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Charles Nesson, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School:

“the idea of imposing law on the global ocean of free bits that has flooded into cyberspace is a gross and harmful over-extension of the power of the state and authority of the law.”

Source: Judge rejects fair use as Tanenbaum P2P trial begins

Nancy Gertner, judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts:

[Judge Gertner] then concluded by telling the RIAA lawyers that they were “basically bankrupting people, and it’s terribly critical that you stop it.”

Source: How Harvard Law threw down the gauntlet to the RIAA

UPDATE: So much for the encouraging sentiments. The trial didn’t go well. The Register was less than impressed with Charles Nesson’s tactics.

Kick me again, RIAA. Please!

A stirring number for the Twickenham crowd to encourage the England pack to batter the opposition:

Blood Red Roses

Admittedly, it would sound more intimidating sung by someone with a more powerful voice than Sting’s, but it sends a shiver down my spine each time I hear it, nonetheless. (Film trivia: this is one of the shanties sung by the crew of the Pequod in Moby Dick as the ship leaves port on its fateful journey.)

The song is from the awesome Rogue’s Gallery, a collection of music to which I owe a long overdue tip o’ the hat. If you have any seafaring blood in your veins, you’ll love a good number of the tracks on this album (there’re 43 of them). They’re mostly sea shanties and folk songs, many of which have been given contemporary or else novel treatments. Here are some choice cuts courtesy of YouTube:

Cape Cod Girls - Baby Gramps
Fathom the Bowl - John C. Reilly
Bulley in the Alley - Three Pruned Men
A Drop of Nelson’s Blood - Jarvis Cocker
My Son John - John C Reilly
Hog Eye Man - Martin Carthy & Family
Good Ship Venus - Loudon Wainwright III (filthy and hilarious)
Sally Brown -Teddy Thompson

I’d almost fogotten how attractive Amy Winehouse used to be. Very sad.

Then and now*

(*for some reason the Daily Mail has the older image horizontally flipped)

X-Ray Spex at the Camden Roundhouse, 6th September, 2008.

Great gig, great atmosphere and Poly’s voice seemed undiminished — she was still belting it out during the final encore. Only regret? We had seats (!) up in the Gods which, of course, just isn’t the same.

Spex played all the tracks from the five singles and the album, except for “Plastic Bag” and (I think) “Highly Inflamable”. They also played a few newer numbers that I didn’t recognize. No doubt it was all a far cry from the intimate and chaotic early gigs at venues like the the Man on the Moon and the Roxy, but the occasion survived the transplant to 2008 and today’s sanitized venue atmosphere. In fact, it was brilliant.

Edit: There’s a more detailed review of the evening (with pics) here.

Edit2:
It’s 1977 and some people think that little girls should be seen and not heard, but Poly thinks:

I Live off You:

Let’s Submerge (and opening to Germ Free Adolescents):

Germ Free Adolescents:

Warrior in Woolorths:

The Day the World Turned Dayglo (FTW!):

I am a Poseur:

I Can’t do Anything:

Artificial:

Genetic Engineering:

Edit 3: The above is all massive understatement on my part. It’s now Wednesday (10th Sept) and looking back this was a totally awesome occasion. Poly was drop-dead cute, her voice was seriously kick-arse (really, it was, you had to be there). The atmosphere was electric to start with, went up a gear when they played “Let’s Submerge”, and just went from strength to strength from there. I’ve been singing “Warrior in Woolworths” even more than our three year old son sings the Scooby-Doo theme song, and I’ve still got a rash from bouncing around so much in my SEAT! (My seat Andy!! What were you thinking when you booked??? )

Cory Doctorow in the Guardian on the three way deal between the government, the music industry and ISPs:

Under the new scheme, the rule of law is replaced by a cosy inter-industry deal. Whereas before, anyone who wanted your ISP to spy on your internet connection would have had to show evidence to a judge and get a court order, now any joker who claims to be an aggrieved copyright holder can do so.

And whereas actual criminals are punished by judges who make rulings that are proportional to the offence, and which are calculated to minimise external harm, the new scheme allows ISPs and their pals in the record industry to randomly shake up your connection like a snow-globe, dropping some or all of your services – whether you’re using your VoIP phone to speak to your dying granny in Australia or downloading the latest hit single from the guy who did the “Crazy Frog Song”.

Then there’s the question of trust:

They claim that the surveillance data will only be used to police copyright and not to spy on every communication you make. But Transport for London claimed that Oyster cards would only be used to simplify paying for travel, and not to bulk-surveil Londoners, and yet here we are. As novelists say, “A gun on the mantle in act one is bound to go off by act three.”

And when it comes to “trust”, let’s not forget the following:

• Voice and data networks were built to help citizens communicate and share, not to provide our government with unprecedentedly powerful means of spying on our most private activities.
• Filesharing is an inherently legal activity; despite this, there is strong evidence that ISPs are interferring with the right of their customers to engage in this activity.
• The Terrorism Act was supposedly drawn up to combat terrorism, not to enable local councils to spy on parents attempting to obtain a place for their child at a particular school
• Roadside CCTV cameras were originally supposed to be used to penalize dangerous driving, not to create a nationwide, automated system for control, punishment and extortion.
• The data within the police DNA database was supposed to be used to fight crime, not sold to  commercial researchers to help the police cover their operational expenses.
• Electoral roll data is entrusted to our local authorities and is supposed to be used to facilitate the functioning of political democracy, not as yet another means for our local authorities to raise extra-taxation revenue.

But we needn’t worry, the ISPs have given us their word that they won’t spy on us or allow our data to be viewed by third parties. With such reassuring pledges, who needs legal or constitutional protection?

One of the great ironies here, is that the ease of data access, copying and manipulation that the recording industry is demanding be curtailed, is the same ease of access, copying and manipulation that has seduced our authorities into thinking that they can control and punish citizens remotely, and earn a quick buck by selling our most sensitive and constitutionally essential data to the highest bidder. Given that the government is siding with the record industry on this matter, it’s not irony, it’s arch hypocrisy. If hypocrisy were the only misdeed, we could just raise our eyes to the heavens and carry on with life, but this hypocrisy is eroding our civil liberties, and it doesn’t get much more serious than that.

This guy appears to be pretty well known, but I only discovered him today. Some people are so skilled you just find yourself smiling in admiration as you watch them. I was grinning from ear to ear watching this.

Larry Wright: New York Street Drummer

Another great clip

Melissa had this as her ringtone when I first met her. I remember this song being played continually on the radio in 1978. I thought it was awesome, but my friends were listening to punk and I was too embarrassed to admit I liked it. It still sends a shiver down my spine now.

Baker street

Metallica to bloggers: don’t review our music.

This blogger to Metallica: easier done than said.