Amplive Nixes Radiohead Remixes at Warner's Demand
Amplive to Radiohead: "Thom, holler at me, man."

Recall wayyyy back in 2007 when we told you about Rainydayz Remixes, the record of Radiohead In Rainbows reworkings put together by Oakland DJ and producer Amplive? The one with Too $hort on it? Sounded pretty cool, and cooler still, Amplive was all set to release it next week using a revolutionary pricing model we like to call FREE.

Was, because one faux-polite cease-and-desist letter later, Amplive won't be able to put this thing out without unleashing the legal wrath of Warner/Chappell, Radiohead's longtime publisher.

On December 18, Amplive received a missive from Warner/Chappell informing him that he had "created musical arrangements / remixes" without proper "approval" and must cease distribution of them at once. Rather than tangle with these suits and their armies of lawyers, Amplive has agreed to suspend the project for the time being.

He did, however, express hope that members of Radiohead would hear his remixes and help him gain approval. Radiohead themselves, of course, most likely had nothing to do with the cease-and-desist letter. Check out what Amplive had to say in both a video message and a written statement (reprinted in full below).

"I really feel if Radiohead's team was able to hear these...remixed songs," writes Amplive, "they would feel differently." Amplive also calls upon others who have posted his remixes-- which he acknowledges as "illegal"-- to remove them for now.

Amplive maintains that his remix project is intended as a "celebration" of one of his favorite records, and that would seem consistent with the fact that 1.) it's free, and 2.) he was only going to share it with folks who had supported Radiohead in the past in some fashion via W.A.S.T.E. or donated to Radiohead-approved organization Friends of the Earth.

No word yet what the producer will have to do to gain this elusive "approval" (something tells me it involves $$$), but here's hoping all parties involved can reach some kind of agreement where art-- not profit or bureaucratic malarkey-- prevails. [MORE...]

Indie Bands Sue Camel, Rolling Stone Over Ad

The messy saga we've lovingly dubbed Camelstonegate took a fairly expected turn this week as Xiu Xiu and Fucked Up filed a class action lawsuit against Camel cigarettes' parent company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Rolling Stone, and the magazine's parent company, Wenner Media, according to a Daily Swarm report.

The suit-- filed December 17 on behalf of 186 artists whose names appeared in Rolling Stone's "Indie Rock Universe" feature, tucked conspicuously within a fold-out advertisement for Camel's indie-friendly "The Farm" campaign in the magazine's November 15 issue-- accuses the defending parties of "unauthorized use of artists' names; unauthorized use of artist names for commercial advantage (right of publicity); and unfair business practices."

Xiu Xiu and Fucked Up essentially claim that Rolling Stone created and presented their feature with full knowledge that it would appear part and parcel with the Camel ad. The plaintiffs ask that the magazine print a follow-up feature equal in size to the original clarifying that artists' names were used without consent. They're also seeking financial recompense for damages: Rolling Stone alone, the Daily Swarm suggests, could be forced to pony up as much as $195.3 billion if found guilty.

While this marks the first time Rolling Stone has found itself the subject of legal action following the ad scandal, nine states' Attorneys General have already filed lawsuits against Camel for using cartoons to sell tobacco products.

As previously reported, a number of indie labels are seeking an apology from Rolling Stone as well.

Labels Seek Apology From Rolling Stone for Camel Ad
Kill Rock Stars, Touch and Go, Skin Graft, others send angry letter to magazine

Pour bad journalism, shady advertising, and the music you love into the media cauldron, let simmer for a few weeks, and you get that ugly mess we reported about last week. Camelstonegate, let's call it. In summary: In a recent issue, Rolling Stone tucked an editorial section name-checking heaps of indie bands into a big ol' advertorial promoting a Camel cigarettes campaign targeting indie rockers. A huge no-no for a number of reasons.

