I'm not sure what this means, but apparently my file host has disabled my hosting capabilities. If I understand the email correctly, I was getting something like eight requests per second for an Eminem song I posted back in February 2009. All I can think is spammers or a haxor or something equally nefarious. Unfortunately everything hosted under the "apt104" domain name is affected.
I hope to have this sorted out shortly. If not, there are about three months left on my host and I may be pulling the plug on them (and, in all likelihood, this blog) sooner than I had planned.
************************** UPDATE: As of this morning (April 02), I'm back online. Let me know if you encounter any problems. thanks!
Thought I'd take a sec to pat my own back here. I noticed an inordinate number of hits here today and found that my He Got Game post the other day is way up on the Hype Machine's hit list. Number 2, to be exact. And here I thought everyone had heard that song before!
Thanks to everyone for tuning in and I hope at least a few of you stick around - I might even post something good again at some point.
yeah, so I guess yesterday's post has been disappeared. I appreciate blogger deleting my whole goddamn post instead of sending me a note to just unlink the song. thanks.
Blogger has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that certain content in your blog infringes upon the copyrights of others. The URL(s) of the allegedly infringing post(s) may be found at the end of this message.
The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.
The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").
The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.
Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.
Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.
I don't think there are a whole lot of people reading my little blog who live in the South Florida area. But for those faithful who do, I wanted to clue you in to a new blog I only just discovered this morning.
The SoFla Music Calendar blog is pretty self-explanatory: "A listing of local shows and live music events for Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and other areas of South Florida."
The blog creators are Fanless and Balou (I know nothing else about them) and they decided to create this blog because they thought it "would be pretty cool to find a simple list of local musical events – both big-name and local acts – all in one place online."
Fanless and Balou are actively soliciting show info from any and all bands playing locally. If you fit that category, click over to SoFla Music Calendar and drop them a note. If you don't fit that category, well, mentally file this information away so that when you visit South Florida, you know where to go for your live show info.
Peace & love - Peace & love I'll be back tomorrow morning with some music...
I realize we’re sliding down that slippery slope towards Christmas and there are a lot of bloggers already posting up the holiday music. Even the radio has started in with some seasonal tuneage. I do intend to jump on the holiday bandwagon eventually, but in due time. I need to sort through what I have and see how I want to post it. It’s going to be at least mid-December before the Jingle Bells start to ring around here, though. Also, all of last year’s Xmas music links are dead: I want you to anticipate the new posts!
Nextly, in keeping with fine Licorice Pizza tradition, I will not be doing any end-of-year lists again this year. I thought about it and decided I couldn’t remember what came out this year and what came out the end of 2007. Besides, I’m sure I probably listened to a lot of stuff that came out years ago. Besides, as I’ve mentioned in the past, who gives a rat’s ass what my favorite record was? If you feel you need some closure to 2008 and can only get it through a list, LargeHearted Boy provides an excellent, constantly updated list of the “Best of 2008” books and music as chosen by my fellow bloggers.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A man accused of illegally posting songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by the rock band Guns N' Roses has agreed to plead guilty, a federal prosecutor said on Tuesday.
Kevin Cogill will enter his guilty plea to one federal count of copyright infringement at a hearing on December 8, said Craig Missakian, assistant U.S. attorney.
The FBI said Cogill posted nine tracks from the highly anticipated Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy" on a Web site called Antiquiet. The album will be released on November 23. They did not disclose how Cogill, who has no known direct connection to the band, obtained the songs.
Cogill was arrested in August at his Los Angeles home and released on bail. At the time of his arrest, authorities said he faced more than three years in prison if convicted.
Missakian declined to discuss details of the plea deal that Cogill reached with federal prosecutors. (from Yahoo News)
Hey everyone - I'm sure you've all heard about the onslaught of flooding left by Tropical Storm Fay as she lingered around the Florida area. Here in Miami we were particularly fortunate to have only seen a little rain and a little bit of wind.
Anyway, I'm called away on a work-related emergency trip to the harder hit areas in north Florida. I'm bringing my laptop, but I can't say that I'll have time for any serious posting. I will if I can, but I can't promise!
