HOT: Coming Out Atheist
An atheist probably shouldn’t be the singer of a Christian Metalcore band, but singer Shannon Low of The Order of Elijah says he lost his faith gradually as he struggled through a divorce and alcohol abuse. Low recently “came out” to fans (some already suspicious after the group released some skeptical-sounding material) before this month’s start of the band’s “God’s Unwanted Tour,” citing Richard Dawkins’ book The God Delusion as a turning point. The no-longer-a-Christian-band’s Facebook page — where Low announced his worldview change
thoughtfully
— has been used to respectfully discuss the matter with confused followers, but also to antagonize them with atheistic memes, which, along with the tour’s name (albeit, a play off of one of the band's newer "questioning" songs), comes off as unnecessary trolling. Though it is kind of funny…
WARM: Two Free Seconds
German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk lost a long-running copyright case against producer Moses Pelham, who used a two-second sample from a 1977 recording by the group on a 1997 track by German rapper Sabrina Setlur. In 2012, a judge ruled that the snippet did violate Kraftwerk’s copyright, but, upon appeal, the German Constitutional Court recently decided that blocking such a sample would “practically exclude the creation of pieces of music in a particular style.” Though clearly referring to Hip Hop, most artists making the music have long since moved away from sample-based recording due to costs and legal hassles.
COLD: Drinking ‘Propaganda’ Probed
Russian government officials are investigating the band Leningrad for producing “propaganda of alcohol abuse.” The fury is over the group’s music video for “To Drink in St. Pete,” which portrays people quitting their jobs and drinking a lot of vodka. The probe comes as Russia has cracked down on portrayals of smoking and drinking (and even cussing) in the arts, which, though equally vague (it’s unclear what Leningrad’s punishment would be), is actually a step up from the country’s bigoted laws against “gay propaganda.”
