I've always been one to root for the "underdog," especially when they manage to fly in the face of big business. I'll write more about this soon. (Promise.) But, meanwhile, here are two links and mini-reviews of two totally different (but extremely creative) responses to the current Napster controversy that I found both entertaining, and at least interesting, if not downright insightful.

FOR FUN...
Check out Camp Chaos and especially their extremely original Metallica lawsuit spoof entitled "Napster Bad." It's amazingly good. In fact, it's one of the funniest pieces of web media I've seen and heard. Highly recommended.

By the way, there are other cartoons there too, but I recommend you start with "Napster Bad." It's the original. Please be advised that this is a "Parental Discretion Advised" web site; and be prepared to laugh your you-know-what off. :)

FOR INSIGHTS...
One of the most interesting pieces of cyber-journalism that I've read in a long time is Andrew Sullivan's "Dot-Communist Manifesto" published in the June 11th, 2000, New York Times magazine. Both personal and provocative, Sullivan's piece explores some important cultural and creative dimensions of the MP3 online music distribution revolution.

As he says, "Suddenly, motives other than the profit motive come into play. People give you music because they actually want you to hear it... The Web is one of the few truly powerful private organizations that does not have money at its core... A specter, to put it bluntly, is haunting America: the specter of dot-communism." This article is even a bit daunting and well worth the read.

Yes, there's irony, but this is a serious and heart-felt piece of writing that I applaud. It's available online at this link on NYTimes.com . (NYTimes.com site registration may be required.)

Napster good! Via la Napster Resistance!