It's not all just politics politics politics around here

Last night while waiting to get into an awesome Ted Leo show, Lisa and I had a brief geek-off on the merits of blogging. We discussed everyone's preferred topics: Dany blogs about music, Eavvon blogs about pop culture, Matt blogs about movies and books, Jamie blogs about Jenell, and Joey blogs about rad explosions. "And you blog about politics," Lisa added.

Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. I'll have you know that I blog about plenty of other things, people. Yeah, politics is a pretty important subject, I'll concede that -- but I write a lot about the so-called "liberal media", the FCC, the mayor's race in Philly, Fortune 500 mergers...... okay, so maybe there is a lot of politics there.

Whatever, because it doesn't even really matter: the top keyword search for people that find Open All Night from search engines is...(drumroll).....BILLY JOEL SUPER BOWL.

Alright, fuck this. I'm taking my ball and going home.

Ha.

Link via [Crooks & Liars]

TL at the TLA

First stop on the '07 tour. The last couple of shows I've been to have been kind of short and impersonal, so I'm hoping that after he's had a bit more rest, Ted Leo and his Pharmacists (plus one = James Canty) are ready to rock hard tonight.

I can still point to the Princeton show when he played in a goddamned frat house dining room as being one of the best shows I've ever been to. People were hanging off the porch out back trying to get a peek inside. This show won't be that, but hopefully it'll be a little better than watching them play in front of 3,000 uninterested Death Cab fans from the back row.

Here is the part of the post where I pretend like I write an MP3 blog:

Ted Leo - Keep on Pushing (Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Who Do You Love?
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Already Too Late

Tip: never buy music from these people

Some music artists are now coming out in defense of the indefensible new Internet radio royalty rate hikes coming down the road. We here at Open All Night have touched on the topic before, and it basically comes down to this: if you're for independent, affordable Internet radio, you're against these new royalties. Should they come to pass, they will make it unaffordable for the smaller Internet stations to continue legally broadcasting online.

A variety of musicians have spoken out in favor of the controversial, proposed higher royalty rates for Internet radio proposed by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Drummer Jody Stephens (Big Star, Golden Smog) said in a statement, "If music adds commercial value to someone's site, then there is a monetary value due the writers and recording artists. The decision by the Copyright Royalty Board helps us afford to continue to add this value of music."

"A lot of internet users think of music as a product created and generated by major labels with corporate megadollars and so think nothing of taking or paying very little to use this music," added singer Michelle Shocked. "But the evidence shows that a large majority of music is now created by independent artists with very small margins trying earn a living and it's in that context that the recent decision to raise the internet broadcasting rates are seen as an encouragement to creativity and independence."

Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister added, "With the shrinking royalties from the usual sources, the ever expanding digital universe is apparently becoming the future and, before our very eyes, it is here now. I wholeheartedly support all organizations that endeavor to collect and account to all the hard working artists whose material is exploited. I applaud these new royalty increases as they scratch the surface of the new world order."

Last week, following criticisms and petitions from NPR and other broadcasters, the CRB agreed to grant motions for a possible rehearing over the royalty rates.

So, Big Star, Michelle Shocked, and Twisted Sister are the only musicians FMQB could scrounge up that were in favor of these new rules. As such, they should be punished -- with our wallets. That punishment can include simply not purchasing their records, or, as I like to do, hunting down the individual artists and whaling on them with a purse like a tough little old granny that just left her weekly karate lesson.

Also, this seems like the perfect opportunity to pimp this cool site I found that lets you search for RIAA-safe artists: RIAA Radar.com

Link via [FMQB]

Joey's Explosion of the Day

"Not all explosions are visible displays of fire, combustion, and things that make you go hmmm. Some explosions are the opposite of volcanos. They don't shoot up from the earth; they shoot down from the Lord. The Holy Ghost explosion is one of the most rare kinds of explosions. You are not always aware you are witnessing a Holy Ghost Explosion. Luckily this YouTube footage captures these rare occurances in action." -- Joey Coombe

Who's Your Daddy?

I'm really disgusted (but not surprised) by the media's reaction to the way Congress is attempting to subpoena White House aides in the USA Firing scandal. The conflict between President Bush and Democrats leading the investigation has taken the tone of a stern father reprimanding misbehaving children, as though it's somehow out of line for Congress to want to hear some official testimony on this case.

Events like this have been a hallmark of the Bush presidency. Even when it's perfectly clear that the administration is wrong, and well past the point when any savvy politician would've given in and let the news cycle run it's course as quickly as possible. Instead, by puffing his chest out and taking a stand on exactly how Karl Rove and Harriet Miers ought to be interviewed by investigators, Bush is keeping the negative issue in the limelight for extra days and even weeks.

He must really be covering something good up here, because allowing testimony on the record here shouldn't hurt them any more than if they continue to act like they're actually succeeding in hiding any wrongdoing. In fact, the stalling is making it look worse than it probably is. If they were smart, Rove and Miers would've squealed already, everyone's suspicions would've been confirmed, Alberto Gonzalez would probably take the fall, and the American public goes back to their new episodes of Law and Order by the end of the week.

However, this "liberal" media has pretty much removed the necessity for any political savvy in instances like this up to this point. Why should they (or Bush, for that matter) change what they're doing now?

Got my vote

Always refreshing to see the rare politician that's got a sense of humor about themselves...