Day: May 24, 2004

Looks like a new company is starting a service for listeners to download live shows immediately after the fact at small clubs. It’s a cheap and easy way for bands to promote themselves, and for fans to gain instant satisfaction without all that bulky bootlegging gear. Best of all, the first kiosk was just installed last Friday at none other than Maxwell’s.

I like the idea, although I’d rather them drop the price-per-show to somewhere around $5. Although I guess it needs to be at least $10 to make up for how much they’ll lose via sharing (if I go to a how with 6 people, only one of us will end up buying it). With a lot of good shows coming up this summer I’ll be sure to give it a spin and let you all know.

(via Thoughts from Eric)

For those who missed it (myself included) William & Mary have Jon Stewart’s fantastic commencement address online. Stewart is obviously a brilliant comedian; but more than that, he is a very real person. His commentary and advice on life touches on both the humor and tragedy of this world. His overtly sarcastic tone is one to be taken with a grain of salt (followed by a shot of tequila and maybe a squirt of lemon). Anywho, this is the kind of speech that college grads should get to hear at every graduation.

Seriously, it’s a simple two step process to make yourself look like a media-pandering flock of fools as opposed to a highly-touted critical judicial system.

Step one: Give the top prize to a controversial movie. In and of itself this step is perfectly legitimate. It is entirely conceivable that film with the most media hoopla over ill-begotten controversy is indeed the best film. Until I see Faranheit 911 I cannot say for certain. However, it’s the followup that does you in.

Step two: Come out publicly and defend your choice. The instant you jump on defense in a situation like this means you’ve lost. They made a questionable decision (at least in many people’s minds), but it was still their decision to make. The jury at Cannes has never spoken about its decisions, and doing so now merely lends credence to opinions that this was a political move.

All I can say is that everything about this film has been a total muckup, and I would be amazed to see it have any real impact at this point. Moore continually makes himself closer and closer to being the Left’s version of Ann Coulter.