Thursday, October 25, 2007

Negativland's Greatest "Hits?"

Do you like copright infringement? I know I do. Negativland has been working around grey areas of these laws for over twenty years, both aurally and visually, and now they're releasing (on their own, of course) a compilation DVD with a companion CD called "Our Favorite Things." What they make isn't exactly accessible, but they are intelligent, the satire is biting, and they have a sense of humor about themselves and what they do. The second website has some footage included on the DVD. I especially like the Julie Andrews bit, though maybe it's just that I like hearing her sing about girls with blue whiskers tied up with noodles. Who knows, really....

The DVD should be excellent but I'm really excited to hear the CD, which is a cover album by the Detroit a cappella group The 180-Gs. Given that Negativland's recordings are cut-ups, turning these recordings back into a cohesive whole could serve as either a sort of collage in reverse or second generation copyright infringement, I'm not sure which. But this kind of question is Negativland's bread and butter, and I'm pretty excited to see it come out.