Tag Archives: Spotify

Headlines Du Jour ► Monday, January 27, 2014

As Not Now Silly continues to collect its own headlines, the concentration continues to be on Income Inequality.

WHY RADIO SUCKS:

Radio’s Answer to
Spotify? Less Variety

Stations Create More Repetition, Fearing Listeners Will Tune Out Unfamiliar Tunes

TODAY IN WTF? NEWS:

Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants To Ban All Marriages

ANOTHER DISPATCH FROM DETROIT, ‘MERKA’S FIRST THROWAWAY CITY:

Downtown Detroit apartment rents spiking higher, even pricing out middle class

TODAY IN FLOR-I-DUH NEWS:

Slaying casts spotlight on Miami’s world of pigeon racing

MORE ON INCOME INEQUALITY:

John Cassidy on Income
Mobility and Inequality

Education can resuscitate
the American dream

As US wages stagnate, food stamp use growing fastest among workers with some college training

The Super Bowl and what it teaches
about income inequality: Stephen Kimatian

From Income Inequality To Economic Imbalance

Republicans Need To Start Acting Like
Adults, And Embrace Income Inequality

Gap between rich and poor means unstable world for everyone
The global elite is quite rightly afraid of becoming a victim of its own success, says Stephen Donnelly

Editorial: Wide gap gets wider

Income Inequality and Raising the Minimum Wage

‘The Boss’ rocks against rising global income gap


VIDEO DU JOUR

Headlines Du Jour is a leisure-time activity of Not Now Silly, home of the
Steam-Powered Word-0-Matic, and your rest stop on the Information
Highway. Use our valuable bandwidth to post your news comments in
today’s open thread.

Me vs The O’Jays ► The First Feud of 2014

Cover of 1975’s Family Reuinion LP falls under FAIR USE, too

Well, that didn’t take long at all. It was only yesterday, in my Not Now Silly Year-Ender, that I said:

So . . . as we end this exciting episode of Unpacking The Writer, we have a brand new year to look forward to. Here’s to all the political muckraking, fights, and feuds to come in 2014!!!

Today I woke up to find myself in a legal dispute with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The O’Jays. That’s right. I said, “The O’Jays.” [WAIT!!! WHAT??? They’re in the RRHOF and Nilsson isn’t? WTF is wrong with this world?] My first thought was, “Are they still alive?” No matter. Two-thousand and fourteen begins weirdly, with a legal dispute with the O’Jays, or at least the company that handles their musical copyrights. Let me explain:

I have a YouTube channel where (among other things) I store the videos I’ve shot that will eventually be embedded at Not Now Silly. One of my playlists is called “One Grove – Community Mural,” which accompanied the blog post “Unveiling the One Grove Mural – A Photo and Video Essay.” It’s this video that the O’Jays have a problem with:

I shot this video the day I covered the unveiling of the One Grove mural. The mural is right across the street from the Trolleygate bus maintenance facility I had been writing about. It was a No Brainer that I would be covering the unveiling. At this celebratory community block party was a sound system that, between speeches, played Reggae and R&B tunes. The O’Jays are claiming a copyright violation against my YouTubery because their song “Family
Reunion” was part of the “wild sound” captured that day.

This is crazy on its face. My little video contains 34 seconds of their song. Yet, I can find that entire song and many more embedded on a facebook-generated O’Jays page. [Oddly enough there’s no music to be found on The O’Jays’ Official facebook page.] Plugging that song title into a Google video search returns 108,000 matches. Furthermore, Spotify allows me to create a playlist containing the entire O’Jay’s oeuvre. But they’re going to pick on little ol’ me because I covered a community event where their song was playing? That’s not how FAIR USE is supposed to work.

Listen to the O’Jays for FREE!!!
It’s on me!!!

This is not the first time that the O’Jays have claimed a copyright violation against me on this very video. They claimed a copyright violation when I first uploaded it. I appealed to the faceless Master Cylinder at the YouTubery and, naturally, claimed the FAIR USE exemption because I understand the law better than the rights holder!!!

