Download This Song
Encyclopedia
"Download This Song" is the second single
from MC Lars
' fifth studio album
, The Graduate, and features
Jaret Reddick
of Bowling for Soup
. The song uses sampling
from Iggy Pop
's "The Passenger
".
In early 2006, this song was featured on the pop-culture CBC Radio
show Definitely Not the Opera
during an exposé on geeks. It charted at 29 on the Australia ARIA charts.
, United States
, who allegedly had committed copyright infringement
through peer-to-peer filesharing over 600 music files, including "Sk8r Boi" by Avril Lavigne
, another Nettwerk client. Greubel's 15-year-old daughter Elisa contacted MC Lars, citing the "Download This Song" lyric, "they sue little kids downloading hit songs", and saying that she could identify with the song due to her family's situation. In response, Nettwerk, which denounced the suit, announced that it would pay all of the family's legal fees, as well as any fines should the family lose. Furthermore, they arranged for representation for the family by Chicago lawyer Charles Lee Mudd, Jr., who had previously defended other people subpoena
ed by the RIAA.
in early 2007. Parts of the music video parody the common iTunes
commercial with blacked out figures dancing on a color background. It also shows numerous people listening to music on iPod
s and Sony PSPs including a punk kid, skaters, and people at a gym.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from MC Lars
MC Lars
Andrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...
' fifth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, The Graduate, and features
Featuring
Featuring, often abbreviated to ft., feat. or f/ is a term used in the music industry to credit a musician who is not the main artist for their performance on a song or, on occasion, an album...
Jaret Reddick
Jaret Reddick
Jaret Ray Reddick is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and lead songwriter for the Grammy Award-nominated pop punk band Bowling for Soup. He plays a Music Man Axis that has a flag of Texas design on...
of Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...
. The song uses sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
's "The Passenger
The Passenger (song)
"The Passenger" is a song by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977. It was also released as the B-side of the album's only single, "Success"...
".
In early 2006, this song was featured on the pop-culture CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
show Definitely Not the Opera
Definitely Not the Opera
Definitely Not the Opera is a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture. The program is broadcast on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. . An abridged version of each weekly program is available for download as a weekly podcast...
during an exposé on geeks. It charted at 29 on the Australia ARIA charts.
Fight versus RIAA
MC Lars, and the Nettwerk Music Group, became involved in a lawsuit that the RIAA filed against David Greubel, a man from TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who allegedly had committed copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
through peer-to-peer filesharing over 600 music files, including "Sk8r Boi" by Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
, another Nettwerk client. Greubel's 15-year-old daughter Elisa contacted MC Lars, citing the "Download This Song" lyric, "they sue little kids downloading hit songs", and saying that she could identify with the song due to her family's situation. In response, Nettwerk, which denounced the suit, announced that it would pay all of the family's legal fees, as well as any fines should the family lose. Furthermore, they arranged for representation for the family by Chicago lawyer Charles Lee Mudd, Jr., who had previously defended other people subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed by the RIAA.
Track listing
- "Download This Song"
- "Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock" (featuring The MatchesThe MatchesThe Matches are a United States-based band formed in 1997 in Oakland, California. It currently is composed of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shawn Harris, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jonathan Devoto, bassist and backup vocalist Dylan Rowe, and drummer Matt Whalen...
) - "Rockstar"
- "Download This Song" music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
Music video
The music video was featured on TivoTiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
in early 2007. Parts of the music video parody the common iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
commercial with blacked out figures dancing on a color background. It also shows numerous people listening to music on iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
s and Sony PSPs including a punk kid, skaters, and people at a gym.