Talk:Moby/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Journal Links

Moby recently revamped his website. The URLs to his journal entries have changed; therefore, the ones referenced in the article must be updated. Fetology 23:42, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

Clarification of his religious beliefs

I've heard him described as a "fundamentalist" "evangelical" and "radical". Does that mean that he is a young-earth creationist who believes the world is no more than 5,000-20,000 years old and believes the bible is entirely literally true or that he's merely devout in his religious beliefs? Thanks for clarifying! --Havermayer 22:57, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

I doubt it means he believes the entire Bible is literally true, as there are parts that conflict with each other and he's made any number of posts taking some Christians to task for taking the Bible too literally (and inconsistently so--thinking that homosexuality is a sin but not eating shellfish). At any rate, if you use the google site:moby.com thing you could probably find what you're after. ... I started reading his weblog and, after a few months of that, got rather tired of it (and his patter). Koyaanis Qatsi 15:05, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Correction. In your opinion there are parts that contradict each other. In mine they dont.......

Lol @ ^ it's a good thing people like you keep their opinions to themselves and don't try and force their glaring fallacies upon other people...oh wait nevermind.

I think there are interesting things to be said here. He's a Christian, but he certainly doesn't follow the Christian Right. "The Christian Right is neither". Read his various essays from different albums, you'll get an interesting view. Particularly on his album 18, he talks about how after the Trade Center attacks, he realized the perils of fundamentalism and noted it in himself with his veganism and perhaps other things (not sure about his Christianity). He also he stopped being a Marxist.

Moby is agnostic EchetusXe (talk) 16:08, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Moby is defiantly not racist.

I have no idea what the motivation of the person who made those edits.

Moby Versus Berlin? Article? --Jingofetts 20:26, 29 December 2005 (UTC) Who is Berlin? --Jingofetts 20:26, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Is Moby racist? You decide! {{disputed}} --Jingofetts 20:27, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

---

Somebody messed w/ his pic... Hillarious...

Is he really racist? I'm sure a few of his songs feature a black female artist as a backing singer.

Yes he has, MC Lyte (from Jam for the ladies off of 18) is very much a black female artist.

Removed "vegan non-denominational Christian." Maybe relevant, but certainly not in the first sentence. He's a well-known vegan and that could be mentioned later on. He is already metioned in the list of notable vegetarians. -GG

Restored. It's a big part of his identity, as you'll know if you read his journal. Koyaanis Qatsi

I moved it down. what the hell. Please don't remove information from the wikipedia; that's in bad form. Peace, or maybe I mean PLUR, Koyaanis Qatsi 05:25 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)

What if that info were put back in the first sentence by saying that he "self identifies" as ... -- Zoe

That might solve it. I admit it's clumsy how I have it now. And I don't mean to endorse veganism or Christianity necessarily; I'm sorry if it looks that way. Anyway, I need to try to go back to bed; I've got to get up and leave in 3.5 hrs. I trust the article will work out.  :-) Koyaanis Qatsi 05:38 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)

I stand corrected, I didn't think that Moby's religion was much discussed or well-known, but I guess it is. I still don't think it's top-line information though - he's primarily a musician, that's what he's known for. AFAIK he's less well-known for being vegan or Christian. I agree that it's clumsy as-is, but I think it's even more awkward at the top. --GG

Umm...the guy has an album out named Animal Rights - I'd say that's reason enough to conclude that he feels rather strongly about veganism. (I find that most of the good artits make their art because they have something to say, as opposed to just art for art's sake.) The subject's beliefs and convictions are certainly relevant information that belongs in a biographical article. I find it sad how much relevant info is getting deleted from articles lately because some folks don't get the difference between biased reporting and reporting a bias. Mkweise 06:14 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)

I never said that his veganism isn't relevant - I think it is. I deleted it from the top, hoping someone would add it in more detail at the bottom (see the first item in this talk page); I've been told that this is bad form, so now I know. I deleted the Christian reference because I didn't think he was an outspoken Christian, but I was incorrect. I still think that he's more well-known for being a musician than for being vegan or Christian, so those facets don't deserve top-line mention. But, as we've seen, I've been wrong before :) so I'm willing to be overridden if people disagree. In any case, nothing ever got deleted because of anyone's views, or biases, or lack of knowledge about reporting. --GG

I agree that it doesn't belong in the first sentence, but deleting information from an article, as opposed to moving and/or rephrasing it, is something I think should should never be done carelessly. The last sentence in my paragraph above wasn't referring specifically to you but to a frustrating Wikipedia phenomenon that I've observed repeatedly.

