May 29, 2007
Things Are Bad In The Music Industry
(Jimmy Akin)
CD sales are down, but online sales haven't picked up the slack.
But here's a piece of good news:
Sales of rap, which had provided the industry with a lifeboat in recent years, fell far more than the overall market last year with a drop of almost 21 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Maybe the culture is starting to turn away from rap.
I also found this interesting (EXCERPTS):
Aram Sinnreich, a media industry consultant at Radar Research in Los Angeles, said the CD format, introduced in the United States 24 years ago, is in its death throes. “Everyone in the industry thinks of this Christmas as the last big holiday season for CD sales,” Mr. Sinnreich said, “and then everything goes kaput.”
Some music executives say that dropping copy-restriction software, also known as digital-rights management, would stoke business at iTunes’ competitors and generate a surge in sales. Others predict it would have little impact, though they add that the labels squandered years on failed attempts to restrict digital music instead of converting more fans into paying consumers.
“They were so slow to react, and let things get totally out of hand,” said Russ Crupnick, a senior entertainment industry analyst at NPD, the research company. “They just missed the boat.”
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (60)
April 03, 2007
EMI To Nix DRM!
(Jimmy Akin)
Good news, everybody!
EMI--one of the world's largest music labels--has decided to give DRM-free online music a try. The deal is they'll start selling their entire catalogue (except The Beatles) via iTunes in DRM-free form for $1.29 a song (up from 99 cents a song for the DRM-hobbled version of the music).
Personally, I'd pay the extra 30 cents for music portability, and I suspect a lot of other folks will, too.
As for The Beatles . . . well, they've been stick-in-the-muds for years, being slow to adopt changing music technologies. They were among the last artists to make their music available on CD, even when it was clearly the preferred choice by consumers. It's like they've still got their heads stuck in the '60s of something.
Steve Jobs also says that he expects half of the music on iTunes to be available in the premium, DRM-free version by the end of the year, which suggests he's in negotiations with other labels for the same thing.
GET THE STORY.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (20)
February 08, 2007
Apple Vs. DRM?
(Jimmy Akin)
If true, then
HERE'S STEVE JOBS' ORIGINAL ESSAY.
EXCERPT:
Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.
Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.
In 2006, under 2 billion DRM-protected songs were sold worldwide by online stores, while over 20 billion songs were sold completely DRM-free and unprotected on CDs by the music companies themselves. The music companies sell the vast majority of their music DRM-free, and show no signs of changing this behavior, since the overwhelming majority of their revenues depend on selling CDs which must play in CD players that support no DRM system.
So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free, what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none. If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music. If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (27)
August 28, 2006
Final Holdouts Now Surrendering To Pod People
(Jimmy Akin)
A piece back I decided I wanted to listen to some songs by the Beatles, so I went to the iTunes music store and typed in their name. Know how many songs were available for download?
Absolutely none.
The Beatles, y'see, (technically, Apple Corps, which is responsible for looking after their copyrights) has not allowed their music to be made available for download.
So I just got the songs I wanted on CD and ripped them.
This is not the first time the Beatles have been behind the technological curve. They were also one of the last bands to make their work available on CD.
C'mon, guys! Don't stay stuck in the '60s!
The Beatles, however, are not the only big-name act that hasn't wanted to allow its fans to be able to (legally) download its music. Others include Bob Seger, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Garth Brooks, and Kid Rock.
But the times, they are a-changin'!
The number of pod people out there has now become so vast that these last few holdouts are starting to recognize that their struggle is futile, and they are beginning to surrender.
Bob Seger and Metallica have now joined the revolution, and the writing is on the wall for the rest of them:
But bands can no longer risk losing out on sales and marketing generated from the digital formats, especially on iTunes, said Phil Leigh, an analyst with Inside Digital Media, a market research firm. With CD sales continuing to drop, it's only a matter of time until the last holdouts give up, he said.
So, special message for the Beatles . . . YOU'RE NEXT!
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (28)
July 18, 2006
The Immortal Johnny Cash
(Michelle Arnold)
There have been a lot of sightings lately of the recently-deceased Johnny Cash. No, he hasn't been backing-up Elvis at Memphis honky-tonks. His music has been selling like hotcakes.
"In life, Johnny Cash was merely a legend. In death, he is proving immortal.
"Almost three years after he died at the age of 71 after a decade of poor health, the country outlaw is the most popular artist in the United States, currently at No. 1 on the pop and country charts with an album of new material.
"The album, 'American V: A Hundred Highways,' recorded in Cash's final months as he looked forward to reuniting with his late wife, June Carter Cash, sold 88,000 copies in the week ended July 9. It's his first chart-topper since 1969's live prison album 'Johnny Cash at San Quentin.'"
I suppose most of the Cash fans these days hopped on the bandwagon with the success of the bio-flick Walk the Line. Having grown up in a family of country-music lovers, I liked Johnny Cash before it was cool to like Johnny Cash. Some of my favorites are A Boy Named Sue, Ring of Fire, and One Piece at a Time.
[JIMMY ADDS: Those are three of my favorites, along with Folsom Prison Blues.]
The only thing that ever really annoyed me about Cash was not Cash himself but the idealization by many people of his marriage to June Carter Cash ... a relationship that began when at least one of them was married to someone else. I forget the full details of their "love story" but my repulsion at the popular idealization of adultery is one of the reasons I skipped Walk the Line when it was in theaters. (To be perfectly clear, I'm not saying anything here about Johnny and June Carter Cash. My disgust is with those who seemed to think their marriage one of the Greatest Love Stories of All Time.)
As a side note, reporters can be a real hoot sometimes:
"Almost three years after he [Cash] died at the age of 71 after a decade of poor health..."
Wow, whoever heard of dying after a bout with "poor health"? And here I thought that only the healthy died.
Posted by Michelle Arnold in Music | Permalink | Comments (32)
May 26, 2006
A Most Ingenious Paradox
(Jimmy Akin)
Down yonder, a reader writes:
I would like to see someone write a long article on the strange combination of traditional values like patriotism, family and a faith that plays right alongside praising infidelity, praising being drunk and Tim McGraw's ambivalent song about abortion. There seems to be a strange disconnect among Country singers and their fans who can sing along with Restless Heart's "Why does it have to be wrong or right?" one minute and then switch to "Believe" by Brooks and Dunn the next.
It's like reading Cosmo and Inside the Vatican and not seeing any conflict.
Weird.
I think I can shed some light on the paradox. The reason for it is very simple: Country music is a form of folk music.
