Kraftwerk Lose German Hip-Hop Copyright Case

Legal
Jason Tate

Kraftwerk have lost a copyright case in Germany’s highest court, the BBC reports:

Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hutter sued Moses Pelham, alleging that his use of the clip, without asking, infringed the band’s intellectual property rights. But the German Constitutional Court decided that the impact on Kraftwerk did not outweigh “artistic freedom”.

The dispute centres on a short drum sequence looped repeatedly in the song Nur Mir (Only Me) by Sabrina Setlur.

The Wonder Years UK Tour Dates

Jason Tate

The Wonder Years have announced some small UK shows for this July.

We know it’s been too long since we’ve really headlined and we’re sorry. Scheduling all of this is hard and with two of us getting married this year on top of all the touring we already had planned, fitting a UK run in has been a challenge, but we decided that isn’t fair to you. So, we’re making it happen. At the end of July, we’ll be coming over for four very special, very intimate shows. We’re playing in small rooms and playing long, ground-covering sets.

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Katy Perry’s Twitter Account Hacked

Katy Perry
Jason Tate

Yesterday Katy Perry, the most followed account on Twitter, got hacked. From TechCrunch:

This incident is yet another reminder that despite the platform’s security measures, no one’s Twitter account is safe—especially if they are a celebrity. Other high-profile Twitters that have been hacked include Justin Bieber, Lea Michele, and Britney Spears—and even the U.S. Central Command.

This is a good time to also point out that over the past week it looks like emails and passwords to over seven hundred million accounts may have leaked from LinkedIn, Tumblr, and MySpace:

There are some really interesting patterns emerging here. One is obviously the age; the newest breach of this recent spate is still more than 3 years old. This data has been lying dormant (or at least out of public sight) for long periods of time.

The other is the size and these 4 breaches are all in the top 5 largest ones HIBP has ever seen. That’s out of 109 breaches to date, too. Not only that, but these 4 incidents account for two thirds of all the data in the system, or least they will once MySpace turns up.

This is a good time to remind you to choose secure, long, and unique passwords for all your online accounts. I use, and recommend, 1Password.

Review: Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Aaron Mook

Rarely does one have a moderate stance on Radiohead. More often than not, those who are familiar with the band have by now either accepted that Thom Yorke and company are geniuses (or perhaps aliens) or that the band is, as Dan Ozzi so eloquently put it, “for boring music nerds.” It should be no surprise that I fall in the former camp, believing the band’s penchant for mystique and evolution has helped pave the way for other scene favorites (including Thrice and Brand New) and that even their most flawed albums (The Bends, Hail to the Thief) contain a spark that is integral to their later-career masterpieces.

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Memorial Day

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Jason Tate

Today is Memorial Day here in the states, so we’ll be on a more relaxed posting schedule throughout the day. I’d like to take a moment to thank all of the service men and women that read this site for all that you do. There are always quite a few sales going on today, so I’ll try and keep this post updated with those as they show up. Feel free to jump into the comments and let everyone know about others you come across.

Sales