Nine states have already sued Camel over the fact that the "Indie Rock Universe" section was basically one big cartoon. (Using cartoons to sell cigarettes violates the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1997.) Now, not surprisingly, a bunch of labels representing bands unwittingly lumped into this whole scheme have stepped forward to demand an apology from Rolling Stone.

Today, an open letter to Rolling Stone signed by Kill Rock Stars, Touch and Go, Skin Graft, Lovepump United, Lucky Madison, the defunct 5RC, Audio Dregs, and Fryk Beat, was sent out by Kill Rock Stars' Maggie Vail. It begins, "We, the undersigned independent record labels wish to share our indignation regarding Rolling Stone's November 15th pull out editorial, which featured the names of our artists in conjunction with an ad for Camel cigarettes."

The full text of the letter is available after the jump, but basically, these people are pissed that their artists' names were used without their consent to push product, and rightfully so.

As previously mentioned, Rolling Stone has insisted the ad and editorial content came together by mere coincidence, but KRS and the others are calling the publication's bluff. Ultimately, the labels "ask that Rolling Stone apologize for blurring the line between editorial and advertisement, and in doing so, implying that the bands named support the product being advertised."

Individual artists have also begun expressing their displeasure as well. The Daily Swarm points us to a Toronto Star report that suggests post-hardcore maniacs Fucked Up-- one of the many stars of Rolling Stone's "Indie Rock Universe"-- are planning to pursue legal action. They also weighed in on the issue in humorous fashion on their blog.

Fucked Up's litigious ire, however, appears to be directed toward music service Rhapsody, which allegedly licensed bands' music without their consent to the online version of the Rolling Stone piece.

UPDATE: Rhapsody was not involved in the Camel advertisement at all. The online version of the piece contains no links or references to Camel. [MORE...]

Harry Potter Bands Rock Against Media Consolidation
Or, if you will, "Voldemedia"

Ah, well that explains a lot: Media consolidation-- that unfortunate trend that has humongous corporations snatching up their tiny competition right and left-- is actually all the work of the nefarious, nose-less, all powerful half-blood wizard hellbent on killing Harry Potter!

And we have the legions of Harry Potter fanatics the world over to thank for this alarming discovery. Best of all, these Potter-philes sure as hell aren't going to let Lord Voldemort get away with it. They've launched an all-out war against the perils of "Voldemedia", complete with an informative website and a free mp3 compilation packed with bands indirectly born of the pen of J.K. Rowling.

Our dear friends Harry and the Potters join acts like the Remus Lupins, Roonil Wazlib, and the Whomping Willows on Rocking Out Against Voldemedia, available for free right now on the Harry Potter Alliance-helmed, Stop Big Media-allied campaign's website. You should also swing over to said site to learn what you can do to fight media consolidation. Even if you're just a muggle.

Just a hunch, but maybe this atrocity is the work of Voldemort as well?

And hey! Speaking of Harry and the Potters, those funny dudes have a New Year's Eve gig planned at Boston's Hynes Convention Center. Sure beats another lonely night with Dick Clark. [MORE...]

Final Fantasy Song Jacked for Ad Leads to Anger Lawsuit Totally Sweet Music Festival
Pallett-curated traveling shindig boasts Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, Frog Eyes, Six Organs

Once upon a time, a Vienna-based public works company called Wiener Stadtwerke wanted to use a Final Fantasy song ("This Is the Dream of Win & Regine" from 2005's Has a Good Home) in a commercial. The song's creator, Owen Pallett, politely declined, on the grounds that Wiener Stadtwerke was not in fact publicly owned.

Recalling what they learned about tenacity in business school (and ignoring what they learned about scruples), Wiener Stadtwerke went ahead and used the song anyway, soliciting an unauthorized cover version with a few swapped out lyrics and a new title, and crediting the whole thing to some mysterious entity called N.A.S.C.O. The commercial features ordinary citizens being attacked by white wispy graphics over Pallett's familiar string sorcery; you may view it right here:


Pallett caught wind of the devious move and was, naturally, less than pleased. But here's where things go all Disney ending. Rather than sue the asses off the shady company, Pallett was prepared to let the whole thing slide-- until Wiener Stadtwerke approached him, hat in hand, with an even better offer. The company agreed to help finance a festival co-curated by Pallett and his European booking agent.

