Compressorhead, the all-robot band that plays hits by AC/DC, Motorhead, and The Ramones, represents another step toward a technological future in which machines continue to perform tasks as well as (or better than?) humans. Many a techno-utopian envisions a world in which human labor, including creative and performing arts no longer represents economic or social value. Naturally, the prospect of ...
I watched this Amanda Palmer TED Talk “The Art of Asking” over the weekend and found it both remarkable and inspiring. Her frankness and humanity are unassailable. Who can argue with an artist who says, “I put myself and my work out there, I ask to be embraced, and I am embraced”? Kudos to her for doing it. Kudos to ...
Yesterday, on Capitol Hill, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to discuss the Internet Radio Fairness Act, a bill largely backed by Pandora Media, Inc. and opposed by a growing number of musicians and songwriters. In fact, I recommend Chris Castle’s excellent synopsis of the message taken to The Hill by a handful of songwriters. If you want legal ...
Beneath the roil of arguments about illegal downloading of digital media, there is an unmistakable social, dare I say ethical, implication to the idea that the next generation is growing up believing that it is normal to enjoy entertainment media without paying for it. Perhaps the most counter-intuitive phenomenon is the fact that college students currently paying a premium to ...
I guess it comes down to the obvious answer that “sex sells,” but with the recent arrest of two Vietnamese songwriters, I can’t help but notice the overwhelming silence on social media in stark contrast to the outpouring of support for Pussy Riot. Okay, I get it. Mini-dresses on leggy, Russian girls wearing brightly colored balaclavas are hard to beat ...
