Save the Blogosphere Part Deux

Thanks to Wikkipedia’s blackout, SOPA and PIPA have been sent back to what ever dark cyberspace hell they came from.

Unfortunately, it’s not all over by a long shot. Following the demise of Mega Upload the FBI is actively investigating  a number of other file-sharing hosts, with the current state of play neatly summarized on the Desolation Infinite blog. If these sites are taken down, apart from massive nuisances to any individual or business who stores files “in the cloud” blogs that provide downloads will cease to be able to operate and blogs like Plunder the Tombs would be unable to access materials used to research various posts.

Seriously, anyone who believes that downloading an album that’s been deleted for over 20 years and released by a label that no longer exists is somehow harming artists or the record industry is living a paranoid delusional fantasy.

If you live in the US please contact whoever your representative in Congress is and make sure they know that you do not want these sites to be shut down.

As if that wasn’t enough, now we also face the prospect of an international treaty, the Anti-Counterfitting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

"The oppressively strict regulations could mean people everywhere are punished for simple acts such as sharing a newspaper article or uploading a video of a party where copyrighted music is played. Sold as a trade agreement to protect copyrights, ACTA could also ban lifesaving generic drugs and threaten local farmers' access to the seeds they need. And, amazingly, the ACTA committee will have carte blanche to change its own rules and sanctions with no democratic scrutiny."

Although some countries like the US and Australia have already signed up for this nonsense, the European Union is still debating it. If they can be persuaded not to come on board there’s a real chance that this idiocy and serious threat to freedom on the internet can be buried once and for all.

  CLICK HERE  to sign the Avaaz petition to the EU informing them that the netizens of the World want the ACTA treaty buried in a very deep grave.

Save the Blogosphere

If the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) get passed, or the FBI carries on raiding file sharing sites as it did with Megaupload.com this morning, blogs like Plunder The Tombs and thousands of others like it will be TOAST.

If you live in the US please contact whoever your representative in Congress is and make sure they know that you do not want this to happen.

UK Decay and Dead Can Dance - Pleasant little surprises

Since reforming with new drummer Ray Phillpott in 2008, Luton’s Godfathers of Goth,  UK Decay have been playing the festival circuit around Europe and conjoured up enough new material to return to the recording studio for the first time in almost 30 years. They need your help to make this happen though kiddies, and following the very effective strategy employed in 2010 by The March Violets have gone through Pledge Music to raise some much needed dosh.

Just click here to provide UK Decay a helping hand and be a part of what promises to be a very exciting musical outing.

UK Decay live at the DV8 Fest in York, July 2011

In other news, Australian ex-pats and gods of neoclassical/world music and ambient/ethereal Goth , Dead Can Dance have somehow sneakily reformed sometime last year without my noticing and are now threatening both a new album and a world tour for 2012. Click here to sign up to their news updates, and they’ll very nicely give you the free download EP "Live Happenings Part II" recorded during their 2005 reunion tour.

Track Listing:

1. The Love That Cannot Be
2. The Lotus Eaters
3. Crescent
4. Minus Sanctus

Dead Can Dance live in 2005

 Man, they better come to Perth or I’m going to be seriously pissed.

As Promised...

Yes, as promised, all the downloads are back up and available once more, for anyone who missed out the first time around.

What's more, we've moved to a (hopefully) faster file sharing provider and all the downloads are now in a  .zip format for those of you not working from a MS Windows platform.
There's the two-disc Plunder the Tombs compilation The Atrocity Exhibition, both 12"s by Perth heroes And an A and the the great unreleased Ritual album Songs for a Dead King.

Enjoy!

News from the Tombs

So, having just returned from a brief working trip interstate, it seems like a good time to kick off the new year and make some small improvements to the blog and some news about what’s being planned for the near future.

Firstly, in addition to the traditional ways of following blogs and the Plunder the Tombs  Facebook page, it’s now possible to receive notifications of new posts using Twitter, or by getting notifications sent directly to your email address. Just click on either of the icons below for FB or Twitter, alternatively, you’ll find the email notification option down to your lower right.

Follow @PlundertheTombs

Secondly, although downloads have never been the main emphasis of  Plunder the Tombs, I’ve changed the file sharing host to Media Fire, following some suggestions that the old one Plunder the Tombs was using was too slow. Also, after some advice from those far more tech-savvy than myself (never let it be said that I don’t listen to you Mr Lafayette!), all new downloads will be in a .zip format rather than the previous .rar, which should make life a lot easier for those readers not using a MS Windows platform.

That said, those downloads which have been provided, and have been unavailable now for some time, will all be back up again for download in the .zip format in the very near future.

Finally, while we’re on the subject of downloads, yes, there will be a new Plunder the Tombs compilation, once enough material has been exhumed. There are already substantial plans afoot for how it will manifest, but at this point, I think somewhere around mid year seems likely.

A third compilation is also under consideration, but not of Goth / Death Rock for a change, but rather of bands from the late sixties and early seventies who were to prove so instrumental in influencing the scene that came to be. Hopefully, that will also be seeing the light of day sometime this year.

In the meanwhile, thank you all for following the various doings of Plunder the Tombs, and I hope you all continue to enjoy what the blog manages to unearth in the coming year.

Happy New Year

News to follow - watch this space...