After almost two years of sporadically presenting the segment, and thirteen months of maintaining this site, I'm off on a bit of an extended break... Call it a hibernation if you like; seeing as its winter on this side of the world... Rummage will return, with new contributors, in a couple of months time...
In the interim, the Friday Breakfast show will, of course, carry on as always - 6am & 9am Sydney time every Friday, streamed live via 2ser.com
Today was designated as Free Mojtaba and Arash Day, and although its almost over, I wanted to add my voice to this worthy cause. Mojtaba Saminejad and Arash Sigarchi are Iranian bloggers who were recently arrested for speaking out against the arrest of fellow bloggers and cyberjournalists in Iran, and the Committee To Free Bloggers is asking everyone to make a post to raise awareness of their plight. For more information about their situation, and that of bloggers gaoled in other countries for similar attempts to exercise freedom of speech,visit the Committee To Protect Bloggers website.
Hey!! Stop what you're doing! You're not going to find that Arcade Fire live bootleg today, you're not going to stumble across the b-side to "Hand In Glove", and you're not going to find the unreleased Pixies album.
If you have the right to vote in the US election then find your nearest polling place and get prepared to vote. Tell your friends to vote, tell your enemies for that matter. But just vote.
I am not an American citizen, but I will be calling and emailing all my American friends to make sure they plan on voting. Participation is crucial. The decision of the American public will affect each and every one of us. I don't care who you vote for, all I am asking is that you exercise your democratic right to have your opinion counted. I want to believe that your new president is the choice of the majority and is not elected as a result of low voter turnout.
Moveon.com
RockTheVote.com
JohnKerry.com
GeorgeWBush.com
VoteNader.org
Badnarik.org
VoteCobb.org
WaltBrownForPresident.org
Petrouka2004.org
MusicForAmerica.org
DeclareYourself
JustVote
GetEducated
And since this is an mp3blog we've added a song or two as well.
Vote by Chris Stamey w/Yo La Tengo
For my part, I'm posting Thank You George Muthaf@%#king Bush, a spoken word piece by Pittsburgh street poet Vanessa Gearman, which won first prize in the Slam Bush National Rhyme Contest.
And, on a lighter note, Frat Boy by The Compassionate Conservatives.
Get Out And Vote On November 2nd. Regular Blogging Will Commence On November 3rd.
Thanks,
Music Bloggers For Democracy
and everyone that has agreed to post
the big ticket
songs:illinois
last sound of summer
moerex
Pregnant without intercourse
Bars and guitars
scissorkick
radio babylon
Kingblind
Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Again
The Napkin
Tuwa's Shanty
This isn't music related, but still I couldn't resist posting this pair of insanely hysterical anti-DVD-piracy posters from the UK. (And before you ask, yes they are for real. They're off the site of that country's film copyright watchdog.)
On the other side of the Atlantic, similar scare tactics are being employed by the MPAA whose web-site ominously declares: "You Can Click, But You Can't Hide"... As yet, I haven't seen an Australian equivalent but I look forward to billboards showing dastardly people-smugglers on sinking boats (which stay afloat only because they toss children overboard) lobbing pirated DVDs at Jana Pittman's beleagured knee. (Luckily, none of their throws hit the mark because they give up rowing 600m before the finish line.)
"I don't agree with copyright laws, and I don't have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it...as long as they're not trying to make a profit off my labor.... I make these movies and books and TV shows because I want things to change, and so the more people who get to see them, the better."
So said Micheal Moore recently when asked about illegal downloads of his box-office-topping doco Fahrenheit 9-11... And now the good people at Archive.org have decided to help facilitate this Mike-approved sharing of the movie by posting it on their website. Go there NOW and download it for free!
(Caveat: It IS a bootleg recorded by someone in a theatre with a handicam, so the quality isn't the best and there are a few scenes missing... Hopefully we'll see a full copy up on the site in the near future.)
(UPDATE: It seems that the file has been taken off the site. If your still keen to download it, there's a bit torrent file available here. You will, of course, need the Bit Torrent software to download it.)
OK, this isn't a music-related posting but this film is cranking up to be one of THE media events of the year, and the fact that the film in question is a political documentary (and not a sword-skirt-n-sandal epic, or a kids-fantasy-book adaptation, or a disaster schlocker) is pretty damn notable. Trailer can be viewed here. (Expect slow download due to bandwidth hammering.)
STOP PRESS: 6 meg wmv file of trailer can be downloaded here (Right-click on link).