The RIAA vs. Weird Al Yankovic
The RIAA vs. Weird Al Yankovic
The RIAA vs. Weird Al Yankovic

    Get Involved Today

    So yesterday the RIAA released a “scared-straight” film aimed at illegal filing sharing by college students. Download that O.A.R. tune, the RIAA says, and we'll throw you in jail, have you drummed out of school, and generally ruin your life. I swear that I'm reporting this straight; it's hard to convey the sense in which the RIAA's film manages to both patronize and fear-monger, often in the same sentence. The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Jason Schultz manfully gives it a try.

    In a coincidence of cosmic proportions, yesterday Weird Al Yankovic resurfaced with what to me may be his magnum opus, “Don't Download This Song”. My favorite line: Cause you start out stealing songs/then you're robbing liquor stores/and selling crack/and running over schoolkids with your car.

    Downloading as a gateway drug. Hysterical (in both senses of the word).