:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 3.27.2003 ::

:: The Final Straw ::

[Here's a sketch of a story that I just threw together for a regional technology-related publication.]

R.E.M. Joins Others in Online Protest
By Matthew W. Beale

As a US-led military coalition rapidly advanced on Baghdad in late March, and anti-war protests continued in cities around the world, R.E.M. and other big name musical acts went online to raise their concerns through downloadable digital songs.

R.E.M released "the Final Straw" by way of its official Web site, giving users the ability to download the file via Windows Media or QuickTime formats. The song, a primarily acoustic "rough mix from the studio," was first performed on March 23rd in Vancouver, BC, where R.E.M. is working on the follow-up to Reveal, their most recent album, due out in early 2004.

"We had to send something out there now" said lead singer Michael Stipe in a statement at the band's Web site. "This is the strongest voice I could think of."

In “the Final Straw”, R.E.M. questions the wisdom of abandoning diplomatic efforts in favor of military action: "And if I ignore the voice inside/ Raise a half glass to my home./ But it's there that I am most afraid, And forgetting doesn't hold."

The song continues: “Now I don't believe and I never did/ That two wrongs make a right/ If the world were filled with the likes of you/ Then I'm putting up a fight."

The legendary band from Athens, GA, has joined the likes of the Beastie Boys, Green Day, Lennie Kravitz and former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha in rushing protest songs online, inspired by the war with Iraq.

"We Want Peace," also released online in late March, was recorded by Kravitz with Iraqi musician Kadim Al Sahir and made available through the Rock the Vote Web site.

Billy Bragg, joining a host of others that have similarly sidestepped traditional distribution in times of war, made his song "The Price of Oil" available online. In the opening of the song, Bragg states: "Those brave men and women in uniform/ They want to know what they’re fighting for."

AMERICAN LIFE

While most of the digital protest songs have been available for free via the Internet, Madonna tried a different approach with the release of "American Life" through her Web site, charging $1.49 per download. The move surprised some analysts because of Madonna's previous opposition to different forms of online song-trading -- free and subscription-based.

The Material Girl's online campaign, protesting the military action in Iraq, will be closely watched by a music industry that's still struggling to figure out how to best incorporate the Internet into its business plans.

With the purchase of "American Life," made through the online Paypal service, users receive an unrestricted MP3 that they can play on their computers, portable devices or burn onto CD, along with a statement by the artist thanking buyers for their "support." The song has additionally been offered through some of the fledgling online music subscription services.

"She is doing this to enhance her career, because the music industry is losing sales to Internet piracy," said entertainment lawyer Jerry Reisman in a UPI report. According to Reisman and other observers, the success of Madonna's effort could convince more artists to attempt to bypass the music industry by taking their work directly to consumers by way of the Web.

Although Reisman suggests that artists are "in it for the money," at the moment, Madonna appears to be in the minority. Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore has started a new Web site that offers a number of free protest-related digital song downloads. R.E.M. has reportedly promised "The Last Straw" to the site, and other MP3's currently available include tracks by Eugene Chadbourne, Cat Power and poet Anne Waldman.

Additional protest-related songs are available online, including: Green Day's "Life During Wartime;" Zack de la Rocha and DJ Shadow's "March of Death;" John Mellencamp's "In Washington;" and The Beastie Boys' "In A World Gone Mad."

HACKTIVISM

The war with Iraq was greeted with other forms of protest, including a sharp increase in hacking activity. The number of Web sites attacked and defaced increased dramatically in the 24 hours immediately after the outbreak of hostilities, according to security firm F-Secure, with upwards of 1,000 sites being hit. Computer viruses and worms -- including Ganda -- were also reported, along with several denial-of-service attacks.

The official Web sites of the US Navy and the White House (viewable here) are among those that may have been affected.

There are 3 types of hackers carrying out these attacks, said F-Secure: "US-based patriotic hackers;" "Islamic extremist groups;" and "Peace activists." According to experts, the majority of the attacks fell into the latter category, and were carried out by "script kiddies" using hacking tools.

In a warning issued before the war with Iraq was launched, the FBI has said that any hacking whatsoever, regardless of intent, is a prosecutable offense.

BLAH BLAH BLOG

The Internet, according to many pundits, journalists and others, has become an invaluable resource for those for and against the military action in Iraq, a conflict that's already been described as "first war of the Internet age."

Internet users not only have access to immediate information from a wide variety of international media sources, they're using their own Web sites to organize links to stories and to air their own opinions. Blogs -- short for weblogs -- have been widely used in this respect, sometimes discussing fringe or obscure aspects of current events not always covered by mainstream news sources.

War blogs are as varied as you'd imagine, however, ranging from one that claims to originate from Baghdad, to reports from the front lines, and of course anti-war protests.

"Blogs are unique as they offer a diversity of voices and opinions and war blogs seem more immediate and real to readers than traditional news sites," said City University of London's Neil Thurman in a Dot Journalism report.

If the Web has changed the coverage of world conflict, the current war has in turn altered the online world. According to British ISP Freeserve, "war" has ousted the word "sex" as the most popular Internet search term.

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posted by me

:: 2:37:00 PM [+] ::
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