Detritus is a great appropriationist/copyright hater site, chock-full-o rants, cutup music, collages and assorted neat crap.
A.J. Liebling said that "Freedom of the press belongs to those who
own one." The reality is that throughout history, the distribution
of information has been monopolized by a tiny, yet extraordinarily
powerful, elite. In ancient Egypt, priests would jealously guard
their astronomical knowledge so as to ensure their place at the
top of society by being able to predict the annual flooding of the
Nile. The Roman Catholic Church used the literacy of its clergy
and monks to develop a parallel government that was more powerful
than the theoretically sovereign kings during the 1,000 years of
the Middle Ages. Although freedom of the press is enshrined in the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the reality today is
that the majority of information distribution channels are still
controlled by a small elite of publishers and broadcasters. An
oligopoly of five powerful companies has nearly exclusive control
in deciding what music will be heard. (This is certainly one of
the fundamental reasons that Britney Spears is so popular.)
(Thanks, Eric!)