Stick with me and check back. At the very latest, I should resume posting by Sunday.
"These are some friends of mine" (Blogroll update)
Since I’m trapped indoors by Tropical Storm Fay, this seems like a good opportunity to look through my blogroll, make sure everything’s current, and make updates as needed. There are also several sites I need to add because it’s been many, many months since the last update.
I’ve decided, too, to add a couple of new lists of sites I like and visit regularly, although they are not necessarily music-related. If you like ‘em, fine. If not, well, don’t click the links!
My first order of business is saying goodbye to a couple of sites I’ve had linked nearly since the beginning: María Magnética changed her site a couple of times, from English to Spanish, and has apparently shut it down for good.
Small Things Stupid Packages has not updated in a couple of months, and only sporadically in the weeks preceding that. I enjoyed his site, so it is with regret I remove that link.
Finally, and very sadly, I am de-linking Confessions of a Music Addict. Leah, the blog’s founder, moved to New York in June and no longer has the time to keep up her blog. I have long harbored a secret crush on the girls from Confessions of a Music Addict, so I was very sad to see them discontinue.
(NOTE: If any of the above-named blogs are continuing in any form, drop me a note, and I will be very happy to re-add you. I don’t want to do anyone wrong!)
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Now for the good news - some of the sites I’ve found and bookmarked over the last few months. So, in no particular order:
RockStar Journalist. “Music for short attention spans.” Recent posts include a video from The Pills, music from Jay Reatard, and some thoughts on the downsizing of Rolling Stone magazine.
Killed By Death Records. “This is NOT a record label.” An awesome collection of old punk 45s. Recent posts include music from Sudden Fun and London Zoo.
Troubled Souls Unite. A blog with a large variety of musical tastes, something I always like. Recent posts include thoughts on Dave Mathew’s fans, and the art of the tailgate party. Both accompanied by appropriate music.
Battle of the Midwestern Housewives. “A blog about music and other stuff but mainly music. We like music.” MOAR punk rock blogs! Yes! Recent posts feature music from Adolf and the Piss Artists, and some classic, must-have demos from Fear.
I Correct Myself, I Mean All the Time. I Correct Myself is a pretty new blog; I think they started in July. A Tart and Puppet Show (the responsible parties at I Correct Myself) have come out of the gate very strong and I really enjoy the music and the writing. Recent posts include music from Elvis Costello, the Replacements, and the Dead Milkmen.
George Carlin, a comedy great, died yesterday of heart failure. He was 71.
Carlin, along with Cheech and Chong, was one of the first "counter-culture" comedians I ever heard. I was introduced to his comedy by a real life hippy who lived next door to my family when I was about 10 years old. I saw Carlin perform live a couple of times and he was always sharp, always insightful, and always made you think.
Here's George Carlin's classic "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television":
My friends at Sneak Attack media sent this to me yesterday and I thought it was worth passing on. I get the occasional email from independent or unsigned bands or artists and this could be their chance to go big time. All I ask is that you hit me up with some music from whatever you submit and mention me in the liner notes of your first album. (I’m kidding about the last one, but I am always looking for cool new music.)
UBER.com, in conjunction with A&R Worldwide’s MUSEXPO, Atlantic Records, Peer Music Publishing, Rebel Group/ADA Distribution and The Agency Group, announced the launch of the online music talent search, YOU BRING THE TALENT.
The winning musician/band will receive: -An EP deal with Atlantic Records -A music publishing deal with Peer Music -A Booking Deal with The Agency Group -Distribution through ADA from The Rebel Group -A Showcase at The House of Blues in Hollywood, CA
HOW TO ENTER: 1) Sign up on uber.com and make sure to check the Musician box on the form (this will allow you to add your music to your page.)
2) Gussy up your page with photos, music, your bio and make it all fancy-like, which is super easy on Uber.
3) Head over to the You Bring the Talent page on Uber and grab the embed code for your Voting Module, so you can pop it on your Uber page, or anywhere else you want people to vote for you.
WHAT TO KNOW: 1) The contest is open until March 31st, so there's plenty of time to sign up and get people to vote for you.