Folk music, by definition, reflects the interests of a particular people or "folk." Since there are saints and sinners in every group, folks music invariably includes songs that appeal to both. By its nature, folk music is broadly reflective of whatever the particular folk is interested in, which includes things like their religious lives, their families, their romances, their jobs, their frustrations, and their entertainments. The particular mix of these topics will vary from culture to culture and from time to time even within a particular musical tradition, but the same topics show up over and over again, just in different ratios.
Folk music can be distinguished from more selective musical traditions which are more polarized topically. Religious music--particularly those song that are sung in church--for example, is very, very narrow topically. Perhaps it's the most narrow genre of music that shows up in each culture since it is devoted to the holy, which by definition is set apart from the ordinary.
Children's music is also quite narrow in topics because its target audience is only just learning about life and the music created for children is focused on what children are interested in (e.g., animals, the jobs of the adults they see around them) and what is considered appropriate for them at their age.
Classic rock and roll, which received its foundational imprint as music for mid 20th century adolescents and young adults, is also narrower in topic than country music since its target audience hasn't really come to terms with life as adults. It's also marked by the obsessive interest of young males with a few particular topics (e.g., dating, sex, cars, rebellion against authority). It also shows notable traces of the particular era in which it was formed (e.g., songs about drug abuse rather than alcohol abuse).
Country music received its foundational imprint as music for traditional American adult society, which has historically been rural and religious. This means that you get some songs that are heavily religiously themed but also songs about sin. Since people struggle with their sins, you get some songs that reflect the struggle ("Why Does It Have To Be Right Or Wrong?"). Since people also give themselves over to their sins, you also have songs that glorify sinning ("Get Drunk And Be Somebody"). Since people get hurt by others' sins, there are songs about that, too ("Your Cheatin' Heart"). And there are songs that morally censure sinning ("Wreck on the Highway"). And songs from the perspective of those hurting under their own sins ("Honky Tonk Blues"). And songs that worry about whether people will escape from their sins ("Will The Circle Be Unbroken?").
You even get some songs that are like something from a Flannery O'Connor story (e.g., the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye, Earl" or Rock County's "Turn It On! Turn It On! Turn It On!").
It's a big, complex mix because folk music reflects the lives and struggles of the folk it represents. It includes both the good and the bad, leading to the paradox of amazingly powerful spiritual songs right next to ones glorifying sin.
That's not to say that people to whom the folk music is addressed like all of the songs in the tradition. Religious country music fans frown on the glorify sin songs. Irreligious country music fans may roll their eyes at the religious songs. But the mix is there because the music represents a folk and the folk itself is mixed. Some fans appreciate both kinds of songs because both reflect their lives and aspirations.
The paradox seems particularly striking if one is used to music that is topically more narrow (e.g., used to only religious music--which has the holy stuff but leaves out the sin-oriented songs--or used to rock and roll--which is more oriented toward the sinful stuff and tends to leave out the holy most of the time).
But the paradox of modern country music is normal in folk music. If you go back and listen to 19th century American folk music, the exact same themes are there: You've got explicitly religious songs and ones that hit the standard life and sin themes. "Ol' Rosin the Beau" glorifies a reprobate who dies and goes to hell and drinks whiskey with the devil. "Soldier's Joy" has alcohol/drug abuse in it ("It's 25 cents for the morphine/It's 15 cents for the beer/It's 25 cents for the morphine/Gonna drink me away from here"). The original, pre-War version of "Dixie" has adultery in it ("Old Missus married Will the weaver/William was a gay deceiver . . . Old Missus played the foolish part/She died for a man who broke her heart"). "Sweet Betsy From Pike" has implied extramarital sex and possible illegitimate preganancy in it. "Buffalo Gals" and "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" are about being attracted to the opposite sex. "Cindy" is about the opposite sex being attracted to you. "Lorena" is about lost love and missed opportunities. The "Boatman's Dance" is about glorifying a particular job/lifestyle.
And the same is true of folk music in other times and cultures. Back in the Middle Ages they had all kinds of religiously themed songs, but they also had drinking songs they'd sing in the taverns. And songs about romance and sex and loneliness and hardship and everything else that is part of the human condition.
Because that's the paradox of true folk music: It reflects the paradox of the fallen human condition.
As to the paradox of why particular singers will sing both religious songs and those that glorify sin, the answer to that is simple also: They're doing what singers have always done . . . trying to make money.
Incidentally,
MUSINGS FROM A CATHOLIC BOOKSTORE ALSO HAS A DISCUSSION OF THIS GOING.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (38)
May 24, 2006
STICKS HICKS NIX DIX CHIX
(Jimmy Akin)
Since I was talking about music earlier today, I may as well touch on this story as well.
To the left is the cover of the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking the Long Way, which is their first new album since they shot off their mouths in a spectacularly rude way at a specutacularly bad time that was sure to alienate their country music audience.
GET THAT STORY IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT.
They could have recovered from that, but instead they issued a string of smouldering non-apologies and eventually appeared--bizarrely!--on the cover of Entertainment Weekly stark nekkid with inflammatory words and phrases painted on their bodies.
That ain't really the country thing to do, and their fans turned their backs on them.
Now, personally, I don't care if they hold the opinions of President Bush that they expressed in England. I'm not happy with President Bush, myself. But to say what they did (that they're ashamed that the president is from Texas) when they did (in wartime) where they did (on foreign soil) to whom they did (Euro liberals) was sure to hack off the people who bought their records, and following it up with a bunch of non-apologies and bizarro stunts LIKE THIS (skin warning!) was utterly contemptuous of their core audience.
In other words, they were alienating their base.
So, three years later out comes their first new album and their label starts pitching it to country music stations and with news stories being written with headlines like "Dixie Chicks Return To Country Radio."
So have three years changed things? Is all forgiven? Will their country fans start listening to them again?
A precondition for forgiveness is repentance, and with defiant, in-your-face songs on the album like "Not Ready To Make Nice"--a contemptuous stab at those who were offended by their actions three years ago--it's clear that the Chicks have some repenting to do if they want to be forgiven by their country fans.
Good.
I used to listen to their songs--I particularly liked "Goodbye Earl"--but the Chicks showed themselves to be a bunch of spoiled girls who have never grown up. I have no interest in listening to their songs because I will have no ability to enjoy them until they can adopt an attitude other than contempt for those who gave them their success by buying their albums and supporting them and their careers.
A basic rule of getting along in life for public figures is "Don't show contempt for your base."
That's a principle Mr. Bush ought to learn if he'd like his reputation to fare well in the long term, too.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (49)
The Many Faces Of James Darren
(Jimmy Akin)
See the guy in this picture?
That's Moondoggie from the Gidget movies, and it's Gidget he's standing next to.
Moondoggie was played by a teen idol of the day known as Jimmy Darren (who was popular enough that he later appeared in animated form on The Flintsones as Jimmy Darrenrock.)
