At Least Twice Upon a Time in Shaolin
August 27, 2024 12:20 PM Subscribe
Fraudster Martin Shkreli Must Surrender His Copies of the Wu-Tang Clan’s Unique Art Album. A federal judge in Brooklyn has sided with the crypto collective that currently owns the one-of-a-kind disk. [ArtNet]
Still came that eldritch, mocking cry - "Shkreli-li! Shkreli-li!"
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 12:25 PM on August 27 [25 favorites]
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 12:25 PM on August 27 [25 favorites]
What's the word for when your pleasure at the misfortune of another gets tainted by seeing that this has been good fortune for some absolute crypto bullshit?
posted by away for regrooving at 12:27 PM on August 27 [16 favorites]
posted by away for regrooving at 12:27 PM on August 27 [16 favorites]
"He disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan"
-- Dismissed Shkreli juror
posted by robotmachine at 12:27 PM on August 27 [32 favorites]
-- Dismissed Shkreli juror
posted by robotmachine at 12:27 PM on August 27 [32 favorites]
What's the word for when your pleasure at the misfortune of another gets tainted by seeing that this has been good fortune for some absolute crypto bullshit?
schaden-fraud-e?
posted by robotmachine at 12:28 PM on August 27 [17 favorites]
schaden-fraud-e?
posted by robotmachine at 12:28 PM on August 27 [17 favorites]
They both disrespect the Wu-Tang Clan.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:45 PM on August 27 [5 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 12:45 PM on August 27 [5 favorites]
The real question is why was Shkreli released? There’s no way he’s paid his debt to society, and immediately diving into crypto fraud on release shows he’s unrepentant.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:06 PM on August 27 [15 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:06 PM on August 27 [15 favorites]
There's a book about the making of the album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin by Cyrus Bozorgmehr. It's actually kinda annoying. It's the sorta concept that sounded like a good idea at the time, but then gradually seems awkward and gimmicky after a while.
(in loosely related, the biopic TV series Wu Tang: An American Saga by RZA is consistently fascinating even if you're not a big fan of Hip Hop. Recommended if you haven't seen it.)
posted by ovvl at 1:10 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
(in loosely related, the biopic TV series Wu Tang: An American Saga by RZA is consistently fascinating even if you're not a big fan of Hip Hop. Recommended if you haven't seen it.)
posted by ovvl at 1:10 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
Everybody except the Wu-Tang Clan involved in this story is bullshit.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:23 PM on August 27 [13 favorites]
posted by gentlyepigrams at 1:23 PM on August 27 [13 favorites]
It was fun until you started to put crypto in the streets
Then lost money, 'cause they came back with no receipts
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:33 PM on August 27 [5 favorites]
Then lost money, 'cause they came back with no receipts
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:33 PM on August 27 [5 favorites]
You don't make a statement about middlemen and rent-seeking and commodification by releasing one copy of an album to one person who can afford to shell out millions to stroke their own ego. You make that statement by releasing the entire album into the public domain AFTER some asshole paid millions for that one physical copy.
I mean I'm one dude and that is my opinion... but I truly hate that we've just collectively agreed that having money makes you better than people without money. What's better - giving all of their fans their music, or giving one person the right to keep it away from everyone else? (Especially given the asshole who ended up buying it...)
posted by caution live frogs at 1:41 PM on August 27 [15 favorites]
I mean I'm one dude and that is my opinion... but I truly hate that we've just collectively agreed that having money makes you better than people without money. What's better - giving all of their fans their music, or giving one person the right to keep it away from everyone else? (Especially given the asshole who ended up buying it...)
posted by caution live frogs at 1:41 PM on August 27 [15 favorites]
This is one of those rare cases where I find myself rooting for the lawyers – they are going to rinse everyone involved in this to the point where they all start to question their life choices.
posted by Lanark at 1:49 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 1:49 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
A fair punishment would be for Skrelpie to be fined the full price of the album for each copy, or fraction thereof, which appears online at any point between now and January 1, 2046.
posted by JohnFromGR at 2:19 PM on August 27 [2 favorites]
posted by JohnFromGR at 2:19 PM on August 27 [2 favorites]
Martin Shkreli vs. a "Crypto Cooperative"?
Chrissakes, who do we guillotine first?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:33 PM on August 27 [12 favorites]
Chrissakes, who do we guillotine first?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:33 PM on August 27 [12 favorites]
That Wu album was a gimmick by a third-tier associate that did it from unused verses in RZA's vault without participation or approval from most of the members. You aren't missing anything, similar to not wearing the Wu-Tang sandlewood cologne.
posted by lkc at 4:00 PM on August 27 [8 favorites]
posted by lkc at 4:00 PM on August 27 [8 favorites]
I'm going to be honest that I hate all aspects of this story. The artificial scarcity of the Wu-Tang album. The general financial evil of Martin Shrekwhatever. The Web3 scam that bought the scam album whose members probably can't even legally listen to it. All of it. I hate that this clown show even sucked up taxpayer funded court time and lawyers. There should be some sort of third way legal outcome that basically punished everyone involved with a verdict of "You are all losers. All of you."
posted by srboisvert at 6:15 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 6:15 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
Chrissakes, who do we guillotine first?
Yes.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:22 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
Yes.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:22 PM on August 27 [6 favorites]
The real question is why was Shkreli released? There’s no way he’s paid his debt to society, and immediately diving into crypto fraud on release shows he’s unrepentant.
He was only sentenced to 7 years, in minimum security. Then he got early release in 2022:
He was only sentenced to 7 years, in minimum security. Then he got early release in 2022:
The First Step Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2018 after receiving bipartisan support, allows inmates who complete recidivism programs and other “productive activities” to earn time credits that qualify them for prerelease custody.posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:30 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
To be fair to Trump, he is a recidivist.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:22 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:22 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
There should be some sort of third way legal outcome that basically punished everyone involved with a verdict of "You are all losers. All of you."
Heh. There's a torrent with hundreds of leechers and one of the eighteen trackers showing one seeder. Will post back if it ever moves beyond 0% downloaded.
posted by flabdablet at 11:42 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
Heh. There's a torrent with hundreds of leechers and one of the eighteen trackers showing one seeder. Will post back if it ever moves beyond 0% downloaded.
posted by flabdablet at 11:42 PM on August 27 [3 favorites]
Chrissakes, who do we guillotine first?
Yes.
C'mon, what did Rick Wakeman ever do to you???
posted by slogger at 10:43 AM on August 28 [3 favorites]
Yes.
C'mon, what did Rick Wakeman ever do to you???
posted by slogger at 10:43 AM on August 28 [3 favorites]
What's the word for when your pleasure at the misfortune of another gets tainted by seeing that this has been good fortune for some absolute crypto bullshit?
Schadenfreudekryptografieverstörung.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:03 PM on August 29 [1 favorite]
Schadenfreudekryptografieverstörung.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:03 PM on August 29 [1 favorite]
I mean, wasn't this album publicly leaked years ago? I heard it somewhere a long time ago. It's at best mediocre. Maybe that's the punchline.
posted by SystematicAbuse at 8:28 AM on August 30
posted by SystematicAbuse at 8:28 AM on August 30
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posted by chavenet at 12:20 PM on August 27