wnyc.org: "Heavy Metal has been a great many things, but it’s never been cool. Never, until now perhaps. We’ll look at the emergence of the Hipster Metal movement. Also: A live performance from The Be Good Tanyas." Listen here
Metal Back in Music Spotlight
npr.org: "Whatever happened to heavy metal? On tonight's Grammy Awards, the five nominees in the Best Metal Performance category might wonder if they even want to be invited to the party; the music has rarely gotten along well with the pop music establishment. And it has been years since an industry spotlight has shined on a heavy metal band." Listen here
BBC: "Bobby Friction travels to New York to find out how members of the hip hop community were affected and how it reacted to big events like hurricane Katrina" Listen here
npr.org: "The propulsive, rhythmic music of pioneering minimalist composer Steve Reich is represented by two major works: his Three Movements for Orchestra, which showcases the LA Philharmonic's percussion section; and Tehillim, his classic setting of Hebrew psalms, sung by Synergy Vocals.
Reich's minimalist style has inspired and influenced countless artists, including composers Phillip Glass and John Adams, as well as the progressive rock group King Crimson and electronic artist-producer Brian Eno." Listen here
bbc.co.uk: "Mark Russell and Robert Sandall report on the latest happenings in the avant-garde and alternative music scenes of Berlin. They encounter sound artists, neo-cabaret singers, practitioners of Noise and post-techno electronica boffins including Alec Empire, Mattin, Christina Kubisch, FS Blumm and Antje Greie." Listen here
BBC: "From Elvis's pelvis through Max Romeo's Wet Dream to Frankie's Relax, how can musicians express life between the sheets without facing the wrath of the censor?" Listen here
bbc.org: "Robert Sandall explores the music of the American musician and producer Jim O'Rourke. The programme also features pieces by Joanna Newsom, Sonic Youth, Loose Fur and Fennesz." Listen here
"Jim O'Rourke (born January 18, 1969) is an American musician and producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene.
Known for his idiosyncratic tastes, and regarded as something of an expert on modern experimental music, he has released albums of jazz, noise and guitar rock music. O'Rourke has collaborated with the likes of Derek Bailey, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Nurse With Wound, Fennesz, Organum, Henry Kaiser, Flying Saucer Attack, and most recently mixed Joanna Newsom's new album Ys." More
wnyc.org: "DJ Drama was arrested January 16 for producing unlicensed mixtapes even though his compilations have been used as promotional tools by record executives. New Yorker music critic, Sasha Frere Jones, and DJ Pete Miser, discuss the RIAA's awkward relationship with mixtapes and what the recent crackdown on DJ's could mean for the hip-hop community" Listen here
NPR on the same topic:
Hip-Hop's Mix-Tape Tradition Meets with the Law
npr.org: "DJ Drama, a hip-hop mixtape artist, was arrested and charged last week with selling unlicensed CD collections and remixes. But many hip-hop artists and record labels cooperate with mixtape artists as a way to get their music to the public. New York Times music writer Kelefa Sanneh talks with Luke Burbank." Listen here
dradio.de: "Um Händler und Käufer von Kinderpornographie zu entlarven, wurden erstmals auf breiter Basis Transaktionen sämtlicher deutscher Kreditkartenbesitzer unter die Lupe genommen. Die Jagd nach Verbrechern alarmiert indes auch Datenschützer."
