Exploring Stuff That Makes Life Great
As I see it it’s very simple – DRM doesn’t work. You can never, never
ever, keep someone from making a copy of a piece of music if they
really want to. So why bother?
Jonathan Coulton is a singer/songwriter from NYC who is setting the standard for circumnavigating the record companies and proving not all music fans are thieves. He took some time out of his wicked busy life to sit down and answer some questions for us!
Continue reading “Beating The System One Awesome Song At A Time: Jonathan Coulton”
Now this is what I call entertainment.
Egypt’s majestic Pyramids of Giza and Great Sphinx provide a dramatic backdrop for the U.S. television debut of Canadian artist Chantal Chamandy. Accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and a troupe of 10 dancers, the Egyptian-born singer/songwriter returns to her native country to perform an eclectic mix of songs.
Visually enhanced by striking choreography, elegant staging and a dynamic light show, the concert special includes an emotional rendition of “Somewhere” from West Side Story, two traditional Arabic songs (“Salma ya Salama” and “Helwa ya Beladi”) and Chantal’s original compositions (“You Want Me,” “Peace”).
Filmed September 7, 2007, the performance features guest appearances by the Egyptian National Ballet Company, Tanoura dancers, a Darbouka drum band and an Egyptian marching band. (ever hear of Egyptian “belly dancers” – they’re hot!)
In what is a most amusing series of events, Harmonix and Activision are fighting like kindergarten kids over who’s responsible for not releasing a patch for Rock Band.
Harmonix, with some help from MTV, thought that releasing a patch for Rock Band, which would allow Guitar Hero III controller compatibility is a good idea. The idea did, after all, come after thunderous public request. However, it didn’t go down as well as they had expected. Harmonix’s patch was approved by Sony, but not by Activision, who supposedly objected to the patch.
This makes Harmonix and MTV heroes who want a free and liberal gaming area and where everything is good and compatible. Activision is suddenly a dark, evil EA-esque villain who wants the depraved gamers to buy Rock Band controllers. And because we need a fine background for a fight, we have Sony and their PlayStation 3.
Sony promptly replied that this is a matter out of their hands, and one that should be “amicably resolved” by Harmonix, MTV and Activision. Well, at least Sony has nothing to do with the whole fiasco. Then again, it’s the ill-fated, all-cursed PlayStation 3 that serves as a setting for this tale.
Activision struck back yesterday by saying that MTV/Viacom is unwilling to participate in a healthy tussle discussion about the issue. According to their press release, Activision were the good guys all along and Harmonix/MTV have been the ones who were not talking with Activision about their technology.
This fight is almost like the Silicon Knights/Epic brawl, except there’s no legal matters here and the subject is ridiculous. What’s bad is that the gamers are suffering in the long run. They are the ones who haven’t gotten the patch yet, while the big corporations talk about how they love gaming and want gaming to be accessible.
How will Harmonix/MTV respond? Is the PS3 really cursed? Isn’t watching this silly fight fun? Comment and conquer!
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The fantastic service XM Radio has branched into podcasting, a field that I’m shocked as to why it took them so long to get into. XM Radio Podcasts has launched with 8 podcasts Bob Edwards Weekend, 60/20 Sports with James Carville and Luke Russert, XMSN This Morning with Coach Switzer, Basketball & Beyond with Coach K, XM Weekly Music, XM Artist Confidential: Green Room, Opie and Anthony Shorts, and Unmasked.
New episodes will appear in the podcasts the day after they are aired for XM Radio subscribers.
“By making these original XM series available through xmradio.com, iTunes and other popular podcast web sites, millions more consumers have an opportunity to sample some of the best in premium music, news and sports programming that you can only get as an XM subscriber,” said Eric Logan, XM executive vice president of programming.
I’ve added a couple of these podcasts onto StuffWeLike.com’s media player, The Pipeline.
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They’re too old to be doing this… That’s all I’m going to say.
