Archive for the 'Country Music' category

KeithUrban.com

Feb 16 2007 Published by under Celebrities, Country Music, Music, The Internet, The Law

When I first heard of Keith Urban’s lawsuit against Keith Urban, I thought the whole thing was pretty stupid. Why would a huge country music star sue a nobody in New Jersey for trademark infringement simply because they have the same name. It seemed to be a typical case of those with more money than sense demanding something for free (in this case a domain name) and suing when they don’t get their way.

Well, I owe the country music star an apology for thinking so little of him. It turns out he has a pretty good reason to be miffed at the painter, but I still believe he should lose his charges of “federal trademark infringement, dilution of a federally registered trademark, federal unfair competition and violation of the anti-cybersquatting consumer protection act and the Tennessee consumer protection act.”

At issue is www.KeithUrban.com. Unlike the infamous Julia Roberts decision, Keith Urban the painter has a legitimate reason for owning the domain name. It may not even qualify as cybersquatting. The burden of proving there is a bad-faith motive in holding the name is going to be difficult since it is the guy’s name.

That said, if you look at the site, you’re quickly going to see that the guy goes to great lengths to hide the fact that he is not “that” Keith Urban. There are no pictures of himself, no contact information other than an e-mail, and references to painting as “a hobby”, leading you to believe his day job is something else (country music star, perhaps).

I suspect the legal decision in this will leave the domain with the rightful owner (the painter). However, he’s probably in some danger of being charged with some deceptive trade practices.

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It’s Official. Country Music Kills!

Dec 28 2005 Published by under Country Music, Music, Pop Culture

MusicThis study is apparently thirteen years old, but it won an Ig Nobel Prize for Medicine last year and just came to my attention. It’s something we have known all along, but science has now confirmed it. Country music makes white people kill themselves.

Yup. It’s true. The study showed that in urban areas, higher levels of exposure to country music were related to higher levels of suicide.

    The results of a multiple regression analysis of 49 metropolitan areas show that the greater the airtime devoted to country music, the greater the white suicide rate. The effect is independent of divorce, southernness, poverty, and gun availability.

Now, I do feel compelled to play the devil’s advocate. First, let’s start with the fact that the study focuses on urban areas when it is people in the sticks that generally listen to country music on purpose. Those in urban areas generally only listen to country when every other channel is playing Jennifer Lopez tunes or anything by Metallica.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the urban areas that play the most country music are generally those located closest to the sticks (for instance Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Arkansas). It’s quite likely that your tendency to commit suicide goes up dramatically just based on proximity to these cities, rather than as a direct result of the music on the radio. After all, you’re in Oklahoma or Arkansas. What else are you going to do but kill yourself?

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