mTspaceEvolvD

RIP TONY SILVER (1935 - 2008) Hip-hop recently lost one of its greatest historians when TONY SILVER, the director of landmark 1983 graffiti hip-hop film Style Wars, died after losing to his ongoing battle with brain cancer. New York native Silver, who made the legendary documentary with producer Henry Chalfant. Style Wars, which just about any true die-hard graffiti artist can quote verbatim, remains not just a classic among hip-hop/graffiti fans but is also recognized by educators and critics the world over as the most important film to capture the original spirit and vitality of hip-hop's element of graffiti which emerged from from the gritty streets and subways of New York City and later (thanks in great part to this film) blossomed into global consciousness and appreciation. Style Wars, which originally aired on PBS, won the Grand Prize at the Sundance Film Festival upon its original release. The film's soundtrack had music by early hip-hop artists like the Sugarhill Gang, the Treacherous Three, the Fearless Four, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, among others. (From a blog by BillyJam on Feb 10, 2008) TATTOO TONY for creating a back piece worthy of worship VISIT THE RIAA RADAR iT'S a tool that you can use to instantly distinguish whether an album was released by a member of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The highlights of the RIAA's practices involve price-fixing, BLAMING & SUING ITS OWN CONSUMERS OVER unfounded digital piracy claims, UNDERPAYING THE ARTISTS IT REPRESENTS, INVADING PERSONAL PRIVACY to ENFORCE copyrights, and DISMANTLING entire computer networks just because of the ability (of their users) to share copyrighted files, and lobbying for changes that hinder technological innovation and change copyright laws. Visit the RIAA to get pissed and Boycott-RIAA.com to enlist in the "United Starving Artistic Militia" -AbandonAll Hope (Aesop Rock ) Just as people can currently find out where some products come from and who made them (Is this banana organic? Does this milk contain growth hormones? WERE THESE CLOTHES MADE IN A SWEATSHOP?), it is important to have that knowledge for as many consumer goods as possible. Knowledge is power, and knowing where the product came from can (AND SHOULD) influence what you buy. In order to successfully and efficiently support who you like (OR NOT SUPPORT THOSE WHO FEED YOU GARBAGE), you need to have info available to know who is who. The RIAA Radar works in two ways: if you're looking to stop buying RIAA releases, it will help tell you what albums to avoid (or purchase secondhand); if you are looking for new music or new alternatives, it works to promote non-RIAA releases by providing similar RIAA-free albums to almost any RIAA release, and RIAA-free popularity charts for several genres in order to showcase viable alternatives.