Overview

A core of the band come Mark Hosler, Richard Lyons, Don Joyce and David Wills. Chris Grigg is a former member.

Negativland has freed the total of albums ranging from either pure collage to further musical affairs, these use mostly been freed in their have label, Seeland Records. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they produced many recordings for SST Records, most notably Escape From Noise, Helter Stupid, and U2.

Negativland's independent claim to fame is the U2 lawsuit which nearly destroyed the children as a band.

History

Early history

Negativland began within Concord, California in 1979 around a core initiation members of Lyons & Hosler (world health organization was inside high school at the period) & freed an eponymic debut inside 1980.

The total of releases followed in the early Eighties, however it wasn't until when a release of their breakthrough sample & cut-higher transonic barrage Escape From Noise in 1987 that Negativland gained wider attention.

As the consequence a somewhat unexpected profits of this album, Negativland faced a prospect of running in a money-losing tour. To check this, it together the fake press release claiming that their song "Christianity is Stupid" (featuring the sampled voice of a televangelist repeating "Christianity is stupid! Communism is good!") was an inspiration for the really mass-murder that experienced occurred around Rochester, Minnesota, committed by David Brom.

A consequent fallretired & media craze, according to a humorously fictional claims by Negativland, experienced a result of pointing out a venality of the mass media. Though a story was all uncorroborated by any information, a lurid combination of execution, religion, & "rock" music provedAs well tempting for the media to skip. A story ran in TV news shows, newspapers, & magazines, by having little to there is no fact-checking. Before long the world was informed of the "Killer Song" that purportedly led a bit of child to murder his parents sustaining an axe.

A scandal became a foundation for their next release Helter Stupid, featuring the handle photograph of a TV news "journalist" intoning a fake axe execution story, by using a news station's caption "Killer Song" above his head, & the photograph of the ax-murderer.

The U2 record incident

Negativland's next plan was a ill-famed U2 record using samples from either "America's Top 40" persons Casey Kasem. Inside 1991, Negativland freed one using a title "U2" displayed within super big nature & severity on the front of the packaging, and "Negativland" around the little face. An image of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane was also on the only handle.

A songs in were parodies of the class action U2's well-known song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", including kazoos and extensive sampling of the original song. A song "The Letter U and the Numeral 2" features the musical backing to a long profane rant from either easily-known disc jockey Casey Kasem, lapsing out of his extrthe polished & office tone in the period of a frustrating rehearsal, commenting, for example: "These guys are from England and who gives a shit?" (U2's members come as a matter of fact from either Ireland.)

U2's label Island Records sued Negativland claiming that the "U2" violated trademark protection, & a song itself violated right of first publication protection. Island Records too contended that a only was an attempt to deliberately confuse U2 fans, so awaiting Achtung Baby.

Funds exhausted, Negativland settled away from court. Virtually all copies of the lone were recalled & destroyed. Per mid-1990s, rap had manufactured authorised sampling more common inside mainstream music, however a individual "U2", for which Negativland did non obtain clearance to have U2 samples, is however illegal to sell in the United States, however is available for [http://negativland.com/audiogadgets.html free download from Negativland's official web site].

Around June, 1992, R.U. Sirius, publisher of the magazine Mondo 2000 came up sustaining an interesting idea. Publiciser from either U2 got contacted him on a possibility of interviewing Dave Evans (aka "The Edge") hoping to promote U2's imminent multi-million dollar "Zoo TV" tour, which featured observed sounds & survive sampling from either mass media outlets (items which Negativland experienced been known for for a few period). Sirius, unbeknown to a Edge, decided to use at times his friends Joyce & Hosler of Negativland conduct the locate. Joyce & Hosler, freshly from either Island's case, peppered a Edge by owning questions on his ideas all about a apply of sampling in their freshly tour, & a legality of utilizing copyrighted poop forswearing permission. Midway through the locate, Joyce & Hosler revealed their identities when members of Negativland. An embarrassed a Edge reported that U2 were bothered per sledge legal approach Isl& Records took in their suit, and what is more uncooperative of the legal wrangle took place forgoing U2's noesis: "by the time we (U2) realized what was going on it was kinda too late, and we actually did approach the record company on your (Negativland's) behalf and said, 'Look, c'mon, this is just, this is very heavy...'" Island Records reported to Negativland that U2 never authorised samples of their lesson; Evans response was, "that's complete bollocks, there's like, there's at least six records out there that are direct samples from our stuff."[http://www.negativland.com/edge.html] A "U2" only (along by using more related lessin) was re-freed inside 2001 on the "bootleg" album entitled These Guys Come From either Engl& And World health organization Gives The Shit, freed in "Seelard Records" (the parody of Negativland's record label "Seeland Records"). These are thought in all probability that Negativl& themselves were responsible a re-release, & that U2 gave their blessing; although the Negativland web site refers to this release when a bootleg, these are available from either major retail merchant such as Right Find, Amazon, and Tower Records, likewise as Negativland's have mail-sequentially business.

