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July 28, 2007
Dance! Dance! Dance!
A few weeks ago I got a slightly unusual comment on one of my videos on YouTube. It came from someone I'd never encountered, whose profile contained no videos or other identifying information. All the comment said was, "This video is a copyright infrigement."
Uh, yeah. Just like 95% of the videos on YouTube. Duh.
The video had been online for well over a year. It's a shaky, barely-audible (except for my stupid giggling) clip of two-year-old Clara Jane, eating a frozen yogurt pop and extolling the virtures of Wilco's "Candyfloss". It's a bad video that would only interest people who dig my kid and people who feel the need to hear the worst possible rendition of "Candyfloss" ever captured.
I chalked the comment up to some geek, probably a Wilco fan pissed off that my video interrupted a stream of a zillion concert bootlegs. I deleted the comment, blocked the user, placed a short little rant about it on Twitter and went about my business.
Later that day I got an email from my blog buddy Eden about how a similar issue with her YouTube account had blown up. I'm not even sure I responded to her email, since this all happened around the time of the Boob-Ha-Ha and I was majorly distracted.
Well, Eden's case has really blown up. So much so that I damn near watched Bill O'Reilly last night to see her talking about how she's suing Universal Music.
Sorry I couldn't watch, Eden. I didn't get the message until after the show. By then I was digesting a lot of curry and while I adore you and love what you're doing, I was afraid Bill would make me vomit Indian food, which is a sure-fire way to take the new right out of a new house. But I was supporting you in spirit. Truly. Because holy shit. I'm a music lover, and I'm so sick and tired of how the big music companies are grasping at pathetic straws to save their asses, instead of evolving with their consumers.
What musicians are signed to Universal? Andrew WK. Ashlee Simpson. T.A.T.U. Saliva. Smash Mouth. Suddenly, it makes sense why they would threaten legal action against a family. They obviously need the cash.
Yes, I'm choosing to ignore that some of my favorite artists - Johnn Cash, Ryan Adams, Amy Winehouse, Sonic Youth, Rufus Wainwright, U2, Drive-By Truckers, and Beck - are signed to Universal.
I'm not going to ignore the fact that really shitty records by the likes of Black Eyed Peas and Pussycat Dolls have brought fistfuls of cash to Universal over the past few years with songs about little more than female body parts. Nice. Way to support the arts and humanity, Universal!
I'm also not going to ignore the fact that Eden's video that's drawing so much fire contains music by an artist who has battled against record companies for the rights of artists and consumers for most of his 30-year career and has been at the forefront of digitally delivering music at a fair price to fans. My questionable video? Song by Wilco, a band that, when they got screwed by their record company, opted to offer their album for free on their website, eventually leading the record company to re-sign them to another imprint. Of course big record companies have to sue people! How else will they ever afford to buy the same album twice?
The whole situation makes my head hurt.
I know that laws are laws, but what happens with the laws are no longer applicable? I guess this is how change comes about. I'd love it if change came about by all parents uploading videos to YouTube of their kids joyfully dancing to copyrighted music that's barely audible in the background. If you've got the guts to do it, send me the link.
Speaking of dance ...
Clara Jane had her first dance class today. It went about like yoga class: she stood nearby and watched while I did the chicken dance, the hokey-pokey, and the shark dance. I drew the line at doing a forward roll, as I can't get into the frog pose without my legs snapping in two, nevermind that there's no way I can get my head on the floor with this spectacular chest of mine.
I try not to get frustrated with her. I don't want to be the pushy parent who badgers her kid into participating in a public class that she might not be comfortable participating in. There were a few of those, and one situation ended in vomiting. Not good for anyone.
Going into the classes, she talks about how awesome they are. Afterwards, she talks about how awesome they are. During, she just wants to stand back and watch me do yoga to kid's songs or wedding dances.
Maybe that's why she likes it: it's more fun to watch Mama look like an ass than it is to risk doing a silly dance in public!
Just for that I'm going to make a video of the silly dance she does in private to "Should I Stay or Should I Go", upload it to YouTube, and let her deal with the embarrassment of seeing her own booty being shaken on a major news network. Joe Strummer will certainly roll in his grave, for oh so many reasons.
Posted by Robin at July 28, 2007 01:00 PM
Comments
Hey thanks for the shout-out. Michelle Malkin was guest hosting so I didn't have to endure Bill-o. I keep looking for video or transcripts but there's nothing yet.
See why I was so interested in what happened to you? ;)
Posted by: Eden at July 29, 2007 10:58 AM
I'm beginning to think that corporations are all plotting to make us collectively miserable.
Posted by: Dixie at July 30, 2007 01:50 PM
