While you were watching the Weather Channel in disbelief — 111 degrees, WTF!?! — here’s what we were looking at:
- Graying, Balding, Is The Record Store Ready For Retirement? – Probably, but I’ll always have fond memories of the amazing amount of time I spent in places like Tower, Ragin’ and Amoeba, pouring over the racks, trying to find something that was new and different and surprising and maybe even life-changing.
- CBS Eggvertising: The Yolk’s On Us – Are there any surfaces that aren’t covered with ads anymore?
- The RIAA and the Blogosphere – Like Oil and Water – The RIAA really needs to just pull its head out and realize that criminializing your customers might not be the best way to keep those customers.
- Reaching Operatic Heights — Why isn’t Opera reaching a wider audience?
- CinemaNow Steps Up (A Little) — After Movielink announced that they were going to let people burn movies to DVD at some point in the future, CinemaNow just went ahead and offered the ability. Just once. And not with new releases. And for Windows XP users only.
- Blogosphere Without Pity — In which another hotshot TV producer professes to be shocked — shocked! — at the speed and fury of internet conversation about his show.
- That’s What I Like: Robert Christgau – Jim discusses his favorite rock critic. In case you assumed that it would be Lester Bangs, that’s a good guess, except Bangs has missed the last quarter-century, and who knows where he would be right now. I’ve always figured that he would have quit writing about music eventually.
- How Can I Get My TV Pilot Picked Up? — This may mark the peak of YouTube’s power. Especially if Nobody’s Watching doesn’t live up to the promise of the pilot. They’ll have to reshoot it anyways, and that’s where it will get interesting.
- Hong Kong’s Anti-Piracy Sweatshop – My understanding that the merit badge for this like a bootlegged “Pirates of the Caribbean” DVD case with a circle slash over it.