Free Culture

Been reading Prof Lawrence Lessig’s ‘Free Culture’, available for free download here. A very interesting read on copyright law and how big media, in an attempt to preserve its interests, is using, abusing and contorting it while strangling innovation in the process. Interesting to consider how, in a digital age where information and creative content is supposed to be all around us and readily available at broadband speeds upon the entering of a search string, copyright law increasingly seeks to restrict access to even that which may be used without restriction, or provide it only to those willing to pay. It really makes the case for ‘free’ content, software, etc, such as those covered under the Creative Commons license.

Makes me wonder, if I ever released any creative work of my own, would I want access to it to be tightly controlled, at the (hypothetical) risk of losing an opportunity to make money out of it? At this moment, I’m thinking ‘No’.

And this next song is..

A long-cherished dream has finally come true. After years of assaulting the eardrums and testing the patience of all (humans and most other animals) and sundry within a 25-foot radius with badly sung and poorly played acoustic Metallica covers, I have now got an upgrade. It’s not electrification (cue exultant roommates). Neither is it the quality of the singing or playing (cue chorus of ‘Damnit’).

I am now a songwriter. In the most liberal sense of the term, of course. I’d like to say it was a moment of spontaneity and inspiration, but I guess the years of fooling around have actually got me somewhere. A lazy pentatonic melody improvised on a Saturday afternoon is now a song. Yay.

I always thought that writing lyrics was one of the easier parts of songwriting. Going by what we have been subjected to by most music channels these days, I guess that’s an easy mistake to make. Liberal helpings of ‘dil’ and ‘pyar’ with sprinkles of ‘aankhein’ topped off with some ‘hum’ and ‘tum’ and whathaveyou to make a chart-topper (music video with scantily-attired nymphs not included). Anyway, turns out I was wrong. At least since we decided not to go with the dil-pyar-kudiyan route with this one, my friends (Gopal and Shekhar, the musically gifted parts of the collaboration) and I spent seven hours thinking of rhymes and words and ‘one more paragraph?? nooo..’ and finally came up with something which I would not be immodest (okay, maybe a little) to say actually sounds good.

The song is complete, but lots of cosmetic makeovers are taking place. Gopal has managed a keyboard from somewhere, and now suddenly beats and bass are happening. I keep discovering my chords were wrong, and am changing them. The intention is to find a way to record it and put it out soon. Chumma.

It feels good to have been part of this experience. Hopefully, there are more on the way. Fingers crossed.

Note to self: Try a dil-pyar-kudiyan song next.

Pitch and Pay

And I plan to do just that, too. Not now, though. Too lazy. And sleepy, yeah. Sleepy.