This was a news event I was covering in my capacity as a journalist, one of dozens of news stories I’ve written about West Grove over the years. My qualifications for claiming a journalistic FAIR USE exemption should not be in doubt. When I first claimed FAIR USE, I was sure that would be the end of it. I have claimed FAIR USE for other videos with wild sound like this. All previous FAIR USE claims were accepted. Until now.

The O’Jays rejected my FAIR USE exemption claim. Consequently, I am appealing again. Another appeal to the YouTube Master Cylinder kicks the process up to a whole new level of legal dispute. This is the point where lawyers may start getting involved.

I could have just removed the 34 second video or, in the alternative, covered the audio with rights-free music. However, there’s a journalistic principle involved here and I’m clearly using the snippet of music within the FAIR USE exemption of the copyright law.

And, it’s hypocritical. On the group’s OFFICIAL WEBSITE there’s a section called Music, where you can listen to O’Jays’ tunes. What’s the first one in the list? Why lookie here: It’s Family Reunion.

BTW: If my 34 seconds of Family Reunion gave you a hankering to hear the whole tune, there’s hundreds of versions online. Here’s one to keep you satisfied. Below you can read my latest appeal.

“The O’Jays-Family Reunion”, sound recording administered by:
SME – Dispute rejected, claim has been reinstated.

Demon Music

You originally disputed the claim based on fair use. Please explain why your use of content is subject to fair use according to the following statutory factors.

Purpose and character of use:

I believe the rejection of FAIR USE is in error. I am a journalist who covers news in Coconut Grove, Florida. This video was covering a community event. The music heard on the video was wild audio captured as I covered this community event. My blog, with dozens of news stories on Coconut Grove, can be found at http://notnowsilly.blogspot.com/

Nature of copyrighted work:

I am not claiming ownership of the music in any way. I am fully aware of the copyright holder’s claim to the music, but that claim cannot cover news events where the audio captures wild sound at the event. FAIR USE is supposed to cover situations like this.


The amount and substantiality of the portion used:

This is a very small snippet of music — 34 seconds — captured as wild sound during a community event.

The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the original work:

It’s my feeling that no harm comes to the rights holder by my having shared this video of a community event with people in Coconut Grove. The fact that during a time of great joy — the unveiling of a community mural — the folks in Coconut Grove played this music goes to show what high regard the folks have for the O’Jays song.


I acknowledge that filing an appeal may lead to legal proceedings between me and the complaining party to determine ownership. I am aware that there may be adverse legal consequences in my country if I make a false or bad faith allegation by using this process. I understand the [REDACTED] personal contact information I provided above will be shared with the complaining party for purposes of my appeal and consent to this disclosure. I acknowledge that this information may be transmitted outside my home country as part of this process. 

I’ll let you all know how this turns out.

Musical Appreciation ► Cole Porter

An example of a “coal porter,”
a man who delivers the coal.
© 2012 Friedrich Seidenstücker,
from the MoMa collection
Another example of a coal
porter is a rail car for coal.
It’s my opinion that no ‘Merkin songwriter has ever been more
deft at the lyric than Cole Porter.
While there are many wonderful things to praise in his music, I would like to
praise his wordplay and his sense of the rhythm of the syllables of spoken,
contemporary English, while imbuing that honest, simple language with more than
a hint of sophistication. His love of language is clear in his lyrics. I have always wondered whether he got his penchant for playing with words because his name is, in fact, a pun, not unlike Aunty Em Ericann.
With a string of songs ranging from “I Get A Kick Out Of You” to “You’re The Top” to “Don’t Fence Me In” to “When We Begin The Beguine” to “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)” to “Night and Day” to “Anything Goes” to “Let’s Misbehave” there are so many wonderful Porter lyrics, so let’s get started and break some of them down to celebrate Cole’s 121st birthday.
Ella Fitzgerald has agreed to help me out with this first set of lyrics with “Anything Goes.” Take it away, Ella:

Look at the cadence of these words and the tune, which we all know by heart, just fall into place, that’s how closely locked the words are with the actual rhythms of the song. And, look at where the rhymes fall: both at the ends of lines and within the middle. And, in the middle of the middles are other rhyming words. Look:

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking
was looked on as something shocking.
Now heaven knows, anything goes.
Good authors too who once knew better words,
now only use four-letter words writing prose,
anything goes.
The world has gone mad today,
and good´s bad today, and black´s white today,
and day´s night today,
When most guys today that women prize today
are just silly gigolos.
So though I´m not a great romancer,
I know that you´re bound to answer
when I propose, anything goes.
Isn’t that tasty?

