altrok main 6/24/2004

for June 24, 2004

Altrok Ticker 6/24/2004
by the staff of Altrok.com

Making Radio What It Once Was: More Corrupt:
Hey, that's funny - if I pay a radio station to play a song (and it's technically not payola if the station says that money was exchanged) it gets counted on the charts, just the same way as when a music director decides freely that it merits a play. In other words, you can "buy" a chart position. And everyone is fine with this?

Thanks For Lunch:
I liked Semisonic - thought they had their Badfinger roots down cold. (If you know me, you know you can't go wrong by admitting you're influenced by Badfinger.) Jacob Slichter, their drummer, has put together a very telling memoir of his days on the road with the band, the label people, and the local programmers who rarely ever programmed, from which this is excerpted in the City Pages in Minneapolis.

Beastie Boys Disc Is Infectious In The Wrong Ways:
Outside the US and the UK, the new Beastie Boys album will infect your computer with a program that stops you ripping CDs. Yes, the term "infect" is correct - it installs without asking. This is illegal, and it's a shame. The Register has the details.