August 10, 2004

No More Free Rap The attorneys general for the states of Kansas and Indiana have withheld the distribution of more than 7,000 CDs, including music by Outkast and Rage Against the Machine, to state libraries because they have deemed the music objectionable.

Sorry for both NewsFilter and an MTV link, but...

posted by shotsy 20 years ago
  • While the spector of censorship is quite chilling, the settlement program hasn't exactly been my favorite thing. Seems like it's just a way the record industry duped us into taking bad overstock inventory while avoiding the real issue of resolving their shady business practices. The whole thing has been such a mish mash I'd not be surpised if certain libraries were slated to get nothing but Notorious B.I.G. cd's . (Notorious B.I.G.?! What? No Tupac? When did it suddenly become 1996, and does this mean I'm late for my Cellular Biology final?)
  • I hereby deem the states of Kansas and Indiana objectionable. As for Rage Against the Machine, I have to ask: Is that guy still mad?
  • I for one appreciate this legislation of taste. When the man comes for library holdings that won't be on a table with a 25 cent price tag at the next book sale, then I might care. :->
  • Uh, dictating what constitutes lasting art (which is to say, that which we store in our libraries and museums for future generations) should not be a matter of personal taste. What's considered obscene today (Ornette Coleman, e.e. cummings, Lenny Bruce) is canonical in only a few decades. It also smacks of cultural prejudice; you don't think the new Norah Jones isn't getting a dewey decimal stamp? In short, this is horseshit. Luckily, NYork has a bitchin' public library and you can get copies of Ice Cube and "Return to the 36 Chambers" if you really want them. Cause Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin' ta fuck with.
  • GASP! Wihout Rage Cds, how will kids form an opinion on the Mumia case, except by examining the overwhleming evidence of his flamingly obvious guilt?
  • um, slight lateral topic move, but I love this: a proposal to Pez to bring out a line of "Fallen Rap Stars" Pez!". [plus, some other copy-right-issue laden art; via Stay Free, via Silky Slim's link]
  • Tom Morello is a great guitar player. And guitar thinker.
  • I just came from the NYPLibrary and got a copy of Public Enemy's "It takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back" and the new Ying Yang Twins album. God bless america.