an image of an eye glowing green...

0wn yourself

2005-05-27

internet radio -- 1N73RN37 R4D10

i dunno if you're like me, or not. but if you are, you prolly get just as sick as i do of all the crap they play on commercial tv and radio stations, these days. now, don't get me wrong, i don't think that everything that comes out of the mainstream media is crap--just most of it.

between the mpaa, the riaa, and companies like clearchannel and time warner you don't end up with a whole lot of choices. i don't know how many times i've changed channels in the car to avoid some crappy boy-band pop song in the rotations, only to find the _same_ song playing on a different channel. whatever happened to variety being the spice of life, eh?

i guess we're okay with being bland.

but not, anymore. i don't care who you are, or what you're into, there are literally thousands of internet radio and tv shows out there, on virtually anything you're into. and they're usually free. that's right free.

go read up on it. the whole thing almost blew up, back in 2002. the people revolted, got together and congress actually _listened_. now, granted, they didn't really fix the problem, just threw us a bone, but it proves that we got their attention. and it proves that groups of like-minded, motivated people _can_ accomplish something. we've still got a long way to go before this fight is won, but the point is, we're still out here.

and all that aside, there are plenty of internet radio shows which play indie music (and don't have to worry about the riaa) or compensate the artists in different forms. there are many independent artists who release their own music, often for free on the internet. go check out zearle.com. or go google for independent music donwloads, etc.

and that's just music. there's also an amazing amount of great talk radio, also available for free, on any topic you can think of. and it's so easy to set up.

got something on your mind? go start your own broadcast station. free software is available. people's eyes are starting to open. we know that we can burn a cd for a few cents. we know that artists aren't being compensated properly. and we know that illegal music downloads aren't the major reason why artists aren't getting compensated properly.

there is a whole bloated industry in between the artists and the consumers, no longer really necessary, aware of this fact, and fighting tooth and nail to keep their cozy little niche. we don't need someone to tell us who to like. we don't need someone picking out the rotation lists that stations are ONLY allowed to play (because they're all owned by the same damn company). we know that cd's don't cost seventeen dollars to make (unless you figure in the executives' summerhouse in maui as a part of the cost of production). we know we don't like digital rights management being forced into the media we buy. we know there are better solutions. we know.

and soon, the public will realize it, too.

it's all about having choices. capitalism is all about having choices, and when all the choices are coming from the same few sources, it's not really much of a choice at all, is it?

so get out there and support your local bands. check out independent labels and artists. tell the recording industry what you think about what they're doing. check out internet radio. get your own ideas out there. do something.

resources.....

alternative tentacles--jello biafra's label
prometheus radio
off the hook
binary revolution radio
or just click here
phreak phactor
ipodder podcast site
geek love radio
default radio
rantradio
google--you can find a free radio broadcast on whatever YOU are interested in

--cidViscous

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