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Release Date: August 05, 2009
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Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
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  • Goodbye Jumbo

    • 8 out of 10
    • World Party
    • Released in 1990, World Party's

  • One Word Extinguisher

    • 8 out of 10
    • Prefuse 73
    • It's an album about a breakup, done with beats instead of mopey lyrics. But the beats are raw, and the emotions are there, even if there aren't many words on top of it. While possibly not Scott Herren
  • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

    • 8 out of 10
    • Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
    • When I first got hooked to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the only place I could get their debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, was through the band's Web site. I listened to the two tracks a

  • Zooropa

    • 10 out of 10
    • U2
    • This record is perhaps U2's finest hour, yet it has been forgotten as a strange by-product of the ZooTV tour's overload, and is generally regarded by most fans as a poor effort. It is this sentiment t
  • Rift

    • 8 out of 10
    • Phish
    • This quasi-concept album (the only of its kind) from these Vermonters finally showcased their ability to convey a message with a studio album, whereas previously they only succeeded in doing so live.

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News

Deals, Discounts, and RIAA Tactics

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is working to make it easier to pay up when they say you are stealing music. The new "Pre-Doe" option offers a way to settle claims before going to court, and includes incentives like discounts of US$1,000, according to Computerworld.

The deal also requires Internet service providers to keep detailed log information on subscribers and their Web surfing habits and turn that over whenever the RIAA asks.

In a letter to ISP companies, the RIAA stated "We have repeatedly heard from targets that they want the ability to settle as early as possible at the lowest amount possible." The organization also provided a standard template an ISP can use when informing a subscriber that they are about to get sued for music file sharing.

The easiest way to avoid becoming an RIAA target is by staying away from file sharing Web sites and downloading songs from sites and services that the organization dubs as unauthorized or illegal. The problem, however, is that in some instances the RIAA has targeted people that don't even own computers and could not have downloaded unauthorized songs.

The RIAA has also publicly stated that copying songs from legitimately purchased CDs to an iPod does not constitute "fair use," and is the same as stealing music. In other words, the RIAA expects consumers to pay again for music copied to an iPod or other portable music player, even though they already bought the CD the songs were ripped from. The Electronic Frontier Foundation disagrees and contends that ripping music from CDs you own to your computer, and then copying them to your iPod does, in fact, constitute "fair use," and is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

The RIAA is also launching a new Web site later this year that makes it easier for "targets" to make early payoff settlements. It's almost like a fast-food version of litigation: drive though settlements.

Unfortunately, this leaves honest users in limbo wondering if the RIAA may come after them for what appears to be perfectly reasonable use of legitimately obtained music. And the new "discount rate" payoff feels eerily like a way to milk money out of unsuspecting users under the threat of legal action.

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