After 2 years (Happy Birthday "Time On My Hands") I received my first DMCA takedown notice and I've got to admit, it has taken some of the wind out of my sails. I have no objection or issue with Blogger for taking down the offending post. That is their right and even their responsibility. If some musician, songwriter, publisher or label thinks that by having a song posted on this blog will hurt then in any way (although for the life of me I can't imagine why) it is their right to tell me to remove it. No problem there. In fact there are some artists who are known for not wanting their music posted who I like very much and I deliberately avoid them. "Time On My Hands" has always been about presenting music that may otherwise go unheard or be ignored in a different context than what may otherwise be expected. Nothing more and nothing less. If someone doesn't want to be a part of that I certainly respect their wishes. I believe I have made that clear from the beginning.
What does bother me however is that after more than a month (my takedown notice was dated Sept. 15) I still have no idea what song it was that somebody objected to. There is a site that is supposed to contain this information (http://www.chillingeffects.org/search.cgi) but so far I have not been able to find any info on my particular takedown. Looking over my post I see nobody who really has much (if anything) to lose by having the 150 or so people who normally download any particular post "stealing" their song. But what I do see is a really great set list (if I say so myself) filled with songs that I really wanted to share that will go unheard by a hundred or so people who might really appreciate them and maybe even be motivated to go out and buy something by one of the artists involved. As the lyric to a song whose title I've forgotten goes "It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it" that bothers me.
In other news, I wasn't too upset about Texas beating my beloved Yankees in the playoffs this year. What surprised me more than anything was that the Yanks managed to win 2 games against a team that was obviously superior to them in just abut every way. This year the Yankees simply ran out of gas. I've not seen any statistics but it seems that since the All-Star break they barely played over .500. As far as I am concerned, the better team won and more power to them.
This Tuesday is Election Day and it looks as if the Democrats are going to take a beating. While things are slightly better than they were 2 years ago many people are disappointed that President Obama hasn't been able to accomplish more and despite the fact that they were the main cause of that, the Republicans are poised to take full advantage. This may prove to be a good thing for President Obama for 2012. If the Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress this year and by 2012 times are still as tough as they are now for so many Amerricans, Republican politicians will have nobody to blame but themselves. I too have to admit some disappointment with the Obama administration. I still think he is a brilliant man with some great ideas but I think he perhaps could have been better prepared for the level of opposition he faced. But the fact remains that if he were running again today I would still vote for him.
Big Maybelle - One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
Including this one, I can think of at least three really terrific songs with the title "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", the other two being by The Honeycones and The Animals. But Big Maybelle was the first and from the sound of this I'm guessing it was recorded in the mid-50's.
Ducks Deluxe - Coast To Coast
When I first got into Punk Rock, somewhere near the end of 1977 I started reading magazines like NY Rocker and Trouser Press religiously. It was in the latter where I first read about Ducks Deluxe and when I found their album with the blue background on the cover in an import bin I fell in love with this song. Hard to believe this was recorded in 1974 when singer songwriters reigned supreme.
Lesley Gore - That's The Way Boys Are
With songs like this one and "You Don't own Me" LG displayed a maturity that many of us (this writer certainly) lacked at that younger more innocent age when "...Boys.." was blasting out of AM transistor radio speakers.
Neil Young - Rockin' In the Free World
For me, after "Harvest" many of Neil's albums were hit or miss affairs. Total brilliance one minute and virtually unlistenable the next. "Rockin'..." has always been one of my favorites.
Tammi Lynn - Mojo Hanna
This could only have been recorded in New Orleans. Listen to that incredible drumming by, I'm guessing, the incomparable Earl Palmer.
Mouse And The Traps - Lie Beg Borrow And Steal
In their time (mid-60's) these guys released a handful of singles on the Fraternity label. This one and "Maid of Sugar..." are their best and are considered classics today by Garage fans everywhere.
Eddie Bond - Don't Tear Me Up
Listening to this I can hear where artists like Dwight Yoakam and Deke Dickerson may have found some of their own inspiration.
Roger McGuinn - Anna
Like many of us who came of age in the 1960's I'm willing to bet that Roger first heard "Anna" on the "Introducing the Beatles" album. And just like John Lennon's, Roger's voice is the perfect vehicle for "Anna's" melancholia and wistfullness.
The Byrds - She Don't Care About Time
When I was 14 and in 9th grade I remember buying "Turn Turn Turn" on a Columbia 45 and playing it over and over for at least an hour. Finally I turned the record over and was quite pleasantly surprised to find "She Don't..." waiting for me on the flip.
The Hi-Risers - Wild Romance
I love these guys! I've always been a huge power pop fan and The Hi-Risers do it as well as anyone and better than most. Upbeat and perky it's virtually impossible to feel sad when these guys are playing. I saw them a few months ago at Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ opening up for The Trashmen and they're just as much fun live as they are on record. They've got a whole slew of songs just as fabulous as this one so check out their myspace page to hear more.
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes - I Don't Want to Go Home
Anyone who has ever sat in a bar at 3 AM still searching for that potential love of their life or just someone to help keep the loneliness at bay for a few more hours will certainly be able to relate to Johnny's tale of woe.
