Copyright laws

This week in class, we watched a video over the affects of copyright laws. The video evoked a lot of thought. We had also been talking about the same subject in my Spanish IV class, meaning that I was able to hear many different sides of the issue and how it affects various people. I, personally, don't always buy music on iTunes. Part of me feels like downloading illegally or pirating, takes away too much money from the people who created the things that were meant to be paid for. When there is a band that I really love and want to support, I will not only buy their music on iTunes, but also buy a CD on occasion. The other side of the issue is that music is pretty expensive. $1.30 per song seems expensive to me, especially when considering that I rarely just buy one at a time. I think that companies or websites that are for the purpose of pirating should pay money to the music industry or movie industry. I'm sure that those sites make some money from advertisements on their webpages. I realize that it wouldn't be much, but it may add up when considering how many websites are for pirating.

As far as using other artist's music for mash-ups and collaborations, I am kind of torn. I love artists like Girl Talk and many different mash-ups. But I kind of feel like a situation where a mash-up artist makes more money off of a song that they took from another artist is wrong. This situation seems possible to me, so I believe that the mash-up artist should either pay a percentage of their revenue or some predetermined and reasonable amount of money. The part of the video that had to do with the man who had made a mash-up using Radiohead material was very interesting to me. I thought that Radiohead did a great thing by aiding the man escape fines. I can't remember what they did exactly, but it was a generous thing to do. These are just some of my ideas on the issue. I love the idea of not having to pay for music and movies, but helping out my favorite artists feels really great to me.

RHCP

The Chili Peppers are band that I've been listening to for years. I won't pretend that I'm some huge fan though. I only really listen to one album. but it's fine for me because I'm content in doing so. I bough Stadium Arcadium probably back in 2007 and I still listen to it on occasion. One of my favorite members of the band has to be Chad Smith. I think he's a great drummer and adds a lot to the band. When I saw RHCP live at ACL, Chad Smith put on an amazing performance.

Snow was my favorite song for a long time back when I bought the album. It's still probably my favorite song of theirs today. I really dont know what it is about this song that I love, but one would be how their challenging guitar parts blend with the song so well. I think that almost everything they did, instrument wise,  was just about perfect for the song.

Charlie is a very interesting song that I like. Everything from the intro up until the chorus sounds like serious funk rock. Then the chorus comes in, and you get back the same RHCP sound that you have in Tell Me Baby and Snow. It's a cool song, and I don't think that everyone knows about it because it doesn't seem to be as popular as other songs. Even though I'm not a die hard fan, I like to think that I can occasionally listen to a few songs by this very talented band. 

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is a band that I've heard my whole life but never actually listened to very actively. I never had much of an opinion on them either, until we listened to them in class. I think that their music is too repetitive, and that they could sound more tight and together. I don't really like them actually. I just don't like listening to music that sounds so similar. Ozzy also has an unenjoyable voice in my opinion.

War Pigs is a song that sounds too similar throughout the whole thing. The guitar effects they use in their songs are also repeated in many other songs. As we talked about in class, they also have pretty terrible lyrics that don't add too much to the songs. These are just reasons why I don't enjoy Black Sabbath. I like the influence they had on music, but I can't really enjoy listening to many of their songs.

Phantom Planet

My sister, a long time ago, showed me Phantom Planet. I liked them a lot at the time. I still occasionally listen to them today. They were mostly active from 1994 to 2008, but reunited in January and play shows still. 

Usually, if you know any songs of theirs, it's this one. The song "California" is their most famous with out a doubt. It definitely is a great song. It's pretty simple. Kind of an indie sounding song, as the band is sort of indie.

This is an interesting song of theirs that I hadn't hear before. It sounds good to me, but the singing is a little bit strange at times. I still enjoy it, as well as many other songs of theirs.

Led Zeppelin

This week in class, we listened to Led Zeppelin. I've known this band for quite a while, and have always liked them. I enjoy the fact that each member is very talented. They have some absolutely amazing guitar work and I also like the sound of Robert Plant's voice.

You have to love "Stairway to Heaven". It's really legendary. I learned the guitar part a while back, and still love playing it today. I love the fact that Led Zeppelin has such long songs. I love just being able to sit back ans just listen, and not mess with changing the song. Their long songs are great though, making this even easier.

I love this song for many reasons. I really like songs that start out relatively soft, then suddenly transition into a louder section. Led Zeppelin loves to have many different feels and sounds in their songs. They have songs that sound soft, heavy rock songs, and all of the above. They're a really great band who continue to be loved today.

Wonderwall

Wonderwall is song by the band "Oasis". I've liked this song for many years now, and continue to love it. It is actually the only song I know by Oasis. I know that I definitely should go check out some of their other work. Wonderwall starts off relatively acoustic. Their singer starts off with an acoustic guitar. The singer's voice really does sound good to me. I'm sure that many would disagree, but it suits me. His voice sounds very natural in this song. You can hear his imperfections in pitch. It makes me happy to hear a voice that isn't more than 50% autotune.

It is a good song, and a good group. The drummer is pretty talented in my opinion because he, throughout the song, plays rhythms that match the song perfectly. Wonderwall is also a fun song to play on guitar too. It is one of my favorite songs that evokes a lot of feeling in me. It makes me think about past memories, because I've loved it for so long, and it makes me both sad and happy. I love the fact that songs can be linked to memories, and can trigger those memories when we listen to them. It is another amazing thing about humans.

The Band

The 60s and 70s band called "The Band" is a large group of very talented musicians. There is no doubt that each member contributes very well to each song and each member is experienced-sounding.

I'm pretty sure that this is their most famous song. It is "The Weight" from "The Last Waltz". I actually do like this song a good amount. I like The Band also. The problem is that they are not really my style of music, even for their time period. The use of a double neck guitar is pretty cool to see. They have some exceptionally good singers.

Up On Cripple Creek is another song I can enjoy. I seriously appreciate these guys talent. It is very entertaining music. The only thing is that there are other artists even from the time that I would enjoy listening to more.