This website Worry About You came across my desk this morning and, frankly, I can't believe it. The concept is similar enough to sites like Hype Machine and Elbo.ws but it is devoid of any editorial content, connection to blogs, or vague appearance of being on the level. It's just stealing. Discretely done. Just read the "Rules and Disclaimer" page. Really. Go read it. It feels like you're about to be asked to be a drug mule. Is this the never-before-seen, secret ending to Maria Full of Grace? Was that movie actually about a young girl asked to swallow 15 million mp3s to sneak over the border, only to be caught by the RIAA? And since when did file sharing sites get so ... Guantanamo Bay? Did you get to the part about "I will not testify to what I saw on this page?" Well, that sounds like the final clause in a Nazi doctor/Bush cabinet contract negotiation. Secrets, secrets, WorryAboutYou.If the RIAA has handled itself poorly in prosecuting grandmothers and teens for file-sharing, this is certainly where the revolution takes on characteristics of the empire. To paraphrase Devil's Advocate: "when you dance with the devil, the devil don't change. The devil changes you." Or, "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." I guess now we play a more philosophical game of right, wrong, property, and art. If mp3s are stolen in a forest and no one is around to see it, did it really happen? We'll let the authorities figure this one out but, for the time being, you can "legally" download an absolute freight train of music. Which I guess suits the title, Worry About You.
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