Some of you maybe know the rap and rock band RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, however, they are currently rocking UK charts. This is due to an initiative that was initially started on Facebook. It all started in the year 2005, when the first winner of the UK’s version of “American Idol” or “Germany seeks the next superstar” called X-Factor won the contest and was number one during Christmas Eve. Ever since it has been that way but now, those boring pop ballads really started to suck and it is time for a proper dose of anarchy.

At the moment RATM has sold a few more singles that Joe McElderry who is the winner of this year’s X-Factor. Now RATM is enjoying a revival of their rebellious music. Their single which was released 1992 “Killing in the name of” is on the way to the top of the UK charts.

Even the BBC wanted to interview RATM and have them live on air. It turned out to be a fiasco for BBC’s censorship as they always try to avoid swear words and any other kind of offending language. Like FUCK for example. But everybody knows that RATM is not a band that will be censored easily. Despite the BBC demanding the band not to use any offending language, they did anyway. But just check out the video below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUPYIShaX1s

Here is a short extract from an interview with Beatles star Paul MacCartney about what is going on in the UK music business.

“Everyone expects Joe to do it. If he goes to be Number One then good luck to him. He’s just some kid with a career ahead,” McCartney said. “I’ve got nothing against that, but it would be kind of funny if Rage Against The Machine got it because it would prove a point.”

So, what shall we do?

I must say, I do not know. But if you have ever wondered, where it all comes from, check the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaC29Cboc0w

I’ve been thinking about quite a lot of things recently. My thoughts were especially cruising around that whole debate about internet downloads and so on and so forth. It seems to be a never-ending discussion. The thing is, people download all kinds of content from the internet and do not feel obliged in any way. We do not care about an artist nor a film director or an actor.

You maybe think: “Why should we?” Celebrities wear bling and drive Bentleys; we should not give a single penny of our little money. Though, there are perhaps cool bands making cool music in a garage in Melbourne or there may be a rapper rhyming like the next 2Pac in a New Yorker underground club.  These artists need to be supported, why wouldn’t you buy their CD?

Let’s say you live somewhere in the middle of Europa, how on earth could you possibly know a band in Melbourne or a rap artist in NY? The answer is simple: Internet. Most musicians I listen to are not superstars and I only came across them while I surfing the net looking for artists making similar kind of music I already listen to. Then I download it.

Two things happen then. Firstly, I decide whether I like the music or not. Secondly, I have the music I want. There is no reason to spend more time looking for an internet shop which sells that CD. Furthermore, there is no need to wait for delivery of that CD. CDs are inconvenient anyways.

A lot of people may not like this attitude but it is what happens on uncountable computers around the world. Bosses of major music labels in particular do not like people like me, who download music freely. They are afraid to lose their job because they realise that their job is useless.

Nowadays, an artist can put his music on his webpage and offer his work as a free download. This has a bunch of effects. On one hand his music will be distributed freely across the internet and on the other hand the artist has taken care of his marketing. No need for the middle-man at the major label company. Exactly, that is why MGM and Universal want to get rid of Rapidshare.com and ThePirateBay because they are platforms which act as a new middle-man with the little difference that they do not take the most part of the artist’s sales.

Then, you probably think, how an artist could earn money by offering his work freely on the internet. That is the point, where all his fans he has on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace come in. If that artist is good and a talent, making good music or whatever, people will come to his concerts, they will buy his t-shirts and other merchandising stuff. That is what fans do; they want to express their admiration for someone. That is exactly the way how artists should earn their salary. Eliminating the unnecessary middle-man and promoting themselves free of charge on the internet.

There is so much more I could say but I’ll save that for another post.

Almost forgot a video. Here we go, with an introduction to fines given in different countries if you download music from the web.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y173R9J6LKY

But here we are now…and I would very much like to ask something.

Have you ever tried to think about something and could just not come up with it? I do think so. It is just that we do not remember things very well sometimes. Like names of people we only met once or when if we forget to buy milk on the way home.

But then, after a few minutes of thinking what else to write in my post I thought of something completely different. I asked myself, what the difference may be between the words remind, remember, recall and came to the following conclusion.

To remind means that someone or something is bringing something to your mind that you maybe would forget without it.

Example: I’m so glad that my mother reminded to ask my teacher for a reschedule of my math exam.

To remember means that a have to remember something on your own and not by any outside circumstance. Or if you maybe are not able to remember something then you cannot recall it. We maybe remember a lot of things but we by far cannot recall all of them at command.

Example: I just remembered that I haven’t locked the car this morning.

To recall means that you remember of something and tell other about it.

Example: As far as I can recall he was not very polite the last time you have seen him.

Finally, as always a little Youtube related to my post. It’s a song by Jack Johnson in which he sings about a girl and his love.

“Do you remember when we first moved in together…”, so he askes her if she is able to recall her memory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvkwUleYRfM

Or in this video you will hear Audioslave singer Chris Cornell singing that things around him don’t remind him of anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOMSB7s15C8

Let me show you a fantastically, gripping and humorous TV series. The series is called Chuck and he’s the main character of the series. Its plot is set in California where Zachary Levi is starring Chuck, a guy kicked from Stanford and currently working in the Buy More. One day he receives an e-mail from his old friend which contents highly confidential data. When he opens it Chuck loads a whole bunch of government secrets in his brain and needs by then protection and supervision by the CIA and NSA. The reason is that he is now a kind of computer that keeps secrets and flashes on things he sees. This might be a terrorist or something related to a secret of the government.

Variety describes it as:
Chuck possesses modest charm, impressive stunt work and another mildly appealing reluctant hero.

I love the series, it’s so entertaining and funny but see for yourself. Here’s the promo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Ye6dLzp4o

Vocabulary:
gripping = very interesting
confidential = secret
a whole bunch = a lot
supervision = to be observed, to be watched, to be looked after
reluctant = not voluntarily, not like to be but has to