EMI has told Danger Mouse that his latest CD won't see the light of day due to "legal issues," so he's responding by releasing the disc as a blank CD-R in a jewel case with art and liner notes. Fans can just download the music off a P2P site and burn it to the CD-R.

Dark Night Of The Soul, a collaboration with rock group Sparklehorse, also features Iggy Pop and The Flaming Lips, along with artwork by David Lynch.
It has already been streamed online, but Billboard magazine said a "legal dispute" with EMI derailed the project...
"Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night of the Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is."
He added that the album, which comes with a limited edition, "100+ page book" of David Lynch photographs inspired by the music "will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R".
"All copies will be clearly labelled: 'For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.'"

Hear The Entire Album: 'Dark Night Of The Soul'

(Image: Danger Mouse 2 - Gnarls Barkley, a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike image from Staxnet's photostream)

Previously:

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Ratdog

I want that suit.
C White

Very cool.

I wonder how much the blank CD-R with art / liner notes is going to cost? It would be interesting if they made that “pay what you think it’s worth”…
dragonfrog

Yeah, I downloaded the Grey Album on general principle, but I found it so boring I deleted after a couple of hearings…
thermidorthelobster

@15: I think you’ve missed the point of the CD-R. You’re not paying $50 for a piece of blank media to record the album on to; you’re paying for the cover, sleeve notes, booklet, etc. Feel free to store the music on the medium of your choice, but be aware that your USB key won’t fit into the CD case very well.
Telecustard

Yes, after listening to it, I thought I liked it, but then I realized I liked the Beatle-ly stuff mostly, and that listening to THE BEATLES on vinyl was better for that.

Video mashup is where it’s at now anyways.
blutec

@Zabar Yes the amazon deal is the same bookdeal incl. blank cd (and I guess with free poster as well), and you can always ask dnots to be sure (email provided at the dnots page where you can order the US/Canada book).
prion

I loved his Gnarls Barkley! Will check this out for sure.
mdh

up with DangerMouse!!
Talia

Heh, this instantly made me want to get/listen to the album. I dig an artist with some balls to stand up to the record industry.
Anonymous

Revenge (Flaming Lips):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_01.mp3

Just War (Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_02.mp3

Jaykub (Jason Lytle):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_03.mp3

Little Girl (Julian Casablancas of The Strokes):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_04.mp3

Angel’s Harp (Frank Black of The Pixies):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_05.mp3

Pain (Iggy Pop):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_06.mp3

Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It) (David Lynch):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_13.mp3

Everytime I’m With You (Jason Lytle):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_07.mp3

Insane Lullaby (James Mercer of The Shins):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_08.mp3

Daddy’s Gone (Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and Nina Persson of The Cardigans):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_09.mp3

The Man Who Played God (Suzanne Vega):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_10.mp3

Grim Augury (Vic Chesnutt):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_11.mp3

Dark Night Of The Soul (David Lynch):
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_12.mp3

After downloading the files you will need to tag them. I would suggest
tagging them as per the names on the NPR site as this is the only
official source. Most users up to now have downloaded from the various
file sharing networks, which are tagged incorrectly, e.g. removing
David Lynch’s credits.
Nina Paley

This perfectly exemplifies using the content to sell the container.
Ian Aleksander Adams

I want to buy this just because it’s so crazy
Clif Marsiglio

The man has a LOT of talent and has no need to use someone elses work to get his message across. Heck, I have a feeling that if he used his own work, it would probably be far more powerful…

Thats the thing I don’t get with sampling others works…it cheapens the product. I understand people want a touchstone, but dammit…I want to see new works and not recycled ones.

That said, I did like his Grey album…there would be been no way to do that without using others works…but this one? I don’t see why it was done…
Ratdog

He has produced some good albums. And Iggy Pop and David Lynch are another plus.

Can’t say I have listened to the Grey Album. Not a big fan of Jay-Z.
obscurica

The Residents did this a few years ago (on the cutting edge yet again, how predictable). Their album “River of Crime” came with 2 blank, printed CD’rs and a secure download code. Not exactly “pay what you like”, but a unique approach, at the time.

http://www.discogs.com/Residents-The-River-Of-Crime-Episodes-1-5/release/1603509
Rindan

Thats the thing I don’t get with sampling others works…it cheapens the product. I understand people want a touchstone, but dammit…I want to see new works and not recycled ones.

Everything is sampled and recycled. There is a reason why Led Zeppelin or anything that even sounding like Led Zeppelin only appeared in the 70′s, and not 1930, 1830, or the other proceeding 50,000 years of modern human history. Led Zeppelin appeared in the 70′s because only because those people were inspired by and flat out stole sounds from their musical heroes and contemporaries. They added to the mix to be sure, but you can also be sure that they would never have appeared if they had grown up in China or 1930′s America.