2) Your fans can vote ONCE EVERY 24 HOURS. That's right--all of your friends and fans can vote for you once every day, so let people know at your shows and on your website (where you can definitely put up your Voting Module.)
3) Think about this -- If you've got 1000 MySpace friends and half of them vote for you three times a week, that's 15,000 votes. Not too shabby.
A little more than a year ago, I posted some music by an LA-area metal band called Bitch. In my usual rambling style, I wrote a little about the band, then said they had disbanded in 1993.
Yesterday, I’m checking my email and see that Betsy Bitch herself has taken a look at my little blog and dropped a comment on my year-old post. “Bitch has never ‘disbanded’,” she wrote.
I was pretty stoked to get noticed by a real rock star (“Take my music down” isn’t really the kind of attention I count), so I wanted to get in touch with her and find out what’s going on with Bitch.
People give me crap about having a MySpace space, but we’re about to see that it comes in handy. I Googled Betsy and learned that she has a MySpace, also. So I dropped her a note, apologizing for my error and asking her what was up with her band.
“My original drummer Robby Settles and I recently re-formed the band with two new guitar players, Steve Kara and Jay Dean, and a new bassist, Steve Gaines,” Betsy wrote me back. “We are about to embark on recording a new E.P. shortly. All of the material is written and we're going into the studio soon. Prior to that, we played some warm-up gigs locally just to get the feel of playing live together.
“A couple of years ago, the original line up (with the exception of a new bassist) played The Bang Your Head Festival in Germany to about 15,000 people with bands such as Dio, Twisted Sister, Dokken, Thin Lizzy, Y&T, etc. It was an awesome experience.”
Betsy also provided me with Bitch’s MySpace, where you can stream some metal. Unfortunately, I do not have any digital versions of any Bitch songs; the original post came from vinyl. As a result, we’re going to have to go tuneless tonight. But check out Bitch’s MySpace, look for the new disk, and check out this video of their 1983 classic, “Be My Slave.”
The autopsy report for Kevin DuBrow was released yesterday. Apparently his Nov. 25 death was due to an accidental overdose of cocaine. Here's the Reuters story:
Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow, who was found dead at his Las Vegas home last month, was found to have died of an accidental cocaine overdose, the celebrity Web site TMZ.com said on Monday, citing Nevada authorities.
DuBrow's body was found November 25 and an autopsy conducted the following day could not determine the cause of death pending toxicology tests.
TMZ.com reported that the tests had shown his cause of death to be an accidental overdose of cocaine. A spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner's Office could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.
Founded in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, rock band Quiet Riot shot to the top of the Billboard charts with their 1983 album "Metal Health." It sold more than 6 million copies and is considered by many to be the first heavy metal record to top the pop charts.
The album's sales were spurred by the quartet's monster hit, a cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," featuring DuBrow's powerhouse vocals, and the song's video, which was played in heavy rotation on MTV.
Quiet Riot's subsequent albums did not sell nearly as well and DuBrow was essentially fired from the band amid the ensuing rancor.
DuBrow regrouped Quiet Riot in the 1990s and the band has played sporadically, last releasing an album in October 2006.
Don't do drugs, kids; they'll fuck ya every time. I'll be back tomorrow or the next day with music.
I just wanted to say a couple of words about the passing of Norman Mailer, the literary great who died this morning at the age of 84.
I’ve only read a couple of his books, but they were by far among the greatest examples of American writing I have ever found. I’d put him up there with Hemingway, Mark Twain, or anyone of that caliber.
“Tough Guys Don’t Dance,” which is not even Mailer’s best work, is one that continues to linger in my mind. Not so much the characters or the plot (it was a “fast, nasty, and fun” book written after the “The Executioner’s Song”), but the dark tone of the book. “Tough Guys” is a basic noir murder mystery, in the style of Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett. The story takes place in Provincetown, Mass., which is way out on the tip of Cape Cod, but it is set “in the rawness and melancholy of the off-season.”