When I first started using Wikipedia, I was fully convinced that one day it would make all other encyclopedias obsolete. Since I've gotten more involved and started following changes to a certain selection of articles more closely, my idealism has taken a serious hit. It's frustrating to realize that articles can and do on occasion change for the worse (become less informative,) even when everyone involved means well. Mkweise 06:53 Feb 2, 2003 (UTC)

Off topic, but: soon after I started using Wikipedia I realized it would never be a great encyclopedia, but I think it could become good enough - great in many areas, good in some, and not so great in some. Much better than not having it exist. I think it could some day become the basis for something great - a post-processing that didn't allow universal editing. GGano

Note regarding song use

I'm 90% sure "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" has become CNN's official disaster bumper music. I started hearing it last year during Tsunami stories and heard it almost constantly during Katrina and Rita. Keep your ears open. Moby is ubiquitous.

I remember reading somewhere that Moby has an album from which every song has been licensed to be used on commercials, but I cannot remember the name of the album. Can anyone help me out here? -- Jalabi99 23:34, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

it's either 18 or play, i forget which.

It's Play that had every song licensed.

Born in Connecticut ?

The other wikipedias say he is born in New York. 62.94.51.186 09:26, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

He was definately born in NYC and moved to Connecticut at a young age. He has said this numerous times in his journal and in interviews. He now lives in the Village in NYC. Elixer25 07:28, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Everything I've ever seen says Darien, Connecticut. AMG, for one source, seems to think so. He does live in NYC now, and has for quite some time, but wasn't apparently born there. — Wwagner 19:52, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Moby and The Story So Far

From doing some looking (at AMG and discogs.com), it appears that Moby (album) (which I just created) and The Story So Far are not actually the same album. Looks like TSSF was the Euro release. The two records are published by different companies, and the tracklistings are different. Heck, even the UK and German releases of TSSF carry different tracklistings from each other. Come on, record companies, let's all get on the same page! — Wwagner 19:46, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

DVD releases

I'd like to add the MobyPlay: The DVD, a collection of videos from Play and some other stuff, but I'm not sure where it ought to go in the discography. The albums section? A new DVDs section? Has he released other DVDs? Comments, please! — Wwagner 16:46, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

RFC: Moby quote

• Moby's Height - I have removed the reference to Moby being 4'11" . This is only my second wiki edit, so apologies for not putting this in the correct area of discussion. I couldn't find how to create a new section on this page, sorry. Anyway "Moby is only 4'11" tall, but frequently uses a distorted/stretched lens for filming to make himself appear taller. He has also stated that he wears platform shoes to add 2+ inches to his stature at concerts and raves." Was originally there. If you Google Moby for images, you can find quite a few shots of Moby standing next to other famous people who are AT least more than 5'1" tall (taking the platform shoes comment on board). The reference used in the original claim is an actual magazine, so I couldn't verify its contents. Hoping I've not goof ed too greatly. ChrisM —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.154.205.222 (talk) 09:29, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

• • (On convincing people not to vote for George W. Bush in 2004) "For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you're an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion. Then you go to an anti-immigration website chat room and ask, 'What's all this about George Bush proposing amnesty for illegal aliens?'"[1]

A single editor persists in removing this quote as without a "source," even though it was published in an interview with Moby, Moby hasn't denied it, and there's no evidence he hasn't said it. This needs to be restored. -- FRCP11 12:02, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Hmm. Well, the NYDN is certainly in that gray area between tabloid and respectable newspaper, but in this case I would say keep the quote. At least it's from the Front Page of the NYDN and not from the Daily Dish section. Merzbow 04:43, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Moby writes about politics on his blog several times a week. If we are to include every little phrase that he mentions politics this section would be huge.--8bitJake 17:32, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