Wait a minute, a festival?? You bet. "So far I think we've got all the 'best bands in the world', plus my lousy excuse for a band," Pallett joked in an email to Pitchfork, and indeed the folks already lined up for this thing make for a fine bunch. Dirty Projectors, Frog Eyes, and Six Organs of Admittance will play all three dates of the fest (in London, Vienna, and Berlin), while Deerhoof will headline the latter two. A bill-topper for the London gig has not yet been named.

All three events-- collectively dubbed the Maximum Black Festival-- go down as February turns to March next year. Many thanks to reader Christian Prügger for the tip.

Apart from finding himself on the good side of karma, Final Fantasy hasn't done too terribly much since unleashing a Zach Condon-boosted Tomlab 7" last month and, um, doodling. Most signs, however, point to a He Poos Clouds follow-up sometime in the '08. [MORE...]

Dan Deacon to Greyhound Buses: Fuck You!
"These rats stink like rotten cum. Fuck them with 1000 fires...Eat my shorts you dickless pig fuckers."

Something strange is afoot on the Greyhound bus, and for once, it's not that guy in the trenchcoat who won't stop staring.

Included in this month's issue of electronic music mag XLR8R is a four postcard pullout advertisement emphasizing just how easy it is to traverse America's rock'n'roll underground via the notoriously slow transit system named after the notoriously fast dog. The insert bears the likenesses of Dan Deacon, Baltimore laptop-noise act Wzt Hearts, Japan's Ruins, and a crowdsurfer at a Team Robespierre gig. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but there are probably better ways to handle publicity concerns than the way Greyhound allegedly did with this foursome. Both Deacon and Wzt Hearts' Jason Urick have publicly complained that they were not contacted about the use of the photos, and, naturally, aren't too pleased.

Urick apparently caught wind of this business first, and made a post to crewcial.org's message board alerting friends and well-wishers to the budding controversy (his alias is "airplaneglue"). His first post asks, simply, "Can you sue if a company uses a picture and a blurb of your band without asking... because apparently Greyhound just did that with us. wtf?" The resulting discussion finds Urick and the rest of the board readers trying to determine just what Urick's legal rights might be in this situation.

In the meantime, Urick contacted friend and fellow B'more resident Dan Deacon, whose history with Greyhound is, apparently, a bit rocky. In a MySpace bulletin posted this afternoon entitled "IN NO WAY DO I ENDORSE OR PROMOTE GREYHOUND BUSES", Deacon railed against the corporation, claiming that no one had asked the permission of either him or New York's Silent Barn, where the shot was taken. He then went on:

greyhound bus company is one of the worst run, bullshit companies i have ever had the misfortune to use. they are a total monopoly and take advantage of that with poor service and price hikes and route cancellation. they have bought all the other smaller companies and run them out of their office in dallas. they treat both their employees and customers like shit. they are a cancer.

since i do not drive i used to use them to get to shows (when nothing else was available). on many occasions i had to cancel shows because the bus would be late, my luggage would get lost/stolen, the over sell their buses, and fuck i fucking hate them.

it really upsets me that i am being used to promote them. if i had my way i would see all their buses transport guns to all the people they have fucked over.

like many evil companies they are trying to use subversive advertising and i will not allow myself to be a cog in their wheel of lies and deceit. these rats stink like rotten cum. fuck them with 1000 fires.

in case this message finds its way to someone in the advertising department of greyhound: eat my shorts you dickless pig fuckers.

Oh, Dan, you always know what to say! [MORE...]

Camel, Rolling Stone Under Fire for Indie Rock Ad
Cigarette company pulls campaign after class action suit

You don't see creepy Joe Camel anymore these days, and that's because he-- and any cartoon used to sell cigarettes-- has been made illegal, thanks to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1997 (Google it).

