Elvis Costello joins boycott of Israel
It is after considerable contemplation that I have arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from two performances scheduled in Israel. Some will regard [my arguments] unknowable without personal experience but if these subjects are actually too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert, then it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way. One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament. Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
http://www.elviscostello.com/news/it-is-after-cosiderable-contemplation/44
"The wall between you and the violence"
In a capital that pulses with the sounds of war, Mogadishu's Radio Xurmo was an oasis. Haunting Somali love songs and melodic nationalist tunes that evoked Somalia's lost glory filled the airwaves. "Now, the songs have vanished," said news anchor Yasmin Mayo Mohammed. The hard-line Islamist militia, Hezb-i-Islami, ordered stations in Mogadishu to stop playing music, declaring it un-Islamic. Radio Xurmo complied; the Islamists have killed Somali journalists for less cause. In Somalia's oral culture, music has shaped society for centuries. Singers crooned about family values, ancient rituals, and past empires. Collectively, music helped forge a national identity in a region dominated by clans. "It is a source of oxygen, as important to us as the water we drink," said Mohamed Hassan Haad, a senior figure in the powerful Hawiye clan. "It makes you feel life is still okay," said hotel waiter Mohammed Aden Ahmed. "It is the wall between you and the violence."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050405123.html
Teen arrested for listening to "offensive" music
A teen has been arrested in Australia for listening to what police have deemed offensive rap music. 19-year-old Nathan Michael Wilkie faces a charge of offensive behaviour after police arrested him when he was listening to music by rapper Kid Selzy on his car stereo. Mr Wilkie was parked outside a supermarket, waiting for his mother, when he was arrested. The court heard he was listening to lyrics such as "shut your fucking mouth bitch, fucking motherfucker". The arresting officers found the music offensive and derogatory to females. Mr Wilkie allegedly told officers: "You're a joke, go do some real police work."
"I bought a CD, not a license"
I strolled into the store, located the CD I was after, paid for it in cash and left. At no stage was I asked to sign a licensing agreement -- not even a post-sale agreement like those for software. It was a simple transaction of cash for a physical product. "No," cries the music industry, "you are bound by the licensing agreement that you did not sign and that we cannot produce for inspection." Fine, let's suppose I now have a licence for personal use applying to all the CDs I own. I should be able to take advantage of that. A CD I bought ten years ago now has a scratch down the middle so that five of the ten songs refuse to play. Luckily for me, this problem is solely with the physical medium. After all, my licence for personal use should allow me to reacquire ''my'' content. "No," cries the music industry, "you bought a product, not a licence. You are not entitled to a free replacement, you need to buy it all over again. And when you do, you will be covered by another identical licence. Until something happens to this new physical medium."
http://gcn1.posterous.com/i-bought-a-cd-not-a-licensing-agreement