The particular reason for your revert of this quote was not because there would be too many quotes, but because you criticized the source. Do you or do you not dispute the source any longer? If not, then let's discuss the optimal number of political quotes to include. Personally, I do not think one more would be 'too many'. - Merzbow 22:29, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Both reasons. I don’t think a New York tabloid rag is really the best source or information for an encyclopedia biography. The other reason is that Moby is a very involved political activist and we are going to include political quotes we should include a wide swatch of quotes not just one that the readers of Rightwingnews.com want to focus on. This article is not Wikiquote.--8bitJake 22:35, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

There is nothing preventing you from adding additional quotes that express different sentiments. Just because there 'should' be more info from one perspective does not grant the right to remove well-sourced info from other perspectives. And I'm going to argue heavily now that the NYDN is in fact a reliable source. From New York Daily News:

"The newspaper, which has won 10 Pulitzer Prizes, was founded by Joseph Medill Patterson, a member of the family that published the Chicago Tribune, and from its founding until 1991 was owned by the Tribune." - Merzbow 22:49, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

"TOP COP ADMITS HANKY PANKY" "FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD" Come on it is still a pulp tabloid.--8bitJake 23:04, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

It's clearly reliable enough as a source for a quote from an interview with a rock star (700k readers, 10+ Pulitzers), and your argument that adding a 4th quote to a tiny section that has just 3 now doesn't really hold water. I'm adding it back. - Merzbow 07:42, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm deleting all the political quotes. My reason for deleting the first two is that they don't tell us much about Moby. My reason for deleting the second two is that they are not a neutral point of view. The quotes themselves are neutral (I think it is fair to point out that Moby spoke out against George W Bush), but I think someone has used these quotes specifically so that they can then link to two politically charged articles. I've also deleted the Virgin Galactic sentences. I can't believe that Moby, given his concern for the environment, would pay to fly to space. The source is a web page that anyone can edit, so is unreliable. (Chorleypie 17:06, 6 January 2007 (UTC))

He doesn´t belong to the category "Christian Musicians", because this category it´s ONLY for musicians who do christian music, as you can read there.

Just wondering. In the Gobliiins game titles someone named "Moby" is mentioned (music & sound effects). Is it this Moby or somebody else?

Moby attacked

IIRC, Moby was physically assaulted outside of a nightclub last year or so. I couldn't find anything about this in the article, but it may be a valuable inclusion since it made national headlines. Czj 05:08, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I was looking for that in the article. I remember hearing that. People thought Eminem was behind it; however, he wasn't. I'll try to find a source for it. Wikipediarules2221 01:06, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

The infobox is a band infobox?

Moby isn't a band, why the artice uses a band infobox?
In my opinion, the infobox template should be replaced with one for musical artists. I don't do this myself just because I don't know much about the artist, plus I'm afraid to mess everything up. Litis 13:02, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Since he is the only member in his project, than it's ok to put a band infobox in there. Human historian 21:40, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Someone anonymous changed "ambient" to "math rock". I've reverted it. Ambient definitely needs mentioning; I'm not certain that he doesn't do math rock, but the rock songs I know (What Love, Bodyrock and those on Animal Rights) don't fit the description. (Chorleypie 18:04, 27 January 2007 (UTC))

Jewish?

I know that Moby isn't a RELIGIOUS Jew, but he still could be an ethnic Jew. Does anyone know his ancestry? He seems, looks, and acts Jewish to me, and was born in NYC to boot. So, I only have to ask: is Moby a Jew? --64.12.116.70 15:08, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Uh, what? His name is "Richard Melville Hall", which is essentially as WASPish as a name can be; he has blue eyes (not that that means much); and he is a practising Christian. What exactly is it about him that "seems, looks, and acts Jewish"? I'm not seeing it. --Saforrest 00:04, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

Remix..

