More bullshit...

I just received a message from fellow blogger Chris that his blog Music Of The Moment has – without notice and explanation – been deleted by blogger. Now that’s a drastic move and one I simply cannot understand!

First of all I've met Chris in person a couple of times, and know he’s a true music fan and everything he’s done with and written in the blog has been for the love of music. Furthermore he’s one of the few remaining loyalists, who spend a rather large sum every year on music and CD’s especially. So pissing him off like this (as blogger and whoever else is responsible for this just have) is probably the stupidest thing the “business” could possibly do. And the whole concept of deleting before warning (or asking) the blogger is so plain stupid and inappropriate that I refuse to waste any energy on that!

But second and most importantly. Gaze randomly at Hype Machine and you’ll see countless of blogs posting tracks they have not received any permission to share. As an example you can easily find and download (without paying a single cent) the entire debut album by The xx just by visiting a handful of blogs. That despite The xx (and the label etc.) being so generous to actually make one of their tracks a free download. But at least most of these bloggers are passionate, write about the music, go to concerts and probably buy the music in some shape (there are in fact quite a few vinyls freaks around). Still it puzzles me that they can go on posting those tracks, without IFPI etc. at some point aiming their cannons at them. But the true bad guys (and Hype Machine doesn’t and never will list them) are those ”full album blogs”, who have no other content (and purpose) than the entire albums being shared. Delete those blogs. Torture the bad guys for hours and hang them up in a tree. Just kill the mother fuckers. At least they deserve it, as they are of NO use whatsoever.

So going after guys like Chris (and me for that matter, should they be contemplating that) seems to me like a country in war foolishly believing that a strategy of fighting children, women and the elderly of the opposing nation, rather than the heavily armed artillery, will be the certain path to a glorious victory. So guys please pull your act together, say you're ever so sorry and reinstate Music Of The Moment...NOW!

Finally; Chris has set up a temporary blog, where you can read his take on the incident.

First aid...

Not trying to indicate that the blog is ailing or anything, though some might think differently. But just my simple (and perhaps somewhat awkward) way of saying that I’ve been absent from the blog the past few days, thanks to my participation in a first aid course. Getting much needed new knowledge, though obviously I’m crossing fingers and toes (and just about everything else) hoping that my recently acquired skills will never be tested!

When I wrote IFPI and asked for an explanation for why my post had been taken down, I hardly expected I'd be getting one. But I did! Last week the friendly people send the following reply; “We will contact Box.net and ask them to reinstate the file, we apologise for the inconvenience caused.” Wow. Shoot and kill and THEN say you’re sorry? I’ve promised (myself) not to use any foul language, so no further words wasted on this topic...not today, at least!

Two brand new recordings by Danish alternative/electro pop quartet Ruined by Martin are free downloads from the band’s webpage. Been following the band closely ever since I heard the first demos (a long, long time ago) and I’m absolutely thrilled that songs are now being produced at a much faster pace than (probably) ever before. Especially since I’m and optimist and sees this is a sign of the band having decided that Ruined by Martin is a project they badly want to succeed, and therefore is willing to give it their full attention. The two tracks are surprisingly different, as Scissor Paper Rock is an immediate catchy pop tune in the “usual” RbM fashion, compared to the darker, moodier and more industrial sounding Sub Intelligence. But as always the band's music is of the highly recommendable kind.
+ Sub Intelligence
+ Scissor Paper Rock

Shorties...

I’ve learned that IFPI (who else?) was responsible for the complaint I mentioned yesterday. I’ve mailed them, but I seriously doubt that I’ll ever get any explanation.

Today is Bad Lieutenant day, as the band is giving away their new single Sink or Swim for free. You do have to enter your email address, but it's well worth it. In case you've never heard of Bad Lieutenant (well of course you have) it's the new band of ex-New Order frontman Bernard Sumner.

Unfortunately the new single Heavenly by The Storm pretty much destroy all hopes that the band’s sophomore album Black Luck will be any better than the debut.

Coincidence or? I mentioned Bodebrixen exactly two weeks ago and Wednesday a promo mail arrived. Full of the usual "yada yada", but also included the essential information that the album will be out October 12. Lovely new track Suit Your Needs can be streamed at Blaa Vinyl.

Trade a cloud picture for four new songs by Björn Kleinhenz. That's a fairly generous offer, isn't it? However I'm still dreaming that he'll someday reunite with Adam Svanell and record more songs for the really intriguing Memoplay project. But I'm afraid that I'll have to accept that this duo is all but dead. The fabulous 4 track EP is still free to download from Last.fm.
+ Words are Small