Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Willin to plagiarize
I thought Old Crow Medicine Show had recorded a pretty nifty tune called Wagon Wheel. I sing it once in a while. Maybe the chorus written by Bob Dylan.
Then I hear a random tune off my ipod from the Byrds untitled cd and it's called Willin' originally by Little Feat, who originally came from Zappa's band. Here's the Byrds version which is slightly mellower than the original. Gene Parsons sounds like he's singing through a portal to the late 1960s. Amazing voice that has hints of Townes Van Zandt.
Well, I'm no expert, but these songs are very similar in chord progression, lyrics, instrumentation and everything. The key is G. Chord Progression of verses is a classic descending bassline G, D/F#, Eminor, C, D
The chorus is A minor, C, G. Then walk the G, A ,B to the next C chord. Eminor, C, D.
The "Willin" part is a gospel half cadence IV-I. C-G.
It just goes to show you that the Byrds covered Dylan tunes and then covered a Little Feat tune which was later stolen by Dylan but never recorded so Old Crow Medicine Show took it and finished it and recorded it and it's a good tune. Maybe that just proves when good musicians steal from each other you still get good music.
Then I hear a random tune off my ipod from the Byrds untitled cd and it's called Willin' originally by Little Feat, who originally came from Zappa's band. Here's the Byrds version which is slightly mellower than the original. Gene Parsons sounds like he's singing through a portal to the late 1960s. Amazing voice that has hints of Townes Van Zandt.
Well, I'm no expert, but these songs are very similar in chord progression, lyrics, instrumentation and everything. The key is G. Chord Progression of verses is a classic descending bassline G, D/F#, Eminor, C, D
The chorus is A minor, C, G. Then walk the G, A ,B to the next C chord. Eminor, C, D.
The "Willin" part is a gospel half cadence IV-I. C-G.
It just goes to show you that the Byrds covered Dylan tunes and then covered a Little Feat tune which was later stolen by Dylan but never recorded so Old Crow Medicine Show took it and finished it and recorded it and it's a good tune. Maybe that just proves when good musicians steal from each other you still get good music.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Seized
I got excited when I went to visit a naughty webpage and found this greeting from the D.O.J.
They sound serious. It's mostly for show since there are hundreds of these sites and no way to close them all down. How else are the sudanese going to get money for hosting banner ads?
Every single piece of digital media is available if you own a computer. It's not really free since maintaining a computer is expensive but Universal and Paramount don't get as big a cut as they'd like. I wonder if Comcast is technically an accomplice to the crime if they provide the service. They say it's illegal but they charge you for performing an illegal act. They make money when you commit a crime. Do they split their profits? Ethically, Comcast can show a movie to you if you pay for on demand. But if you use comcast internet to just take the movie and watch it on demand then you've also paid Comcast but now you have the movie, just like you have the movie if you pay for on demand. Am I splitting hairs? Is this legalese? What's an analogy? A drug dealer selling drugs as long as you agree not to use them? You can watch a movie on youtube with no problem because youtube has an agreement with the copyright holder to show it. But if you download the same movie and watch it on your computer (off youtube) then you have committed a crime. You could technically watch the movie on youtube in one window (legally) and have the same movie playing next to it in another window (illegally). I know we can go back to kindergarten when they taught us not to steal, but they also taught us to share and if someone wants to share a granny gang bang video with me then what's so wrong about that? It's sharing! Not stealing! Ok, my legal skills are exhausted.
They sound serious. It's mostly for show since there are hundreds of these sites and no way to close them all down. How else are the sudanese going to get money for hosting banner ads?