Culture, especially that in the form of art, is massively influenced, copied, inspired, and remixed from what came before. The only real difference is that we now have laws that smack you if anyone can definitively place where you get your inspiration.
Anonymous

@38: Thanks for providing the links. I was pleasantly surprised to receive my copy of the book today. I was hesitant to do so, but I flipped through it in one sitting, allowing time for each image to sink in before turning the page to the next one. David Lynch is a talented visual artist, and my favorite American surrealist. I look forward to looking through the book while listening to the music.

It also came with a giant poster.
dd528

@ #25:

Sampling has a fascinating and complicated history. Accusations that it is merely plagiarism or stems from lack of creativity seem to me to fail to understand the artistic uses to which samples are put in dance, reggae, hip hop, and other musical forms. Sampling also plays an important role in allowing for the preservation and reinterpretation of the cultural heritage of certain musical traditions.

For anyone who’s interested and has JSTOR access, Joanna Demers had a very interesting article about how hip hop has used sampling to redepoy and build upon cultural and political concerns of the 70s, giving voice to messages about present-day issues:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/853555

There’s also an interesting website here, which visualises how the most sample heavy records in popular music are linked to the most sampled records in popular music:

http://jessekriss.com/projects/samplinghistory/

Fascinating!
franko

HUGE props to danger mouse for coming up with this idea. can’t wait to hear his new stuff. the grey album is one of my favorites â€“ the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

(you heard me)
Telecustard

Perhaps it’s just me, but when I look at the picture, I don’t see Danger Mouse.

I see Penfold.
blutec

I wanted to pre-order the Dark Night Of The Soul book, but found the shipping costs outside US/Canada were expensive ($35), DNOTS kindly provided me the link at amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-David-Lynch-Sparklehorse-Danger/dp/1576875245/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242675763&sr=8-1
Egypt Urnash

So why does nothing turn up when I search for “dark night of the soul” on Pirate Bay, NowTorrents, or gPirate? Put up or shut up, mister alternative distribution method mashupper – get that “leak” out before you release your press release.
ispivey

You can pre-order the book/CD at dnots.com for $50, to be shipped May 29th. A direct link is below:

http://www.dnots-store.com/dark-night-of-the-soul-book-and-poster.html
Anonymous

Try demonoid
mdh

Clif @ 25 –

I don’t see why it was done…

I think you’re supposed to hear that, not see it.
Gilgongo

Perhaps he just needs to work on his, er, technique a little.

(Uploaded 2009/05/16 – current seeds: zero)
thequickbrownfox

This guy also had the first Number 1 chart hit by download only.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4870150.stm
Anonymous

look harrrrrrder.
teufelsdroch

What’s a CD-R?
Anonymous

#2: Agreed. There’s plenty of torrents out there of this.

Unfortunately, most of them seem to be 128kbps rips. Where is the the FLAC version (or WAV or AIF)?
lokichilde

Or you could just find it here:
http://www.demonoid.com/files/details/1922583/784059/
Telecustard

“All copies will be clearly labelled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.’”

I put it on my player and listened to it as it was purchased. I was shocked to find that John Cage’s most important composition was on it 17.58 times!
hershmire

Does anyone have any info on what the “legal dispute” is? If this is a big “middle finger” stunt, I bet it’s an interesting reason.

On a related note, is it still illegal to download if the primary artist tells everyone to do it?
pidg

I look forward to reading Danger Mouse’s new book on making a career out of trivialising copyright issues, too.
Anonymous

When I buy something, I’d rather not see ‘use it as you will’ written on it, I’d rather that just be culturally assumed…
Anonymous

Entire Album as one mp3
http://download.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/asc/2009/05/20090514_asc_wholeshow.mp3

More information on how this was done:
http://www.panix.com/~ruari/dnots.html
dragonfrog

Telecustard – Surprising that he’s relying so heavily on a single sample, isn’t it?
zabar

Blutec, is the amazon’s item the same of that on sale on dnots-store.com? does it includes the book, the blank CD-R and the Free Original Poster?
wilmo

Brilliant!
dculberson

That’s pretty awesome.
arkizzle

http://www.legendarydevils.com/english/481764-dark-night-soul-2009-a.html

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=rapidshare+Dark+Night+Of+The+Soul

http://rapidshare.com/files/230207661/Dark.Night.of.the.Soul.2009.rar

Telecustard FTW!
Anonymous

Sorry but I don’t wanna pay for media with a fairly short life span. I’d rather download it and keep it on a USB key.

Its clever I’ll admit, but I personally wouldn’t pay for it. It’s pretty much a convoluted way to ask for donations, I’d rather just click a paypal button.
Telecustard

Strangely enough Dragonfrog, that’s pretty much what people thought about certain tracks on The Grey Album too.

Danger Mouse's EMI-killed CD will be released as a blank CD-R, just add download

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