Metal and insight into the record industry?

So, on Thursday, my ENG 2353 class will talk about music (and a little TV) and the implications of those media converging with (existing despite?) the interwebs. Serendipity (zing!) perhaps provided me an article today featuring Mark Hunter, the lead singer of Ohio-based metal band Chimaira and his views on some of the challenges created by (among other things) that convergence.

It's definitely a subjective view, but I think that he offers some potential insight into a set of industry-wide trends. His claims go beyond merely the convergence of these media, but he does talk specifically about the internet's impact on music - genre notwithstanding. Also, I'm interested in the fact that Hunter is a frequent tweeter.

Anyway, food for thought.

Finally, a medium worthy of politics

I just read this article about Governors Palin and Schwarzenegger tweeting about ethics charges and failed economies (respectively). I said to myself, I said, "Self, is 140 characters really enough to adequately address 'real world' issues?"

There is such a ridiculous rush to "adopt" Twittering (even though the technology is years old... way to stay current, Favorite News Corporation), that I wonder if new users even think about the rhetorical ramifications of their tweets. When, if ever, are 140 characters sufficient to deliver meaning? Well, I suppose that could be enough space to "say" something meaningful , but it takes a pretty skilled rhetorician. And even if a rhetorician is skilled enough, boiling complex issues down to tweets like

Re inaccurate story floating re:ethics violation/Legal Defense Fund;matter is still pending;new info was just requested even;no final report.

seems dangerously reductive. That's from soon-to-be-ex-Gov. Sarah Palin's twitter-stream, the bulk of which is being celebrated on Gawker.

While you're thinking about it, feel free to twitter your congressperson and/or follow their tweets at tweetcongress.com.