[rumori] SPIN covers illegal art

illegal art [rumori] SPIN covers illegal art
Tue, 14 Apr 1998 09:49:45 -0700 (PDT) (00892601385, Pine.LNX.3.95.980414091703.17485F-100000ATflotsam.detritus.net)

we've gotten a fair amount of press lately and a lot of it is very poorly
researched and written. SPIN has outdone everyone, though, by labeling
Deconstructing Beck as a drum&bass compilation and including a quote from Beck's lawyer that calls it "bad jungle" ... at SPINs request i fedexed them a copy of the disc a couple of months ago and again at their request
fedexed another copy a month ago. you think they could listen to the disc
rather than think 'well, beck's lawyer calls it jungle so we'll label it
drum&bass'... in an effort to gain some sort of understanding of recycled and experimental sound art i am personally writing SPIN a letter in hopes
that they may either print my letter or offer a correction in the next
issue. other individuals assocated with the project are writing as well
and i am passing this along to rumori and snuggles since some of you have
the disc and can offer a less biased opinion of it to SPIN (if you are so
inclined).

here is the article along with info on writing to SPIN. note that there
are other errors such as the part where it says that we were sent a cease
and desist from Universal in February. we are being legally pursued but i
won't go into that right now...

philo

--

SPIN - May 1998

Rhyming and Stealing - Guerrilla samplers target Beck

Beck may make music for people with a thrift-shop state of mind,
but he himself was unwittingly "recycled" by a gang of self-proclaimed "art terrorists." Illegal Art, a collective of hackers-cum-DJs, unlawfully sampled and remixed Beck's own sample-heavy music for a
drum'n'bass compilation called Deconstructing Beck. "Beck and other major-label artists have the money to pay for the samples they use on
their records and we don't," says Illegal Art's mouthpiece, who goes by the alias "Philo T. Farnworth." "It's our intention to tear down the hierarchy--sample access for all!" Illegal Art is underwritten by rtmark, a secretive organization
that funds culture-jamming and corporate sabotage stunts. Other
rtmark-sponsored projects include the Barbie Liberation Front, which
protested sexist toys by replacing the voice boxes of 300 Talking Barbies
with those of G.I. Joe. While Farnworth says that Illegal Art is fighting
"corporate greed," the activists apparently aren't opposed to making a capitalist profit: They've been selling Deconstructing Beck over the
internet for $5 a pop.
At press time, Beck hadn't decided whether he would file suit,
says his lawyer, Brian McPherson. But Universal--which owns Beck's label,
Geffen Records, and most of the master tapes in question--sent a cease and
desist order in February. "Beck is pretty protective and proud of his work," says Mcpherson. "And the CD sounds like bad jungle with his music in it."
J.C. (Music News Editor Julia Chaplin)

to write to SPIN... postal: 6 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011 ...
e-mail: spinonlineATaol.com ... Always include your full name and phone
number for verification. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
(also I notice that they put the City and State of the letter writer so
you may want to include that if you're sending an e-mail.)


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