The Seattle-based group, Harvey Danger, has decided the thumb their collective noses at the RIAA and release their new ablum, Little by Little, for free on their website.  They are against the way the record industry has handled the file-sharing issue and decided to release their album for free in support of people being able to download music from the net.

This is the same reason I plan on keeping My Music available free as well.  Man, I wish I could get that kind of press!

Click Here to visit Harvey Danger's web site and download their album.

Things are beginning to heat up between music industry executives and iTunes.   iPod owners have enjoyed 99 cent song downloads since iTunes opened it's virtual doors.  Lately, music industry cronies have been pressuring Steve Jobs to adopt a more flexible pricing schedule for song downloads that allow the record industry to charge more for one song over another.

Jobs has been steadfast in his resistance to this pressure, saying that going beyond the 99 cent threshold will kill the song download market online.  Is he right?  Hmmmm, probably not.  But, at least he is holding true to his vision.

Now, at least one music industry exec, Digital strategy chief Michael Nash of Warner Music Group, is threatening to completely pull the plug on iTunes.  Most music industry execs seem to think that it is the ability to buy songs online through iTunes that sells iPods in the first place.  That certainly remains to be seen.  Most of the people I know that own an iPod, which I consider to be way overpriced for what it is, rip music directly from their (legal) CD collection to add songs to their iPod.  I don't think I know anyone who actually buys songs through iTunes.

Whatever happens, you can be sure that 99 cent song downloads will be a thing of the past in the VERY near future... whether they're coming from iTunes or not.

Click here to read the article over at PC Pro UK.

Jason Armitage, senior research analyst at IDC's European consumer devices unit, agrees with Jobs and claims that U.K. online music has been cut short by high prices.

In what is sure to be a stellar example of un-biased polling, the Canadian Recording Industry Association commissioned a poll that has determined that Canadian peer-to-peer users are more likely to shoplift and cheat on exams.

One incriminating "fact" they discovered was that 37 per cent of respondents used a CD burner to record music within the last six months.  Wow, break out the handcuffs!

In other news, the RIAA has commissioned a poll that asks the burning question; Are Keebler Cookies really made by Elves?  The world quivers with anticipation for this mystery to be solved.

Click Here to read the article over at TheGlobeandMail.com.

I just received this via e-mail.  I don't know if John Grisham actually wrote it... but, it sounds like something he'd write.  And it certainly is inspirational for those of us who took Katrina's wrath on the chin.  If you're from the Gulf Coast, I hope you find this as inspirational as I did.

ON Aug. 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille roared onto the Gulf Coast with winds of more than 200 miles an hour, only the second Category 5 storm to hit the mainland United States. It killed 143 people in Mississippi, and 201 more in flooding in central Virginia.

Over the years, Hurricane Camille's legend grew, and it was not uncommon when I was a child and student in Mississippi to hear horrific tales from coast residents who had survived it. I myself was sleeping in a Boy Scout pup tent 200 miles inland when the storm swept through. Our losses were minimal - the tents, sleeping bags, some food - but over time I managed to spice up the adventure and add a little danger to it.

In true "the sky is falling" mentality, Democrat Senator, Diane Feinstein claims that if we don't legislate or stop file-sharing on the internet "it's going to destroy... intellectual property industries."

Mary Beth Peters with the U.S. Copyright office rightly claims that copyright law is "antiquated" and needs to be overhauled.  She says that the "one at a time" approach to licensing songs is preventing legitimate online services from growing.

Either way, stop it or legislate it, you can bet that file-sharing as the internet community knows it is going to be radically changed as it makes it way to the bureaucratic plate.  Will they make copyright law as it pertains to music more in-line with the technology of the 21st Century?  Or will they make a cumbersome system even more confusing and drive net-based music content providers out of business?

Only the Shadow knows... but, I can guess.  And my vision of it ain't pretty.

Click here to read the article over at CNet.com.

Here are some links that give current statistics about Hurricane Katrina as it relates to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  You will also find links to relief services and places you can donate to the relief effort.  Also, comprehensive lists of missing persons and confirmed Katrina fatalities.

State of Mississippi Official Web Site

FEMA Web Site

Mississippi Department of Employment Security

Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Donations

Katrina Tax Relief Act in Plain English

Harrison County Missing Persons List

Hancock/Harrison County Confirmed Fatalities List

Hancock County Latest Civil Defense Announcements

Harrison County Latest Civil Defense Announcements

Harrison County Latest Hurricane Aid Information and Links to Services

Satellite Photos of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina - NOAA

Digital Globe - Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Bay St. Louis - Long Beach, MS (PDF)

Town-by-town Summary of Damage done by Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Northward

List of Katrina Shelters, School info and Telephone numbers

Mississippi Boil-Water Alerts Recently Lifted

Current Mississippi Metro Gas Prices

Mississippi Coast Citizens Forum

The Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) lawsuit against the mother of a 13-year-old accused of "illegal" music downloading was dismissed with prejudice.  The RIAA then petitioned the court to be able to sue the 13-year-old.  Let me say that again: The RIAA petitioned the court to SUE a 13-YEAR-OLD!!

Now, that's just plain evil.

RIAA really stands for Recording Industry Assholes of America.  Bunch of jerks.  A 13-year-old?  Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Click here to read the article over at CDFreaks.com.

One of the benefits of having satellite television instead of cable is that, even though we had been slammed by a hurricane, as soon as electricity was restored to our house we had our TV back.

I must say, though, after watching hours of Hurricane Katrina coverage on ABC, CNN and FOX News I have a question... what about Mississippi? I've seen very little coverage on what happened in Mississippi. It's all about New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans.

I'm aware that New Orleans flooded... twice, thanks to Hurricane Rita. But, how come all we hear about is New Orleans? The Mississippi Gulf Coast had a thriving economy before Katrina.  Now, we've got over 65,000 homes completely destroyed in Harrison County alone. Hundreds, ultimately perhaps thousands, are dead or missing. The devastation we experienced here far surpasses what occurred in New Orleans. After all, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was in the northeast quadrant of the storm... that's the worst place to be in a hurricane.

Go look at our Hurricane Katrina Photo Gallery and see some of the debris fields that used to be quaint neighborhoods. You won't see that kind of devastation in New Orleans because it didn't happen there. It happened here.

But, we're working together, working hard to clean things up and rebuild. Maybe that's what the problem is... no looters, rapists or murderers to sensationalize. We're actually getting along quite well in spite of the horrors we all just went through. I guess the prerequisite to getting proper national media coverage is that we all act like a bunch of uncivilized barbarians like our neighbors to the west did.

On second thought... nevermind, National Media... if that's what it takes, I'd rather your cameras stay pointed at the corrupt political machine/welfare state that is New Orleans; Lest all you Damn Yankees figure out that the hurricane is the price we pay for living in the paradise called the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We shall rise again... and are doing so even now.