Negativland come interested inside intellectual property rights, and argue that their apply of U2's & others' poop fall into fair use. Around 1995, it freed the book sustaining accompanying Video known as Fair Utilize just about copyright law in general, & a U2 incident particularly, & were a independent cases of Craig Baldwin's documental "Sonic Outlaws", detailing a utilize of "culture jamming" to escape & dilute a twisted intrigue of corporate media/propaganda outlets. There are numbers of more creative person world health organization click a boundaries of right of first publication law in kind to Negativland, including John Oswald, the Evolution Control Committee, The Bran Flakes, Sir Mildred Pierce, and People Like Us.

Negativland's Mark Hosler pointed at the irony of U2 infringing right of first publicatiin in a massive shell when you took their Zoo TV tour by broadcasting survive satellite images in stage, & receiving away using it, when nigh at the same period suing Negativland, world health organization experienced been bonk for an extended time prior to it ever dawned on U2.

Chumbawamba

Inside 1999 Negativland collaborated with UK anarchist band Chumbawamba to produce a album a ABCs of Anarchism, which is largely depending about a writings of Alexander Berkman and cut-up versions of Chumbawamba's hit song "Tubthumping", the theme tune to the youngsters's program Teletubbies and the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK".

Recent developments

Within 2003, members of Negativland contributed their efforts to Creative Commons, an organization devoted to providing artists by owning the wide range of right of first publication alternatives.

As of 2004, Negativl& exists and has freed many albums including Points, Dispepsi, Yours free!, Throw off Noise, Helter Stupid, & The Large 10-8 Place. Their records come freed on the band's have Seeland label. Member Don Joyce hosts the hebdomadally radio indicate known as Over The Edge most Thursdays at midnight on KPFA.

Inside September 2005, to celebrate a Twenty-fifth day of remembrance of the band, Negativland curated an art exhibit inside Manhattan's [http://www.giganticartspace.com/ Gigantic Artspace gallery]. Titled "Negativlandland", the exhibit involved a total of pieces of art from either & elysian by Negativl& recordings, cd projection of music video cd created per b& and others, and occasionally nontextual matter created specifically for the indicate, like an animatronic Abraham Lincoln figure (divine per band's Lincoln cut-higher piece "God Bull") & a paws-in exhibit featuring the "Booper", a audio-processing unit that band member David Wills (aka "The Weatherman") assembled away from old radio area. A band is hoping to yet choose Negativlandland to more cities.

Discography

Albums
Negativland (1980) Points (1981) A Big 10-8 Place (1983) ''Over the Edge Vol. 1: JAMCON'84 (1985) Escape From Noise (1987) Helter Stupid (1989) Over the Edge Vol. 2: Pastor Dick: Muriel's Purse Fund (1990) Over the Edge Vol. 3: The Weatherman's Dumb Stupid Come-Out Line (1990) Over the Edge Vol. 4: Dick Vaughn (1990) Free (1993) Over the Edge Vol. 5: Crosley Bendix: The Radio Reviews (1993) Over the Edge Vol. 6: The Willsaphone Stupid Show (1994) Over the Edge Vol. 7: Time Zones Exchange Project (1994) Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2 (1995) Over the Edge Vol. 1½: The Starting Line with Dick Goodbody (1995, partial reissue) Over the Edge Vol. 8: Sex Dirt (1995) Dispepsi (1997) Negativ(e)land: Live On Tour (1997) Over the Edge Vol. 4: Dick Vaughn's Moribund Music of the '70s (2001, expanded reissue) Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak (2002) No Business (2005)

Singles/EPs
U2 (1991) Guns (1992) The Letter U and the Numeral 2 (1992) Truth In Advertising (1997) Happy Heroes (1998) The ABCs of Anarchism (1999) These Guys Come From either Engl& and World health organization Gives the Shit (2001)

Bootlegs
Negativconcertland'' (1993)