Sony BMG screws the Emusic indie pooch

Well unless you have been under a rock and not paying attention there has been some wheeling and dealing going on behind the emusic scenes with Sony/BMG. Like gasoline the cost of your online music is "slightly" going up to give you better service. Whaaaaaaaaaat? You mean double right Emusic? Early this year iTunes started charging a premium for some artists (1.28) and slightly less for other. Emusic is raising prices on average of 100% as they bring on the Sony/BMG catalog for releases that are two years or older. Ok fine but do i really care about Stevie Ray Vaughan at this point? Gimme Anti Records or nonesuch releases. If this is part of that plan. cool. If not it sucks.

To put it in perspective. My previous music download subscription account afforded me 65 downloads a month for $14.99 us dollars. Basically 23cents per track. The new plan I'm being forced to subscribe too is the same monthly fee for 37 tracks which is roughly 40.5 cents a track. Which is just about double what I was paying or 100% more!! I think gas prices are somehow related but we have not been able to figure out the connection yet. For albums with 12 or more tracks they are going to offer on select releases only a flat cost of just 12 download credits. The albums that already have this is limited so would be a good move by indies to think Nice Price but time will tell since all of your basic customer service plans details have not been released in full yet. You know I would have been fine with a slight increase but this is pretty harsh just so i can get me some Alicia keys. C'om on! Why not have those pop artists make better music or phase them out entirely. emusic has had over 250 Million downloads since it's launch by mostly independent artists (Remember last year we enjoyed the rolling stones on emusic for a spell).

Basically now you get 3 albums with of an avg 12 songs or more per album for 12 download credits, as opposed to 5.5 albums on old 65 luxurious download plan. Which is a 128% decrease in my subscription service. Bah hum-bug.

I'm also supposedly getting a +15 free booster track. Some legacy user with larger download plans (I imagine) will get a 25 booster pack. i wonder if this is every month or a one time thing? Because that would make it 52 tracks and 28cents a track which would be a fair rent 10% increase landlord. For those not grandfathered in the deal sucks or a least to begin with but still better than the lower 78 cent download price. I'll imagine it's a one time thing and will stick it out but the minute I start to notice the indies start to fall beneath promotion line I'll move on. I'm warning you emusic despite the single thread response the corp strategy has been to shoot the pooch first, watch them holler before responding. The internet is good like that.

Some of the Artists that are part of the Sony catalog will satisfy a lot of the alternative crowd who care about The Clash, Uncle Tupelo (sorry no wilco) and lou reed if you don't already own the damn cds!. For the older crowd you'll get Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke along with some classic rock Jefferson Airplane, Meat Loaf, Stevie Ray Vaughan, foo fighters, ben folds and some forgettable stuff as well, like kings of leon(my pov anyways), Rage against the machine. This of course is a partial list. Emusic is still the best deal out there for legal DRM free music.

Halloween costume ideas made easy

Seriously, this will cut down on your search for the perfect Halloween political costume. My doughter is going to be a lady bug but you can be Sarah Palin (just need go-go boots), John McCain(army jacket), Joe Bidden (eeww- a suit?) or break-out your under-roos and be super Barack Obama. here are some more odd-ball costume ideas ones. A couple years ago I was my punk rock pal Chris Gobo Pierce. Complete with his checkered vans and glasses at his own party. He said no one ever had the balls to do it. I guess I am ballsy.

Palin and Clinton spoofed on SNL

The best SNL introduction in years Tina Fey had me pretty convince at first glance she was Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler did her Hillary Clinton. They really laid into Palin's positions in politics and rightly so. I am still trying to figure out why having Russia in my backyard would make anybody a part of global politics. So Floridians know a lot about communism because Cuba is so close? Come-on totally dumb. Speaking of which, the latest hub-bub is that Republican Woman are going after Oprah? Are you kidding me? Just because she refuses to have Sarah Palin on her show; a group of Florida woman are going after her. Boy are they in for a surprise, can't wait till it backfires on them and Oprah's viewership and subscriptions go-up. Florida of all places should be careful to get the hive all worked up, it's like messing with Mother Teresa when you poke Oprah.

What you need to decide is do you want to pay attention to Sarah Palin being an anti-semite or check-out the GILF in a bikini totting a gun? Oh so much fun for amateur Photoshop artists. You know nobody would ever do this to Hillary (ok maybe nobody) but there are different rules for men and women in politics and now clearly for Democratic women and Republican women.
Digging deeper, not only is she a member of the NRA (even Michael Moore belongs to this one) but it is also reported that Sarah Palin also supports shooting Wolves from airplanes as a sport; as a close ally of the Safari Club International (does DCheney belong to this too or is that the fat old rich white guy club)? Reportedly she also used the Board of Game of Alaska, who spent $400,000 of public money on brochures and radio ads, to influence the election.

