Even if the extent of your political involvement consists largely of tuning into The Daily Show every night, you probably know all about LOBBYISTS. Whether they're the butt of a satirical news program joke, or the "icky" concept a candidate uses to distance himself from "Washington Insiders" and big-money legislation, lobbyists just wanna have fun. After all, why would so many of their ilk take senators on all those fishing trips to Alaska or help congressional buddies refurbish their $5 million dream kitchen? Because they're nice, giving dudes who love nothing more than havin' a good time!
And it's for that very reason that the Digital Freedom Campaign has asked legendary cut-n-paste guy Mark Hosler of San Francisco's Negativland to join the party. But there will be no deep sea fishing or home improvement projects for this guy, because he's going to Washington to work. Yes, to fight for your right to party.
- The issue: sampling in collage music.
- The background: America's new favorite "citizen lobbyist" Hosler knows all about legal ramifications to making art due to his run-in with U2 as a result of Negativland's no-holds-barred U2 samplestravaganza on their 1991 U2 EP.
- The reason: the success of 2 fast 2 illegal acts like Girl Talk have reopened the dialogue with concerned members of Congress who probably rarely throw their hands in the air like they just don't care OH MY GOD THEY COMBINED ALICIA KEYS WITH NIRVANA????
- The who: Digital Freedom Campaign is a group interested in preserving the right of artists and fans to make and listen to the collage tracks that confuse my dear mom so much.
Now that's hard-hitting. But it's not just on C-SPAN where you can get a dose of new Negativland crunk. They've revamped their website with radio broadcasts of their "Over the Edge" radio show and have a handful of live dates coming up.
Negativland tourdates:
12.02.08 - Boulder, CO - Old Man Theater
12.03.08 - Boulder, CO - Old Man Theater
Negativland screening/lecture with Mark Hosler:
11.03.08 - New York, NY - NYU
11.06.08 - Purchase, NY - Suny Purchase
11.12.08 - Knoxville, TN - Museum Of Art
