MATT'S INTERNET ADVENTURES

My old pal, Matt, has been an occasional contributor to Real Art in the past--over the months he's sent several links and a bit of commentary here and there. Lately, however, he's been really busy getting ready for his wedding, which happened last month (congrats again Matt!) and his contributions have necessarily slacked off. But now he's back, so I've decided to have another all Matt day at Real Art. Here goes.

Downhill Battle

Downhill Battle is a music activism project that's working to bring positive change to the music industry. The discussion of technology and the future of music has recently been dominated by the major record labels and the RIAA, and we're working to introduce a public voice to the debate. Instead of asking 'what's good for major label CEOs and profit forecasts?' we want to ask 'what's good for music, musicians, and fans?' Above all, we think there is an incredible opportunity over the next few years to redefine the music industry by ending the monopoly of the five major labels.

Given the strength of the recording industry, I'd say this is more of an uphill battle, but I wholeheartedly approve of their efforts anyway.

Click here for music industry activism.

The Writings on the Stall

One day I, Jonathan Horak (Janitor in Chief), was musing at the writings on the stalls when one in particular immediately drew my attention. I started thinking not of what it read but more of what stalls can reflect in general society: a whole lot.

They serve as (informal) forums for politics, pop culture, humor, and so forth. What better, then, than to bring the best of these writings out to the world over this thing we call the Internet? Thoughts and ideas that once were localized can now be made globally available. Huzzah!

That's right, a site that chronicles the writing on the walls in public restrooms. Matt's favorite:

Love is like a snowmobile racing across the tundra;
It flips and pins you to the ground.
At night the ice weasels come.

Damned ice weasels. Click here for more.

Punk Voter

Punk bands, musicians, and record labels have built a coalition to educate, register and mobilize progressive voters.

Something needs to be done to unite the youth vote and bring real activism back into our society. Punk rock has always been on the edge and in the forefront of politics. It is time to energize the majority of today's disenfranchised youth movement and punk rockers to make change a reality.

Punkvoter is about organizing the many diverse and regional movements into one voice of political change. Punkvoter is our way to educate today's youth about what is really going on in Washington, DC and how we can collectively force change. This is our chance to be a strong voice against the serious flaws in the current political system. This is our way to talk about new laws and scenarios that could change our quality of life for years to come. Punkvoter is your organization. It will be run with the same energy and spirit of all punk efforts. With your help we will be a credible force to truly shape the future of our nation.

Again, I approve wholeheartedly. Click here for more.

ROCK AGAINST BUSH VOL 1

A new CD compilation that consists of rock against Bush. And it's only six bucks!

Click here.

So, there you have it. I've actually got a couple more Matt links, but I'll get to those in the next few days. This concludes all Matt day at Real Art.

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