If it's broke, why ain't we fixing it?

The argument against downloading music from the internet gets thrown back and forth ad nauseum these days, with most people forming an opinion on one side of the debate or the other. Usually it's musicians and those associated with the music industry, and not necessarily the major labels, arguing against it, while people without any real connection to music (those people who don't want to go out and pay to see a band live, and generally don't offer any material support to musicians) arguing for it, with some exceptions on both sides.

New tunes, new tunes

Once again I've been combing the furthest reaches of the internet to find hot new tunes to enhance your life. It's not an easy job trawling through piles of awful mass-produce pop garbage to find these gems of songwriting for you, and it's a thankless task. But enough about me. Enjoy these tracks and as always, if you find something you really enjoy, support the artists by buying something or getting out to see them perform live. Your ears will thank you for it. Next week I'll be back with more meanderings on musical matters.

Less talk, more hip hop.

Dean Hapeta (aka Te Koopu) of legendary New Zealand hip hop crew Upper Hutt Posse recently said that hip hop used to be a form of activism and that todays' big artists had nothing of value to say. While he has a point, in that most of the hip hop we see and hear in popular media forms is there for entertainment value only, that doesn't necessarily mean that hip hop has strayed from it's original path.