This is a really nice package. There are 8 tracks of audio, one video tack & a fifty-page book packed into a well-designed black and yellow rectangle that’s over twice the size of your average cd. If all the copyright law debate and intellectual property discussion is too much to wrap your brain around all at once they also include a whoopee cushion for comic relief. The audio tracks are made entirely of recycled sounds, from show tunes to old movies… cut-ups, as they’re known in the biz. For Negativland fans this is nothing new…even underwhelming, if you know how much of a densely packed audio punch Negativland can deliver. This is sort of a “Negativland for Dummies” (which explains the black and yellow packaging), so you won’t find the obscure home recordings, found sounds & original noises that are usually mixed with the hacked up pop tunes. It’s still a fun listen… the perfect present for your parents or anyone who doesn’t understand fair use & thinks the creation of art from found materials is a criminal activity. There is a not so hidden treat for the old school fans, but it does require putting the cd into a computer. The “Gimme the Mermaid” video collaboration with Tim Mahoney is a nice jab at their old record label & courtroom nemesis, SST records. A combination of Disney’s the Little Mermaid and a “you’d better get a lawyer, cuz I own you & I’m gonna sue your ass” phone-call, topped off with mockery of the Black Flag classic “Gimme Gimme Gimme” it’s the kind of anti-corporate absurdist hilarity we’ve come to expect from Negativland.

Editor’s note: Tim Maloney is a former Disney animator & the “Gimme the Mermaid” video was created on Disney’s own computers while the corporate monsters weren’t looking!

http://negativland.com/