Seriously, I see the way some things are going and I can’t believe people haven’t learned just from Russia and China, if they don’t want to go more than 50 years back into history. I joke that we’ll be left with only government-approved pop tunes–or worse, like in Demoltion Man–but then I turn on Top 40 radio and wonder if that hasn’t already happened.

I’m stunned digital camera manufacturers don’t want some sort of remuneration from people who post photos online–and now that I’ve said that out loud, I hope I didn’t give Sony any ideas.

Getting back to Mario, though, I’m glad you liked the song and I wish Trent Reznor could be in every classc Nintendo game, you wouldn’t be able to pull me away from Tetris if March of the Pigs was on the soundtrack. If you haven’t seen ThereWillBeBrawl.com, you need to. It’s tragic what became of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Yeah, taping songs from the radio… all been there… and I would happily accept your apology… but, I believe in the future, record companies will seek to prosecute everyone who has ever done that, copied a CD or leant one to a friend without their express permission… or ‘broadcast’ in public buildings, taxis and club nights without paying royalties.

And they will win, and as a result, they will own 9/10 of the worlds capital. This effectively makes them the rulers of the world (which I believe has always been their ambition). They will run countries like record lables and their politicians will be presented like artists… they will mis-manage everything and we will have to pay for oxygen.

The police will be replaced by a singular organisation named the RIAA, similar in tone to the KGB at their cold-war worst.

That animation your friend did is fascinating. Made me like the song even better. I sort of lean to liking the free stuff bands put out, but I was raised on taping songs off the radio so I’m not sure I’m a good consumer. You know how our economy went to pot over here? It’s because I’d stopped buying CDs in my twenties. I’m convinced of it. And I’m very, very sorry.

Yoshi in a gimp suit is hot. Yet another fetish from TFFU, Adam, I think you and I may be very similar ppl.

You certainly have my vote.

Here’s the address:

http://wcrca.frumph.net/

Now all I need to do is make friends with Trent Reznor…

Top stuff, and well deserved. I really liked the FS cover and obviously I’m all in favour of your art prices rising (I’ve yet to show you the photo of where it hangs… I’ll try to sort that out this week).

The tool cover art was superb. I like that sort of thing well enough, but it was done especially well.

Your first attempt for YLM is nice and grungy, in the strictest sense. Lo-fi and to the point, wheras the second is intricate and slightly more polished… it’s a skill to be able to do both. That sort of versatility gives you options.

As it happens, Em isn’t talking to me until I apologise for what I did to Yoshi.

Adam, I believe you are right – there is a difference in the stature of a musician for free music to still produce a profit for the musician. Most musicians do not have the capability financially to create a hefty art-driven bonus package that runs for $300 where the free music, in a sense, functions as advertising and not the product itself. In addition, a starting musician, will not be able to sell these either without the momentum of one such as Trent Reznor.

I give kudos to Reznor as I think he is quite an innovative artist, but some of his creative projects do incorporate his accumulated fan base, and therefore cannot be duplicated by those struggling to establish themselves.

Yeah, that’s the one:
http://sleevage.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/tool_10000days_flickr.jpg

It’s such a wild idea. That artist… why can’t I remember his name? He’s got a knack for accurate biology in spiritualized pictures, which I really like. Famous in his own right, apart form his work with Tool…. Ah, there he is! Alex Grey. Cool dude. I think he’s crazy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Grey

And actually, this is bands other than Flesh Socket! That CD apparently made the rounds (albeit digitally, we’ve not seen many sales…), and four local metal groups have approached me about artwork. It’s kind of exciting. I’m working no the first full-cover right now, for a band called Blackmass Mafia. It’s kinda fun. Other than that, I did logo work for a still-developing hard-core band called Your Lowest Moment. I’ve actually got those pictures up:

Original concept was pretty old-school thrashy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/werdnus/YourLowestMomentLOGO.jpg

But the fellows wanted something a bit more “creeped out” and “death-core-ish,” so I obliged with a splash of ink or two or a dozen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/werdnus/YourLowestMomentLOGO3.jpg

Turned out rather well. (Maybe I’m getting old, but I liked the original better, despite how creepily awesome the final product was.) Now all they need is a real drummer.

Mr Stross was partly responsible for me deciding to hand-produce my own books. Similarly with the vinyl… it’s all about a physical, tactile experience.

As for Tool, was that the one with the stereoscope stuff? My mate steve (in this case it IS Adam and Steve) showed me some packaging a while back that was just excellent.

…and are you perhaps talking about the rather sublime Flesh Socket?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_(novel)

It’s pretty cool. and a very appropriate book to be made available that way, as well. I think we’ll see a lot more of this sort of thing, as people begin to realize how much the entrenched media giants are sucking out of the artists and fans.

As to selling CDs vs. free/illegal music, I think the answer is in the art. I might be saying this out of wishful thinking, but look at it: Tool, for example, leaked thier last CD before it was released, because of some conflict with their label. But the CD still sold, right? Why? Damn cool artwork and innovative packaging. Further, vinyl’s getting popular again… it’s “scene” it’s “indy” it’s “hip” to by a vinyl head, and a lot of bands (even heavy metal!) are releasing pressed albums again. what does that do? Well, you certainly can’t burn of an LP, can you? AND it give further opertunity for kick-ass art, which is, I think, a big part of the surging popularity. Take Torche, for example.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m216/johndyerbaizley/Torche-InReturnPhoto.jpg

Records give you better opportunities for art work. (This is done by John Baizley, the lead singer for Baroness, by the way. His stuff is amazing.) And it’s the artwork that will keep the physical objects selling, I hope. Do I hope it because some bands around here have asked me to do art for them… maybe.

The only problem I have heard is from musicians that do not already have a substantial fanbase… that is the ones that are just starting out. There is quite a lot of pressure on them now to release music for free, and until they reach the critical stage of being able to release ‘hard’ copies they can expect to make little or no money. We’ll find out, eventually, if this has done any damage… I suspect that it won’t since the music industry has always been ripping off the little guy, just in far more ingenious ways.

Just whilst you mention Metallica… I saw Some Kind of Monster for the first time recently. Wow.

With the collapse in the banking sector, the disintegration of the music industry and the general decline of tailoring, it looks like suits are very much going out of fashion.

One of the points I was attempting is the fact that most of us operate under some form of the license – especially us comickers, since we’re normally quite happy for people to use our comics on their sites as long as we get a link back.

It’s tricky though, as far as software goes, because as I see it, open source surpasses any OC license in that rather than targeting distinct groups it involves a whole community.