Anyhoo, as a result of a series of random conversations in work (and when I say random, I do mean random – that’s one of the great things about where I work), I challenged one of my colleagues to the Desert Island C90 Challenge.

I partook in this a year and a half ago and found it great fun – you should try it; If you could only take one c90 cassette (remember them kids?) of music to listen to for the rest of your life, what would you put on it?

As I say, it came up in conversation, but it prompted me to look back on what I chose, to see if I would change anything on there.

Then I remembered that I posted again in March 2009 to say that the music industry were suing Youtube for unlicensed material unless it was removed. So I thought I’d check how many of the embedded videos I had added to my mixtape had survived. It made interesting reading.

So here we are; a naming and shaming of bands/artists out of my 2009 top 24 tracks that allowed their publishers to remove material under the guise of ‘copyright infringement’. Granted some of the artists are dead now, but let’s not let that get in the way of a rant. More than half of the tracks I chose are now barred on Youtube:

The Mamas & Papas, The Rolling Stones, The Cocteau Twins, The Sex Pistols, Billy Talent, Bon Jovi, The Go Go’s, The Associates, Nirvana, Muse, U2, The Smiths and The Jam. Disappointing, given the amount of money I’ve contributed to those very bands through vinyl, CD, merchandise and gig tickets over the years.

And of the others; The Cult, Bluetones, Queens of the Stone Age, Stevie Wonder, Radiohead, Ugly Kid Joe, The Bangles, REM, Simon & Garfunkel, Gary Jules, The Four Tops, all but two of them (The Bluetones and Gary Jules) were either live versions or soundtrack only with pics.

Perhaps “the man” doesn’t have as much control over the usage of those.
So maybe I need to do a trawl for some live examples…

I even offer a ‘purchase’ option on the post, giving those very fat cats a slice if someone paid.

Get a grip corporate sharks!

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When CDs arrived on the scene, I switched to the new medium and the vinyl was assigned to the loft. I even re-bought some of my old vinyl on CD (you’re welcome guys – double-whammy for you).

When downloads came into play (jeez this makes me sound old) I still continued to buy CDs, because some strange part of me still liked having something solid and tangible in my hand after parting with my cash.

When I finally took the plunge and bought a few individual tracks from iTunes, to fill some gaps on my iPod, all seemed fine. Until I decided to move some of my music onto a little stick MP3 player and I happened upon the problem with Digital Rights Management.

The iTunes-purchased tracks wouldn’t play on my stick drive because it was in iTunes format, not standard MP3…

“Easy!” I think to myself, “I’ll just convert them to MP3″. Except, when you try to do that, good old DRM stops you, “Oh no, you can’t do that, you might be a teenage file-sharer trying to bring down the music industry.”

Well no, actually, I’m not. I paid for the tracks and I want to listen to them on whatever player I sodding well want to. I don’t peer-to-peer share. Never have, never will.

I didn’t fancy the whole DRM stripping software thing because that’s like admitting you’re doing something illicit (did I mention I’d already paid for these tracks?). But, there is another way, without the need for hooky software.

How to remove DRM from iTunes tracks

1. In iTunes, select all the DRM’d tracks and create a playlist
2. Burn the playlist onto a CD
3. Put the CD back in your machine and rip it as MP3
4. Enjoy the music you paid for when and where you want

Anyhoo, I’m going to boycott iTunes for music purchases till they stop putting DRM on their tracks. I’ll stick to Sky Songs or Amazon MP3.

As a parting comment on the subject – you want one reason against DRM and the whole “killing music” thing?

1. MTV Cribs

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If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check this post out first.

How do I know they have a new CD out, well I have had a flurry of new mySpace ‘friends notifications. In the last 3-4 days, I’ve had about 30 eMail notifications from mySpace.

I can’t say I’m a big fan of the Reggae/Ska genre. I can take it or leave it to be honest, but I do feel a bit of an affinity with my namesake and his pals in Kentucky, so props to the Rudies and all their friends!

You want to see their myspace page?

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I thought that all sounded all fine and well, until he told me who was sitting at his table. To have Clare Grogan sitting there would probably have been interesting enough; she’d be a good laugh, but he also had Siouxsie Sioux there too. Apparently she was dressed in a tight green catsuit and full Siouxsie makeup. Class.