As part of his teen heartthrob career, Jimmy recorded a number of albums.
But he moved out of this phase of his career (as teen idols tend to do). He tried to move on to more "serious" roles, like this one . . .
Here he is as Dr. Tony Newman, one of two time-travelling scientists on the Irwin Allen thriller TV show, The Time Tunnel.
I recently blogged about the release of the DVDs of that series, which I was a fan of as a boy.
This was the role in which I first became aware of Jimmy Darren, though I had no clue who he was in real life any more than I did any actors I saw on TV at the time.
During this period of is career he also went for "serious-er" roles than that of a time-travelling scientist, such as Pvt. Spyros Pappadimos in The Guns of Navarrone.
I like The Guns of Navarrone, but I was oblivious to Darren's role in it, too. It wouldn't be until he started performing another role that I really became aware of who he was.
That role--which is the one for which I'll always best remember him--is this one:
Here he's appearing as the holographic 1962 lounge singer Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
This was a great role for him! It drew on his musical and sci-fi background and he did an absolutely outstanding job as a suave, wise, strong, and (once in a while) vulnerable lounge singer who could really sing.
There was also some irony to the role since in the imaginary 1962 world that Vic inhabited, he sang at a Vegas nightclub and hung with members of the Rat Pack like Frank and Dino and Sammy--and in real life the actor Jimmy Darren was a close friend of Frank Sinatra.
The Vic Fontaine role came along at an important point for Darren and allowed him to re-enter the kind of musical world that he had worked in at the beginning of career. His role on DS9 proved so popular that not only did he become a virtual regular on the show (in more than one sense of the term), it also re-launched his career as a singer.
After the show he started recording albums again, and a number of his older ones have been re-released.
In fact, there's ten of 'em on iTunes for download right now (search on the term "James Darren").
I haven't heard all ten, but if you enjoyed his singing on DS9--or if you just like really well-sung American standards in the Frank Sinatra/Mel Torme tradition--then I'd like to recommend one album in particular: This One's From The Heart.
This is the first album he did after DS9, and as a thank you to the fans of the show who would form a key part of its purchasers, it includes virtually all the songs he sang as Vic Fontaine--only this time without them being interrupted for story or covered over by dialogue or cut short for time.
Here's the playlist of standards it includes:
"The Best Is Yet To Come," "Come Fly With Me," "That Old Black Magic," "All the Way," "It's Only A Paper Moon," "I've Got the World on a String," "You'd Better Love Me," "Sophisticated Lady," "Just In Time," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Here's to the Losers," "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You," "Dancing in the Dark," "Night and Day," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "Satin Doll."
That's quite a lineup! And Darren's rendition of these songs is excellent.
I have a bunch of the same songs done by Frank Sinatra, but despite Sinatra's undeniable mastery of this form of singing, I find that I enjoy Darren's versions better. Darren's voice has a more velvety quality, like Mel Torme's, compared to Sinatra, and this makes it warmer. This kind of Rat Pack singing requires the singer to project a kind of strengh through his voice, but there are different kinds of strengths, and if you listen to Sinatra's voice he at times projects a cruel streak.
Darren, by contrast, projects a friendliness and warmth, even when the song would lend itself to a cruel treatment. For example, a personal favorite are the songs "You'd Better Love Me" and "Here's to the Losers," both of which have to be handled just right or the singer comes off sounding aloof and arrogant. That's how Sinatra might do them. But in Darren's hands, "You'd Better Love Me" sounds friendly and playful and "Here's to the Losers" sounds compassionate and optimistic.
Not every song on the album is a winner to my mind. I don't really like "Sophisticated Lady," for example. (It's a slow song, and I have a constitutional aversion to slow songs.)
Growing up when I did, I didn't discover this type of music until I was an adult. Back in high school, singers like Frank Sinatra were considered square, but when I grew up enough to appreciate types of music that weren't popular with my high school buddies, I came to appreciate this genre.
Unfortunately, it's a little hard to refer to because there isn't a standard name for it. Some are calling it "classic pop" (i.e., the type of music that was popular before rock & roll). Others are calling it "pop standards." Or "lounge music." Whatever you want to call it, there's just something comforting and classy about this type of music.
Overall, Darren's This One's From The Heart is an outstanding introduction to and example of the genre, and I'd heartily recommend it if you were a DS9 fan, if you're a lover of this style of music, or even if you've never really gotten into this style of singing and would like to see what the fuss was about.
Enjoy!
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (18)
February 28, 2006
Good Listening For Fat Tuesday
(Jimmy Akin)
Nick Alexander has a new song out.
For those who may not be aware, Nick Alexander is a musician doing the Weird Al Yankovic schtick in a Catholic vein.
His latest song is "This Time Of Forty Days," based on the Police song "King of Pain."
It's available for download on the Catholic Music Network and makes suitably lighthearted listening for Fat Tuesday (before we get all serious on Ash Wednesday).
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 23, 2006
The Beatles Just Got Back Together!
(Jimmy Akin)
No, really!
They've just released a new album and will be performing live in four different U.S. cities as part of a reunion tour!
Even though John and George are dead!
Oh, wait.
No, it's not the Beatles that have just done that. It's the St. Louis Jesuits.
The who?
No, not The Who. The St. Louis Jesuits--a group of "musicians" who in the mind of some people apparently have the same status in liturgical music that the Beatles do in actual music.
The Catholic News Service writes:
The St. Louis Jesuits, liturgical music icons from the 1970s, are back together and have released their first album in more than 20 years.
"Morning Light" is the seventh recording for the St. Louis Jesuits -- Dan Schutte and Jesuit Fathers Bob Dufford, John Foley and Roc O'Connor -- who were known for such songs as "Blest Be the Lord," "Lift Up Your Hearts" and "Sing a New Song."
In the mid 1980s, various assignments moved the men to different parts of the country, and Schutte left the Society of Jesus.
Since that time, all four have released successful solo CDs.
The four met up in 2001 at the 25th anniversary celebration of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Washington, where they sang Schutte's "City of God." It was the first time in 17 years that they had performed together live.
Tim Manion, one of the original St. Louis Jesuits, joined with the four to sing for some of the recordings. Father Dufford and Schutte hadn't seen him in 21 years and Father O'Connor hadn't seen him in eight.
Fans of the St. Louis Jesuits' music will find comfort in the songs on "Morning Light" as its sound is much the same as their earlier sound.
In the spring, Fathers O'Connor, Foley and Dufford and Schutte will do four live performances in Washington, St. Louis, Chicago and Anaheim, Calif. The group hasn't done any public performances together in nearly 20 years.
"It's our little reunion tour," Schutte said.