Louis Armstrong and my fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson will be demonstrating a whole different sly word play with “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love),” which, in 1928, was considered quite risqué for its time. Armstrong sings more different verses than anyone else in this almost 9 minute version and every one of them is clever as all hell.

One of my favourite Cole Porter tunes has to be “You’re The Top” also from the Broadway show “Anything Goes.” It’s filled with clever wordplay, funny pop cultural references which would have, in its time, been known by everyone in the audience, and a wonderful sentiment all wrapped up in that wonderful sense of cadence that the words have on their own. This time Cole Porter has agreed to sing his own song for us and he’s asked us all to sing along:

At words poetic, I’m so pathetic
That I always have found it best,
Instead of getting ’em off my chest,
To let ’em rest unexpressed,
I hate parading my serenading
As I’ll probably miss a bar,
But if this ditty is not so pretty
At least it’ll tell you
How great you are.

You’re the top!
You’re the Coliseum.
You’re the top!
You’re the Louver Museum.
You’re a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You’re a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare’s sonnet,
You’re Mickey Mouse.
You’re the Nile,
You’re the Tower of Pisa,
You’re the smile on the Mona Lisa
I’m a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if, baby, I’m the bottom you’re the top!

Your words poetic are not pathetic.
On the other hand, babe, you shine,
And I can feel after every line
A thrill divine
Down my spine.
Now gifted humans like Vincent Youmans
Might think that your song is bad,
But I got a notion
I’ll second the motion
And this is what I’m going to add;

You’re the top!
You’re Mahatma Gandhi.
You’re the top!
You’re Napoleon Brandy.
You’re the purple light
Of a summer night in Spain,
You’re the National Gallery
You’re Garbo’s salary,
You’re cellophane.
You’re sublime,
You’re turkey dinner,
You’re the time, 

of a Derby winner.
I’m a toy balloon that’s fated soon to pop
But if, baby, I’m the bottom,
You’re the top!

You’re the top!
You’re an arrow collar
You’re the top!
You’re a Coolidge dollar,
You’re the nimble tread
Of the feet of Fred Astaire,
You’re an O’Neill drama,
You’re Whistler’s mama!
You’re camembert.
You’re a rose,
You’re Inferno’s Dante,
You’re the nose
On the great Durante.
I’m just in a way,
As the French would say, “de trop”.
But if, baby, I’m the bottom,
You’re the top!

You’re the top!
You’re a dance in Bali.
You’re the top!
You’re a hot tamale.
You’re an angel, you,
Simply too, too, too diveen,
You’re a Boticcelli,
You’re Keats,
You’re Shelly!
You’re Ovaltine!
You’re a boom,
You’re the dam at Boulder,
You’re the moon,
Over Mae West’s shoulder,
I’m the nominee of the G.O.P.
Or GOP!
But if, baby, I’m the bottom,
You’re the top!

You’re the top!
You’re a Waldorf salad.
You’re the top!
You’re a Berlin ballad.
You’re the boats that glide
On the sleepy Zuider Zee,
You’re an old Dutch master,
You’re Lady Astor,
You’re broccoli!
You’re romance,
You’re the steppes of Russia,
You’re the pants, on a Roxy usher,
I’m a broken doll, a fol-de-rol, a flop,
But if, baby, I’m the bottom,
You’re the top!

That’s poetry. And it’s such a clever use of the English language. They don’t make songwriters like that anymore.

Here are some more classic interpretations of Cole Porter songs. I’ve also included a few instrumentals, one parody, a few unearthed gems sung by Cole himself (who wasn’t much of a singer), and two totally different versions and arrangements by Julie London, so you can also hear what a terrific tunesmith he was. Cole Porter is The Tops!