Every single piece of digital media is available if you own a computer. It's not really free since maintaining a computer is expensive but Universal and Paramount don't get as big a cut as they'd like. I wonder if Comcast is technically an accomplice to the crime if they provide the service. They say it's illegal but they charge you for performing an illegal act. They make money when you commit a crime. Do they split their profits? Ethically, Comcast can show a movie to you if you pay for on demand. But if you use comcast internet to just take the movie and watch it on demand then you've also paid Comcast but now you have the movie, just like you have the movie if you pay for on demand. Am I splitting hairs? Is this legalese? What's an analogy? A drug dealer selling drugs as long as you agree not to use them? You can watch a movie on youtube with no problem because youtube has an agreement with the copyright holder to show it. But if you download the same movie and watch it on your computer (off youtube) then you have committed a crime. You could technically watch the movie on youtube in one window (legally) and have the same movie playing next to it in another window (illegally). I know we can go back to kindergarten when they taught us not to steal, but they also taught us to share and if someone wants to share a granny gang bang video with me then what's so wrong about that? It's sharing! Not stealing! Ok, my legal skills are exhausted.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Glass Bead Game...adapted*
"He hoped to arrange and sum up all the knowledge of his time, symmetrically and synoptically, around a central idea. That is precisely what the Glass Bead Game does: pursue the encyclopedic idea...not just a juxtaposition of the fields of knowledge and research, but an interrelationship, an organic denominator."
He was alone in this pursuit, which was universally loathed and considered a philosophical perversion. His efforts were thwarted at every step though at times he felt he had found this organic denominator (which was quixotically related to his own quest) and had cause to celebrate. With no one to share his findings he turned to debauchery, whoring, drinking, drugs, depression and lastly a lonely death in a urine scented cabin. His notes were illegible and were cremated with his emaciated body. And those closest to him nodded proudly that they had foreseen this self-destructive end, had attempted to guide the disturbed philosopher to a path of life insurance premiums and regular weed whacking, but had ultimately failed to add another obedient drone to the mob of 7 billion waiting to fill their car up with gas. Instead of contributing to the holistic understanding of man, his life became an exhibit in favor of conformity.
*apologies to Hermann Hesse
He was alone in this pursuit, which was universally loathed and considered a philosophical perversion. His efforts were thwarted at every step though at times he felt he had found this organic denominator (which was quixotically related to his own quest) and had cause to celebrate. With no one to share his findings he turned to debauchery, whoring, drinking, drugs, depression and lastly a lonely death in a urine scented cabin. His notes were illegible and were cremated with his emaciated body. And those closest to him nodded proudly that they had foreseen this self-destructive end, had attempted to guide the disturbed philosopher to a path of life insurance premiums and regular weed whacking, but had ultimately failed to add another obedient drone to the mob of 7 billion waiting to fill their car up with gas. Instead of contributing to the holistic understanding of man, his life became an exhibit in favor of conformity.
*apologies to Hermann Hesse
wet flue gas desulfurization technology
"Using wet flue gas desulfurization technology—a “scrubber” system—the project is expected to capture at least 80 percent of the mercury in the coal and reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by more than 90 percent. By law the project must be operating no later than July 2013. The Clean Air Project will supplement more than $50 million in previous investments at Merrimack Station to reduce particulate emissions and nitrogen oxides."
How much more complicated are our lives going to become? For me, this is all heading in the wrong direction. It's getting insanely complicated to maintain a lifestyle that isn't destroying everything. It's like we're already living on the moon. I guess we're really determined to dominate or destroy our environment. It's one or the other. Maybe both. The idea of harmony is like a joke now. Thoreau will probably be classified as a terrorist one day. This paradigm is very hard for me to accept even if I can understand the philosophical underpinnings of it. At some point I start to question if it is just reckless Americans being reckless Americans and wonder if it is actually diabolical inventors securing their wealth at the cost of our health. You know? It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Look at asbestos.
How much more complicated are our lives going to become? For me, this is all heading in the wrong direction. It's getting insanely complicated to maintain a lifestyle that isn't destroying everything. It's like we're already living on the moon. I guess we're really determined to dominate or destroy our environment. It's one or the other. Maybe both. The idea of harmony is like a joke now. Thoreau will probably be classified as a terrorist one day. This paradigm is very hard for me to accept even if I can understand the philosophical underpinnings of it. At some point I start to question if it is just reckless Americans being reckless Americans and wonder if it is actually diabolical inventors securing their wealth at the cost of our health. You know? It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Look at asbestos.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