Eine Katze verändert die Welt
"Mit einem Tiervideo im Internet hat die Zukunft des Fernsehens begonnen: Dank neuer Übertragungstechnik wird aus der guten alten Flimmerkiste das Portal zu einem medialen Multiversum. Von Götz Hamann" Weiter
Videoportalen geht's an den Kragen
"Mehr als ein Dutzend europäischer Verwertungsgesellschaften wollen sich nach Informationen der FTD-Schwesterzeitung Les Echos im Laufe dieses Monats treffen, um über ein mögliches gemeinsames Vorgehen gegen Websites wie Youtube, Myspace und Dailymotion zu beraten." Weiter
Musikindustrie pocht weiter auf Eingrenzung der Privatkopie
"Bei einem Treffen mit Kulturstaatsminister Bernd Neumann haben führende Vertreter der Musikwirtschaft am gestrigen Mittwoch erneut Verschärfungen beim Urheberrecht gefordert. "Das Urheberrecht muss endlich im digitalen Zeitalter ankommen", forderte Michael Haentjes, Vorstandsvorsitzender der deutschen Phonoverbände nach der Zusammenkunft. Darunter versteht die Musikindustrie vor allem, dass im Rahmen der zweiten Stufe der Urheberrechtsnovelle die Privatkopie weiter eingegrenzt werden soll." Weiter
Weltweiter Umsatz mit Musik-Downloads 2006 verdoppelt
"Das Wachstum bei digitalen Musik-Downloads kann den sinkenden Verkauf von herkömmlichen CDs bislang nicht kompensieren. Das räumte der Weltverband der Phonoindustrie (IFPI) in seinem heute veröffentlichten Jahresbericht zur digitalen Musik ein. Der Anteil der Downloads via Internet und Handy am gesamten Geschäft der Musikbranche stieg 2006 auf 10 Prozent von 5,5 Prozent im Vorjahr. Der Umsatz verdoppelte sich auf 2 Milliarden Dollar (1,55 Milliarden Euro). Die Zahl der Lieder, die online verfügbar sind, habe sich mit 4 Millionen ebenfalls verdoppelt. Der IFPI rechnet damit, dass bis zum Jahr 2010 rund ein Viertel der Musik über Downloads verkauft wird." Weiter
Doppelschlag gegen Rapidshare
"GEMA erwirkt einstweilige Verfügungen gegen die Betreiber der Dienste www.rapidshare.de und www.rapidshare.com"
Weiter
wps1.org: "Rekha sits down with Host Jason Charles to explore the world of Bollywood film music, a "Bollywood 101," of sorts. DJ Rekha, named one of the most influential South Asians in the United States by Newsweek Magazine, is a DJ and producer based based in her hometown of NYC. Her Basement Banghra party has become one of the most famous ongoing events in NYC nightlife. She has been profiled in the Washington Post, Village Voice, BPM Culture, New York Magazine (nominated "Best DJ" 2003) and The New York Times Magazine."
wnyc.org: "Amazon.com, MySpace, and other online sites are planning to enter the digital music sales market in 2007. Paul Resnikoff, editor of Digitalmusicnews.com, tells us what to watch for." Listen here
wikipedia.org: Nicholas Rodney Drake (June 19, 1948 – November 25, 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for his acoustic, autumnal songs. Drake's primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, and saxophone. Though he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has since grown steadily in stature, to the extent that he is now widely considered one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the last 50 years." More
Merce Cunningham: Dance at the Edge
NPR: "Considered by many the greatest living choreographer, Merce Cunningham's career began with Martha Graham and spans 60 years of innovations in dance and music. At 87, Merce Cunningham is still creating new works, and he remains on the leading edge of dance." Listen here
John Tusa Interview with Merce Cunningham
BBC: "He was born Mercier Philip , he is universally known as Merce, you don't usually have to add his surname, Cunningham . Merce Cunningham . Choreographer, that's all. That's enough. The world's greatest they say, few would bother to argue." Listen here
BBC: "Mark Lamarr tells the story of the Million Dollar Quartet, one of the most famous jam sessions in the history of pop music that saw Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis perform together in a studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on a Tuesday afternoon in December 1956. Including contributions from Peter Guralnick, Colin Escott, Carl Perkins, Sam Phillips, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis." Listen here
BBC: "A fiery vault beneath the earth or as Sartre put it, other people - it seems our ideas of hell are inevitably shaped by religious and cultural forces. For Homer and Virgil it?s a place you can visit and return from, often a wiser person for it. With Christianity it?s a one way journey and a just punishment for a sinful, unrepentant life. Writers and painters like Dante and Hieronymus Bosch gave free rein to their imaginations, depicting a complex hierarchical world filled with the writhing bodies of tormented sinners. In the 20th century hell can be found on earth in portrayals of war and the Holocaust but also in the mind, particularly in the works of TS Eliot and Primo Levi. So what is the purpose of hell and why is it found mainly in religions concerned with salvation? Why has hell proved so inspirational for artists through the ages, perhaps more so than heaven? And why do some ideas of hell require a Satan figure while others don't?" More The History of Hell
npr.org: "Hollywood is an entertainment-industry juggernaut; its success in exporting movies, TV shows and music that have vast, global appeal is unparalleled. At the same time, anti-American sentiment is rising overseas, most notably in the Middle East, Latin America and Europe." Listen here
audible.com: "After nine months of examining and analyzing U.S. military involvement in Iraq, the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group issued this report on Dec. 6, 2006.
