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“Some days I know that if I let my brain fully understand what my gut was propelling me into, it'd chuck itself out my ear.”

~Spider Jerusalem

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This mix has tracks that some of you might not agree with and some I don’t even agree with but this is not my day. This is Veteran’s Day and it’s a day to put politics aside and salute those who keep us free. If you find yourself disagreeing with a song or two on here then suck it up. No politics are welcome on this post. Ever.

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So my Wednesday politics post isn’t about national politics this time. It isn’t about local politics. It’s about something that a lot of people don’t even realize is political. I actually had a post about politics ready to go. I had found something that got my ire up and I wanted to speak on it but then today something happened that broke my heart and I decided I had to post about this and that my other topic can wait.

As most folks who know me outside of this blog can attest to I am very vocal about intellectual property especially as it relates to music. And as everyone who reads this blog or ever hears me talk about music knows I am a huge fan of Lucero. I have done an intro to their music just to turn more people on to them. I have met them, partied with them in more than one state, and talked about all sorts of crap. I am a fanboy when it comes to Lucero and while I might should be ashamed of that I am not. Today I had my heart broken.

Let me start at the beginning. 1372 Overton Park is their first release on a major label, Universal to be exact, and with my feelings about the major players in the music industry being what they are this was a hard pill to swallow. But I remembered Ben told me that they would never sign a deal that made them be anything aside from what they were so I figured that whatever the boys put pen to paper and agreed to wouldn’t change the basic band or the fans. To be clear the album is amazing. I pre-ordered it, had the leak before anyone else I know, and love it as much as any other Lucero album. I had to say that because I didn’t want anyone to think that the music the boys are making is anything less than the amazing music they have always made and what I am about to say may have given that impression. When my CD arrived yesterday I was not happy. On the packaging there are two visible FBI PIRACY WARNINGS visible and on the CD itself there is yet another. I figured this was just Universal and being that it’s Lucero and they have always encouraged people to share their music like I did with the intro that it was just the record company shaking their junk. I was wrong. Early this morning the other site I write for received a takedown notice for the two songs posted, as is the custom there, after the review. Autopsy IV replaced them with live versions so the songs are still there technically but not the versions you hear on the album.

I will never purchase another album from Lucero. I will buy merch at the shows, and I will go see them live, but I will never send another penny of my money to the corporation who now controls their music. It breaks my heart to say that but for me this is a clear cut abuse of copyright. The songs were obviously posted as part of commentary on a site which has no advertisements and does not charge for anything. This is not commercial use and being as that the songs are part of the commentary it is obviously fair use. The abuse of fair use that the system allows is disgusting. The DMCA, in the manner in which it is enforced, provides for no fair use which is a violation of the Berne Convention at the least and morally wrong to boot.

As an old man I shouldn’t have heroes. I shouldn’t. But I do and Lucero were some of them. Since they now allow a record company, a dues paying member of the RIAA, to control their music they have lost that status. You may not feel this is political but when these companies take laws meant to prosecute people duplicating CD/DVDs/etc for profit and use them against everyday people who made the mistake of sharing files and get settlements worth millions against people who make half of what I do and it’s upheld by the courts it becomes political. So it is with heavy heart that I write that I have lost some of my last heroes and will not ever purchase their music again. I can’t help but love the music and I will see them live and most likely still buy merch and I will surely buy the band drinks but they have burned a bridge that I am pretty sure they won’t try to go back down.

For a band that got as big as they by their fans sharing their music with others and then to have them do this is unconscionable. I cannot comprehend it. I plan to try and get time before their show here in town and do an interview with the boys and ask the questions this raises. I hope they don’t know what is happening or at the very least don’t approve. But I won’t know until I ask. Right now it feels like they have sold out and I hate saying that with every bone in my body. I didn’t think they sold out when they had their music used in Cold Case or One Tree Hill, I didn’t think they sold out because this album seems more radio friendly because it sound like a natural progression, but when the takedown notices fly then I can only conclude that they have sold out. And that my dear readers breaks my heart.