Setting aside the (intentional?) religious/secular pun of calling these individuals "liturgical music icons," the whole "rock star" paradigm that governs this article and how these malefactors are perceived speaks volumes about the current rot that passes for liturgical music.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (66) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
Catholic Tunes For Your iPod?
(Jimmy Akin)
A new Catholic music network--creatively titled Catholic Music Network--has now developed an online download service to provide Catholic tunes for download in .mp3 format (playable on virtually anybody's computer if you have Windows Media Player, RealHorror, or Quicktime or playable on your portable device, such as an iPod).
Priced at 99 cents per tune, they're competitive with iTunes--the media leader in this biz.
And, just in time for The Holiday, many of them are Holiday tunes! (Only without the political correctness.)
Check 'em out and
And Be Excellent To Each Other this Holiday season!
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 29, 2005
Good News For President Bush?
(Jimmy Akin)
It's been a hard last couple of months for President Bush.
It's been difficult for the White House to get its message out, but it seems that some people have heard it.
President Bush will be pleased to hear that he has some enthusiastic supporters.
AND IN BERKELEY NO YET. (.mp3)
(CHT Southern Appeal.)
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November 16, 2005
Confessions Of A Different Girl
(Michelle Arnold)
You might think that a commitment to home and hearth and the comforts of spirituality might make the one-time Material Girl (aka Madonna, aka Esther) more retiring about her personal life. Au contraire, but now it seems that home, hearth, and spirituality are just part of the pop-idol schtick.
"'I'm a totally different person now,' says Madonna. 'It's the natural progression -- most people just grow up (after) having children, being in a grown-up relationship, having so many years of life in the spotlight ... having fame and fortune (and) realizing it's not what everyone thinks it is, and what it's all cracked up to be.'"
Mind passing me some Kleenex so that I might finish the article with dry eyes? Thanks.
"She says her children get much of the credit for the kindler, gentler Madonna that's emerged in recent years (the former Sex author has even penned children's books).
"But her devotion to Kabbalah, the Jewish mysticism that has gained popularity in recent years, also has been a factor.
"Her ties to it have drawn skepticism, and some people have even labeled it a cult -- which makes Madonna bristle.
"'I think that people are bothered by it because it's unfamilar to them,' she says. 'If you're someone that people look up to, and you're doing something that doesn't fit into the expected behavior of a pop star, some people are going to be suspicious about that. But, you know, it's not like I've joined the Nazi party!'"
Such trivialization of one of the worst evils of the twentieth century is one reason why we don't turn to Reformed, Really!-popstars for social analysis, much less for spiritual guidance.
(Nod to My Urban Kvetch for the link.)
Posted by Michelle Arnold in Music | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
November 11, 2005
Blue Meanies?
(Jimmy Akin)
There's a new biography of the Beatles--a THOUSAND PAGE BIOGRAPHY--and in it the Fab Four don't come across as all that "Fab."
Except maybe for Ringo.
According to Time Magazine's reviewer:
The Fab Four hated the silly, lovable mop-top image they created, and
on that score alone they would probably love Spitz's book. He marshals
a staggering mass of research in support of the conclusion, broadly
speaking, that Lennon was a drug-addled, attention-hungry rageoholic
who picked fights and cheated on his wife; Paul McCartney was a smarmy,
manipulative charmer; and George Harrison was dour and sour. Before you
lose faith entirely, it turns out Ringo really was just a lovable
goofball.
Well, at least there was one lovable goofball!
Or maybe more than one.
I haven't read the book--or studied their lives in detail--so I really can't say.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack
July 18, 2005
Just Like a Fine Wine
(Tim Jones)
As an artist, I feel an obligation to look for beauty in the world and draw attention to it. Beauty deserves praise, and people benefit from giving praise where it is due.
To that end, I would like to call your attention to the man in the red hat. No, that is not the late Gene Scott, and no, this is not the beauty that I spoke of earlier. The man in the red hat is Gerry Rafferty, and it is his music to which I would like to call your attention.
Let me back up a bit... 1978. Disco was all over the radio, and punk had fought back, kicking and gouging. The New Wave had not yet broken. I had my favorite songs, like everyone, but there was one song that could turn me in to a road hazard every time I heard it on the car radio: Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street", which sported the most arresting hook and spine-tingling sax line ever devised in pop music. I often pulled over just to listen to it (ah, to be 17 again...). It was completely unique, and sheer genius.
So a couple days ago I'm poking around on Google, playing a round of "Whatever Happened To..." when I thought of Rafferty and decided to see what he's been up to lately. Fortunately he has been making music, and his skills have not dulled, but matured. His new release, Another World, is a masterpiece. You want to talk about melodic structure? Vocal harmony? Spiritual depth? You don't listen to this music, it just washes over you. But I'm gushing.
You can find out more about Mr. Rafferty and his music at his website, which features several free music downloads, including two traditional Christmas carols. If you have ever heard the National Anthem butchered by a showy vocalist (and who hasn't?) you will appreciate his beautiful, understated harmonies.
Did I mention he also has a free download of his rendition of the Kyrie Eleison?
Enjoy...
Posted by Tim Jones in Music | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 13, 2005
Didgeri - Do's and Don'ts
(Tim Jones)
In a move that is sure to bring consternation to accomplished didgeridoo players the world over, Reuters has revealed the secret to getting the most from the enigmatic instrument.
It seems it's all in the glottis, that little flap of skin at the back of the throat. According to a group of Australian scientists:
"We conclude that a major difference between a novice and an experienced player is a learned, but usually subconscious ability to reduce the glottal opening..."
And all this time I thought it was all in the uvula! Ah, well... now I can take my trusty old didgeridoo out of mothballs and play my children to sleep as I have always dreamed of doing.
JIMMY ADDS: Hmmmm. . . . As a result of practicing Semitic languages like Arabic, where glottal stops are considered a consonant, I've been practicing closing my glottis on command rather a lot. . . . Maybe I should take up the digeridoo.
Posted by Tim Jones in Music | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 05, 2005
Born On The 5th Of July
(Jimmy Akin)
You were born, and so you're free.
So happy birthday.
Thus says the lyrics to the song "Born, Never Asked" by Laurie Anderson (left), who was born today--July 5--in 1947 (in the midst of the Roswell Incident, which might explain a good number of things about her).
Anderson is a performance artist and musician who was born in Illinois but these days hangs out in NYC (from what I can tell).
I first became aware of her back in the early 1980s when her album Big Science made it big--or as big as an avant garde album can make it, I suppose.
I recently discovered that several of Laurie's albums could be downloaded from iTunes, and so I've been revisiting and enjoying the stuff she did back in the '80s.
Here music is . . . hard to describe. You know what they say: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."
