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Negativland's main claim to fame is the U2 lawsuit which nearly destroyed them as a band. The core of the band are Mark Hosler , Richard Lyons, Don Joyce and David Wills . Chris Grigg is a former member.
Negativland has released a number of albums ranging from pure collage to more musical affairs, these have mostly been released on their own label, Seeland Records. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they produced several recordings for SST Records, most notably Escape From Noise, Helter Stupid, and U2 .
Negativland started in Concord, California in 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings. around the core founding members of Lyons and Hosler (who was in high school at the time) and released an eponymous debut in 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He. A number of releases followed in the early 1980s, but it wasn't until after the release of their breakthrough sample and cut-up sonic barrage: Escape From Noise in 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train that Negativland gained wider attention. Following the somewhat unexpected success of this album, Negativland faced the prospect of going on a money-losing tour. To prevent this, they put together a phony press release claiming that the song "Christianity is Stupid" from this album, was an inspiration for a real mass-murder that had occurred in Minnesota. The resulting fallout and media frenzy had the desired effect of preventing a tour, but it also resulted in much confusion about the truth within the media for which they were condemned. For its part, Negativland claimed that it spoke more about the state of the media than a desire on their part to exploit a tragic situation. In any case, it become the foundation for the next release Helter Stupid and set the stage for the incident for which they are most widely known: the U2 record with samples from Casey KasemKemal Amin Kasem professionally known as Casey Kasem (born April 27, 1932), is a Lebanese American radio personality and voice actor. Kasem is an occasional voice-over actor, perhaps best known as the voice of "Shaggy" in the Scooby-Doo cartoons. He has a.
In 1991, Negativland released a single with the title "U2" displayed in very large type on the front of the packaging, and "Negativland" in a smaller typeface. An image of the Lockheed U-2U-2 Dragon Lady Description RoleHigh altitude reconnaissance Crewone Dimensions Length62 ft 9 in (R model)19. 1 m Wingspan103 ft (R)30. 9 m Height16 ft 1 in (R)4. 8 m Wing area1,000 ft²92. 9 m² Weights Empty14,990 lb (R)6,800 kg Loaded Maximum take-off41, spy plane was also on the single cover.
The songs within were parodies of the group U2's well-known song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", including kazooThe kazoo a simple musical instrument ( membranophone) that adds tonal qualities when the player hums into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane. History Such instruments hs and extensive sampling of the original song. The song "The Letter U and the Numeral 2" features a musical backing to an extended profane rant from well-known disc jockeyFor other meanings of DJ see DJ (disambiguation). A disc jockey (often DJ or deejay is an individual who selects and plays pre-recorded music for the enjoyment of others. In circles and cultures where reggae and related musical styles are prevalent such a Casey KasemKemal Amin Kasem professionally known as Casey Kasem (born April 27, 1932), is a Lebanese American radio personality and voice actor. Kasem is an occasional voice-over actor, perhaps best known as the voice of "Shaggy" in the Scooby-Doo cartoons. He has a, lapsing out of his more polished and professional tone, commenting, for instance: "These guys are from England and who gives a shit?" (U2's members are in fact from Ireland.)
U2's label Island Records sued Negativland claiming that the "U2" violated trademark protection, and the song itself violated copyright protection. Funds exhausted, Negativland settled out of court. Most copies of the single were recalled and destroyed. By the mid- 1990s, rap had made authorized sampling more common in mainstream music, but the single "U2", for which Negativland did not obtain clearance to use U2 samples, is still illegal to sell in the United States.
The "U2" single (along with other related material) was re-released in 2001 on a bootleg album entitled These Guys Are From England And Who Gives A Shit, released on "Seelard Records" (a parody of Negativland's record label "Seeland Records"). It is thought likely that Negativland themselves were responsible for the re-release, or at least contributed the audio content.
Negativland are interested in intellectual property rights, and argue that their use of U2's and others' material falls under fair use. In 1995, they released a book with accompanying CD called Fair Use about copyright law in general, and the U2 incident in particular. There are many other artists who push the boundaries of copyright law in a similar way to Negativland, including John Oswald, the Evolution Control Committee, The Bran Flakes, Sir Mildred Pierce, and People Like Us.
Negativland's Mark Hosler pointed at the irony of U2 infringing copyrights on a massive scale during their Zoo TV tour by broadcasting live satellite images on stage, and getting away with it.