The Scorpions - Hey Honey
When you mention Dutchbeat to fans of the genre, right away most folks think of The Outsiders and Q65. But, like music scenes everywhere, there were many many other bands involved who were not quite as well known. Meet The Scorpions.
Vicki Anderson - No More Heartaches No More Pain
I haven't updated my "Way to Go" section in awhile but when I do I will certainly include a link to the incredible "Derek's Daily 45" site which is where I first heard this fiery little gem. I've been visiting them for close to a year now and have lost count of how many times I've gone straight from there to Gemm Music or Ebay to add another amazing 45 to my collection.
The Wanderer's Rest - Don't Know What I'd Do
From the wilds of Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Wanderer's Rest released a handful of 45's before fading into obscurity. Virtually their entire recorded legacy is available on "Garagemental: The Cuca Records Story Vol. 2" on Ace/Big Beat.
The Lolas - Ballerina Breakout
I'm not sure where I first heard of these guys - most likely one of the numerous power pop blogs around - but their CDs have been out of print long enough for them to be fetching fairly substantial prices on places like Amazon, Gemm Music and Ebay. But I liked what I heard enough to warrant shelling out for pretty much their whole output including some Japanese CDs with bonus tracks.
Charles Mingus - East Coasting (Take 4)
Like Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus is reknown as much for his musical compositions as he is for being a bandleader and musician. Although I have read that he was a very angry man at times I hear a distinct sense of humor and playfulness in his music. "East Coasting" was recorded fairly early in his career in 1957.
12 comments:
The Big Maybelle track was produced by a very young Quincy Jones.
Oh, I also believe that Bill Evans, also very young, is on East Coasting by Charles Mingus.
Dude, no offense, but democrats have been in charge of congress since 2006. Since then, the deficit has grown 400% and unemployment has doubled! It's not at all better now. And, despite their handling of the economy, the number 1 reason that people are voting against the dems is the govt takeover of healthcare they passed in extreme non-transparency and non-bi-partisanship.
like your songs though. thanks.
ChillingEffects is a load of crap. A worse than useless site. I got a takedown notice last year on If I Only Had Time and there was absolutely no information about the LP I had posted. Beach Party 4.
I am convinced that such takedown notices are driven by search engines and spiders not real people combing blogs for stuff to object to.
First off, happy happy birthday! My blog must've started shortly after you. And you were my first link.
I'm really blown away by this DMCA shit. I never even heard the term and I guess I've been lucky. I'm still not clear though - is your site going to be taken down or are you unsure? What a goddamn injustice.
I never had a complaint but I realize now that it could just as easily happen to me. I hear about other bloggers moving to wordpress for this reason. I'd hate to do that, but it might be best just to do it and get it over with.
I'd hate to see you go and I feel for you. I hope this is not the last upload.
Thanks Glenn. At this point TOMH is not in any danger of being taken down by me or anyone else. What happened is that blogger took down my last post because someone (presumably a copyright owner of one of the songs I had posted) complained. Which they have a right to do.
I can't fault Blogspot for taking down the post. Legally I believe it is what they are required by law to do. I don't think that Wordpress is much different in that regard. Like I said, the only thing that bothers me is that I still don't know what song it was that caused this headache.
Until this happens again I am planning to continue. I honestly believe that blogs like this one and "Born In Tyme" do a service for both musicians and their fans by presenting the music in different and (hopefully) interesting contexts. So unless this becomes a regular problem I'm not going anywhere.
Sorry to read of your troubles. It makes me glad that I'm low-tech (because I'm too inept to know who to link my songs to a blog using some sort of player)and just post YouTube clips/lins for folks to hear the songs I'm raving about....
Hi Yankee Boy, Sorry to hear about your problems with the suits. Sometimes when obscure selections are involved, I wonder if the complaints are really coming from the record companies/performers or have actually been made by unstable or trouble making readers. It's really unfair that they don't supply information about the offending cut. Maybe it's time to start collecting email addresses from your most loyal and regular fans, just in case you decide to go private with your blog.
At this point I really don't want to do the private blog thing as the whole point of this is to turn as many people on as possible to some cool music they might be unaware of or have forgotten.
One thing, after having my entire blog deleated without warning, I was lucky in that I had backed the whole thing up, using the ''Export Blog' facility in bloggers settings to get an XML Document. It's then very straight forward to start another blog and import everything in, in just a couple of minutes!. This is what I did, although I've now gone the private route. So don't think blogger will warn you first - they don't. Get that back up done!!
Thanks for the tip Brian. As soon as I read your comment I went and did exactly what you suggested. It had occurred to me that if Blogger ever took TOMH down, I would like to have a backup of all my writing - if nothing else. Now I do.
Thanks again.
Does any copyright owner really get it, yet? If you aren't being downloaded on the internet (for free), then you're already nobody! Nothing ASCAP or BMI has done, or will do, is ever going to increase the frequency or the amount of your next royalty check. When a person who lives in their car already can't buy food, what good is depriving them of your music, when it really the only meal they may get today? Any artist that would do so has already cut his own throat! And if I cannot sink home the point, then start researching the amount of royalties and residuals that are still in the mail. Remember, non-artists run the industry! Whooya, KMET!
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