "Queen of Royal Badness": "The queen is hyped up, awesome and deadly/ If you don't dance, grab a chair and plex, B." But even QEII would find Juice Newton's 1981 hit "Queen of Hearts" totally lame. But, after all, Elizabeth has been around. She's lived through Elvis and Sinatra, the Beatles and the Stones, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. She was there when they invented rock 'n' roll, skiffle and swing. Disco? There are rumors of pictures floating around involving her, Andy Warhol and a white horse at Studio 54. And punk rock? Let's not forget that in 1977 the Sex Pistols serenaded her from a boat in the Thames during the Silver Jubilee celebration. "God Save the Queen"? Why not? Sure, the lyrics might be a little hurtful, especially the bit about, "God save the Queen/ She ain't no human being/ There is no future/ In England's dreaming." But, hey, that guitar riff royally rules. Some better downloads might include the Beatles' "Her Majesty," because, well, she probably considers herself a pretty nice girl. Pearl Jam's version of "Crown of Thorns" might feel good on a rainy day. There's also Stevie Nicks' "After the Glitter Fades" for those contemplative days when the corgis aren't enough to lift her spirits. And if Elizabeth's feeling a little kinky? Why not XTC's "King for a Day"? A few years ago, Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana" would have easily topped the personal playlist. As much fun as it is to imagine that Queen Elizabeth has loaded her iPod Mini with all kinds of great music by the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Interpol, Missy Elliott, Joanna Newsom, Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, the Magnetic Fields, Gwen Stefani, Rufus Wainwright, Ladytron, the Arcade Fire and Arctic Monkeys, the sad fact is her playlist probably looks more like one of those Starbucks samplers compiled by Norah Jones with boring old farts like Joni Mitchell and Verdi. Still, it's got to be better than whatever's on George W. Bush's iPod - -end- - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 01:53:51 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: Celebrity CD Compilations column Their favourite things By Samantha Selinger-Morris Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald June 25, 2005 For years you've been able to buy their clothing lines, perfume and even - if some of the dodgier eBay offerings are to be believed - their organs. Now you can buy a piece of the celebrity soul. Celebrity CD compilations - mixed albums of favourite or inspiring tracks, compiled by the star themselves - are storming the music industry. Hundreds of artists, including the Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson, have done one. The personal mixed tape for an In Style age, they provide the ultimate voyeuristic experience. "They allow you to have a peek into a famous artist's record collection," says Stewart Hanna, distribution manager of DMC Records, Australia, the local distribution arm for the British label of the same name that is releasing its 26th celeb compilation on Monday. "Each CD has its sleeve notes which explain why, in the artists words, they chose [each] track. [Some are like] short novels, detailing [the artist's] upbringing and childhood." So many are on the market now - British label Azuli and American coffee chain Starbucks, for example, are also pumping them out with astonishing regularity Aching to relive your teenage angst in a music-induced fog of Catcher in the Rye type introspection? Choose Morrissey's collection (from DMC's Under the Influence series), and listen to the obscure track Arts and Crafts Spectacular - a quirky ditty about a quilter being pipped at the post by an upstart named Tracey - by American band Sparks, while reading the former Smiths frontman's accompanying liner notes. "At 14, I want to live with these people, to be - at last! - in the company of creatures of my own species." Those considering therapy could lull themselves into a state of self-love with Nora Jones's collection, from the Starbucks Artist's Choice series. (The melancholy strains of Billie Holiday, Johnny Cash and Etta James will always convince you of your comparative sanity.) For those nights when the I-wish-I-was-a-rock-star-instead-of-an-accountant feelings threaten to take over, DMC's Back To Mine series transports you, musically, to your favourite artist's house at the end of an all-night binge. "You've got to imagine that you've all staggered back to Everything But the Girl's house, and that's what [songwriter] Ben Watt will put on the stereo, while you have a drink and what have you," Hanna explains. Just where did this trend come from? Dean Buchanan, program director of radio station Nova 96.9, says it's an offshoot of the existing compilation CDs - the dinner party mixes, the '80s mixes, the DJ mixes like the Ministry of Sound - that have been going strong since the early 1990s. The newest genre, he adds, is driven by record labels desperate to remain profitable in a market that's increasingly being squeezed by the iPod and internet downloading. "The record business is no different than any other business," Buchanan says. "It's no different than service stations adding grocery aisles rather than just selling petrol. If you're not developing new revenue streams for your business, you're in big trouble." There's no doubt compilations are an easy buck for record labels. Unlike producing an original album by a new band, they save labels from recording fees, mixing fees and the often astronomically high advertising fees associated with promoting a new act. But why are the musicians so keen to participate, when the venture is prone to criticism of cashing in and selling out? Joni Mitchell, who signed up for the Starbucks series, explains on the shop's website: "By the end of the 20th century, it seemed to me that the muse had gone out of music and all that was left was the 'ic'. Nothing sounded genuine or original. Truth and beauty were passe . . . I quit the business. I volunteered to take part in [this project] in order to force myself to review the songs and compositions that, over the course of my life, really got to me." Soon, Australians will have the opportunity to scrutinise the tunes that "got to" Joni - and many other big-name stars. Starbucks Australia is looking into bringing its celeb compilations to local stores this year. Plus there's the latest DMC release, compiled by the Libertines lead singer Carl Barat, on Monday. Will we embrace the trend, as the US and UK have? Melbourne musician Kim Beissel certainly thinks so. In fact, he already has, having already produced two albums of songs that inspired Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (unsanctioned by the band) in 1998 and 2004. Local label Rubber Records put out the albums, and Beissel is keen to do another one. It isn't about the money, he says (he netted only "about $5000" on the first volume), but rather the fact that the trend provides a functional outlet for obsessive fans - and there are many - like himself. "I'm like the guy in [the Nick Hornby book] High Fidelity, [who says] 'Have a listen to this obscure track, dude,' and the 17-year-old goes, 'That's awesome.' There's a satisfaction in that. What was it like the first time you ever had truffles, or whiskey? It's just passing on something