Yo Dregs...BISON SUCK! Uh-huh.

I just re-read the whole thread.

The sendspace thread is a force for good, not evil. It's an idea I've been grappling with for a few days now...but though the thread can sometimes disturb me (today...all those AC/DC uploads...on the one hand I thought it was great and on the other it seemed tacky), it is a prime example of the realization of the power of the internet (a pretty recent realization to boot). In any case, MP3s just can't replace the real thing. Audiophiles are we...MP3s just can't replace the good stuff. We're all friends here..."7000 people" and "the whole world" are not downloading these albums like Chris claims.

Chris...if you read this...please enjoy my Milli Vanilli upload as well as Willennium. Your crotchety position makes you sound like a member of the RIAA throughout the course of the thread. You know, the bad guys...remember? You might be an ethical, respected man in the city I grew up with, but your posts throughout the entire thread are frustrating as hell. You are hurtful, you duck questions...and you generally throw stones in a glass house. All of your baiting seems to be directed at gnawing the moderators' moral fiber...perhaps particularly a Mr. Steve Albini. All of this baiting seems really unfair to me. I can't think of a better example of the realization of the former mere potential of new media better than this website and Facebook...but EA might really take the cake. You want to turn back the clock? You can't...so anti-sharing types should stop whining and adjust to reality.

Additionally, a great number of EA members know full well that you share files...there is simply no way that all of these shares are 100% legit under your strict moral code. If anyone here knows of an album that Chris has sent you that wasn't some kind of bootleg or weirdo recording...you know what I'm talking about...a legitimate record...you should say so in this thread. I know you're probably too shy...and you don't want to alienate someone who is still a good person who gave you something in confidence, but BadComrade's position is anti-progress...it's anti-learning...and frankly, it's anti-music. If no one speaks up, then BadComrade is somewhat vindicated...if still misguided and self-serving.

How much have I learned because of the generosity, good taste, and thoughtful nature of the regular sendspacers? A ton. How many bands now get money from me that they otherwise would not have received? Going through the itty-bitty bold print in the Onion A.V. Club is now a joy...all sorts of bands now come to my attention that otherwise wouldn't have. The Sendspace thread is the perfect antidote for the Pitchforks of this world. No bullshit opinions, just a sharing of information among people that you trust and appreciate.

By choosing not to participate in file sharing (largely), you are severely limiting your knowledge...which is fine...but you also probably know a lot more bands than me, Chris. Resources like the Sendspace thread, the Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights public libraries, other peoples' hard drives, good record stores (and even bad record stores) in combination allow me to play catch up with people with 20 years' experience on the scene in music. Most people are really down on the music scene today...I know I was as recently as about two years ago. A free internet however, has changed my perspective. Bands like STNNNG, Colony of Watts, Tiny Hawks, and Bear Claw (I could go on and on) have made me excited to be alive in 2007...the cutting edge of music...no one seems to really care yet, but I believe there might very well be another Nirvana to turn the tide. In so many ways, college has been a dark period of my life...but ideas like the Sendspace thread...well, they fill me with optimism for the future.

The internet allows my poverty-stricken ass freedom the likes of which we've never known. Bands still get plenty of money directly from the likes of me...and who generally sees the money when I buy a record in the store? The band? I think not.

Information abundance? Doesn't scare me one bit. Bring it on, baby.


And all of your ageist attacks? You should tread more thoughtfully. That behavior is bullshit.

Minotaur029 wrote:And all of your ageist attacks? You should tread more thoughtfully. That behavior is bullshit.

My bad.

Skronk...I don't know if you're just joking around or if your name is Chris...but uh...yeah, I'm not talkin' about you if you thought I was talkin' about you.

Minotaur029 wrote:All of your baiting seems to be directed at gnawing the moderators' moral fiber...perhaps particularly a Mr. Steve Albini.

BadComrade wrote:I don't know what the handful of other moderators on this forum's positions are when it comes to file sharing, but I do know that Steve doesn't care at all if people download Shellac MP3s, or any other bands MP3s, so I don't know why you're accusing me of possibly "gnawing at his moral fiber", other than to imply that I'm some sort of sycophant. If that were so, you'd think that I'd maybe, oh, I don't know, have spoken to him in person at some point in the last 15 years after having stood within 2 feet of him 100 times or so, many times with mutual friends / acquaintances of ours. Hell, I've been in the studio and not even spoken to him. I'm not trying to influence or impress Steve or anyone else, so go fuck yourself if you were implying so.

I don't have much time, so I'll just tell you that what I meant here was that you are trying to use your influence to try to get a moderator to shut down/lock the thread. I assumed that you probably knew Steve well enough that your outspoken/hardline position on the subject might grate on him. If you weren't in a position of some kind of "power," then you probably wouldn't have been keeping the thread at the forefront of the board's conversation for so long.

My goal here is to keep that thread alive...and I'm willing to alienate people I respect to do so...as I think it's a wonderful thing and a manifestation of the sort of internet that we were hoping for.

