Geeky rap artist, self proclaimed logic promoter, skeptic, and advocate for politiccal change Dan Bull is back with a couple of social media-oriented raps that ask some interesting questions about Facebook and Twitter.
For one, what the hell is wrong with Facebook chat? Oh, they supposedly fixed it? Ok, you’re right, it does works much better than it used to. That doesn’t stop this rhyme from taking a pretty funny look at what can happen when some parts of a chat message don’t get sent:
Attempting a Facebook chat’s neverending
It says this forever:
Sending…
exactly after you’ve said something regretful it’s essential it gets corrected, like:
I was chatting to my friend and said this:
Let’s get together for a bevie this weekend
But because it only sent the first section
He gets the impressions there’s sexual tension
Check out Bull’s takedown of some common Facebook gripes below:
And he keeps the same beat going for a dissection of Twitter too:
You might know Dan Bull from his various protests of internet censorship. His anti-SOPA rap went viral with the simple plea: “Do not motherf*cking censor the motherf*cking internet you motherf*cking motherf*ckers. Rather eloquent, I do believe.
He also took on the whole Megaupload takedown, where he asked how all the links to his album all over the web being dead really helps him in any way?
Although Bull’s latest two raps take on some of the inanities of social netoworking, he can’t help tie it into the current CISPA battle:
In case you haven’t heard of him, Dan Bull is an English fellow who promotes himself as a “Geeky rap artist promoting logic, skepticism and political change through merciless teasing.” Aside from that, Bull also inspired one of WebProNews’ “controversial” lead image, courtesy of his anti-SOPA rap.
Bull’s latest effort — and it’s a good one — focuses on the Megaupload drama that blew the Internet up when the site owners were arrested and the site seized. The move by the United States government pissed the Anonymous group off to such a degree, they went on a revenge spree that targeted sites of some major players in the entertainment industry.
While Bull’s reaction may not have been as severe as Anonymous, it’s clear he’s no less upset about the Megaupload takedown. Furthering his reaction is this little tidbit of information, which he posted on his blog:
Megaupload was taken down. Bugger. My first album was on there, so now all the links to it in blogs across the web are dead. How is this helping me in any way?
That’s a good question, one Bull explores in his awesome Megaupload rap:
While Bull is clear he’s not trying to incite any criminal activity, he is a very big proponent of civil protest to show “he’s annoyed about the fact” he used Megaupload to promote and distribute his album. Now, of course, that won’t be happening, and while Bull is free to use another content distribution service — like his blog, for instance — that’s not the point. While he understand why Megaupload’s site owners and administrators were detained, he still doesn’t understand why the service was taken down.
Clearly, ICE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — isn’t concerned about the removal of the infringing files. Instead, they just want to slash and burn the offending web property, as well as the web property’s owners. Does Bull have a point? Should Megaupload still be around, especially if ICE’s “burn it to the ground” tactics focused more on the forced removal of the illegal content?
Ah, SOPA. My good friend. We just can’t quit each other. Of course, when masterful content continues to pour out, all in the sake of defying you, there’s really no reason to quit, now is there? While the protection act(s) — don’t forget about PIPA — are in a state of limbo, the topic certainly has not gone away, and considering the average attention span of today’s Internet user, that says something.
To a degree, the Internet’s dogged coverage of all things SOPA/PIPA has put the #Occupy movement on the back burner. The topic is such a hot-button issue, the mainstream media has finally hitched its wagon as well. Hopefully, there won’t be any attractive white females that go missing when the protection acts reenter the hearings sphere, at least in regards to MSM coverage. Media coverage jokes aside, this next piece of anti-SOPA content comes courtesy of Dan Bull, a British rapper, who offers “SOPA Cabana,” a surprisingly impressive track that discusses Internet freedom from a past-tense point of view, operating under the guise the protection acts have already passed.
Now, it should be noted that SOPA and PIPA are American government pieces of legislation, clearly. However, consider two things: First, SOPA has been loud and proud about its preference for foreign infringers, and considering Bull lives in England and is a rapper who has used samples in his beats, well, it’s easy to see why Bull fears the protection acts.
Firstly, it threatens the future of the internet, which is something far more valuable both commercially and socially than the entertainment industry ever has been, or ever will be.
Secondly, creativity is all about interpreting and re-imagining what you see and hear around you. The idea that creativity exists in some kind of vacuum, and that you’re not a real artist unless you can make something “completely original” is not only stupid, it contradicts the most fundamental axioms of how the universe works. Everything is influenced by something else. If we want a richer cultural landscape, we should embrace remixes, embrace mashups, and embrace sharing, not cling to ideas as pieces of property.
Thirdly, the internet is an amazing new forum for free speech and holding those in power us to account. The idea that governments and even private corporations can police the internet and decide what people on a global scale are allowed to say and hear is tyrannical.
And so, you see why Bull thought such a thoughtful song was necessary. Speaking, here’s the video in question:
I want to send massive thanks to every single person who contributed to this video, you’re all awesome. A number of you didn’t make the final cut, but I value your effort and enthusiasm as much as everyone else. Let’s keep the internet free. Stop SOPA.
The song’s lyrics, according to TechDirt’s description, were comprised of Twitter suggestions. From there, Bull took to his Facebook page, asking followers to take pictures of themselves holding signs of various lyrics, hence the apology in his YouTube note.
For my money, this is one of the better anti-SOPA pieces out there. The sad thing is these things are even necessary to begin with.
As for the article’s lead image (link courtesy), it is a curse word-filled reaction that sums up the feelings of the anti-SOPA movement quite well. Sure, it could be worded in a more professional manner, but sometimes, a more direct, in your face approach is necessary. We apologize if anyone was offended by the image’s content.