Yet if you scooped up a copy of the November 15 issue of Rolling Stone, you probably did see a four-page fold-out editorial section titled "Indie Rock Universe", rife with faux notebook doodles, ridiculous music/cosmology puns (Lost in Bass! Planet Twee!), and the names of pretty much every huge-to-marginally popular indie/indie-ish act you can think of. Laughable at best, but harmless-- were it not for the item's placement in the publication.

"Indie Rock Universe" fell amid several pages of advertisements for Camel cigarettes' "The Farm" campaign. The Farm's tagline? "Committed to Supporting & Promoting Independent Record Labels". Coincidence? Rolling Stone would have you think so, according to a New York Times report linked via The Daily Swarm. Publisher Ray Chelstowski, quoted in the NY Times piece, claims Camel's parent company R.J. Reynolds Tobacco "had no idea [the Indie Rock Universe piece] would take a cartoon format." Likewise, "the editors don't see the advertising."

Yet that plea of ignorance hasn't stopped Rolling Stone-- and, of course, Camel-- from drawing the ire of everyone from anti-smoking advocates and promoters of journalistic ethics to fans and the indie rockers themselves.

Amid increasing pressure and a lawsuit filed this week by nine state attorneys general, Reynolds has, for the moment, ceased the Farm campaign, according to a Winston-Salem Journal report (also via The Daily Swarm). Indeed, the campaign's website is presently down. The Journal also suggests Reynolds could face a fine of up to $100 million for violating the Master Settlement Agreement.

Still under debate are Camel-sponsored gigs, a number of which have popped up in recent years featuring big name indie acts like the Flaming Lips, Band of Horses, and the Faint. Camel has no plans to discontinue these right now, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has come under fire from bloggers and message board pundits who believe the publication complicit in an alleged scheme to dupe lovers of indie rock. If some breach of ethics surrounding the advertorial/editorial divide is discovered, Rolling Stone could find itself in what we like to call the "Nasty Litigation Universe". (Regardless, it's pretty funny that this list is probably the only way that many of these bands would have ever appeared in Rolling Stone.)

Still, the greatest crime in all this may be the puns. "Lost in Bass"?!? C'mon, people!

Morrissey Brings the Pain to NME Via Blog
"I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three."

Photo by Alissa Anderson

Last week, an interview with Morrissey appeared in the British music magazine NME. In it, a quote was printed that suggested that Morrissey believed that England had lost some of its national character due to the influx of non-English-speaking immigrants. But according to the mope-rock legend, his words were twisted and presented out of context by the publication. Moz demanded a printed apology, but wasn't given one. So he and his lawyers are suing the NME and its editor, Conor McNicholas, for defamation.

Today, Morrissey released a rather lengthy statement to the UK's Guardian, the full text of which is available here (via True to You.) To begin, Morrissey offers this denouncement: "I believe they have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview I gave them in order to boost their dwindling circulation. Racism is beyond common sense and I believe it has no place in our society." He then offers his take on the events surrounding the interview and the fallout, castigating the NME for their journalistic practices. And oh man, can he bring it.

On interviewer Tim Jonze: "I do not mean to be rude to Tim Jonze, but when I first caught sight of him I assumed that someone had brought their child along to the interview. The runny nose told the whole story. Conor had assured that Tim was their best writer. Talking behind his hands and in endless fidget, Tim accepted every answer I gave him with a schoolgirl giggle, and repeatedly asked me if I was shocked at how little he actually knew about music. I told him that, yes, I was shocked."

On NME: "I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three... Readers have been driven away by a magazine with no insides. The narrow cast of repeated subjects sets off the agony, a mesmerizing mess of very brief and dispassionate articles unable to make thought evolve...

