Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

Search verizon wireless TRAFFIC COMMUTE LOCAL NEWS NATION/WORLD SPORTS BUSINESS POLITICS/ELECTIONS SPECIAL REPORTS DEATHS August 8, 2008 Go Text size: RECORDING HOME DELIVERY ADVERTISE WITH US Gilberto Gil starts latest revolution from CARS inside JOBS As part of Brazilian government, he's spreading technology REAL ESTATE APARTMENTS MORE CLASSIFIEDS CHICAGO WEATHER OPINIONS BLOGS COLUMNISTS ENTERTAINMENT TRAVEL LIVING LIGHTER SIDE VIDEO/PHOTOS SHOPPING NEWSLETTERIALERTS NEWS TOOLS CONTACT US ABOUT US Home > Living > Living > > By Greg Kot | Tribune critic June 15, 2008 Artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails recently enjoyed huge publicity windfalls by distributing their music for free online, but they've got a way to go before catching up to Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil as digital visionaries Long before peer-to-peer file sharing turned the music world into a free-for-all, Gil was distributing his songs on the Internet. He launched his Web site in 1996, began streaming his music for listeners and officially released the first song by a Brazilian artist through the new medium. It was a stage in a journey that has obsessed him for a half-century. In the 1960s he wrote the song "Electric Brain," which presaged his Internet breakthrough three decades later, and his latest album is titled "Banda Larga" (Warner), or "The Broad Band," in part a manifesto for a more democratic future driven by technology "It has been a dream of mine for a long time, this world we live in now," Gil, who is in his 60s, says in an interview from his office in Brazil. "It is a natural outcome, a world in which technology allows universal access. It makes music and tools available to large parts of society that didn't have that kind of access before." Ads by Google 10 Rules of Flat Stomach Cut Down 9 lbs of Stomach Fat every 11 Days By Obeying These 10 Rules FatLoss4idiots.com Cars lobs Real estate Apartments MORE LOGIN REGISTER Looking for advice? 1 Rule of Flat Stomach Cut Down 55 lbs of Stomach Fat in 4.5 Months By Keeping This 1 Secret Wu-YISource.com Find Free Songs Listen To Your Favorite Songs Now! It's Free With The Music Toolbar Music.alottoolbars.com Gilberto Gil Huge selection of Gilberto items. Yahoo.com Gilberto Gil Free & Legal Music Downloads Get Your Favorite Song or Artist Today! www.Spiralfrog.com An egalitarian That "natural outcome" is still a few years off from reaching the poorest of the poor in Brazil, a vast country in which many citizens in the remote interior still do not have electricity, let alone computers. Which is why Gil, in his latest role as his country's minister of culture, is spearheading a project to ensure that each child in the country has a laptop within the next few years. "The electronic culture is our future, and it needs to be open to everyone as quickly as possible," he says. "I consider it my main goal as a politician." It's not a role one would have predicted for Gil. In the '60s, he and fellow iconoclast Caetano Veloso were thrown out of Brazil by the dictatorial government for making music that openly questioned the status quo. Gil, Veloso and a handful of young artists led the subversive Tropicalia movement, which melded Brazilian sounds with rock and avant- garde music. Tropicalia embraced hybrids of seemingly incompatible styles, and tacitly celebrated the multiracial makeup of Brazil's population. It was a time when music Autumn 2008 played a critical role in pushing a nation forward, at great personal risk. "Gil himself, with his incredible ear and mastery of the guitar, his pulverizing sense of rhythm, was a constant promise that the limitations of our environment could be 10% % overcome." Veloso wrote in his memoir. "Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and • Ask Amy • Miss Manners • Dear Abby • Tales from the Front • Horoscopes >> Teams Compete at 6th Annual Tournament of Historic Baseball No gloves, no spitting, no cussing and fair underhand pitches are just a few rules of 1867 Haney's Base Ball Book of Reference... >> Big Spin Contestant Spins Wheel, Wins $1 Million Lucia Vanegas of Los Angeles was all smiles after she spun the wheel on this week's Big Spin show... LecTec Corporation Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Complaint alleges that defendants have infringed on two of LecTec's patents relating to its medicated patch technology... advertisement Popular stories MOST VIEWED MOST E HOT TOPICS MAILED 1. Chicago aviation Doss resigns over generator delivery from ComEd to his home 2. Ex-presidential candidate John Edwards admits in shame that he had affair after heated denials 3. Woman kills boyfriend for drinking her beer, officials say Pitching, Edmonds lead Cubs to 11-inning victory over Cardinals 5. Commodities slowdown could last months, longer as global economic slowdown deepens more most viewed 50th annual CHICAGO AIR&WATER SHOW NORTH AVENUE BEACE