Moby remixed Sophie Ellis-Bextor's song "Is it any Wonder". As far as I know his remix has yet to be released, though it certainly has leaked (I have it). Is this worth noting? I think it would have been done around 2001ish. This was actually a Production job, his version didn't make the album though. (read my lips)

Moby's version of the song "Is it any wonder" is on Sophie Ellis-Bextor's debut album. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.32.44.57 (talk) 12:48, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

Re-write

What's all this talk about racism and him being a Jew?? Also he is most DEFINATELY not a fundamentalist Christian. I think most of the article needs a re-write as it is poorly written and more emphasis needs to be placed on his left-wing political beliefs as these are very near and dear to him. Much more detail is needed on each of his main albums from Play onwards. I think the political quotes also need to go as these are confusing and pointless... Feedback? Elixer25 07:18, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

You're right, this article could be improved. How about something on his education, or his extensive essays on his album sleeve notes? I think these essays reflect his political views better than those quotes. And how about replacing the massive list of "Moby's songs used in other media" with just three or four examples of films and perhaps an advert or two that use his records? As for his religion, I have a copy of an interview he gave around 1993 where he said his main love is Jesus Christ; but I half-recall a later essay where he muses about what fundamentalism actually means Chorleypie 12:39, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

The best thing about Moby is there is years of political blogs in his journal for us to use at our disposal for sources... Chorleypie I believe the fundamentalism essay is in the Play notes? He also touches on this in the 18 notes as well. Anyway I think that the separation of dates in Moby's career should go and be replaced with album subheadings followed by the text. Is there also a better picture of him!? Elixer25 07:23, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Elixer - but I don't have Play or 18! Happy for you to add information from them. I like your idea of album subheadings. I think the picture is good though! I've done quite a bit of work today, adding "Essays", moving some info to "Moby's songs used in other media" and "Innovation" (although I can think of lots more I'd like to do). I've deleted (i) some information that is available on other Wikipedia pages like Laura Dawn, Live Here Now and New York, New York, (ii) a broken Stamford Advocate link which I've replaced with a link to Moby's own site, and (iii) "A 2005 flash animation of the same name on Newgrounds by Kevin Landry" from the Porcelain list in "...other media". Newgrounds appears to be a site where individuals can put their own flash animations and it doesn't mention Kevin Landry. My guess it is his private work which hasn't got widespread circulation. (Chorleypie 15:10, 2 January 2007 (UTC))

More tidying up: I've deleted "See also". Some links were duplicates of those earlier in the article, and the others tell us nothing extra about Moby. I've also deleted the "External Links" to music. I don't know how many music databases there are, but I fear only showing links to three of them implies endorsement of those three. (Chorleypie 19:26, 2 January 2007 (UTC))

Early Years - Voodoo Child, etc?

He had these other aliases early on. There's no mention of these. I've seen a CD of his, attributed to "Moby/Voodoo Child", and the artist info block on the top of this article lists a bunch more that I've not even heard of. It would be a nice bit of information to know when he used those and what for.

Voodoo Child is mentioned, on the fifth line. I remember getting a Mute mailing list flyer in the mid-90s advertising the Voodoo Child album 'The End of Everything', where Moby explained his reasons for using this pseudonym, but I've lost it. I won't put it on the main site because I can't remember what it said, but I'm pretty sure it was something like "saves me having to worry about things like ... album sales .... It's one of my children and I love it dearly." The album sleeve notes don't mention this; their main feature is one of his shorter essays on not eating animals. (Chorleypie 22:45, 21 November 2006 (UTC))

Please remove Gayfag from Also Known As.

Someone keeps adding Pippy Baliunas the the list of aliases. This is incorrect, i'm not sure why this keeps being added in. Tomarg23 (talk) 13:40, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Pippy Baliunas is correct, but obscure and mentioned in a caption in the Spin Magazine book cited. More on this alias below under the last discussion entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.197.207.69 (talk) 14:20, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

"Selling Out"

Mainstream reviewers have raved about his talents on the 1999 album Play, though some early fans were let down.

