Just in time for X-Mas

December 1, 2004 9:36 AM

U2 vs. Negativland IPod "special edition". Totally Unauthorized, but your purchase will help Downhill Battle , and thus, will end the major label monopoly and build a better, fairer music industry. If you are not the high-bidder, you can always make your own by stopping here and here .
posted by JBennett (25 comments total)

But it lacks Escape From Noise! I have a soft place in my heart for that album, especially "Time Zones".
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:41 AM on December 1, 2004

JBennett -- love your work with Wilco.
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:42 AM on December 1, 2004

Cute idea. Now Negativland needs to sue this guy, just to make the cycle complete.
That said, this better be the last funny eBay post I see for a week.
posted by dougunderscorenelso at 9:43 AM on December 1, 2004

Awesome! Thanks for the link.
posted by dobbs at 9:58 AM on December 1, 2004

But it lacks Escape From Noise! I have a soft place in my heart for that album, especially "Time Zones".


Eleven.

I spent years hunting that album down. Negativeland rules.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:07 AM on December 1, 2004

Negativland never sues anyone, they encourage people to appropriate their work.

What I'm actually surprised isn't on there is "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." (The negativland version) I mean, if you're gonna go all the way, go all the way.

"I want somebody to use his fucking brains to not to come out of a god-damn record that is ... uh .. that's, that's up-tempo and I've gotta talk about a fucking dog dying!"
posted by fungible at 10:09 AM on December 1, 2004

I know. That's what would make a lawsuit-about-an-infringement-about-a-lawsuit-about-an-infringement so deliciously....I don't know...as the college kids say, "meta."
posted by dougunderscorenelso at 10:13 AM on December 1, 2004

Everybody was totally predicting this when the U2 iPod came out.

But seriously, it should at least have a copy of These Guys Are From England And Who Gives A Shit on it.
posted by neckro23 at 10:16 AM on December 1, 2004

good stuff, thanks
posted by matteo at 10:49 AM on December 1, 2004

I'm a die-hard U2 fan, and until today all I'd ever heard about Negativland is that there was a "controversy" surrounding the cover design on that single. I wonder how much of the legal actions were initiated by the label rather than U2 themselves. Bono in particular has professed himself to support of filesharing and I would have expected the band as a whole to be rather less petty and confrontational.
posted by Saellys at 12:04 PM on December 1, 2004

I don't have time to dig up a link, but I remember seeing a documentary about Negativland that featured a lot of info on the case including telephone recorded quotes by "The Edge" (played over an arial shot of his castle?!) about why U2 was involved in the suit. Again, no link (yet) but I'm pretty sure the band was involved. Maybe the movie "The Ad and the Ego"?
posted by JBennett at 12:18 PM on December 1, 2004

From an interview with the Edge, in which members of negativland participated:

RUS: And I figured- I know they've been sued by your record label, but they hadn't been sued by you.
posted by kenko at 12:56 PM on December 1, 2004

Downhill Battle have admirable goals, but their rhetoric is often fallacious and irritating. It was hardly an "ignoble episode." The itnerview kenko linked to was pretty famous; I wonder why Downhill Battle ignored stuff like this from Edge:

I wasn't, I didn't have any problem with [Negativeland's sampling]. I think Casey Kasem could have. I mean the problem really was by the time it really, by the time we realized what was going on it was kinda too late, and we actually did approach the record company on [Negativeland's] behalf and said, "Look, c'mon, this is just, this is very heavy..."

---

Yeah, really. I think we would have reacted in a different way, but the lawsuit was not our lawsuit. Although we have some influence, we weren't in a position to tell Island Records what to do.


I worry that Downhill Battle's rash choices for getting attention will do more harm than good - being factually innaccurate and judgemental will just reinforce popular media narratives about file sharing and copyright issues.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:14 PM on December 1, 2004

Sonic Outlaws (1995)
posted by fungible at 1:18 PM on December 1, 2004

Wait- the disclaimer at the bottom of the eBay sale confuses me - is Downhill Battle involved or not?
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:19 PM on December 1, 2004

The perfect compliment to this would be a Pepsi edition.
posted by Peter H at 1:36 PM on December 1, 2004

a link to the original (or not so original) track as well as many others at illegal-art.org
posted by grimley at 1:52 PM on December 1, 2004

Negativland has had MP3s of the original "U2" single on their website for several years now.
posted by neckro23 at 2:14 PM on December 1, 2004

Sonic Outlaws, yes, that was it.

Thanks for the additional Edge Quotes.

As for the auction, I think it is the sellers independent contribution, and they are unaffiliated with Downhill Battle.
posted by JBennett at 2:17 PM on December 1, 2004

Though it may be a trifle OT, those of you who like Negativland might want to check out People Like Us, which is actually just one talented woman and her samples. You can download tracks galore here.
posted by everichon at 2:44 PM on December 1, 2004

cool
posted by mr.marx at 4:20 PM on December 1, 2004

Negativland was sued by the Island Records label, not by U2 (which eventually resulted in Negativland also being sued by their own record label for much more ludicrous reasons), but the members of Negativland generally felt that, if U2 really wanted to practice what they preached and meant what they said in the interview, they could have done a lot more to help them out by way of the clout they held with Island. So Negativland isn't really happy with U2 or Island.

At any rate, Negativland actually managed to sort things out with everyone except Casey Kasem, who is now (and for many years has been) the sole roadblock in the way of their getting the rights to their song back.

Anyone have any idea if they're ever going to do a CD of their True/False tour? I caught them in Boston and they were amazing.
posted by kyrademon at 9:44 PM on December 1, 2004

the members of Negativland generally felt that, if U2 really wanted to practice what they preached and meant what they said in the interview, they could have done a lot more to help them out by way of the clout they held with Island. So Negativland isn't really happy with U2 or Island.

I pick up on that in the interview every time I read it; I just have never put much merit in it as an argument, because it's hard to say exactly how much clout U2 had with Island, and whether that clout extended to the legal department.

What I want to know is if Negativeland really sent a proposal to Edge for a loan, and if so, what came of it.
posted by eustacescrubb at 3:52 AM on December 2, 2004

Thanks for mentioning People Like Us everichon.

My favorite PLU record is "Stifled Love" You can download most of that record from that link.
PLU also use public domain video to create amazing video/film/sound collages, look for
We Edit Life. I saw a screening of it at the W F M U record fair a few years ago and everyone in the room was in a trance!

p.s. No relation to Vicki Bennett of PLU.
posted by JBennett at 7:15 AM on December 2, 2004

The eBay auction was just zapped:

The following listing:

2290680118 -Unauthorized iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition

was removed by eBay because a member of our Verified Right Owner (VeRO) Program notified eBay that the listing potentially infringes its copyright, trademark or other rights. We strongly urge you not to complete this transaction.

You can get more information on the VeRO Program at:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/programs-vero-ov.html

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding in this issue.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc
posted by letitrain at 1:39 PM on December 6, 2004