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The Letter U and the Urge to Sue

Negativland vs. Island Records, Casey Kasem, U.S. copyright law By Todd Inoue If you or someone you know is thinking about looping Casey Kasem or the Edge's latest guitar groove over a song, better pick up the updated copy of Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2. The extensive, newly revised 270-page book details the story and trial of the legendary 1991 Negativland U2 single, which incorporated a 35-second sample of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and hilarious Kasem outtakes. NegativWorldWideWebland: audio files, copyright discussion, book orders, etc. Listen to the offending song Negativland discography (gopher server) The ensuing thumb-wrestling among Negativland, SST Records (Negativland's label at the time), Island Records (U2's label) and Kasem is diligently documented in numerous faxes, newspaper and magazine articles, press releases, contracts, legal docs and caustic letters. Members of U2's entourage are found to be supportive of Negativland's artistic pursuits while Island, Kasem and SST are portrayed as humorless, money-grubbing, two-faced drones. The issues of copyright laws and the "fair use" clause are graphically explored. The best reading is the Edge interview surreptitiously set up by Mondo 2000. The Irish guitarist is unwittingly cornered during a speaker phone interview by Negativland's Mark Hosler and Don Joyce to interesting consequences. Edge comes off as an affable sort, and some good information about technology and copyright infringement is bandied about. Another high point is an SST "quiz" submitted by label owner and former Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn in the interest of equal time; it is followed by Negativland's own salacious quiz. Some parts are just too bizarre to believe: Kasem recommends Negativland read Norman Vincent Peale's Power of Positive Thinking. In response, Negativland sends Kasem a copy of Frederic Dannen's notorious tome on the music industry, Hit Men. Sometimes hilarious, often jaw-dropping, Fair Use takes a while to assimilate, but in the end, readers end up cheering for the underdog. [ CyberScape | MetroActive Central ]