ALL MIXED UP:: While much of the talk about peer-to-peer file-sharing technology has centered around the swapping and downloading of illicit digital music files, New York-based artist/composer Jason Freeman decided that there might be more interesting ways to use the much-discussed services.
Gnutella, the decentralized P2P file-sharing protocol on which services like Morpheus, LimeWire and Bear Share are based, intrigued Freeman, who has previously created interactive art projects using downloadable software with unique remixing abilities.
“I’m simply fascinated by the chaotic and unpredictable process of searching for and downloading music on the Gnutella network — everything from unexpected search results to inconsistent and constantly changing download speeds,” Freeman said last week in an e-mail interview. “I wanted to do something that would turn this fascinating process of acquiring music into a musical experience itself.”
So Freeman created N.A.G. (Network Auralization for Gnutella), which is downloadable from as reported here in March, are only available via the band’s dedicated Pearljambootlegs.com site, have found their way onto Billboard Top Internet Album Sales chart, including three new titles this week.
The majority of the sets are not sold in stores and haven’t cracked The Billboard 200, but “E. Troy, WI: June 21, 2003” jumps one spot to No. 22 in its third week on Top Internet Album Sales. Two other sets, “Columbus, OH: June 24, 2003” and “Detroit, MI: June 25, 2003,” debut this week on the chart at No. 10 and No. 12, respectively.
An official two-disc Epic release documenting the group’s March 3 concert in Tokyo debuted at No. 182 on The Billboard 200 in June, and the commercial release of three-disc offering from a May 3 show in State College, Pa., could make its way onto the chart this week. An as-yet-undecided show from the second leg of the North American tour will be released Sept. 16 in stores.