RNC Sarah Palin the nasty pitbull insights a riot

There is nothing more dangerous and more untrustworthy than a pitbull and in
particular when you put lipstick on it. Gross and scary. According to the ratings
people; Obama received the most TV views and Palin second for any convention to date over 38Million. But alas I was one of them, plugged in and forced myself to watch the Republican convention on CNN out of sheer fear for what they would say and I must say McCain was really, really boring and they delivered some of the same old, same old political annoyance, avoiding the issues. He serioulsy was Homeresque drooling boring. He talked with war metaphors too much and it did not help that all the other pundits were screaming USA! USA! USA! Every time a distractor was acting up.
And she besides being a bully, was an ass, and neither of them (McCain) addressed any key issues that should be at forefront of voter's minds like the economy. Hello? Any body there? Bill Burton a Obama spokesman said they had their best contribution drive within 24hrs of her speech. 10 Million!

Watching the cut-aways seemed liked the RNC folks were at playoff game and there with drunken arrests ( I wonder how the hookers did?). Seriously, apparently there were over 300 arrests of protestors and photojournalists. I don't think there was a single one for the Democratic national convention or at least CNN did not show anybody ( I think people really like Hillary) getting tear gas thrown at them or kicked out of the Hockey rink. Forget about the other networks. They are too afraid to ruffle any feathers with their fair news coverage but these folks sure were prepared to get their riot on. The funny in jail demand from the alleged rioters in the county lock-up was that the trans-gender prisoners be treated fairly and get their own room? Radical. This is the sort of thing Hunter S Thompson would be proud of; the anarchists are pissed and I'm sure booking Rage Against the Machine in town did not help either but alas there was rioting to be had and money to be made. Can't till the debates. Biden is pumping up.

John McCain is a rich old Millionaire

So it has been confirmed that John McCain is a rich old millionaire who can't even remember how many dwellings he owns. Hilarious. Wake-up America this is a huge disconnect for anybody not born with a silver spoon.
In other war news, looks We the People are on the hook to stay in IRAQ until 2012? I don't think anybody understand why except for the industrial war complex why this is. what do bombs go for these days? The bill so far since March 2008 is about $526 billion. The Cost of Iraq War analysis is over here. There is a lot of good we could have done in our own country with this money. Do we really want somebody in office to continue taking money from our children's mouths and the poor. Something needs to give.

The Political Economic Battle

If I were running for president I would serve the people first. This obviously is fantasy as once they all get the nod the negociation and reality of politics settles in. Promises O'bama VS. Mc older than Cain style of politi. We the people must condone a few things by our local and federal government:
1) No more tax breaks for big oil (duh)
2) Get the F*ck out of the war
3) Reverse all Afred E. Bush laws
4) Get our privacy back
5) Get Education back on Track
6) Only give hand-outs to small business and stop bailing big companies out. Make them sell back to the employees or in smaller chunks not just anothr big fish.
7) Make local townships accountable for where they spend your property taxes. Not sure where you live but in my local government they over pay just like Federal does.
8) Make the adminstration accountable for all the people's money they have giving to special interests and business. In other words answer the question why are contractors running the industrial complex? Who realy works for the government besides US postal service, law enforcement and people in office?
9) Take action with the need to create a cheaper energy that is both environmentally friendly and can harnass local resources. Lots of action going here but not nearly fast or good enough at all yet.
10) Make the rich pay a little more taxes and the poor a little less lets say at an average household income of 1500K a year. Anybody make any less their local taxes and federal avg requirements are lower on a sliding scale to nil.
11) And lastly add more transparency to government.

Idealistic I know but being that we are now looking at a depression not a recession with the price of everything going up (groceries, gas/oil, entertainement and beer). We need to take action and remove power from the morons who have run us so deep into this sh*t. We need to make them pay back their debt and undo the veil. We all need to eat and they are too fat for their own good. Thanks.

Fox Channel Political paid smear campaign

What motivates the government's Fox News channel and home of some of my favorite shows to smears Obama? What is in it for them? The situation is getting far out of control and as smart consumers we need to put a immediate stop to this BS. It is time to pitch in and tell FOX that their use of racism, local terrorism and prejudice is not acceptable at ALL. The Republican propaganda machine is in full forth and McCain is not going to stop it.

Remember ALL the paid BUSH operators that promoted IRAQ and sold you the war? Well they are back. Firt FOX paid "commentators" accidentally confused "Obama" with "Osama" and then joked (HARDY, HAA HA, HA. WINK WINK WINK) on the air about killing Obama (WTF America?! don't even go there. Remember the CIA killed the Kennedy's Part 2 ~TRS). Next, another FOX anchor said a playful fist pound by Barrack and Michelle Obama could be a "terrorist fist
jab." (Seriously! give me break a-holes) And then, white hood FOX has called Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"-- obvious derogatory unwed mother term to describe a mother of a man's child.

