By Katharine Trendacosta/Electronic Frontier Foundation

Someone tries to livestream their encounters with the police, only to find that the police started playing music. In the case of a February 5 meeting between an activist and the Beverly Hills Police Department, the song of choice was Sublime’s “Santeria.” The police may not got no crystal ball, but they do seem to have an unusually strong knowledge about copyright filters.
The timing of music being played when a cop saw he was being filmed was not lost on people. It seemed likely that the goal was to trigger Instagram’s overzealous copyright filter, which would shut down the stream based on the background music and not the actual content. It’s not an unfamiliar tactic, and it’s unfortunately one based on the reality of how copyright filters work.

Read More

Posted on February 25, 2021

By Helen Pridmore/The Conversation

In this dreary COVID-19 winter, there are some high points – and high notes – available to people cooped up at home.
The documentary The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, which premiered on HBO in December, explores the musical significance of the group and is interwoven with performance footage. At the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, the halftime performer will be Canada’s The Weeknd.
What kind of sound do these singers share? And what on Earth do they have in common with the Monty Python comedians in sketches where they portray women?
All these artists use the falsetto voice, a specialized sound that features amazing high notes. Falsetto is associated particularly with the male voice singing in the range normally used by women and children.

Read More

Posted on February 6, 2021