Napster fees a small price to pay for good music
I love Napster. I use it everyday. I can get all the free music I want, and I wouldn't mind paying a monthly fee for using it. This monthly fee has long been discussed in the press and on the Napster Web site as being around $4.95 a month, with part of the proceeds going to support the artists who make the music. That's pocket change. I'm sure everyone can afford that. I just don't see why so many users are acting so selfishly about having to cough up a little bit of cash, considering the money that big name artists like Metallica, Outkast and Puff Daddy lose when you get their songs from Napster without having to pay for them. Sure, some might say that the music is being "shared," but all B.S. aside, how many of us can't wait to get on Napster to upload our files? I thought so, we go on to download music. And there are many users who have CD burners. It's pretty easy to download all your favorite songs from a particular album, burn them onto a CD, all without having to buy the original album, which would probably cost you around $12-$20, depending on the album or artist. The cost would only be the use of a blank CD, and you can get a pack of 50 for around $25. There are some who would say that Napster makes users aware of new artists or new albums being put out by existing artists, so if you like their songs you can go out and buy the album. But isn't it a lot easier and a helluva lot cheaper to just go to a record store, copy down the titles of every song from the album of the artist's music you liked and just download them from Napster for free? A friend of mine "made" the new Outkast CD weeks before it was scheduled to be released. That's about $14 that Outkast didn't receive for that album, and I know that he wasn't the only one that did this. That's a lot of money out of Outkast's pocket. But if there's a massive boycott of Napster, because users don't want to pay a fee, what's the alternative? Buying the artists albums and thereby actually giving some support to the music industry? I think this would benefit the most important element in the end. This being the artists who work hard and pay a lot of money to be able to produce the great music which we all enjoy, can't live without and can't get enough of.
Erik Salcido
Electrical engineering freshman
Parents to blame for children who imitate television
The latest teen to copycat something on television undoubtedly ended up seriously injured in the hospital. This kid had his friends set his legs on fire with gasoline.
What the heck is wrong with these people? Obviously, you can't do everything you see on television. For years, conservatives have been blaming cartoons for why children do bad things. They claim that kids don't understand that trying to drop an anvil on a roadrunner is not right. By that logic, though, obviously kids also don't understand that coyotes can't really send away for products from the ACME mail-order catalog. Now, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., thinks "Jackass," the show on MTV which showed the original stunt, should be moved to a later hour or removed from MTV's programming schedule altogether. Is this the new point of political censorship?
Originally, it was the V-chip. Now, we have these inane ratings at the beginning of every show. "Jackass" gets a TV-MA, which basically means this show is for adults who have a "mature" grip on reality. The producers of "Jackass" even have a disclaimer at the beginning of the show telling people they should, obviously, not try to recreate these stunts. When kids recreate these stunts they see on television, it is not the problem of peer pressure or media irresponsibility or lack of censorship. The reason we have kids setting themselves on fire is because they likely have very bad parents. Their parents obviously never gave them a true sense of reality. Their parents probably never spent any time with their kids to explain the obvious fact that setting yourself on fire is a bad idea.
I wish senators like Joe Lieberman and others would stop blaming the media for producing whatever they want. This should be a censorship-free country (see: First Amendment). The blame for the stupid things kids do should be placed solely on the parents, many of whom do a very poor job of raising their children.
Michael T Brooks
Computer science junior
Clayton uninformed and misguided
I am writing in response to the completely uninformed and misguided commentary "Marching Band is Purposeless, Anachronistic," by Shaun Clayton in the Jan. 29 issue of the Daily Wildcat. As a member of the Pride of Arizona, as well as the Pep Band, I can easily say that Mr. Clayton is extremely uninformed and misguided in his representation of the "Marching Band."
First of all, Clayton speaks of the marching band as being "purposeless." However, even though the Pride of Arizona is not the main attraction at a UA football game, it is responsible for contributing to such things as the energy spread throughout the stadium as well as providing entertainment during time outs and half-time.
Whether marching band is continued because of the "T-Word," or whether the Pride of Arizona continues to bring entertainment to millions of people each year because creating intricate drill designs while playing a musical instrument to the exciting tunes of Danny Elfman gives the performer a feeling of excitement that only live performance can - it seems outrageous to question a marching band's existence at a major university such as the University of Arizona. Rather, one should be grateful that they attend the UA, where they have the privilege of watching and hearing what several people, such as directors, music department chairs, athletic directors and deans at the Universities of Washington, Kentucky, Arkansas, Miami, Wyoming, and Stanford University, have gone on record to say that the UA band is "The Best" band in the country.
As a theater and media arts major, Mr. Clayton should be aware of the excitement as well as hard work that goes into a live performance. Comparing the happiness one might gain from participating in a marching band to the cannibalistic activities of Jeffrey Dahmer is as ludicrous as saying that the right to free speech and freedom of the press only applies to those with intelligence.
Fred Maese
Music education sophomore
Columnist is entertaining, but juvenile
A football game without our marching band is like hockey without an organ or soccer without mullets. Yeah, you can still play soccer with a normal haircut, but it's not the same. The marching band is at football games to help invigorate the crowd with spirit. I think they do a great job. And have you seen the band at the basketball games? They really get into the game, and I think it's fun trying to figure out what song they are playing, whether it's Alanis Morissette or the Offspring. Shaun Clayton's commentary was entertaining, but it was flawed by some comparisons that were rather insane. Comparing the marching band to belching and serial killers is the work of a sensationalist. Would it be a stretch if I compared Clayton's commentary to feces? Having an opinion is one thing, but the Wildcat should strive to print opinions that are less juvenile.
Andy DePew
English senior
MTV show not to blame for teen's injuries
Yesterday, the Wildcat ran a small article in the Newsreel section about a teen setting himself on fire, mimicking MTV's "Jackass." Of course, this is going to generate controversy and probably some legal action against MTV, which will inevitably result in the cancellation of the show.
This angers me, as I almost always take the side of the television networks. "Jackass" shows a disclaimer before and after every show and even tells people not to send in their own tapes because the staff won't even open them. Anyone who decides to imitate this show and hurts himself or herself has done so under their own ability. It is time for people to stop pinning stuff on the media and to start taking responsibility for their actions or the actions of their children. There is something wrong with the person if he or she decides to copy something that had stunt coordination and safety equipment and then decides it was the TV station's fault for airing it first. I can't say how tired I am of hearing about court cases against TV stations and movie studios because people think that because they "did it in a movie," they can do it in real life.
If numbskulls want to try these stunts and end up hurting themselves, that's too bad. But they more than deserve it if they are going to try and pin it on someone else.
Evan Adams
Business freshman
