This Space Intentionally Left Blank: We Now Resume Our Regularly Scheduled Program, Already In Progress

7 Thermidor CCXIII (July 25, 2005)

We Now Resume Our Regularly Scheduled Program, Already In Progress

And we're back! The upgrade to MovableType 3.2-style templates has been completed successfully and is working 100%! (Well, not quite. Some of the comment templates still need to be fixed, along with a few others that no one ever sees.) The main difference you'll notice is that posting a comment no longer pops up a new window, but rather takes you to the comment section of the entry's archive page.

Now, since I know you were all so nervous and probably going through withdrawal, I've even taken time to find a link to ease the shakes. It's about everybody's favourite illegal entertainment practice that's named with a portmanteau: Record company promises to stop paying DJs. (Bad, Sony! Bad!)

And here you thought it was just the tastes of the general public that were responsible for the current state of radio.

Posted by g026r at 18:34

Comments

Now, who here learned about payola from MathNet on Square One, in an episode with Weird Al Yankovic playing the DJ?

I suspect more than just me.

Posted by peterjm at 7 Thermidor CCXIII 21:28 (2005/07/25)

You know what, Peter? I'm just going to pretend that anything you said in that post made sense to me.

Anyways, I find the reaction to payola to be interesting. If you look at back when it was just unethical (as opposed to also illegal), it caused major outrages, got the US Congress involved, and destroyed careers (e.g. Alan Freed). Now? Ehhh... The record company pays a (albeit hefty) fine, it makes it into some newspapers, and then disappears from public conciousness until it happens again.

(The one I can recall immediately before this one involved either Geffen or Interscope, and included bands like Limp Bizkit. I'm all for stiffer penalties for this, if only so that record label execs learn. I mean, Limp Bizkit? That's cruel and unusual punishment.)

Posted by g026r

at 7 Thermidor CCXIII 23:13 (2005/07/25)

Andrew, you don't even know what Square One is? What kind of science/math nerd are you? Next you'll say you've never seen 3-2-1 Contact.

Posted by peterjm at 8 Thermidor CCXIII 13:04 (2005/07/26)

One who spent a large part of his childhood without cable.

I vaguely remember 3-2-1 Contact! from when I was younger, but (having looked up the details) it would appear that Square One aired after my family moved to Moncton. It took years for my parents to cave in and get cable after the move, so if it wasn't on CBC, ATV, or MITV then I didn't get to see it.

Posted by g026r

at 8 Thermidor CCXIII 13:15 (2005/07/26)