Basically, her music alternates between several different styles. Some of it is just strange and atmospheric. Then there are toe-tapping numbers, alternately instrumental or vocal, that incorporate elements of Rock and Pop.
The most unusual aspect of her music isn't the sound, though. It's the lyrics. Laurie has realized something that many Rock and Roll artists have: The lyrics of a song don't really have to mean anything. They can just evoke an image, a mood, or a feeling. She also has realized something that many Rock and Roll artists have not: It's okay to sing your lyrics intelligibly.
As a result, her music reminds me of a line that Woody Allen delivers in Zelig, describing baseball: "You know it doesn't have to mean anything, it's just beautiful to watch."
That's exactly the way I feel about Laurie Anderson's music: It doesn't have to mean anything. It's just pretty to listen to.
What she's trying to do (so far as I can tell) is not get at any Deep Meanings but simply evoke certain moods and feelings that have qualities of mystery and beauty and humor and even warmth.
At times Laurie piles up interesting poetic images, as in this passage from her song "Let X=X" (flashback to math class!) in which she describes getting a postcard from a person who has betrayed one and is now twisting the knife and who then (apparently) gets his comeuppance. Notice the way the individual lines build up these impressions, even though nobody would really write a postcard like this in real life:
I got this postcard, and it read. . . . It said . . .
"Dear Amigo, Dear Partner,
"Listen, uh, I just wanna say thanks, so . . . thanks.
Thanks for all the presents.
Thanks for introducing me to the chief.
Thanks for putting on the feedbag.
Thanks for going all out.
Thanks for showing me your Swiss army knife.
Oh, and uh, thanks for letting me autograph your cast."Hug and kisses, XXXX OOOO
"Oh, yeah. P.S.: I feel like I'm in a burning building . . . and I gotta go."
This is a poetic abstraction of a phenomena we are all acquainted with. In our lives virtually everyone has the experience of being kind to someone ("thanks for all the presents, thanks for introducing me to the chief"), only to have that person take advantage of our kindness ("thanks for putting on the feedbag. thanks for going all out") and betray and even injure us ("thanks for letting me autograph your cast").
When that happens, we don't want to see the person simply get away with it. We want to see them find out that the sweet things they stole have turned sour, and Laurie covers that as well ("I feel like I'm in a burning building"). Laurie thus evokes in poetic form an aspect of human experience that will resonate with the audience (or at least those who have lived long enough to experience betrayal).
Not all of Laurie's lyrics have this serious dimension to them. Some are aimed at getting a laugh, as in this passage from the song "Talk Normal":
I came home today, and both our cars were gone.
And there were all these new pink flamingoes arranged in star patterns, all over the lawn.
And then I went into the kitchen. . . . And it looked like a tornado had hit.
And then I realized . . . I was in the wrong house.
Laurie occasionally comes up with a sentence that she is probably the first person in the history of the human race ever to utter. My favorite is this:
I dreamed I had to take a test in a Dairy Queen on another planet.
There can even be an apologetic dimension to her lyrics. Recently I was writing an article on heaven for This Rock and was tempted to quote one of her lines (from the song "Language Is A Virus"):
Paradise is exactly like where you are right now, only much . . . much . . . better.
If you'd like to check out some of her material, I'd recommend her albums Home Of The Brave and Mr. Heartbreak as good, accessible starting points. The music on these is more up-tempo and has a feel-good aspect to it. It still doesn't mean much, but then it doesn't have to. It's just pretty to listen to.
Or download Laurie music:
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
Unbroken!--Live
(Jimmy Akin)
Like most folks, I s'ppose, I listen to albums (yes, I still call them "albums") over and over again, learning every note of the songs (if not every line of the lyrics).
Every so often, tho, I start hankering for a new album to inject into my mental, musical universe.
Unfortunately, I'm kinder picky. Not everything tickles my fancy. Even in genres I know and love, I don't like a lot of what I hear. I imagine that's the same for everybody.
But every so often I encounter a "breakout" album--something that, after hearing it a few times (or even just once) I totally get into.
On my recent trip to Kentucky, I encountered such a breakout album, titled Unbroken!--Live by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
I've been a fan of the Dirt Band for some time, but I'd never heard the side of them that's presented on this album before. Up to now, I've been listening to their own studio albums (like Symphonion Dream) or their multi-way collaborations (like the different volumes of Will the Circle Be Unbroken), but I'd never heard a recording of one of their live shows.
Unbroken!--Live gave me that chance. The album is a 2-CD recording of a performance they gave at Doc Severinsen's Showplace in OKC way back in 1984 (despite the fact the album was only released in 2003).
WHAT A TREAT!
The Dirt Band's stage presence is amazing. These guys Know What They're Doing. There is a huge amount of technical skill that they put into the performance, a wonderful selection of tunes, a great deal of showmanship, and a surprising amount of humor (a.k.a., "humour" for our friends over The Pond).
Now, any time a buncha technically-proficient guys get together with electric guitars, banjos, fiddles, and harmonicas to deliver hard-drivin', toe-tappin', foot-stompin' upbeat music, I'm all up for that, but this performance was something really special.
The genre selection includes classics from Rock, Surf Music, Rockabilly, Bluegrass, Country, and Cajun, as well as intriguing, little-known tunes that you probably haven't encountered before.
I was impressed by the way the band handled the introductions to some of these. To introduce certain songs they'd play an altered version of the melody that wasn't immediately recognizable until, in a moment of recognition, it suddenly clicked into place what they were playing.
This was done particularly effectively in the build up to the Cajun classic "Diggy Diggy Lo," in which an unrecognizable version is played while the artists gave a patter introduction to the song, explaining that it is the song of two bayou lovers who fell in love for life. You have no idea what they're building to until the speaker announces that these two lovers are known by "two mystical names." As soon as he identifies the first mystical name as "Diggy Diggy La" you immediately know what the song is going to be (assuming that you know "Diggy Diggy Lo"), the crowd cheers, and they kick right into it.
This kind of slow-reveal ain't the only expression of showmanship that the band displays. As noted, there's a lot of humor. This includes both comments they make to the audience and even some of the songs themselves. For example, they have a filk of "Help Me Make It Through The Night" re-written as "Help Me Make It Through The Yard" (the story of a guy crawling home after an all-night bender).
The guys in the band are clearly having fun on stage, and their personalities are much more in evidence than on a studio album. You get a much clearer sense of bandmembers as individuals as they make comments to each other during the songs and call each other by name as they throw different solos to each other ("Look out, Johnny! Play the fiddle!"), mix up who sings what verses ("Talk to me, Jimmy!"), make notes on what they're about to sing ("I like this part!"), and report problems ("I don't know how to get out of this!"--though they manage to do so flawlessly anyway).
