The President's iPod: Is He File-Sharing?

covers for the presidents iPod
I want to know if the pres has a cover on his iPod. If its an Tuneguard.com, Speck or iSkin product?

File sharing
I think its time that all americans, from the president on down, did what needs to be done to reel in the RIAA. BOYCOTT THEM! And by that I mean their CD's, their DVD's, movies, ANYTHING they have to sell. Since their crying about losing a few bucks out of the literally billions they rake in, let's show them REAL hurt. In 1984 they tried their best to see that VCR's were banned. Thank God that failed! now they're trying to stifle new technology again. Face it. If these jerks had their way you'd still be filming home movies on 8mm film, because anything with sound or better resolution presents a "threat" to them. Now they're wanting to ruin the emerging HDTV and Digital Radio technologies as well, by insuring that you can't record from them, or get a mediocre recording at best. Quite honestly, I'd be willing to pay to download an excellent, CD quality version of a song, rather that get an inferior "free" recording. But they don't offer what I want... nor will they, if they get their way. Anybody know where I can "legally" download a copy of Hurricane Smith's "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?" Bet you don't! But there's always someone on the net willing to share a copy. I think if they want to get to the bottom of their financial losses, they should look at the crap they're turning out.

" * Why do almost all music reviews cover only the lyrics, not the music?
And I sometimes think that's why there are so many well-reviewed albums with lyrics that read like poetry class but which are actually not very exciting musically.

"Why do almost all music reviews cover only the lyrics, not the music?"
asks David Battino, and I can, as a long-time music writer, answer that question!

In two parts:

1. It's easier to quote lyrics.
2. An unsurprisingly large number of music reviewers used to be English majors

That said, I think the raunchiest thing about the Rolling Stones' Stray Cat Blues is the little riff Charlie Watts plays just after Mick Jagger sings, "I don't want your ID."

" * Why do almost all music reviews cover only the lyrics, not the music?

He isn't doing anything
oh: and don't you think if the music is created by a friend he'd possibly get it for free from that friend?

He isn't doing anything
Someone triggered by the word "download" again :)

Of course the word isn't even correctly used here. The music is UPloaded to the iPod from a computer :)

RTFA
See my reply to "He isn't doing anything", above.

He isn't doing anything
I think the question is open. While it's Gottesman's job to load in the purchased songs, it sounds like biking friend McKinnon might be just transferring from his own collection. Here's the full context:

"...First, Mr. Bush's iPod is heavy on traditional country singers like George Jones, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney. He has selections by Van Morrison, whose "Brown Eyed Girl" is a Bush favorite, and by John Fogerty, most predictably "Centerfield," which was played at Texas Rangers games when Mr. Bush was an owner and is still played at ballparks all over America. ("Oh, put me in coach, I'm ready to play today.")

The president also has an eclectic mix of songs downloaded into his iPod from Mark McKinnon, a biking buddy and his chief media strategist during the 2004 campaign. Among them are "Circle Back" by John Hiatt, "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care" by Joni Mitchell and "My Sharona," the 1979 song by the Knack that Joe Levy, a deputy managing editor at Rolling Stone in charge of music coverage, cheerfully branded "suggestive if not outright filthy" in an interview last week.

Mr. Bush has had his Apple iPod since July, when he received it from his twin daughters as a birthday gift. He has some 250 songs on it, a paltry number compared to the 10,000 selections it can hold. Mr. Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including Mr. Jones's and Mr. Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store."

We don't know one way or the other from this article, of course, but I think it's an interesting question.

He isn't doing anything
The article also says:
Don't get too excited. The article also says (and you should have pointed out) that the President doesn't download the music himself.

Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including Jones' and Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store.

RTFA
From the article (emphasis mine):

"He has some 250 songs on it, a paltry number compared to the 10,000 selections it can hold. Mr. Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including Mr. Jones's and Mr. Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store."

What is your point?

iPod as Soul Mirror
For another take, check out this ABC News story, which asks, “If the iPod is a mirror into the soul, what do these songs say about the commander in chief?”

I found that question especially intriguing because I’d just met Doug Fieger of the Knack and liked him a lot. We talked for about an hour, and I found him to be friendly and thoughtful. The word “gentlemanly” even comes to mind. So it was funnny to see how twitchy people got about his “raunchy” song.

But I also wondered: If playlists are a soul mirror,

• Isn’t peering into them a deep invasion of privacy?
  
• Whose soul is really on display here? The president’s? Or his media advisor’s?
  
• Why would you let someone else pick your playlist? (The ABC story says the songs come from the iTunes Music Store, which has a reputation for ease of use.)
  

• Why do almost all music reviews cover only the lyrics, not the music?