The Merriweather Post Pavilion version of Animal Collective’s already-the-jam-of-’09 “Brother Sport” recently made its way to the radio. Then it made its way to all the blogs. This included the Grizzly Bear blog, too, because Grizzly Bear also have ears. As you know 2008 was an historic year, and also as you know it will be best remembered for the debut of the Web Sheriff. In case you forgot about him, though, here’s one more hit for you to consider before making your year-end lists.
When “Brother Sport” went up, the Sheriff got policing. His tour took him to all the blogs. This included the Grizzly Bear blog, too. Only by the time the Sheriff got to the Grizzly site, theirs was the last track standing, resulting in a hardcore letter from the We Sheriff demanding an apology (to Animal Collective, to Domino, and of course to the Web Sheriff), and that this apology conform precisely to the one the Web Sheriff wrote for them. This is full service web patrol. Read the full hardcore letter at the Grizzly Bear blog, but we implore you not to laugh because the Web Sheriff’s dispatch specifically states this is no laughing matter. You can still hear the song at HypeM.
UPDATE: Grizzly Bear responds.
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i’m laughing. God I hate the web sherrif
Please remove all ‘LOL’s or any variation of the form from your message board. This is super cereal. I also recommend stomping on any flowers should you pass them on the street.
Does anyone know if this is a joke? I just feel like this Web Sheriff thing screams of being pre-law student having fun shooting emails around.
he leaves his number and e-mail and (i think) address, too. although i’ve gotten into a tiff with the web sheriff over a hold steady track posted on a friend’s blog, i never felt the urge to call the number and see if it was real.
that web sheriff was all over the hold steady album, i hope the new animal collective album is not next on his hitlist
the web sheriff is sadly real. You hire him (he’s expensive) to be obnoxious, throw around idle ridiculous threats and now apparently demand pre-written apologies. Personally if I were in Animal Collective I’d be embarrassed by this chump representing me.
I heard the Web Sheriff moonlights as a cockblocker on Facebook.
This is to inform you that, currently you have been contacting a girl on facebook, my aforementioned client, (name deleted), and dude, she’s totally mine. She already went to the Sig Ep party with me. As such, you are personally liable to our said clients for losses of interest acquired by myself through your late night, drunken messages.
In all of the circumstances, we must insist that you now A. refrain from all acts of online flirting such as poking, friend requests and wall writing B. publish the following apology on your profile
Following contact from Web Sheriff, I can confirm that I will no longer engage in acts of online flirting with (name deleted). I wish to apologize to (name deleted) and Web Sheriff for the disruption caused to their future relationship.
This apology must be published for a minimum period of 7 days.
As you will appreciate, this is no laughing matter and, as such, should you refuse or otherwise fail to comply with the above request, we would ask you, in the alternative, to simply provide us with the details of the US attorneys, UK solicitors, French advocats and German advocats whom you would instruct in relation to the service of such multi-jurisdictional proceedings as shall ensue.
Here’s hoping that Bob Marley will rise from the dead and shoot this motherfucker.
Here’s hoping that Bob Marley stays dead.
but what of the Web Deputy?!
WEB SHERIFF
Protecting Your Rights on the Internet
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208-323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
http://www.websheriff.com
Hey Amrit (& Everyone),
Fyi, we only sent a ‘heavy’ letter / request to Grizzly Bear after they failed to respond to a more normal / standard take-down request … .. and, whilst their plug was greatly appreciated, we were simply asking them to show respect for a fellow artist by pulling this unreleased track.
If / when official, pre-release previews (full-length) become available for fans and bloggers to host / post / share etc, we’ll be the first to let you know.
All The Best,
WEB SHERIFF
I see you gave up the creepy-ass happy holidays routine. Good for you,
Do you ever get the feeling that you’re fighting a losing battle? Kudos though, people like you amaze me; firstly because of your inhuman amount of persistence, secondly because you genuinely think you can make an impact on file-sharing, never mind stop it. Keep it up though – the lulz everyone gets from your emails make it all worthwhile. Oh, and I never knew Animal Collective were your clients? I’ve actually managed to avoid that band up to this point, being put off by their pretentious fans more than anything – but I think I may just have to illegally download their entire discography now that I know it may, in some teeny tiny way, make you a little worse at your job. MERRY CHRISTMAS.RAR!!!!!
Watch Animal Collective release “Brother Sport” as a free download in the next few days and mr. Sheriff to look even more like a total D-Bag
Dear Web Sherriff,
You are a scumbag.
Signed,
The Internet.
this song is fucking terrible.
I think Web Sheriff needs to apologize to me for making such ridiculous claims. The fact that they would attack another artist for showing his PRAISE for a song is god damn ridiculous. I think its time to hire the crying britney guy so that Web Sheriff could possibly get their feelings across.
I can takez leegal akshun?
Yes, Web Sherriff sucks – but shouldn’t this reflect more on Animal Collective / Domino for hiring them at all? Some of these responses are hilarious in their skewed assignment of responsibility — as if Animal Collective will somehow make this track available next week to right all wrongs — when they hired these guys in the first place to make sure that this kind of sharing WOULDN’T happen.
if you want your music not to leak, watermark it like crazy. Don’t let radio play it ahead of time so people can’t rip it, or release it last minute like the ranconteurs. Hiring some aging british dude to leave co mments on people’s blogs is the wrong and frankly LAME approach.
Also, since when was one song leaking from an album and people getting excited about it a bad thing?
So stupid
Indeed the Web Sheriff did do quite a bit of lame-ass policing in 2008, but–as any of the kids over at atease will tell you, he’s been around far longer. In fact, for my money, 2007 was the year of the Web Sheriff way more than 2008. You should have seen the way he defended “Kala” because, well, you know, piracy funds terrorism.
