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April 15, 2005
Reality is being Remixed on CC Mixter
Looks like the remix project is officially under way, as there have already been five remixes of Language of My Reality at CC Mixter. I guess there is a need in that community for solid acapella recordings (Calling all Spoken Word artists, join CC Mixter to submit work).
One interesting thing about the remixes is how each person interpretted the tone of my piece, and how much liberty they took in cutting up and remixing the actual words. I think my favorite version of the full piece is the version by phusion, but I also like how Teru sampled some of the words without changing the direction of the meaning.
However, the most interesting piece is "Just Like Me" by Pat Chilla the Beat Gorilla, which cuts up words from my poem and actually changes the meaning. I mentioned in a review of the piece that people have been asking me what I'd do if someone re-edited my work to change the meaning, and I thanked him for giving me a real live example. He replied, "I actually had a small quibble with myself about that, mostly because your piece seemed to be introspective and I didn't want to seem disrespectful."
Not disrespectful at all. By choosing to engage in this new mixter space, I'm encouraging this kind of thing, which is cool. I also like that there seems to be an inherent respect among good musicians, and I appreciate those that try to keep the spirit of the work going. Let's keep building.
Posted by Colin at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2005
Conclusions in the Commonwealth
From my apartment on St. Felix St. in Brooklyn, it's amazing to report that the current phase of the tour has officially completed in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
This past weekend's workshop at Temple University and show at Ben's Underground at Franklin & Marshall college were almost as excellent as the weather, which officially began Spring here in the Northeast.
I think I may have arrived here in New York perfectly timed to have missed the more difficult end of Winter 2005. Anyway, I'm gonna be on a panel on Friday evening from 6:30-9:30 at the Chelsea Museum called Rhythm Science with Paul Miller / DJ Spooky and guests. (directions)
Posted by Colin at 02:44 AM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2005
Back in New York... briefly
Hi all. I'm writing a quick post from my apartment in Brooklyn, back today for 2 business school interviews and a show tonight at the kicko-off for the NYC Grassroots Media Conference. Then out to Philly tonight for a workshop at Temple tomorrow morning and a show tomorrow night at Frankin and Marshal college. Crazy end to an amazing four weeks on the road. Details on the shows here.
Posted by Colin at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2005
going through whitesburg kentucky
I haven't posted in a while because I've been sick with a cough and was "off the grid" while I was in Whitesburgh, Kentucky. Without internet or cell phone access, I got a room at a Super 8 Motel, and woke up the next morning to visit the well known community media center, Appalshop, which is even better than I had imagined, one of the few constructive things to do in Whitesburgh.
The other place of interest was "Jim's place," which he calls Wiley's Last Resort and seems to be slowly becoming somewhat of an Oregon Country Fair for Eastern Kentucky.
Overall, my time in Eastern Kentucky was really interesting. A totally different place from New York, with beautiful countryside, good fiddle and banjo music, and an interesting mix of moral values and hillbilly partying.
Posted by Colin at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)
A walk in Asheville with Negativland
During my two days in Asheville, I drove out and visited Mark Hosler of Negativland. It was the most beautiful weather of the tour, and we headed out for a walk up his winding road and had an interesting conversation. He had just come back from Iowa for an amazing conference on collage, and shared some about that, and I shared about my work.
It was interesting because even though he and Negativland has been doing work/play for almost 30 years, there's part of him that feels like there job is done. Back in the day, mashups were cutting edge, now they're mainstream, and it seems like part of what compels Negativland to make art is the legal and cultural edge. He even said that sometimes he doesn't really like Creative Commons because the licenses are somehow legalizing art in a way that takes some of the fun out of it.
It seems like everyone has their role to play. Lessig and Creative Commons are doing the legal, official thing, and Negativland and Downhill Battle and Illegal Art are doing their thing. We need both the cutting edge civil disobedience and the mainstream organizations in order to push forward. Walking and talking through the fresh air and sunshine of Asheville with this veteran building of free culture, I wondered about my own role, and what it would become.
In some ways, I've felt that this tour has been slightly underwhelming. For all the pre-tour hype, mostly I've been driving, showing up at places, doing my show, having a few conversations and getting some folks to sign my mailing list, and then moving on. With all the technical difficulties, like the lack of comments on this blog, I've been disappointed and questioning whether this is making a difference.
But maybe a few years from now, I'll look back on these five weeks in a different way. Maybe the relationships that I'm creating in towns like Jackson, MS and Nashville, TN will evolve to become important building blocks in the evolution of the free culture space. I have to remind myself that so many people have yet to even hear about these issues, and that I am paving new ground. Of course it's going to be hard, of course I'm going to get a little sick along the way, and feel a little down sometimes.
That's the cost of what it's going to take to create breakthrough's and make it to other side, where the software will work, the systems are in place, and the people will participate. Anyway, I may have just gotten a little cheesy, but it feels to good to write a little bit.
Posted by Colin at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2005
Belmont Copyright Society on the rise in Nashville
On Wednesday, I arrived in Nashville to beautiful sunny weather and friendly people. I was a little nervous to be doing my show for the traditionally conservative christian school of Belmont University, but also excited to be reaching out across traditional lines. The show was part of a required seminar series, so the auditorium was packed with several hundred students, my biggest show yet.
After I finished my show (along with unfortunate laptop difficulties), Dean Van Hook asked me a few questions about myself and my work. The two student questions at the end were really interesting. The first was from a skeptical student, which gave me a chance to dispel the Creative Commons vs. Copyright myth, which seems to be far too common. The second question asked if I thought that these issues were part of a larger social trend toward Do it Yourself efforts. She got us thinking about how all music used to be local, around a piano or campfire. I responded that yes, this is definitely part of a larger trend toware a more participatory culture.
The folks from the Belmont Copyright Society were not only really cool, but they also seemed to have a solid grasp on the issues and a pretty good profile on campus. I was also happy to see that the group included a politically diverse group of students, some of whom were skeptical about bringing me here, but happy with the result.
Having a drink after the show with everyone gave me the sense that they have an important role to play at this small college in the middle of one of the capital city's of the music industry. My only regret is that I haven't been able to see more of Nashville, as I've been fighting a cold over the last few days.
A sincere thanks to the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, all the folks at the Copyright Society, and the inspirational Michael Harrington (who I'll hopefully get to meet in the future), for a meaningful and fun time in Nashville. Keep up the good work.
Posted by Colin at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)