On McNicholas: "A marooned editor who holds the divine right to censor any views that clash with his own... It is true that the magazine is ailing badly in the marketplace, but Conor doesn't understand how the relentless stream of 'cheers mate, got pissed last night, ha ha' interviews that clutter every single issue of the 'new' NME are simply not interesting to those of us who have no trouble standing upright... Conor has accidentally exposed himself as deceitful, malicious, intolerant and Morrissey-ist - all the ists and isms that he claims to oppose... The magazine's publishers, IPC have appointed Conor as the editor of the 'new' NME, and there he remains, ready to drag them into expensive legal battles such as the one they now face with me due to Conor's personal need to mis-state, misreport, misquote, misinterpret, falsify, and incite the bloodthirsty. Here is proof that the 'new' NME will twist and pervert the views of any singer or musician who'd dare step into the interview ring. To such artists, I wish them well, but I would advise you to bring your lawyer along to the interview."

Morrissey also reveals that he has partnered with the Love Music Hate Racism campaign for his forthcoming tour.

In slightly less tumultuous Morrissey news, he recently signed a deal with Polydor/Decca for his forthcoming album and greatest hits collection, and he'll step out for a handful of tour stops early next year. A few new dates have been added to the itinerary since we reported them last, thanks to True to You. [MORE...]

Morrissey to Sue NME Over Immigration Remarks
Update: Morrissey's Polydor/Decca deal includes U.S.

Photo by Alissa Anderson

Morrissey is certainly no stranger to controversy. And the latest little shitstorm he's found himself the center of involves some comments he made to the NME, the NME's presentation of said comments, and, you guessed it, lawyers.

The Moz is sittin' pretty on the cover of the current NME (requisite tagline: "Bigmouth Strikes Again"), but some words he shares within aren't looking so pretty to some people. According to a BBC report, Morrissey purportedly told the NME the following when asked if he, presently residing in Rome, would return to live in England:

"Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. So the price is enormous. If you travel to Germany, it's still absolutely Germany. If you travel to Sweden, it still has a Swedish identity.

"But travel to England and you have no idea where you are."

Morrissey then gave a follow-up interview in which he clarified his remarks: "It could be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all."

Yet the original quote appeared in the magazine, prompting Morrissey to demand that the magazine print an apology. The NME did not do so. Thus, Morrissey's lawyers are planning to sue the publication and its editor, Conor McNicholas, for defamation, according to the BBC.

The issue is further compounded by the fact that the article's author, freelance journalist Tim Jonze, asked to have his name removed after NME editors severely reworked his words, according to Moz fansite True to You.

On to slightly less sensational news: just yesterday we reported that everybody's favorite puppy-eyed mope had signed a UK record deal with Polydor/Decca. Today we've learned that said deal extends well beyond the British Isles, encompassing the 50 states that comprise the U.S.A. as well.

And so it would seem Polydor/Decca will have the pleasure of delivering the latest two Moz offerings unto English-speaking lands on both sides of the Atlantic. Yes, two: recall that the one-time Smith has both a new LP proper (the follow-up to 2006's Ringmaster of the Tormentors) and a greatest hits collection of sorts (nevermind that he already sorta has one of those) cued up for 2008.

According to Morrissey's publicist, the greatest hits collection will boast two additional all new Moz cuts. And, we can only hope, better cover art than the other one.

Denizens of France, Scotland, and London: Make a date with Moz in the months to come. [MORE...]

Driver Who Killed Silkworm Drummer Sentenced

In the summer of 2005, Jeanette Sliwinski tried to kill herself. She was unsuccessful, but in the process, she killed three Chicago musicians, including Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist. According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, a Skokie, Illinois judge has found Sliwinski guilty of reckless homicide and on October 26 sentenced the 25-year-old to eight years in prison. However, the Sun-Times reports that Sliwinski could be free in as few as 19 months.

Sliwisnki was driving 87 mph down Dempster Street in Skokie on July 14, 2005 when she plowed her Mustang into a Honda Civic stopped at a light in an attempt to end her own life, according to prosecutors. Instead, she took the lives of the Civic's occupants: Dahlquist, John Glick (The Returnables), and Douglas Meis (The Dials, EXO).