I am laughing so much. “Web sheriff”
Yep. Stop pretending like Web Sherrif is an independent agency that acts solely out of some hyper-defined moral sense of right and wrong. He’s PAID money by artists / labels that you probably enjoy. First and foremost, this should make Animal Collective or MIA or anyone else who’s used this service look like a douchebag. Stop it with the fan-boyism, my-favorite-artist-can-do-no-wrong attitude.
There should be some Web Sheriff black list where bands and labels subscribing to web sheriff?s inane services are placed in order to keep them from having any publicity on the internet. I honestly cannot comprehend why a band would find something like the web sheriff necessary. The only reason that I even knew that Animal Collective was working on a new album was because of music blogs like Stereogum and the fact that they posted Brother Sport only got me more excited for the album.
Exactly. I understand the concern about things leaking in a way that the band never intended. However, I don’t agree that targeting the promoters (blogs, etc) as villains is really the best way, either. GB wer excited. They didn’t leak it. Some one else did.
Overall, what a lame, not really newsworthy, but kind of funny little extravaganza.
how dare bands want to protect their music and have their music released when they intend it to be?
Chill out Dan, you can’t stop progress and leaking and when ONE song leaks and dozens of blogs are gushing about it and sharing it, it only builds anticipation
Dan needs to chillax
you don’t get how hype and the internet work *for* the band yet, do you?
i love AC but i have to agree with folks who basically said don’t shoot the messenger. for all their irreverent ways of making music, it’s sad that they/their management are pretty traditional when it comes to the internetz.
“www.websheriff.com/websheriff”
“HOME PAGE – Web Sheriff”
I’m sorry but if you’ve actually badgered some decent names to use your service and your’re making some nice coin doing so, maybe you could do a thing or two to your web presence so you at least appear savvy and professional. Look at that thing.
I fully agree Chuy. I don’t get why he seems so fake but is so real? Also why on earth would Animal Collective of their label hire this man when he leaves endless notes all over the cyber web that are embarrassing and ridiculous. I could do a better job then this guy by just quietly emailing said offenders and nicely asking without all the legal talk and links and WEB SHERIFF talk…
Seems like the biggest rip off ever just to have some guy make you look like an idiot
http://grizzly-bear.net/blog/?p=325
In what has become an overblown and rather silly manifestation of what I thought was an innocent and encouraging endorsement of Animal Collective?s song ?Brother Sport,? I find that after numerous Web Sheriff emails and blog posts about this essential non-event, I must just explain the chain of events:
The song was played on a French podcast or radio program.
Someone (not me) ripped the song.
Many blogs posted the track.
I was one of those blogs.
The weekend hit, and the Web Sheriff went on patrol.
His email to us went into our Spam folder along with Penis Enlargement emails.
His email to others that work with us were in the process of being addressed, but most likely were going to wait until Monday morning, after the weekend.
Suddenly it was Sunday and note two made its way to us, and the tone had become more harsh.
Web Sheriff believed we were ignoring him, but it was an honest misunderstanding.
The song was taken down and the apology letter was put up.
People took note and blogged about it.
I decided to take down Mr. Sheriff?s letter and do this quick-and-easy twelve-step explanation.
Again, we all value the work and effort that goes into an album. We know first-hand! It was my belief this was already ?out there? and was essentially like a hype track that would just further excite Animal Collective fans (myself included), so I wrongfully figured it was fair game. Sometimes it?s hard to tell the unofficial ?leak? with the official label-sanctioned ?leak.? If I?ve offended anyone in the Animal Collective family with my excited post, I apologize. It was meant to generate even more excitement for what will surely be a great album, and yes the Web Sheriff is just doing his job.
I hope this makes everyone happy! If Animal Collective would like to blog a song of ours in the future, I?d be more than happy to give it to them. In fact I?d be honored.
Have a lovely Thanksgiving!
Cheers,
Ed
Hey Ed,
Leak a studio version of “while you wait for the others”. So then we could have leaked songs from the two best albums of 2009… thanks.
Putting aside the utter shame that is the Sheriff’s daily existence and the questionable legal basis for its apology demand, that letter is TERRIBLY written. Web Sheriff belongs in Web Jail.
Aww, I missed Web Sherrif. I learned about him/her on this very site. Remember this golden oldie? The Sheriff has a carrot-and-stick approach that is adorable, but like “buns” I miss the holiday greetings:
“WEB SHERIFF
Protecting Your Rights on the Internet
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208-323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
http://www.websheriff.com
Hi Stereogum,
On behalf of Matador, many thanks for your review of “Jukebox” ? .. and thanks, also, for not posting any pirate material.
Regards & New Year?s Greetings,
WEB SHERIFF”
God, I hate passive-aggressive…
this is the most shameful piece of garbage news ever. Domino should be ashamed for hiring this hack and publicly ridiculing Grizzly Bear.
Makesme want to illegally download Strawberry Jam right now.
IT CAME FROM THE FRENCH POD CAST
Web Gunsmoke staring Web James Arness as Web Sheriff Matt Dillon
Just let them waste their money on this guy. Another horrible misuse of funds.
Honestly, Web Sheriff is just aiding in bringing down the backward labels. I sort of hope he stays in business because of this. Perhaps future labels will learn from this and realize a change is in order.
I wish there was some way that someone could leak the Power Point presentation that Web Sheriff gives to the Marketing/Anti-Piracy teams at record companies that convinces them that web sheriff is an effective method for “protecting your rights on the internet.”
I commented on the grizzly bear blog and d-loaded the song, whatev