iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition

In 1991, the experimental sound collage band Negativland released a single called "U2", which extensively sampled both U2's hit single "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and colorful studio recordings of Top 40 disc jockey Casey Kasem. This offbeat recording would have languished in obscurity if weren't for Island Records, U2's record label, which decided to sue Negativland and their independent label SST Records for deceptive packaging and copyright infringement. After a protracted legal battle, Negativland's legal funds were exhausted and they settled out of court. Today, it is illegal to produce the "U2" single in the United States. (U2, on the other hand, would go on to use unauthorized samples of appropriated satellite video in their Zoo TV tour.)

Now you can commemorate this ignoble episode in intellectual property history with iPod U2 vs. Negativland Special Edition. From its packaging to its pre-installed content, this unauthorized iPod modification is an artful mash-up of the forces of corporate megarock and obscure experimental music, and a provocative symbol of the ongoing struggle between those who would confine culture and those who would free it.

Hotness!

[many thanks to Eric at Core77]