The setting is what lingers in my mind. I’ve been out to Provincetown two or three times, each time in the dead of winter. The beach shacks are shuttered, as are probably 90 percent of the businesses and restaurants. Icy breezes blow in off the Atlantic and when you're walking the streets there, it's hard to imagine anywhere more desolate or isolated.
I mention this novel as a way of paying tribute to Mailer. He is one of the few authors who so perfectly described a location that I wanted to go there – and go there during the time of year in which the novel was set.
The New York Times has a superb obituary for Mailer, if you want to learn a little more about the “Prince of American Letters.”
I realized last night that it’s been almost six months since I’ve updated my blogroll. I know I picked up a few new friends during the heady days of being Digg’d and a Blogger “Blog of Note.” That said, I want to welcome the following blogs to the “Other Cool Sites” list:
Small Things Stupid Packages. I found this blog by following a link from another blog (the easiest way to find cool stuff). Brian earned my lasting loyalty with a three-part post from a 1999 Bruce Springsteen concert in Los Angeles. He also does not care that Bruce didn’t play anything from Born in the U.S.A. at that show.
He’s A Whore. I think I used to have this blog bookmarked, but lost it somewhere along the way. I’m not sure what happened. I’m glad I found it again, though. Recent posts have included a Devo concert recording and a recap of the year 1984.
This Song Starts a Craze. Mike rolls out an “analysis of sound for the masses at large” as he gives his thoughts on all manner of music. Recent posts include reviews of albums as diverse as Radiohead’s In Rainbows and Nocturnal by death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder.
Wake Your Daughter Up, you may or may not recall, provided the source for the Zach DelaRocha post a couple of weeks ago. Travis posts hip-hop, which I will confess I don’t listen much to anymore. If you’re a fan of the genre, you will find some excellent stuff there, as well as links to many other similar sites. If not, check it anyway! That’s how I found the DelaRocha music.
*****
If I missed any MP3 blogs whose authors have linked me, please let me know and I'll be sure to add you, post-haste.
I’m also thinking that I want to create another, non-MP3 blogroll, assuming I still have non-MP3 bloggers visiting my site. Please drop me a comment or an email with your site name and URL if you’re interested. If I can get more than five non-MP3 bloggers to participate, I’ll create that list.
I’m out of town for a few days – drove over to the Gulf side of Florida to visit Tampa Bay’s beaches. Why go to Miami’s beaches when you live there, right? Leave those to the tourists.
Thanks to Pete at IckMusic, I had three-plus hours of the Boss for my ride. I need you to go there as soon as you’re finished here. He’s got some live Bruce Springsteen from a 1978 show at the Roxy in Los Angeles. HE broke the show into three posts, so make sure you check them all.
So no sooner do I show up in Tampa then my rental car conks out. Completely dead. Fortunately I’m at my hotel and not one of the sleazy places where I stopped to buy beef jerky. But now, the car has been towed away and I’m sitting here, on the Internet, watching Comedy Central, and ordering out for food. I could have done this at home for a fraction of the cost.
I may or may not get another car tonight. Regardless, it’s already 8:30, so tonight seems to be pretty much shot.
I just wanted to bitch about things today. I’ll be back tomorrow with some music. If I can’t track down any local stuff, there is plenty on my laptop.
Well, I thought my host was back on line. I was able to actually access the site for a bit. When it wouldn’t upload anything, I tried looking around the “help” section, when all of a sudden the whole thing disappeared:
Bad Request (Invalid Hostname)
“Holy crap. Maybe they’ve shut down entirely,” I thought.
I went all the way out and logged back in. I was able to get to my account without a problem, so I tried to upload again. It looked like it worked. So I tried a second file. With that, the upload bar just started flashing and freaking out.
As I’ve said, MediaMax has been a decent host in the past. A message posted yesterday on the Streamload page said they were in the process not only of upgrading, but moving from San Diego, Calif., to Chicago, Ill., so I’ll give them a few more days to get squared away, then see what happens.
In the meantime, let’s just pretend I’ve been on vacation. I promise to get going again as soon as MediaMax lets me. What’s worse is I just started a new billing cycle, so if I blow them off for a new host, I'd lose my payment.