Now, anyone that knows me will know that I am a big Siouxsie and the Banshees fan, from way back. They famously came into existence after Siouxsie took the stage at a gig in the 100 Club in 1976 where the Sex Pistols were topping the bill, and sung a punk version of the Lords Prayer. Thirty-three years, 14 albums and 30 or so singles later, that shows a bit of staying power.

I would dearly have loved to have been on that table, and got a chance to talk to her about the old days and what it was like, in a proper muso-journo. But, in all reality, I’d probably have just sat there grinning like a goon, swooning even.

Some interesting things people maybe didn’t know about the Banshees…

Although there was only a core of two main members; Siouxsie (born Susan Ballion) on vocals and Steve Severin (Steven Bailey) on Bass, Budgie (Peter Clarke) on Drums featured heavily in the peak of the band’s success.  A number of other ‘guests’ featured with the band throughout their career, including Sid Viscious (pre Sex Pistols), Marco Pirroni (pre Adam and the Ants), Robert Smith (of The Cure) and John McGeoch (a Scot who played in Magazine, Visage and coincidentally, PIL).

Here’s a wee collection of Siouxsie class for the unfamiliar (Spotify required). Favourite track? For me it has to be ‘Arabian Knights’; great lyrics, gripping musically. Juju is probably my favourite Banshees album.

Arabian Knights
by Siouxsie and the Banshees

The jewel, the prize
looking into your eyes
Cool pools drown your mind
What else will you find

I hear a rumour, it was just a rumour
I heard a rumour, what have you done to her

Myriad lights, they said I’d be impressed
Arabian Knights, at your primitive best

A tourist oasis-reflects in seedy sunshades a monstrous oil tanker
it’s wound bleeding in seas

I heard a rumour, what have you done to her
I heard a rumour, what have you done to her

Veiled behind screens
kept as your baby machine
Whilst you conquer more orifices
Of boys, goats and things
Ripped out sheeps eyes, no forks or knives

Myriad lights-they said I’d be impressed Arabian Knights-at your primitive best

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Buy it at Amazon

Oh yes! This is what eBay is all about. You remember something from the past, you have a look on eBay, place a speculative bid and lo and behold you win it. Then the anticipation as you wait for it to arrive, with a little bit of doubt creeping in as you wonder if will be as good as you remember it. Will the mists of time cloud your perspective and will it turn out to be really rubbish?

Late last week, after a conversation in work, I placed exactly such a speculative bid, won it at a rock bottom price and it arrived yesterday. I had kind-of half-forgotten about it, what with all that’s going on elsewhere just now, so it was a pleasant surprise to see the packet drop through the door.

So having ripped the packet open and seeing the tracklist and minimalist CD inlay (just a reformatted copy of the sleevenotes from the vinyl I suspect), the memories came flooding back, but I still had some nagging doubt that it may not quite be as good as I remembered.

Songs from the Wood by Jethro Tull was an album (yes, it really was on vinyl kids) I listened to many, many times when I was much, much younger than I am now. I was trying to work out in the car this morning exactly how long since I last heard it and reckon it is easily over twenty years. It was a different genre than I was really into at the time as I was into the end of punk stuff and ‘new wave’ at that time, but a cousin of mine had the album (btw, a-la Undertones I actually do have a cousin called Kevin) and he first played this to me along with others of his when I visited. I couldn’t get into much of the other stuff he had, but I knew I liked this.

Anyhoo, it’s not a particularly long album at 9 tracks but well worth a listen. It’s essentially what you’d call a ‘themed’ album; in this case all songs being woodland related fnnily enough. On re-listening, all this time later, the album really evokes a sense of the countryside of days-gone-by, with vivid lyrical imagery of gamekeepers, farm-hands, tweed, hunting and shooting, faeries, good fellows and fair maidens. All that on top of an excellent production, comprising an ecclectic mix of instruments topped by Ian Anderson’s fantastically energetic flute, giving a very rich musical experience indeed.

It is easily as good an album as I remembered it to be, perhaps even a bit better, and one of those albums that you’re hard pushed to find a bad/filler song in. Oh, and yes, I still remember all the lyrics.

In summary, I’d recommend sticking with your instincts and buying whatever tat your nostalgic-bone takes you to on eBay – there are some real gems out there to be had.

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