I finally heard the song “Creep” by Radiohead (it came out what, 12 years ago?) and went searching for a copy of the no-profanity radio edit (a.k.a. Very Special Mix). Made an interesting discovery. There are several recordings floating around the file-sharing networks claiming to be covers of the song by bands like Cake, Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears, Weezer, etc. but which are deliberately mislabeled copies of the original song. I really hope this is a guerrilla move by people working for the RIAA, and not just somebody’s idea of a twisted joke … because I hate not being in on a joke.
Seriously, this is a Really Stupid Move. Copyright holders have a right to protect their interests (although the industry has taken a lot of criticism for their tactics), but I have a problem with people dumping polluted data into a network in an attempt to reduce its value. Someday this will be recognized as a criminal act. Imagine someone going through your public library and randomly changing all the history books until nobody knows who killed who anymore, and maybe you’ll understand what I’m seeing from up here on the soapbox.
Anyway, I got started on this rant after seeing a music video for “Creep” (acoustic, clean lyrics) by a Flash animator named Laith Bahrani. It’s some really nice work. If you don’t feel like getting emotional in front of your computer, he also created one for the song JCB which is just as well done and much more upbeat.
