Napster burned bright during its simple, brief existence

ROSS RAIHALA

Originally published Friday, March 1, 2002

A year ago, Napster was all over the news, with fans and musicians endlessly discussing the pros and cons of the service, which allowed free "sharing" of music via the Internet.

But after a series of lawsuits, Napster was forced to shut down in July. And little has been heard since, beyond occasional and utterly confusing reports about ongoing court battles between Napster and the Recording Industry Association of America.

A portion of the millions of Napster users have fled to a series of other file-swapping services such as Audiogalaxy, BearShare, KaZaA, Grokster and Morpheus. None have found the widespread acceptance that Napster enjoyed during its pre-lawsuit days, yet already the RIAA has launched legal action to stop several of them.

Meanwhile, the major labels that pushed the RIAA to get rid of Napster have launched the similar services MusicNet and PressPlay. Both are fee-based and don't necessarily allow users to actually keep all the songs they download, let alone burn them to CD-R. On top of that, both services have been blasted by online users for abundant technical problems.

It's unlikely any online service will ever truly compete with Napster, which in its heyday was almost brilliant in its simplicity.

Sure, Napster had its problems, including the troubling idea that using it was akin to shoplifting.

Still, millions and millions of people used it and were able to find pretty much any song.

I used Napster exactly once, to find a single by the short-lived French kiddie vocalist Jordy. And find it I did, both in the original French version, "Dur Dur D'Etre Bebe" and the English translation, "It's Tough To Be a Baby."

Those two lovely tracks can still be found on my hard drive today, despite the fact that I don't believe I actually ever listened to either all the way through. Turns out my memory was funnier than the reality.

I left the serious Napster excavating to friends with faster Internet connections and a greater patience to listen to often poor-quality MP3 files streamed through tinny computer speakers.

A pal in Ohio sent me a CD-R of some Napster-gleaned Guns 'N Roses live tracks, for instance, while another acquaintance from Fargo sent me a disc filled with bizarre spoken-word tracks. And while I appreciated their efforts, both were essentially passing fancies for me and certainly did not replace my own thrill that I still get from buying actual CDs with the packaging and pristine sound and all that.

These days, Napster has limped back into action with a test version of its pay service, the launch date of which has been delayed numerous times.

And reviews of the new Napster are tepid at best. There's next to no actual music content to be found, but hey, the chat features have been vastly improved. So, in theory, Napster users will have the ability to easily exchange text messages that discuss how there sure aren't any good songs left to download anymore.

The best-case digital download scenario can be found at the independent labels.

Web sites for Olympia's Kill Rock Stars and K Records both offer plenty of free MP3 downloads -- of a song or two by an artist as opposed to an entire album. Consumers can get a risk-free taste and then decide if it's worth it to purchase the full CD.

In fact, free samples of music abound on the Web, both on retail sites such as Amazon.com as well as from some artists' own pages.

Weezer, for example, allowed its fans free access to demos from its impending album, months before a release date was even announced. The move both heightened fan anticipation and got the band some free press in the process.

With any luck, this sort of thinking will prevail over the fee-based Napster (not to mention MusicNet and PressPlay) and fans and artists will find some sort of workable halfway point between promotion and piracy.

Japanese rock

Electric Eel Shock has been called no less than Japan's version of Black Sabbath. And they return to town for an all-ages show at 8:30 p.m. today at the Backstage at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. E., Olympia.

The cover charge is $5 for the evening, which will also feature performances by local acts the Barren Tide, the Amazing Vertical Ville, the Guilty Teachers and C Average.

Return of the Peaches

The Moldy Peaches return to Washington for a show at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle.

The band will be joined by Daniel Johnston and the Stratford Four for the concert. Tickets are $10 through Ticketweb.com.

Led by Olympia expatriate Kimya Dawson and her partner-in-crime Adam Green, the Moldy Peaches raised a minor fuss last year on the strength of the goofy single "Who's Got the Crack" and subsequent tours as the opening act for the much-hyped Strokes.

The duo have recorded a new single with their touring band that is set for European release in April. And Dawson has released a solo CD of folk music that's available through the band's Web site, www.moldypeaches.com.

Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send items of interest for this column to rraihala@olympia.gannett.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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