Grokster

How fitting this should be the word that will define the future of P2P. Grok was a term coined by Robert Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land the sci-fi classic in which the protagonist was able to "grok" things, meaning he could understand them fully, completely empathetically. When you grok something you understand it so well as to virtually become it. It is the ne plus ultra of experiential god-like communal consciousness. It's what it's all about. Your life is about it. Everyone's life is about it. It's the consciousness we all plug into... via the internet.

But, that's only the first part of this word. "Ster" is from that nappy headed boy, and not Stevie Wonder. Shawn Fanning changed it all. So, I'm not sure how Wayne chose his word, but, it's pretty obvious. He knew who to nod to. The Stranger from a Strange Land who stayed up for hours and days and cared nothing but the application... signing it all to the Shakesperean uncle from hell... who scared off everyone but Hank. What a story... I wish MTV get his story moving again. Alex Winter is on board, but that's about it.

So, that's what it's about... the big boogeyman who's gonna let people all over the place exchange digital files. The experts for the Petitioners, upon cross examination, were forced to admit that even if all the licensees were to close their doors tomorrow, there is nothing to stop P2P. The Supreme Court's decision will do little to slow P2P. It would allow these conglomerates more weight in scaring and ripping off the public. And, saddest of all, we will continue to stifle the economic engine of the world, that is and always has been technology. But, make no mistake, P2P is here. It is reality. There is no stopping it. Grok it. Accept it. Enjoy it!

It's my hope the court will make the comment it has before, despite the current administration. It's always been the last bastion of protection for the interests of the less powerful voice against paid interests. The facts are clearly closer to Betamax than Napster because of the lack of central servers and follow on participation. So, keep your fingers crossed.
There is a send off party for the Grokster team at 1750 Social Club Thursday night 3/24 at 8pm and anyone interested in supporting the team should contact EFF. Their link is on the right. I will be there so say hi if you see me... or grok me.

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It just makes my day to wake up with a story like this in my inbox. Go Larry! To make things even better, they just found
Ebbers guilty on all counts. See, the Ides of March can be a good day. As in ancient Rome, power shifts and consequences follow from actions and thoughts and intent.

Scratch

Wow. It's stuff like this that gets me excited about documentaries. Like Riding Giants, which I just reviewed, this film sheds light on an important, yet little understood subculture. While Giants took me back to the waves I grew up around, this one takes me back to Brooklyn, where both my parents grew up. While surfing existed in Hawaii since at least the eighteenth century, the technology needed for turntablism has only been around a century and it wasn't until the 70's that the art form and culture started to develop in the Bronx & Brooklyn. However, hip hop culture is about the MC, or rapper, graffiti and breakdancing as well as the DJs.

I think many have a harder time getting cosy with this subculture, even though it has infiltrated the larger society to the tune of a multi-billion dollar industry. No mass advertiser these days ignores hip-hop culture. Surfers, they can offend. Yet, while everyone can get behind sun and fun, mainstream America has certainly not gotten to the point where there's any acceptance or interest in scratching per se. The mainstream culture has embraced Eminem, the Great White Hope, now the sexy JB knighted Usher, and the Peas and Outkast who have done an amazing job of weaving in some dope beats. But, musically, the pure scratch sound has yet to be understood or accepted by more than a small group.

I must admit, even I have a hard time warming up to the sound, but then I've never been into pure percussion. I can groove to a close in funk beat. I remember dancing in such a tight groove, we had whole basements of people on one hip, so, I can understand it on that level, but, musically, I need more melody.

As NY started to seriously deteriorate in the 70's Afrika Bambaataa went to Africa and came back to organize gangbangers into dancers and musicians. Breakdancing, rapping and stepping emerged. Before long the DJs started to pull out the funk breaks from songs and played them sequentially, devoid of the melody lines, pretty logical step when you're jocking a dance party... and that's how it built. Yeah baby, the DJs discovered hip hop and still command it today. They got tired of being shunted to the back like the drummers always are, they wanted to step out, and they did.

It's now the fastest growing cultural trend we have. Take a look at Big Champagne and tell me music is not about hip hop now. Soon these labels are going to be in quite a little situation. They've ignored hip hop, to their detriment, for a long time now. Why? You guessed it. Copyright. They don't want to find themselves on the other end of a lawsuit. This has helped to keep hip hop independent, which is great. It's also satisfying to see the labels cut their own fuckin throats by not supporting an art form that builds up on the stuff THEY own. It shows you just how short-sighted they are. Then again, aren't we all. The film ends with a Bill Gates mentality progenitor in his own mind saying he thinks he deserves a dollar every time someone scratches.

The problem stems from the fact that the courts pulled back from the de minimus standard and will let rights holders extract whatever they can get for use of their little sample, which is essentially free promotion. These compositions include so many samples, no label will touch it because they'll have to take loss to pay for the rights no matter how successful the end product is.

So, let's talk about DJs because this is mother's milk to me. This was my original creative musical outlet and I understand the attraction. Learning to play a musical instrument is challenging because you have to put in so much time and focus before you can get anything out of that instrument that sounds good. There are only two ways out... the turntable and vocals. And that's why I've specialized in those two. Putting records together requires a huge understanding of the content out there, at least to do it well. I always felt that what I did on radio was an art form. I would play instrumental breaks, almost always intros and outros, since they were about all I could reliably find on the vinyl, on top of each other so that the one going out and the one coming in would form something totally fresh.

They had a similar idea downstate, only they started using only the breaks from JB, Sly, George Clinton and started getting intimate with the turntable, which I love. We're always taught to respect the needle, don't scratch the record and the defiance appeals to me. They also seem to be constantly cueing on some other control, I don't pretend to understand the art form. In fact I almost got into an argument with some SF record shop owner who clearly felt I didn't fully appreciate it. He should have understood his role a a disseminator better because if it's hard for me to get it, with a strong dance and music background, it's hard for lots of folks.

I was about four seconds into this flick when I went for the turntable in the garage. It had Magical Mystery tour already on it and I went to town, so did my nine-year-old daughter who saw it out and wanted "to play it". It's kind of like playing the spoons, or advanced finger tapping. I mean, I watch guitarists finger that neck constantly, I could do it all day and love what I'm listening to. I doubt I will ever feel that way about the turntablists, though they do have a lot of dexterity. But, they have built up an ADD music form that will last a long time. They are now selling more turntables than guitars. Turntablism is being taught at the prestigious Berklee School of Music. And, again, it's a very approachable instrument, offering not only instant gratification but a unique combination of physical, mental (remember... got to know your music) and musical elements.

We're in an age of digits and snippets and beats, so this is the future. At the same time, we have the warmth and intimacy of vinyl. In the end, it takes a lot of balls to address the turntable successfully. Like the surfers, you are dealing with a moving target. I'm glad to see this burgeoning, young independent music scene take hold in this area. We haven't seen a music scene as strong in this area since the Summer of Love. And it's definitely in the big clubs like Ruby Skye and DNA Lounge. The SF dance scene, and probably most other cities, is pretty much dominated by hip hop now.