The report calls the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating" and says, "There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved". The report makes a wide-ranging series of 79 recommendations for political, diplomatic, economic, and military action so the U.S. can "begin to move its combat forces" out of Iraq."
Note: to download from audible, an extra software the "audible download manager" is needed. The file format is "audible audiobook" (.aa). I am not shure if every mp3 player or media player can play this format, but iTunes can.
Trends and Products: Robotics
Robots and artificial intelligence are alive and well in our lives. It is not fantasy, or futuristic, it is real. Google, for example, is a product of thinking in and around artificial intelligence. But what kind of thinking and experiments are going on in the top laboratories, and what kind of insights and breakthroughs are being made Robotics
Robert Lippok - Robot
westernvinyl.com: "Robert Lippok’s Robot ep is a portrait of the euphoria and naivety of 20th century robot science. Throughout the ep he uses the technology and the spirit of early 90’s techno in combination with field recordings and a sense for romantic melodies to explore and elucidate our relationship and fascination with robots." More Unexpected Behavior No. 7(excerpt)
How To Survive a Robot Uprising
mondoglobo.net: "Daniel H. Wilson, author of the hilarious “How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion,” joins us on this episode of NeoFiles. Wilson is a Ph.D. graduate of the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University." More
sueddeutsche.de: "Das Langzeitgedächtnis des Internets speichert alles: das Foto vom Turnfest, den Eintrag auf der Seite mit den alten Schulfreunden, das Zitat in einem Gästebuch oder Chatforum. Warum es der Karriere schaden kann, wenn man allzu unbedacht Spuren im Netz hinterlässt, erklärt Joachim Staude, Vizepräsident des Bundesverbands Deutscher Unternehmensberater." Weiter
dradio.de: "Es gibt kaum noch einen Verein in Europa, der nicht mindestens einen Spieler aus dem Land des fünffachen Weltmeisters verpflichtet hat. Vor allem die Afrobrasilianer kombinieren, "als wäre es ein Tanz", spontan, wendig und fintenreich. Doch die gefeierten Ballkünstler können nicht verdecken, dass die brasilianische Gesellschaft noch lange nicht die Probleme mit ihren afrobrasilianischen Mitbürgern überwunden hat". Weiter
hr-online.de - Der Tag: "Die Fußballfans schwelgen vom Sommermärchen, und die Hooligans zeigen in den Stadien wieder ihre hässliche Fratze: Vor allem in den unteren Spielklassen ziehen Prügelhorden durch die Stadien, brüllen antisemitische Parolen und demolieren die Einrichtung. Fußball ist offenbar kein Kindergeburtstag, er provoziert in besonderem Maße Gewalt und Rassismus. Der Kaiser und die Innenpolitiker bekunden Entsetzen und fordern härtere Strafen. DER TAG fragt sich und solche die es wissen sollten, was das alles mit der Sportart Fußball zu tun haben könnte." Die hässliche Fratze des Fussballs (60 min)
br-online.de: "Das schöne Lied "Happy Birthday", denkt man gemeinhin, sei ein Volkslied ohne Verfasser. Aber so ist das nicht. "Happy Birthday" ist eine Komposition mit Komponisten, als solche urheberrechtlich geschützt, privates Absingen ist erlaubt, aber tun Sie dasselbe öffentlich in finanzieller Absicht, dann müssen Sie zahlen." Weiter Happy Birthday