My personal feeling is that accusations of "selling out," which the "early fans" here are likely to have used instead, are generally irrelevant: the complaints of people who found something obscure, liked it, then became nonplussed that the obscure thing they'd found to like had become popular, and so their imagined coolness had been diminished as a result. (imagined coolness being a function of scornfulness and antisocial attitudes). I've seen this happen with fans of R.E.M. (Out of Time), Metallica (The black album, then again with Napster), and even South Park (what could Matt Stone and Trey Parker possibly have sold out? Has there been a more iconoclastic show on TV?) Bob Dylan, of course, "Sold Out" when he plugged in a guitar--that dastardly fellow, so inconsiderate to all those people who moved cashed out their Paul Anka stock to buy into a Zimmerman portfolio.

My favorite story about "selling out" is about The Beatles--the ubiquitous unnamed "early fans" in some article released in 1965 were cited as saying that with Help!, The Beatles had Sold Out. Slaves to the system, those boys, with not a whit of creativity, and of course 1965 was the year they compromised their artistic integrity and were forgotten. Some musicologists still remember them as a historical footnote, mostly as an influence on The Guess Who. Koyaanis Qatsi 20:24, 8 Aug 2003 (UTC)

lol. let me wipe up the irony that drips from my monitor... akaDruid 12:22, 10 Aug 2004 (UTC)

i really disagree and don't see Moby's change in style as at all comparable to these other bands, who just got big and "sold out" in the more typical sense. while i doubt any of his current fans would remember this, back in the day Moby was the corny and disputable but de-facto super-star of the early-mid nineties underground US techno-rave scene. in fact, one could say he had quite a hand in getting that movement going, what with starting one of the first record labels therein and putting out many releases under different names, creating the illusion of a much bigger and more active scene already in place to kind of jump-start things, much as Psychic TV did for the acid house scene in the late eighties in the UK. he'd often experiment with non-techno, but it was all pretty awefull. then, he gets hugely popular in the mainstream now with some different-sounding stuff that doesn't completely suck, gets all over MTV, and before you know it he's completely different and has totally left his techno-electronics in the dust. my problem with that isn't that he got popular, but that the second he did he ditches his home scene. it's like the goth who starts going to punk shows, and the next thing you know they're punk as #uck, and always have been! after all the support, to just bail on your scene like that, especially when they really needed you, is pretty dern lame. and i would much rather he kept making some really top-notch techno music to some spotty to horrendous pop crap instead. and have you seen him live lately? what a joke! and Moby should never, EVER be allowed to sing!!! someone REALLY should have stopped that a LONG time ago!( also, this page is really sloppy and direly needs the attention of someone better versed in this earlier era. i find it pretty disgusting that his entire illustrious techno career gets little more mention than some punk bands he played with as a kid, and the tiniest fraction of the volumes on his new life. i don't know what to expect though, as pretty much all of his old fans gave up on him many years ago. -- Elgaroo 19:10, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

Elgaroo, please can you stick to the talk page guidelines? (Chorleypie 15:10, 2 January 2007 (UTC))

needs to be added to "Moby's songs used in other media"

his song Beautiful from Hotel was in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, so can someone please add it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.128.254.35 (talk) 22:09, 18 February 2007 (UTC).

Faith

I have deleted the discussion of Moby's faith in the magazine "Campus Life" in agreement with High on a Tree and disagreement with IzaakdeM. I think Wikipedia should list Moby's comments on his faith but not other people's comments. (Chorleypie 10:12, 23 February 2007 (UTC))

Moby's songs used in other media

Moby's songs used in other media should be merged with his discography IMHO. TubularWorld 19:53, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

Confusion on name origin

In the introductory section it reads that Herman Melville was Moby's great great great great uncle and that Moby was the nickname given to him by his parents "soon after birth". In the section Besides music Melville is stated to be his great great uncle, and that Moby chose that name as a tribute. These sections should be brought to correspondence. __meco 20:35, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Article near to become a Good Article