that you like." - -end- - -Julius ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2005 02:05:19 -0400 From: jrmco1@aol.com Subject: Everybody look what's going down NJC June 25, 2005 New York Times Iraq Bombing Kills 4 U.S. Women By JAMES GLANZ and JOHN F. BURNS This article was reported by James Glanz, John F. Burns and Eric Schmitt and written by Mr. Glanz and Mr. Burns. BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 24 - At least four women serving in the American military, including three marines, are among the six known dead in a suicide car bombing in Falluja on Thursday, military officials in Baghdad and Washington said Friday. It was the largest number of women in the armed services killed in a single attack during the Iraq war. Eleven women were also among the 13 marines wounded in the strike, which began when the car approached a military convoy carrying about 20 marines and sailors to checkpoint duties on the edge of Falluja. Most if not all of the personnel riding in the back of the truck when it was hit were American women assigned to search Iraqi women who pass through the checkpoint. Of about 37 women in the military killed in Iraq as of Wednesday - among at least 1,728 service members killed over all - nearly all had died within units made up largely of men. On Thursday, for the first time in the war, a large number of women suffered and died together after a strike that military officials suspect was carefully planned and might have been aimed at the women. The attack came in the middle of a debate over the proper role of women in the United States military. Although women are not supposed to be used in combat roles, the Iraq war is a conflict without a defined front line, where attacks can come from any direction, at any time. Women who drive in logistics convoys or serve as engineers are every day at risk of ambush, suicide bombings and remotely detonated explosives. Given those realities, commanders have quietly relaxed the rules to allow women to be deployed as turret gunners in Humvees and in a wide array of other assignments that put them in the line of fire. "Among marines in the field, the gender lines have already been erased," one male senior officer said. "You can't go to Iraq and not be at risk in some way, and that's what all of us who put on a uniform here understand." This month, Congress voted down a proposal that would have put into law a set of prohibitions on the assignment of women to units that can involve them in combat. But as recently as Thursday, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the supreme American commander in Iraq, argued before the House Armed Services Committee that the official military policy not to have women serve in infantry units should remain in place. Women serving in Iraq widely support relaxing those prohibitions, but after Thursday's attack, one marine officer predicted that the deaths would add further momentum to the debate in Congress, among women's groups and elsewhere. Before Friday, there appeared to have been only one case in which more than one woman was killed in a single hostile incident, a helicopter crash near Falluja in early November 2003 that killed two women, Pfc. Karina S. Lau and Specialist Frances M. Vega, both of the Army, out of an overall death toll of 16. The names of those killed in the attack on Thursday were being withheld until families could be notified. The horrific power of the blast, sending metal shards and body parts in all directions, and a huge cloud of black smoke and swirling dust climbing into the evening sky, led to some uncertainty about the final toll. The American command issued a preliminary statement on Friday saying that two members of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force were killed and 13 were wounded. But the statement added that three marines and a sailor were still officially classified as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown - in essence, missing and unaccounted for in the carnage until forensic tests can firmly establish their identities. The military officials in Baghdad and Washington, who said the missing were presumed dead, cautioned that the casualty toll could still change owing to the chaotic nature of the scene. Among the men killed was Cpl. Chad Powell, 22, of Ouachita Parish, La., according to his father, Jerry Powell. Corporal Powell was a member of a marine motor transport unit. "They said the suicide bomber hit the vehicle and it exploded on impact, and that he was probably killed instantly," his father said. Corporal Powell, who was married with a 3-year-old son, was planning to leave the Marine Corps in three months, when his four-year enlistment expired, and move home to Louisiana, his father said. "He was genuine. He was honest, and he was a godly man," Mr. Powell said. "As far as I know, he didn't have any enemies." The attack came on top of a series of similarly devastating bombing attacks on marines in Anbar Province, west of Baghdad in recent weeks, including two in the past month in which five or more marines died in each. At least 17 marines have been killed in the province in the past 10 days alone, and several hundred since the American-led invasion two years ago. But the gloom that settled on the American command Friday as details of the latest attack became known took on a special edge because of the predominance of women among the victims, a rare event not only in this war but in any other American war. The attack is also likely to be seen as a significant setback for a city that American-led forces invaded in November to drive out the insurgents who had taken control. Months earlier, Falluja had become the focus of American ire when four Americans working for a private security company were ambushed and killed, with their mutilated bodies strung up on a bridge on the western end of town. Under a heavy security lockdown since the November campaign, Falluja had been relatively quiet until about a week ago, when a car bomb exploded outside a building where a political meeting was taking place. American commanders believe that insurgents are trying to work their way back into Falluja. The latest Falluja attack took place on the main east-west road through town, known as Highway 10, about 400 yards west of the main checkpoint on the city's eastern edge. On Friday morning, tires from the truck - a standard seven-ton transport vehicle - and pieces of metal from the car used in the attack still littered the cracked asphalt of the road. A witness to the bombing, Muhammad Anwar, said that the car approached an American military convoy from the side and swerved toward the truck, which was visibly packed with military personnel. The women had an important role in Falluja, because in Iraq the American practice has been to assign only women to pat down women and girls passing in and out of the city. The girls going through the checkpoints often appear afraid, so the American women requested donations of teddy bears to give them. They recently arrived from the United States. James Glanz and John F. Burns reported from Baghdad for this article, and Eric Schmitt from Washington. - -end- - -Julius ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2005 #256 ***************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------- Siquomb, isn't she? (http://www.siquomb.com/siquomb.cfm)