The band is joined on stage by a couple of guest stars from a group called Doc's Outlaws (connected to the place they were playing), and one of the guests (Rusty Allen) displays particular showmanship, using his role as lead singer on a couple of songs (notably the Bluegrass standard "Way Downtown") to set-up solos ("Toot that harp!"), ask for more ("Take two, they're small!"), and speak of the amazing technical prowess we've just heard as if it were the product of a child prodigy ("Only thirty-five years old!").
The album also features a number of medleys (I wish they'd put CD track breaks between songs on these!) that are very successful. One starts with crowd-pleasing Rock classic "Runaway," moves to an awesome version of Rockabilly classic "Rave On," then into Rock standard "The Weight" ("Pulled into Nazareth..."), and finally into the band's signature song, Country classic "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"--a pro-faith song about wanting your whole family to go to heaven. This time the song is delivered with a more upbeat tone than I've heard them do it before, though it's more raw and has less polish than on a studio album.
Of course, on any live concert recording, there are imperfections. The mics aren't positioned in the best way to catch crowd reaction (so you can't really hear it when the audience is invited to sing along--an engaging asset to showmanship in a live performance but hard to pull off on an album). There are also a couple of mild bad words in one song ("Bowlegs") and another word in a second song ("The Battle of New Orleans") that counts as bad if you live in England, but in the digital era, you can easily make sure that your iPod never plays these songs for you if you don't want.
There are also songs that contribute positive moral content, such as "Dance, Little Jean," which is a strong statement of the value of marriage, despite the difficulties it involves.
A special tune is the song "The House on Pooh Corner"--a celebration of childhood portrayed through the lens of Winnie the Pooh.
Another pro-morality song is "Face on the Cutting-Room Floor," which is about a talented young actress who goes to Hollywood to make it big. But when she discovers the moral price that must be paid for such success, it's
Goodbye, Hol-ly-wood!
She's leaving tonight, on a 2:30 'Hound--
sunrise on Sunset, she won't be around.
(I like that part!)
All in all, it was a real treat to discover this album. Listening to it makes we wish three things: (1) I wish I could play like these guys! (2) I wish I could have seen them in concert night (or any night), and (3) I WANT the Song-Longer!
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 29, 2005
Off The Road Again
(Michelle Arnold)
Okay, I had already thought of my post title for this story before I read it in the article, so I'm going to use it anyway.
"Singer Willie Nelson's name is off the road again.
"A state legislator had proposed naming a 49-mile stretch of Texas Highway 130 being built around Austin in Nelson's honor.
"But two Republican senators, Steve Odgen of Bryan and Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio, said they didn't want Nelson's name on the road that crosses their districts, citing the musician's fondness for drinking and smoking, and active campaigning for Democratic candidates."
Call me cynical, but I doubt Willie Nelson's personal habits would have mattered enough to State Senators Ogden and Wentworth to go to the trouble of blocking the proposal if Nelson had had a record of "active campaigning" for Republican candidates. Of course, it's also true that State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin) might not have introduced the bill in the first place if it weren't for that "active campaigning" for Democratic candidates.
Like I said, call me cynical.
Posted by Michelle Arnold in Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 11, 2005
Very Observant
(Tim Jones)
I have not been blogging for the last couple of days because I have been busy teaching a painting workshop. It went well and I think everyone left having learned something they could use. But I'm really wiped out.
I truly appreciate the kind words and good wishes (or prayers) from everyone concerning my art. The regional show I entered recently accepted both of the pieces I submitted and recognized one with a plaque and a cash award, which was cool. Remember this: No matter what we say, artists like it when other people respond well to their work. Period.
But cash is also good.
I often listen to NPR in my gallery, because it is my only source of classical music, aside from my own small collection of CDs. As much as I love Andre Segovia or whoever, once you've played the same CD every day for weeks you just have to give it a rest.
So, I was listening to "Morning Edition" on Saturday and heard an interviw with Daniel Schorr, wherein he made the observation (which I think true) that JPII helped change the religious dynamic in the U.S., from a split between "Protestant and Catholic" to a split between "observant and non-observant" of many faiths.
Unfortunately, National PUBLIC Radio is very PRIVATE about their transcripts and also appreciates cash.
But you can LISTEN for free here.
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March 17, 2005
I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
(Tim Jones)
A character in one of my wife, Martha's, favorite books makes the observation that one proof of the divine life of the Catholic church is that it has survived so much bad art and music. Bad hymns have always been with us, but I find many of the new "praise chorus" type of songs to be especially mind-numbing.
The other day I was trying to figure out why this was so and, among other things, I realized that there is no harmony to the current songs we use in our local church. None. Melody lines only.
Now, I am an adult convert, so I don't know if maybe some of you cradle Catholics might remember harmonizing at Mass. When I was a li'l Baptist, singing in harmony just happened naturally. Men took up the bass or baritone, usually, with women and kids grabbing the tenor or soprano parts. Not that we sounded great or anything, but it was kind of neat.
Along with the fact that many of these new songs' lyrics and melodies sound like they came from a Barney episode, the lack of harmony helps to make them really, well, boring.
There is also another aspect I've just recently noted that I will tell you about in the form of the following Song Parody, sung to the tune of "One Bread, One Body"...
One note, for each word,
One syllable,
One melody that's sung by all.
And we, though many, here in this church,
We all are singing just this one note.
Posted by Tim Jones in Music | Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack
March 16, 2005
We Don't Need No Stinking Badgers!
(Tim Jones)
The dictionary defines "badger" as a burrowing, carnivorous, nocturnal mammal related to weasels and skunks...
It also says "to nag with requests". But the folks at www.badgerbadgerbadger.com don't request a thing from you! They just want you to hear the song they made up. It's so catchy, I can't get it out of my head!
Posted by Tim Jones in Music | Permalink | Comments (26) | TrackBack
March 14, 2005
Music Bleg For WYD
(Jimmy Akin)
I recently got the following e-mail under the subject heading "could you please post this?"
Live to serve, so: <Rule 15 Suspension>Stephen Tefft</Rule 15 Suspension> writes:
Mr, Akin,
I am a Catholic singer/songwriter whose praise and worship band, Cor Sanctum (www.corsanctum.com), has been invited to perform at World Youth Day in Germany this Summer. My bandmates and I took a chance, sent a couple of our CD's in to the organizers and were informed that we made the final cut, beating out almost 600 other bands world-wide. Now we have to, somehow, find the "sufficient funding" to be able to go.
We are not asking for donations, although they would be greatly appreciated. We are asking for prayers first and foremost. We are also asking that people visit our website (www.corsanctum.com), check out our musical offerings, and perhaps purchase a CD or two.