So my current question for you is...do you think the Sendspace thread...strictly the thread...is it a good thing or a bad thing?...or were you just attacking Nina & Co. over some imagined Soulseek/Limewire/Kazaa uploading extravaganza? I have always assumed that you detested the thread, but perhaps it is just the mass uploading/downloading kind of stuff that bugs you?

Also, there is a girl in the law office where I work right now asking for a lollipop and telling me about being four years old (and her plush dog, Fluffy). I just thought I'd say that to warm your heart before you respond, Chris.

Maybe you and I can share a tearful embrace over all this someday.

Milhouse Van Houten wrote:So this is what it feels like...when doves cry.

There's a lot of discussion on this thread about how Steve feels about filesharing. You can hear his thoughts on it here: http://www.mtsu.edu/~nadam/downloads/SteveAlbiniweb.mov He does a Q&A and someone asks him about it.

BadComrade wrote:

Minotaur029 wrote:...you are trying to use your influence to try to get a moderator to shut down/lock the thread. I assumed that you probably knew Steve well enough that your outspoken/hardline position on the subject might grate on him. If you weren't in a position of some kind of "power," then you probably wouldn't have been keeping the thread at the forefront of the board's conversation for so long.

What do the kids say on the internets these days when they find something to be hilarious? LOL OMG WTF ROFL LOLZ!!!!1!!!!!!!! or something like that?

I don't have any "influence" with any moderators on this message board. Not to mention, I think in the history of this board, ONE thread has been locked. People are allowed to have opinions that don't sit in line with mine. I'd never want a thread locked because someone doesn't... that's just stupid.

Minotaur029 wrote:...do you think the Sendspace thread...strictly the thread...is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Honestly (no kidding around or sarcasm this time), I think it's a case by case basis. Like you pointed out... uploading AC/DC albums? Stupid. Also, uploading CDs that people can actually go out and buy still? Stupid. Uploading something that's impossible to find and out of print (so there's technically no way you could buy it, causing a record store to re-order it, thus causing the label to give a profit to the band)? Can't really argue against it. Uploading a live show that's never been for sale? Don't see a problem with it.

Minotaur029 wrote:...were you just attacking Nina & Co. over some imagined Soulseek/Limewire/Kazaa uploading extravaganza?

The strong defensive stance Nina and some others have taken on this issue lead me to believe that they probably spend more money on blank CDs a month than they do on bands CDs. Maybe I'm wrong...

Minotaur029 wrote:I have always assumed that you detested the thread, but perhaps it is just the mass uploading/downloading kind of stuff that bugs you?

Generally it's the mass up/downloading I detest, yes. I thought I stated that a bunch of times already.

On the few occasions I've looked in the sendspace thread, it cracked me up here and there because it occasionally came off as a way for people to say "Hey guys, look how cool I am because I own this totally obscure experimental noise record from Bolivia that you've never even heard of. Yeah, they only pressed 3 copies on acetate. It's like, the best record ever. Download it and agree with me, but when someone who books bands across the US finds out about the band, and they tour then release a record through Matador, totally slam them and say that they're no good anymore, and that the record you have, which none of their new "fans" have even heard before, is where it's at." You know, kinda how the "kids" are all about Konono N°1 these days, even though they've been around for 25 years, etc.

Well...the Sendspace thread is a controversial subject...as you can see, I've only been on the board since November 2006...I thought there may have been reason to fear that it could be closed. I've seen people kicked off the board...I've heard rumblings about the potential closing of the thread...I thought it was unlikely, but it spooked me. It's too important to me. There's just too much there that I had no clue about otherwise.

Here's what I love about the Sendspace thread:
- Out of print records.
- Really, really old records (see: a bunch of dead black guys I uploaded).
- New bands that get practically no exposure/don't really care to promote their music all that heavily. (I need to get Tiny Hawks money or something eventually...and I'm sure I will).
- '90s noise rock type stuff that I missed out on (yeah, I'm treading on thin ice here...sorry, I've just gotta know!!!).
- Ridiculous shit that you would never buy (The Chris Farley Arcade is an internet only release...*RECOMMENDED*) and shouldn't be bought (see: Willennium, Girl You Know It's True).

I'm actually torn on the AC/DC thing...I haven't downloaded any of it...and I probably won't. I did download the AC/DC vinyl rips from way, way early in the thread...additionally, the Beatles/Dylan mono vinyl rips were totally sweet...beats my stereo versions (except for perhaps the Dylan record...it's a toss-up).

I'm glad we could talk about this Chris...it is something I have been thinking about a lot. I care about the opinions of people on this board...and I care about the people behind those opinions.

Jesus - 22 pages?.

Here's what me, Hardwick and DRC have been up to this last week while you folks argued with each other:



SAMURAI SWORD SHOPPING



ICE COLD BEER



HISTORY AND SHIT

honeyisfunny wrote:

ICE COLD BEER

That beer appears to be doing exactly the right job judging by the cloud of steam emanating from the top of your head.

Rimbaud III wrote:

honeyisfunny wrote:

ICE COLD BEER

That beer appears to be doing exactly the right job judging by the cloud of steam emanating from the top of your head.

You should have seen the cloud of steam rising from the fucking huge piss stain on my jeans the day after. Before Hardwick pipes up, I didn't piss myself.