SIGN THE PETITION TO AND BOY-COTT ALL FOX ADVERTISERS. NOT JUST THOSE ON THE NEWS CHANNEL.

BUSH PAID JUDGES | BUSH PAID MILITARY EXPERTS | OIL BUYS INFLUENCE

Church and State not for president

I like righteous and tenacious preachers like Wright and Farakan. They serve a purpose to motivate those that need direction. They have the gift to inspire through emotion and say some pretty outrageous words in church? Is this the right message to get the people all fired up in places like the South side of Chicago? I am not sure we want anybody to be referred to as the KKKamerica though or be a part of said establishment. That segment has gone pretty far underground and shrinking unless you need to feed it some hate fuel. Us vs the others is the same kind of chip on the shoulder mentality that keeps the real-estate divided, the schools and kids behind by making a race line. Culture is funny this way and the major media is picking up on it ever so gently and at the same time fighting morality with Spitzer's Emperor Club situation. Although, the issues are obviously more about class and not race and what money can buy; the people with money and the growing margin without do need hope. A deep understanding that money rules in the end is what is needed from a business and a Do The Right Thing perspective and not a us vs "them". We the people can affect change in the industrial complex but we need to do it without prejudice, without religion based on the information we have at hand and let people live a little and make mistakes. Obama is already looking weathered and it seems to me the reality of the politics at work is starting to take its toll. The question remains can he take the heat? We know a Clinton/Obama or Obama/Clinton ticket could be an ideal and effective team with the charisma and political toughness to make real change for all classes. Subdividing is not the way to go but at this stage of the game it is what it is all about and it is going to get worse. G*d help us.

Democratic Party on Clinton and Obama needles

Tonight the future of the country is in the hands of Texas and Ohio. No pressure folks. Is the new left going to win? Ideals over practicality are at stake. Who has got the fire power to withstand a full Republican attack? Lets focus on the end game people. Really focus. The 2008 Primaries and Caucuses are today and it all on the line for Hillary. She has 238 Superdelegates vs his 194. not sure what the weight is but let hope it is a race to the end. Politics has never been so thrilling. What constitutes a win anyway? A popular vote or a delegate win? Take the poll. The system is in place to protect the people from themselves and thank god that Hillary has a sense of humour as she pars and jokes with Jon Stewart yesterday and with Amy pollard on SNL this past weekend.

Related blog posts: Misogynist Politics | Obama vs The Clinton Bashing Machine

Misogynist Politics: Obama vs Clinton machine

The political war of words is in full session between the two democratic candidates. The clock is ticking. Tick-Tock go the Orwell metaphors. "Who do you want answering the phone"? Asks Clinton, somebody who has been there and knows the lay of the land? The Obama camp counters with but she voted for Iraq. Really? Who the heck cares. Move forward dude. Most of American was deceived about it and nobody did anything and then I find this video.



I was really confused and sort of not surprised to find a Barrack video that plays on fear and comparing Hillary Clinton to a police state alla 1984. Have you looked around lately? Remember W and Dick? There is a lot of history of political videos using nuclear scare tactics and other emotional devices. What is funny is that Obama's people don't use his words. You be the judge and listen to the smarter people around you who don't have the leisure or pleasure to make a dumb choice. The guys sound great but there is no depth. Remember the I had a dream speech? There were actionable items in that. Agreed change is good but isn't that what they both are offering? Watch the most recent debate on CN/UNAVISION between the two before Tuesday and see the info people are making decisions on and take a good 10,000 foot view. Experience vs Change.

Obama vs the Clinton Bashing machine

Politics is a dirty game and the Clinton machine has just started to turn it up. A little crying was a great opener yesterday. I can't wait to see what is next. My only question for the peanut gallery is who made Iowa and New Hampshire the deciders? WTF? While it is old news Obama is/was Muslim we would all like to think religeon was not part of our US politics process. The truth is there is that whole middle part of America who cares. What we should all be afraid of is a Huckabee and Chuck Norris ballet according to the polital rumour mill. That would be freaking scary and the beginging of a whole other Reagan-Bush-esque *uck show. The industrial complex has been here for a very long time. So what are you gonna to do 'bout it? Don't forget you can also check check urban legends for yourself at scopes.com before sending your friends political spam. Although I must say it does make for good fodder.

The Bush Legacy: Waging War for Political Gain

Help to stop the making of another war we can't afford and get this ad paid for in the NY Times and give peace a chance. Brought to by the kind folks at moveon.org. Give peace a chance this holiday. For some Holiday mp3 blog post and joy check out my review stalker post from this year and from 2006.