When one thinks about how much money one typically spends on entertainment... movies, CD's, etc... I don't think it too much to ask to use a small portion to help out a small Catholic praise band trying to use their talents for God's greater glory. And get a wonderful CD of good Catholic praise and worship music to enjoy.
Could you, please, take a little time to check out our website? All our recorded music is available to listen to on-line.
Being accepted to World Youth Day is a HUGE opportunity for us. Please help us get the word out about our band...
Thank you and God bless.
Stephen M. Tefft
www.corsanctum.com
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March 07, 2005
Music Copying Re-Redux
(Jimmy Akin)
A reader from another country writes:
This is another of those music copying questions. There was an old recording of a book on LP in the 1970's (I think). As far as I know, the record is no longer for sale. You can buy second hand versions at some cost over the internet, but they seem to be very limited in number.
Anyway, a man has put mp3's of his old LP on the internet. He's not selling them and says he'll remove the files if they're ever re-released by the record company. In this situation, is it licit to download these files, with the knowledge that the quality is poor and that no-one is being deprived of their fair wages from it? A person I know has made a CD of the mp3 files for me and I would like to hear them, but I don't want to steal!
Not wanting to steal is the right attitude to have! Kudos!
Unfortunately, I don't know what the law in your country (which shall remain nameless) would say about whether or not this is stealing.
Let me therefore prescind from the legal question to look at the moral question. As we covered in The Moral Question, the sin of theft is "usurping another's property against the reasonable will of the owner" (CCC 2408).
Let's ask, therefore, whether it would be against the reasonable will of the owner to object to you downloading these .mp3s:
- Since the work is not in print at the moment, you have no way of purchasing it in such a way that the copyright holder(s) would receive compensation. Even buying the book from a used book service or the records from a used record shop would not get them a royalty. Therefore, they therefore could not reasonably object to your downloading them on the grounds that you are presently depriving them of a royalty.
- They could, however, reasonably object that by downloading them you would be undercutting the market for them should they decide to put them back in print at some point in the future. If you already have a copy, you don't need to buy a new one, and so they could miss a royalty from you that they would otherwise get at some future date. This is a reasonable objection.
- You can meet this objection by making a commitment (a real, solid commitment, that is, not a phoney-baloney one) to buy the product should it be put on the market again (assuming that you're not destitute and they're not charging outrageous sums for it).
- You can strengthen this by committing to making a good faith effort to buy the product if it is ever re-issued in any form (e.g., if it comes out as a book but not an audiobook then you buy the book so that they get their royalties).
- It seems to me that, if you really make a firm commitment to make a good faith effort to buy the product so they can get their royalties that their objection to the undercutting-the-market argument becomes unreasonable, at least in your case. (It would not be unreasonable in the case of many people who might make phoney-baloney commitments to buy the product if it is reissued). In such a case, your action in downloading the files would not appear to be the sin of theft.
What the civil law may say about the matter, I couldn't tell you, but in terms of the moral law that the action would not count as the sin of theft if done under the conditions just named.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack
February 22, 2005
"The Moral Question"
(Jimmy Akin)
Recently I posted on the legal aspects of copying music and several asked me to go into more detail about the moral aspects of doing so.
Live to serve. Here goes:
- Private property is not an absolute right. According to the teaching of the Church, the goods of the earth have been given as a common gift to mankind. As a result, no individual has an absolute right to any particular piece of property (CCC 2403).
- Theft is thus defined not as "usurping another's property" but as "usurping another's property against the reasonable will of the owner." The Catechism then notes: "There is no theft if consent can be presumed or if refusal is contrary to reason and the universal destination of goods" (CCC 2408).
- The orderly functioning of society requires us to have laws to regulate the flow of goods and services, and the State is the entity charged by God (Rom. 13) to oversee such matters. Therefore, "Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the common good" (CCC 2406).
- One must presume that the entities charged by God with performing a task are performing it correctly unless the contrary is shown. Therefore, one needs to give the laws of the state regarding the regulation of private property the benefit of the doubt.
- If you can show that, in a particular case, these laws are contrary to the common good and that the costs of violating them (to oneself and others) are less than the benefits of doing so then one can, in principle, deviate from them (in which case one bears one's punishment if one is caught).
Now let's apply this to copying music. There are two aspects that need to be covered (a) copying music where it is not permitted by the civil law and (b) refusing to copy music when it is permitted.
In regard to the first:
- Artists have a moral right to be rewarded for their efforts in creating works of music to entertain and edify us. So do the record company employees that invest in and promote artists in hoping of earning a living.
- It must be presumed until the contrary is proven that the civil law adequately expresses these rights.
- To show that in a particular case it is morally licit to make uncompensated copies of a song one will have to show that in that particular case the requirements of the civil law are contrary to reason and the common good required by the universal destination of goods. This is going to be much harder to do than in the typical example of a starving man needing food that he has no money to pay for.
- In particular: It means showing that there is some reason why you need that song right now and you can't pay the 88 cents needed to download it from Wal-Mart or another service. (Wanting to make a mix disk for your friend isn't a good reason since you can pay for the burns you need to make of individual songs and then give the resulting disk to your friend.)
- In the old days it may have been easier to show such things, but today, with all the ways we have available to us to get music in a way that compensates the artist and record company, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
- The only way I can see to argue for widespread uncompensated downloading would be to argue that copyright law is fundamentally contrary to the common good, which seems plainly incorrect (and contrary to the Bible's teaching that artists need to be compensated for their labor; as in "the worker is worth his wages"). Also, if there were no copyright laws then fewer artistic works would be produced because there would be no profit in them, so such laws seem to foster the common good.
- While one could argue something other than copyright as a way of ensuring compensation for artists, such systems are hypothetical. Copyright is what our society is using now to compensate artists.
- The general damage done to society by widespread disregard for the law and the scandal done if others are aware of your covert variance of the law also must be factored into the above decisions.
Now for refusing to exercise all of the copying options that the civil law affords:
- Again, the provisions of civil law enjoy the benefit of the doubt.
- Therefore, if civil law judges a particular act of copying as licit, it should be presumed to be morally licit as well.
- Thus if the civil law allows for the copying of a broadcast piece of music then it is to be presumed to be licit until the contrary is shown.
- If one wants to argue against this, one could argue to the particular case or in general.
- The only way I can see to argue against it in the particular (i.e., it is wrong to copy this particular piece of music when the law says you can) would be if doing so would gravely harm the artist (i.e., he really badly needs the two cents he would make off the copy if you bought it) or if the song itself will have bad effects on someone else (e.g., it's going to tempt you to sin).
