Today is Grey Tuesday.This morning I edited the site’s CSS file and turned most background elements a shade of grey as a sign of support for the right to distribute the Grey Album. It seems that EMI is trying to stifle the creativity of some musical artists and prevent their fair-use rights from being exercised by banning the sale and distribution of this critically acclaimed album.
DJ Danger Mouse‘s recent Grey Album, which remixes
Jay-Z’s The Black Album and the Beatles White Album, has been hailed as
a innovative hip-hop triumph. Despite that and the fact that only 3,000
copies of the album are in circulation, EMI sent cease and desist
letters yesterday to Danger Mouse and the handful of stores that were
selling the album, demanding that the album be destroyed.
I’m not a personal fan of hip-hop, though after raising a daughter in the 80’s and 90’s I like it more than some of my generation. Blending the Beatles with hip-hop in this manner is an intriguing concept, and based on my first listenings I’ll have to explore this musical hybrid in more detail. It has sort of a trance like effect and should work well as background music while working. (What a contrast to my trusty KPIG, though; what a contrast!)
And why shouldn’t I be able to listen to this musc, clearly a creative work, and protected directly by the 1st amendment and also via various court rulings in favor of fair-use?