Completely Conspicuous 139: Through the Past Darkly

Special guest Ric Dube joins me on the podcast as we take a look back at the rise and fall of the dotcom era. Listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly (right click and "save as").

The show notes...

Topics:

- Webnoize looked at how entertainment and the Web converged

- We covered the start of the MP3 revolution

- Napster let people a world apart share music

- Before Napster, the only choice you had if you liked a song was to buy the CD

- Dube: Napster was a collective act of civil disobedience

- Recording industry said online sharing would hurt, but nobody listened

- Most companies' Internet strategy represented an agenda, but no idea

- The dotcoms with good ideas often got bought out

- Napster's technology was art, not a viable business

- Millions of people used Napster

- We started noticing companies had no idea behind the money

- Apple capitalized on digital music with iPod and iTunes store

- Dube had one of the first iPods in America

- We rode around Boston with XM Satellite Radio listening to service before it launched

- Amazon has thrived with MP3 store

- Music industry sales are hurting

- Ten years ago, CD duplication wasn't as easy and cheap as it is now

- Dube predicted the phone was the future of music industry

- Dube: Didn't see Apple becoming a big player in consumer electronics and media

- Lee was right about business convergence

- WiFi networks must improve

- Stitcher is an impressive app--turns iPhone into a TiVo

- Music will become more like a service than a product

- Bonehead of the Week

Music:

The Posies - Licenses to Hide

The Vaselines - Sex with an X

Boston Spaceships - Come on Baby Grace

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The show is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com, a leading supplier of athletic footwear, apparel and sports equipment. Use promo code AFCOMP15 to get 15% off any order at Eastbay.com, AFCOMP20 to get 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay.com and AFCOMPFL to get 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.

The Posies song is on the forthcoming album Blood/Candy on Rykodisc. Download the song for free at Amp Magazine.

The Vaselines song is on the album Sex with an X on Sub Pop Records, where you can download the song for free.

The Boston Spaceships song is on the forthcoming self-released album Our Cubehouse Still Rocks. Download the song for free at Pitchfork.

The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. and . Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography at his blog.

Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.