- Arguing against taking advantage of copyright law's fair use provisions in general also seems problematic. First, fair use provisions exist in order to protect the common destination of goods that the Church teaches to exist.
- Second, many of the cases of fair use copying are actually compensated indirectly, removing the need for direct compensation. For example, if you're copying a song from a broadcast service then the service from which you are copying it is compensating the artist and record company. The service then expects to make its money back from its audience either directly (e.g., by subscriptions, as with cable or sattelite radio) or indirectly (e.g., by advertising, as with broadcast TV and radio). The value added premium on blank recording media also contributes to this (Cowboy hat tip to the reader who provided the link in the comments box on the original post!).
- Thus the money to sustain the system still flows from the audience to the service to the record company to the artist, it's just handled differently. If it weren't the players in the system would stop performing their function in it. If it weren't profitable for them, they'd go out of business or find another line of work.
- Third, and related to the former, the artists and record companies that have bought into the system have chosen to do so. Sure, they might like to make more money, but the fact is that they have chosen to do business under the conditions afforded by the civil law. If they don't like that law, they can lobby to change it, but their decision to do business under the terms of civil law establishes a presumption that, while they may not like all provisions of civil law, they feel it better to do business under these terms than otherwise.
- It is true that the Church recognizes that the consent of the worker is not a sufficient condition for the moral licitness of an arrangement, but this does not mean that the consent of the worker is not relevant to the moral licitness of the arrangement. The Church's teaching on this point is meant to protect workers who are impoverished and virtually enslaved to their employers. It is not directed to multi-millionaire recording artists or multi-billionnaire record companies. When they consent to an arrangement, it is because they feel it is profitable for them to do so, not because they will starve if they choose to make money another way.
- I thus see no problem in relying on the civil law's provisions for fair use copying as a general matter.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 18, 2005
Music Copying
(Jimmy Akin)
A reader writes:
I was wondering if you have or could write on your blog on the subject of copying music--covering all aspects. Some of the experts on the EWTN website have touched on it, but they are not really up on all the technology.
I definitely don't want to do anything sinful. However, if some form of copying is ok, I would like to do it. I always thought it was ok to tape some songs from the radio onto a cassette tape. Now I'm not so sure.They have sold cassette recorders for years and blank tapes. For years I have been taping Christmas music and classical music from the radio for my own listening pleasure. Also, I have taped with my VCR some musical programs shown on PBS (like operas) and saved them for future viewing over the years. Now I'm wondering if I've been stealing for years. Are we allowed to tape like this?
I recently read somewhere (during a Google search), that companies or artists (I don't remember which) get part of the money from blank tapes. Does this cover any stealing aspect?
I have learned that it is wrong to share music with family or friends. In other words, I can lend someone my original CD or tape that I bought, but I can't make a copy for them.
These new inventions like the ipod--how does the music get on them? Are these ok?
- You buy a CD in a store and then you "rip" it on your computer (i.e., convert it to a file format that your computer knows, such as .mp3 format) with a program like iTunes (comes with the iPod), which then transfers it to the iPod. Since this is making a personal copy from something you bought, it's allowed.
- You go to a music purchase service like musicdownloads.walmart.com and pay for a copy of the song, which you then download and transfer to the iPod. Again: You're paying for it. A royalty is going to the record company. So it's all perfectly legal.
What about the new satellite radios (like Sirius) where we pay a monthly fee? Can we tape and save music from them for our personal use, since we are paying for it? Or are we "stealing" from the artist because we are not buying the song.
I am trying to grow in holiness, and I don't want to do anything that is, in essence, stealing.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack
February 07, 2005
A Complex Circle
(Jimmy Akin)
NOTE: In its native form, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" is one of the three saddest songs ever written together with "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and "Ashokan Farewell" (Various).
NOTENOTE: By the authority vested in me as blog administrator, I am the arbiter of what counts as the saddest songs ever written. No song is in this category until I hear it and judge it so.
NOW: A good piece back I started getting into the unique sound of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
The Dirt Band's sound was unique in that it didn't fit into any of the typical categories of popular music in its day (the late 1960s and 1970s). "What is it?" some promos asked. Was it Rock? Country? Folk? Bluegrass? Or something else?
Truth be told, the Dirt Band's music is today what we might classify as Country-Rock. This was before Rock n'Roll fell apart in the late 1980s and the ensuing remnants were swept up into contemporary Country (which is surprisingly Rock-like), insipid Pop, noxious Hip-Hop, and offensive Rap.
But not all the Dirt Band's work is Country-Rock. A notable exception is its 1971 album Will The Circle Be Unbroken.
This album is much more traditional, with melodious melodies courtesy of Country-Folk-Bluegrass artists such as Doc Watkins, Earl Scruggs, and Mother Maybelle Carter.
It was a meeting-of-the-generations album, with the Dirt Band (representing youth) joining established artists (representing the older generation) to create wonderful, traditional music.
In a time when the "generation gap" was the talk of the nation, the cover of the album bore the hopeful legend: "Music forms a new Circle."
Indeed it did.
The title song of of the album was sung by country-legend Mother Maybelle, together with the Dirt Band and all the other artists appearing on the album.
The song tells the story of a person who is forced to surrender one's mother to the reality of death and who wonders whether the whole of the family circle will or will not be reunited with God in heaven.
The central lyric and the chorus of the song is as follows:
Will the circle be unbroken?
By-and-by, Lord, by-and-by?
There's a better home a-waitin',
In the sky, Lord, in the sky!
As the chorus suggests, the song has notes of hope, caution, and loss.
It was fitting that Mother Maybelle take the lead in singing the song since she was a member of the original Carter Family. The Carter Family was centered on A. P. Carter, who originally wrote the song. The Carter Family also included his sister-in-law Mother Maybelle Carter and, eventually, her daughter June Carter.
June Carter married music-legend Johnny Cash, to become June Carter Cash.
Mother Maybelle died in 1978, leaving her daughter (June Carter Cash) and he son-in-law (Johnny Cash) behind her.
In the 1980s, the Dirt Band decided to do a sequel album titled Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Volume 2.
This time around, Johnny Cash was one of the main guest singers on the album, and he took the lead on the album's rendition of the song "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" (which, once again, was sung with the Dirt Band and all the artists participating on the album).
It was a nice touch.
A. P. Carter had written the song.
His sister-in-law, Mother Maybelle, took the lead in recording it the first time around.
Now Mother Maybelle's son-in-law, Johnny Cash, took the lead.
But the Dirt Band didn't leave it untouched. They made one of the three saddest songs ever written sound . . . happier, with more hope than before in it. And they added a new stanza to it:
We sang the songs of childhood,
Hymns of faith that made us strong,
Ones that Mother Maybelle taught us,
Hear the angels sing along!