BACKSPACER

The first post-Bush era Pearl Jam sounds a lot like pre-Bush era Pearl Jam--no more pessimistic rally cries for a Gen X nation mourning the loss of liberty and sanity. The disc has been spinning non-stop, and despite a few relatively weak songs, is my favorite disc of the new century.

It's not only the fast stuff that I'm digging either. Some of the slower songs are some of Pearl Jam's best. BLACK and DAUGHTER are getting a little tired. The X plays them so much I kind of get a little burnt out on them. JUST BREATHE gets my vote for the BLACK of the new Pearl Jam. AMONGST THE WAVE could replace DISSIDENT. GOTTA SEE MY FRIEND could be the new EVENFLOW--fast aggressive steering wheel drumming song.

UNTHOUGHT KNOWN and SPEED OF SOUND are the two songs I don't think I'm supposed to like, but do. FORCE OF NATURE is my favorite. Eddie sounds... optimistic? Cheerful? Some might think it's a little too anthemic, maybe that's why I like it.

Is this middle-aged Pearl Jam? To try and compare their path with the path of other bands is silly, but I think the direction they've taken with BACKSPACER is wise and calculated, maybe like what the Beatles were going to do after GET BACK. While we never really got to see the Beatles 'get back', Pearl Jam has done a really good job of it.

Take advantage of the two live downloads, each worth at least $10 in their own right. I chose Madison Square Garden 06.25.2008 and Tweeter Center 06.28.2008. The MSG show was amazing. Wish I'd been there. Here's the setlist:

Set 1

* Release
* World Wide Suicide
* Severed Hand
* Corduroy
* All Night
* Cropduster
* Garden
* Marker In The Sand
* I'm Open
* Wishlist
* State Of Love And Trust
* Even Flow
* Who You Are
* Rats
* Given To Fly
* Do The Evolution
* Go

Encore 1

* Inside Job
* W.M.A.
* Lukin
* I Believe In Miracles
* Better Man(Save it for Later)
* Rearviewmirror

Encore 2

* No More
* Last Kiss
* Why Go
* Black Diamond
* Alive
* Yellow Ledbetter

Listening to Mansfield now. Doesn't seem to have the energy of the MSG show, maybe that's why I chose it though. Because I knew it'd be different than New York? Here's the setlist:

Set 1

* Hard To Imagine
* Why Go
* Hail, Hail
* Comatose
* Low Light
* Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
* Corduroy
* Faithfull
* Off He Goes
* Given To Fly
* Down
* I'm Open
* I Got Id
* Even Flow
* Do The Evolution
* Once
* Rearviewmirror

Encore 1

* Love Reign O'er Me
* Come Back
* Insignificance
* Black
* Better Man(Save it for Later)

Encore 2

* No More
* State Of Love And Trust
* Alive

More AUTHORS GUILD

Google Settlement Fairness Hearing Adjourned

We just received word that Judge Denny Chin granted the motion of authors and publishers to adjourn the fairness hearing scheduled for October 7th. While noting that the current settlement raises significant issues, Judge Chin says that "the proposed settlement would offer many benefits to society, as recognized by supporters of the settlement as well as DOJ. ... It would appear that if a fair and reasonable settlement can be struck, the public would benefit."

Judge Chin ordered the parties to the settlement to appear on October 7th for a status conference "to determine how to proceed with the case as expeditiously as possible."

We'll continue to work on amending the settlement to address the Justice Department's concerns.

A copy of Judge Chin's order is here.

Feel free to forward, post or tweet. Here's a short URL for linking: http://tinyurl.com/ybt6e6t.

From the AUTHORS GUILD

Justice Department "Does Not Want Opportunity Lost," Urges Revisions

Beating their midnight deadline by about 90 minutes, the Justice Department on Friday filed a brief calling for modifications to the Guild's class-action settlement with Google over Google's scanning of millions of library books without permission. The Justice Department said the parties to the settlement should modify the settlement to address certain copyright, antitrust, and class-action concerns. While it opposes the settlement agreement as it now stands, the Justice Department "strongly supports" the settlement's goals of creating new markets for out-of-print works and committed itself to working constructively with the parties on a revised settlement.

The Justice Department urged everyone to seize the moment, saying, "this case offers the potential for important societal benefits, the United States does not want the opportunity or momentum to be lost."

The brief of the Justice Department is available here.

Also available at our website is the Guild's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on September 10th. We argued that the settlement would help cure a market failure -- the inability of readers, students, and scholars to access out-of-print books -- by creating valuable new markets for those works. Authors Guild Testimony.

Finally, we ask you to take a moment to read Books In Limbo, Columbia University professor James Shapiro's article on the educational and scholarly benefits of the settlement. Books In Limbo was first published in The Huffington Post. James Shapiro is a member of the Guild's Council.

Happy Birthday Bruce!

My new philosophy...