The Guardian’s rock critic, Alexis Petridis, joins the chorus of those who say the recording industry’s tactics are foolish at best: The industry has always been full of bright ideas – eight-track tapes, plastering records with skull and crossbones logos that warned home taping was “killing music”, signing Mariah Carey …

In the midst of a legal war, Sharman Networks, the company that distributes Kazaa, countersued the RIAA and MPAA for antitrust violations last January. Last Thursday a federal judge threw the case out: The labels and studios filed suit last year against Sharman Networks, alleging that it violated their copyrights …

With his typical class, cutting through the nonsense, Jan Herman is leaving MSNBC today: Some media observers have pointed out the absurdity of that claim. What’s not absurd, though, is the occupational hazard. It grows on bloggers like a fungus. Show me a blogger and I’ll show you someone who …

Following hot on the heels of Lou Reed, who was inducted a couple of weeks ago, Earth, Wind & Fire is inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk (at 7425 Sunset Blvd.) today at noon local time. Earth, Wind & Fire recently released their first new CD in six years, The Promise, featuring …

“I know – we’ll threaten to sue them all, alienate everyone and watch the files fly!” Good thinking RIAA: The Recording Industry Association of America’s announcement on June 25 that it will start tracking down and suing users of file-sharing programs has yet to spook people, say developers of these …

The thunderstorm currently pummeling the environs feels like the wrath of God – perhaps He is angry with file sharers: Does “thou shalt not steal” mean “Thou shalt not download”? Just like other computer-savvy listeners, evangelical Christians swipe songs off the Net – and Christian labels have watched their fortunes …

While Al and Natalie prepare for their greased cage match over the value of U.S. citizenship on a day of independence for all the munchkins and their descendents, Dawn channels pseudo-Sullivan on the glories of being a Republican in a log cabin in the U.S. of A.

We had a grand, if schizophrenic, time at the Aurora Independence Day Parade and subsequent carnival. We had blazing sunshine and temps in the 90s interspersed with sheets of rain waterfalling from the sky – surely a day the plants will remember. After watching my son march in the Aurora …

Jan Herman Googles against WMD.

Professor Barnhardt’s Journal poll’s several writers for best songs of the last 25 years, in response to VH1’s take on the same. Here are the top 5 of each listed – see the site for each writer’s top 20 and the VH1 100: VH1 1. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” …