by SHANE SINNOTT

Hey-o! Your refreshed Load-down writer returns from vacation this week, and what does he find upon his return? That Carl Newman, frontman of the New Pornographers, has been stirring up the ol’ online music debate. You’ll recall I wrote earlier in these pages about how the band battled leaks of their upcoming album Challengers by offering an advance downloadable copy of the record to those who preordered from their label, Matador. Well, it seems that they’ve been battling leaks of a bonus track called “Speed of Luxury” in a more old-fashioned way—having their label scare the bejeebus out of bloggers who post it. Although Newman is quoted as saying, “Nobody’s trying to intimidate fans,” Matador did hire online copyright enforcer Web Sheriff to demand the blog Diplognat (www.diplognat.com) remove the track. Newman, who married Matador project manager Christy Simpson this past Saturday, went on to say, “When you take music for free, you make it so people can’t make their living making music anymore.” The track stirring up the fuss is by all accounts really good, but of course I can’t provide you with a link. Kudos, Matador!

It has recently come to my attention that an application called Hotspot Shield (www.hotspotshield.com), ostensibly designed to increase the security in using public wi-fi hotspots (you can use it on your wired connection as well), does a fine job of disguising where one is physically located when accessing the Internet, which is a windfall for Canadians previously barred from using U.S.-based music streaming services. Pandora (www.pandora.com) is a good example: their custom streaming radio, in the “I’ll learn what you like based on your previous choice and play new stuff I think you’ll like” style, is only available to Americans due to copyright restrictions. With Hotspot Shield, Canadians can now join in the fun, if fun is what we’re now calling immersing oneself in private and lonely entertainment.