Online Piracy: The Exaggerated Effect on the Economy

Freakonomics provides two significant problems with the data behind online piracy’s effect on our economy based on what supporters on SOPA and PIPA want us to believe. As with all data, it is very simple to hide behind numbers that are hard to prove valid:

These numbers seem truly dire: a $250 billion per year loss would be almost $800 for every man, woman, and child in America. And 750,000 jobs – that’s twice the number of those employed in the entire motion picture industry in 2010.

The problems?

First, that these numbers “cannot be substantiated or traced back to an underlying data source or methodology,” which is polite government-speak for “these figures were made up out of thin air.”

Second, …

Tiny Desk Concert: Great Lake Swimmers

I’ve watched this video about 100 times. I’ve shared it with everyone I care about. Now, I am sharing it with you.

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Live From Gothamist House: Snowden

I kind of wish they would have done “No One in Control” from Slow Soft Syrup EP but it turned out beautiful, as always.

The Knew – Pulperia

This is long overdue!

The Knew finally came out with their first full-length album, Pulperia, which I have been feverishly anticipating. Their Boom Bust EP has definitely not worn out its welcome in my playlist; in fact, the track “By Yourself” advises me to “slow down on days I’m dead” every morning, courtesy of my iPhone’s custom ringtone as an alarm.

I’ve been to half a dozen of The Knew shows during my time in Denver so I may have a different perspective when listening to this album. Unfortunately, the energy of their live shows is nearly impossible to bottle up in a studio album. On the other hand, there is a genuine raw feel to the album.…

She & Him – In the Sun

Married or not, Zooey Deschanel is still the most adorable person ever. As for the song, I don’t like it nearly as much as Volume 1.

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2010′s 1st Quarter Live Music Calendar

So I’ve been in Chicago for about 3 and 1/2 months now, and I have yet to hit up all the events I would have liked to. Sure, I have seen the Blackhawks play a few time and even had the chance to see ISU play in a tournament, but there are too many great musical acts that pass through for me not to create a wishlist. I did a little browsing around on Gigbot, hands down my favorite place to find shows, to put together a list of upcoming shows I want to see. The list is as follows:

Thu, 12/31 – Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s @ Subterranean

(It is just my luck one …