I might should have posted more links to copyright abuse stuff but you can find enough on TechDirt to satisfy your curiosity as well as many explanations on why tactics like this don’t work and only hurt the band in question in the long run. I love my boys but I hope this deal crashes and burns so there is nothing left to identify in the remains and the boys go back to making music and encouraging their fans to share it. I will be buying music from Suburban Home in the meantime. In fact I am going to post this and go sign up for access to their digital catalog for life. First off because it’s a great deal and secondly because Virgil doesn’t give the RIAA a dime. I urge you all to boycott this album from Lucero and any further releases of theirs on Universal. I hate to say that, I really do, but for me this is a moral issue and I cannot stand by and be silent.

I got a call the other day, the details of which I will not share, from my good friend Ryan. It was a good phone call despite the topic we discussed because I hadn’t heard from him in a while and the last time he reached out I dropped the ball and never got back to him. Regardless of that I knew he wasn’t upset with me because he ain’t like that. Our conversation inspired this little compilation, my longest mix tape so far if I remember correctly, but I didn’t have all the music I needed at the office so I couldn’t toss it real quick yesterday morning and my remote connection to home was sketchy and then from home to the server was even more sketchy so I decided to just complete it from the house. As fate would have it the upload didn’t finish, if it finished on schedule, until around 0500 (thanks Comcast. I don’t think we use Comcastic to mean what you think it means) so I couldn’t post until this morning. As if to thumb its nose at me the compilation’s ID3 tags were all funky, likely due to using a Windows program to set them, so this morning I had to download everything, re-tag, re-archive, and the upload everything again. It’s almost as if this compilation didn’t want to be posted. I prevailed in the end and stomped the damn thing into submission. So while the title is private joke and this whole thing is for Ryan I do hope you will all enjoy the music.

Some of my favorite bands have new videos out so while I am writing my Friday life management post, which is looking like a bear of a post, I’d toss up some videos for you to enjoy…

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Lucero, possibly my favorite band in the world, has commissioned fans to create videos for each track on the new album 1372 Overton Park and so far two have been posted. As a side note I received e-mail notification that my copy of the new album has shipped, got a tracking number, and am waiting less than patiently for it to arrive along with the hoodie…

Lucero – Darken My Door

Darken My Door from Lucero on Vimeo.

Lucero – Johnny Davis

Johnny Davis from Lucero on Vimeo.

While I don’t watch the show if you are a Lucero fan you might want to catch the premier of the CW’s One Tree Hill this Monday because Mom off of 1372 Overton Park is being featured in the show. It’s my favorite song off the new album and I will be recording the show so I can support the boys by watching it. Who knows it may add a new show to my list…

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Apart from Lucero my second highest played artist recently would be Tim Barry and he has a video out for his new song Prosser’s Gabriel. Autopsy IV over at Nine Bullets, which I write for as well, explains that Gabriel Prosser was a slave blacksmith who led a rebellion in VA around the summer of 1800. Montclair State University has a great piece on the rebellion. While I am not as cool as AIV and didn’t get to go the Suburban Home Records anniversary party and hear Tim sing this live the video is awesome.

Tim Barry – Prosser’s Gabriel

Tim Barry – “Prosser’s Gabriel” from TCSG on Vimeo.

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And last but certainly not least is Two Cow Garage which is another of my top five artists with a video for a new song called American Static.

Two Cow Garage – American Static

Two Cow Garage – “American Static” from TCSG on Vimeo.

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That’s all for the videos. Now I am off to work on my Friday life management post and hope I can get it done today, unlike my Wednesday political post which ended up on Thursday…

No much to tell about this one. This is a random selection from my poker playlist. I play about once a month at a great game and really enjoy it. I put a lot of thought into what ends up on the three playlists I use. This is 14 tracks from the “standard” playlist. The other two are “patient” and “aggressive” and which one is in use depends on the time of night and the other players at the table. This would have been the first fourteen songs next time I played since I just put each list on random when I play. So it’s not all songs about gambling but there may a couple in there. Anyway, enjoy the music…

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