Prosecutors charged Sliwinski with first-degree murder and pushed to have her jailed for life. Judge Garritt Howard handed down the lesser charge of reckless homicide, however, after agreeing with the defense's assertion that Sliwinski was mentally ill at the time of the crash.

The Sun-Times report cites the two years and four months Sliwinski has already served awaiting trial, along with a law which requires only half a given sentence be served, in determining that Sliwinski may go free in 2009. The decision angered the victims' families, who believe that Sliwinski should serve a longer sentence.

As previously reported, a Silkworm documentary is in the works. Also, Silkworm's remaining members Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen have linked with Chris Manfrin (Seam) and Brian Orchard (.22's) to form Bottomless Pit. The quartet's debut, Hammer of the Gods, is out now on Comedy Minus One.

Kanye West Makes Nice With Evel Knievel

Another Pitchfork Media one-question multiple-choice exam:

1) The man with Kanye West in the above picture is:

A. Dan Deacon's dad.
B. The newest old white guy to give Kanye the rights to sample him.
C. Evel Knievel.
D. What Jay-Z really looks like.

Oh, come on! It's "C". It always is, remember?

But why on earth is Kanye posing for a photo op in Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel's Tampa, Florida home? Why, because the two have resolved the dispute started almost a year ago by Knievel's trademark infringement lawsuit over Kanye's "Touch the Sky" video.

It seems the whole case (officially titled Knievel and K and K Promotions, Inc. v. West, Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC, Chris Milk and AOL LLC) was settled out of court, as the rapper and the daredevil biker "amicably resolved and dismissed the case," according to a press release.

Kanye is currently on tour in the UK, with U.S. and Australian shows on the horizon. On stage in Belgium recently, he explained why he has stayed on the road despite the recent death of his mother, Dr. Donda West. [MORE...]

NIN Remix Site Halted by Universal Music Group

A little more than a month or so back, we spilled what we could on Nine Inch Nails' mysterious Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D LP. The disc in all its forms is out today (November 20), but the accompanying website-- remix.nin.com, designed as a hub for submission and discussion of fan remixes-- might as well be a LOLcat at this point.

Seems "The Man"-- played, in this instance, by Doug Morris and his Universal Music Group-- doesn't want Trent and company R3M1Xing sans regulation while the project is being hosted by Universal. And, since Universal owns all the Nine Inch Nails master tapes (recall that NIN's former label Interscope falls under the Universal umbrella), the project is contingent upon their agreement.

In essence, the notoriously litigious Universal Music Group doesn't want to appear to be backing a copyright-disgregarding free-for-all when they've been spending so much time squelching such behavior elsewhere. They're not so much worried about Nine Inch Nails tunes becoming the subject of silly mashups as they are appearing like hypocrites (and, naturally, getting sued) for infringing on the copyrights of the other artists and songwriters who may be sampled or mashed by the Nine Inch Nails loyal.

As Trent writes in a statement on the NIN site (linked via Stereogum), "Universal feels that if they host our remix site, they will be opening themselves up to the accusation that they are sponsoring the same technical violation of copyright they are suing [YouTube and MySpace] for. Their premise is that if any fan decides to remix one of my masters with material Universal doesn't own-- a 'mash-up', a sample, whatever-- and upload it to the site, there is no safe harbor under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (according to Universal) and they will be doing exactly what MySpace and YouTube are doing. This behavior may get hauled out in court and impact their lawsuit."

Universal are willing to let Nine Inch Nails host the remix site, provided Trent's willing to take legal responsibility should any problems arise. In addition, Reznor writes, "part of the arrangement is having user licenses that the fans sign (not unlike those on MySpace or YouTube) saying they will not use unauthorized materials. If they WERE to do such a thing, everybody sues everybody and the world abruptly ends." Hyperbole, perhaps, but Trent's still mulling this one over, and as such, the "cool and innovative site" they have ready to launch is presently in limbo. "More to come" is the only indication of when we can expect the situation to change.

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)