[Andrew]

Of course, even in a culture of legalised piracy, the best selling music wouldn't necessarily be the most artistically meritable thinking of the 1-album-per-year crowd in particular. But yeah, that would certainly be the end of the record company, but it doesn't mean an institution larger than the individual wouldn't spring up to take its place.

To an extent, we already live in the kind of age you're describing.

[Jordan~]

Not really, because the presence of copyright law damages independent artists and benefits record companies. An investment in the independent artist is required for their music to be appreciated. They can't hope to achieve anything like the level of success enjoyed by artists with broader appeal. They don't get the screen time, they don't get the big publicity campaigns, the PR, etc. enjoyed by the manufactured plastic bands. They're marginalised and drowned out by the screaming hawkers and neon signs at the disposal of the Lady Gagas and Keshas of our world. The end of the record company would mean a level playing field, a voice easier to distinguish from the others, for the independent artist. At the moment, the only way to reach a broad audience is to sell out: get signed to a big corporate label and made into a product. Copyright law doesn't protect the artist, it protects the ruling class's ability to appropriate popular culture, process it into a mollifying drug and sell it back to the people at a premium.

[Jessie]

Sorry to change the subject, but has anyone been able to legally watch the whole episode of Portlandia online anywhere? Do they usually put the episodes up eventually? I have never seen the show, don't have Netflix or the channel it's on. Am I screwed? I would love to see it.

[Ann]

Has the Joanna episode aired? Hulu has Portlandia ... at least I watched the first episode like last week or something, on there.

Edit: Well full episodes aren't available on Hulu so maybe they had the first episode posted for a short time or I'm confused and watched it illegally. Can't remember.

[sadie]

The first episode has already aired and it has Andy Samberg (Joanna won't be in it until later in the season) in it. It's on in the states every Friday at "10/9C" (What does that mean?).

[Jessie]

Oh she's not in the first episode? Gosh, this whole time I was thinking she was.

[Spelunker]

http://www.sidereel.com/portlandia/season-2/episode-1

sidreel will have the whole series up with links

[Ann]

[rainbowdash]

I've never seen Portlandia before
I'm just nervous that she's gonna be doing something silly and I'll be sitting there like "Why, Joanna, why?"

but I'll watch it anyway

[kingposeidon]

Portlandia=If SNL was consistently quirky, funny and pertinent. I think the season's first episode was available through the show's facebook page (It's a tribute to Battlestar Galactica and that's no spoiler). As for Joanna doing something "silly," Aimee Mann starred in an episode in the first season as herself but she worked as a housekeeper so ...

[Ann]

Yeah. I think we can be guaranteed something funny will happen.

I'm mixed about Portlandia. Sometimes it makes me laugh so hard (feminist bookstore consistently cracks me up) and other times I just don't really get it. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny, or supposed to be ... something else. I haven't watched the entirety of last season, but watched that Aimee Mann episode. I thought it was very funny. I feel pretty good about ultimately liking Joanna's part. In the preview, it looked like she was playing harp in a field and a bunch of people were around her? I thought she'd maybe take on that whole faerie unicorn elf thing, and just be super ridiculously exaggerated in that fashion.

EDIT

I had meant to say something silly will happen.

[Wanbli]

Saw the Portlandia tour live in San Francisco couple weeks ago. Thao & Mirah, Dana Carvey and Lemony Snicket author Damiel Handler were guests- great show.
I am a longtime Sleater Kinney fan- love Carrie Brownstein and Wild Flag.
Also happen to like Fred Armisen (besides SNL - he is on Drag City and guest drummed with Joanna=props)
The combination of music and comedy creating sketches about the many subcultures of Portland from the feminists to vegans to hipsters works well. It like many artistic comedic parodies of society can be both funny and revealing of truths that may not be so funny sometimes.
It only had 6 episodes with no marketing on an obscure directtv channel and was more a pet project that had no expectations of getting more seasons and being so successful.

[bestov]

what to make of this:

http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/.../joanna ... g-finally..

[Andrew]

I think Portlandia's hilarious. Really looking forward to it.

@Jordan What I was trying to say is that in that the kind of music made by Lady Gaga et al is always going to be more broadly popular than Joanna's weirdo songs. Especially Lady Gaga, since she's more or less gotten to where she is on her own anyway - sure, she achieved success through filling the corporate mold, but I reckon the corporate mold is basically what the mainstream wants, regardless of whether the songs are jammed into their brains via their constant blaring or not. The artist with the biggest fanbase would also be the most successful too, and Gaga really knows how to cultivate a fanbase (even if they're screaming idiots).

In a post-copyright world there'd be a bigger focus on consistency though. Selling whole albums basically requires a constant stream of good songs, and Lady Gaga writes albums that are basically filler with 5 or so singles. And of course lowest common denominator pop is by definition easy to make and somewhat homogenous, which is a problem when you can't promote it as well, but I'm certain there's an elite group that have mastered writing pop that is good.

[rainbowdash]

I don't think I've ever heard of Portlandia before, but now it seems like it's everywhere, and not just in relation to Joanna, two friends have recently recommended that I watch it.
I don't know, maybe I have heard of it before but I'm only noticing now that the name is filed in my brain.

[Jordan~]

[Andrew]

[Jordan~]

[Andrew]

Well it's unfortunate that bloke-vinyl and joanna-vinyl wouldn't sound different (bloke-vinyl might even be better - there was a bit of a scuff-mark controversy over the first batch of HOOMs! Oh Drag City~). But yeah of course it's still a symbol of support. I wouldn't necessarily see a vinyl craze continuing in a post-copyright world, because I feel a lot of it was a reaction to internet piracy anyway, and the idea that vinyl was something only the record company had the ability to sell.

[LawnsOfDawns]

Andrew--THANK YOU.
I live in the gay district of LA, and so I am always and forever trying to explain the Lady Gaga issue to people. What her record label did is a lot like what Bush did as president. After years of implying a connection between 9/11 and Iraq, he was able to convince a huge number of voters that Iraq was the cause of 911. Same with Lady Gaga. It is frequently and aggressively implied that she is a stella song-writer, when in all honesty she is about as involved in her songs as Avril Lavigne is. Avril Lavigne is to punk as Lady Gaga is to singer-songwriter pop.