Not much is needed before this article should be presented for a GA evaluation. There are a couple of citation needed tags, and the issue involving the section Moby's songs used in other media needs to be resolved. __meco 20:39, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

I also think that having a selected discography in the article itself, like in the Tiësto article, would be a good idea. __meco 07:45, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Disambig for progressive music

There is a progressive music link in a section. Please disambiguate by linking to the proper style. [2] -- Kl4m ^{Talk Contrib} 06:00, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Govideo.jpg

Image:Govideo.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 08:11, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Nevermind, I am an idiot. 58.108.225.51 (talk) 02:25, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Bart Simpson

That is awesome.. I see no reference in the simpsons articles, I wonder if Matt Groening named Bart after him, it's just too much of a weird coincidence. Moby was basically unheard of when he created the simpsons. 121.72.135.114 (talk) 23:50, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Someone vandalised the article saying his real name was Bart Simpson. Thankfully someone else quickly corrected it back to Richard Hall. (Chorleypie (talk) 17:35, 9 February 2008 (UTC))

It am true, I fuckan see'd it up the telloviseon. Undarstand.

Besides Music

http://music.guardian.co.uk/electronic/story/0,,2260505,00.html Read up, in this interview Moby talks about his drug addiction problems, sex parties, etc. He states that his image as a vegan, christian were "just the tip of the iceberg" and also brings up that he's done enough ecstacy for his brain to be "swiss cheese". Lots of great background info and personal aspects he's never discussed before. Should fit into the article nicely.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Pafufta816 (talk • contribs) 16:31, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the article. According to it, he had girlfriends (that his "friends" attempted to steal) and normally on celebrity pages there is a section on relationships. I wondered if he were gay or not, and the answer appears to be at the very least, not entirely. I don't think that sexuality is somethign that wikipedia mentions, but it might mention a girlfriend or two, especially if they did not mind. They might even like it. --Timtak (talk) 05:55, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Big beat?

A few songs of Moby could be categorised as big beat, and this genre it's not apearing on front page. For example: James Bond theme, Ah-ah, Aint Never Learned, Anthem, Electricity,... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sarkozila (talk • contribs) 09:03, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

Alias inserted by 98.197.207.69

As the only online documents mentioning the name "Pippy Baliunas" seem to be copies of older versions of this Wikipedia article (highly unusual for such an information about a global pop star from the last two decased), and the only editor who insists on including this information is an anonymous user with a contribution history consisting almost exclusively of vandalism and insertion of fake information, I suggest that we wait for an user in good standing to verify the claims of 98.197.207.69 with regard to the given offline reference. Regards, High on a tree (talk) 15:48, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

I am not completely familiar with how Wikipedia's system works but i can guarantee from Moby himself that this "Pippy Baliunas" is not a true alias and needs to be removed permanently.Tomarg23 (talk) 13:39, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Hello, and thank you for your concern regarding this alias. It's understandable because this is a community IP address that has apparently been used for strange and non-constructive edits in the past by others at this facility. I have re-included "Pippy Baliunas" over the past few days because it's cited to a reputable and verifiable publication, and I am aware of no Wikipedia rules restricting edits due to editing history of a community IP address. I will look into scanning the cited page for proof (I own the book), and invite any skeptical editors to check out the book and see for themselves. The alias in question is mentioned briefly in a caption discussing Moby's very early years producing local music. Pippy Baliunas was, like Lopez, DJ Cake, etc. one of his less well-known alternate stage names during that time.

Regards.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.197.207.69 (talk) 14:18, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

What kind of community? Regards, High on a tree (talk) 16:29, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

A youth educational/athletic community. Naturally, there are a lot of unruly teens and young adults here who use the wireless network. I admit I should create an account and name so that my edits won't be understandably mistaken for the work of vandals. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.197.207.69 (talk) 17:03, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Your claims are becoming less and less credible. I am familiar with the kind of vandalism typical for unruly teens and young adults, and this is different. The previous vandalism from your IP is falls into exactly the same pattern as your edits in this article - inserting outlandish claims about entertainment figures and revert-warring to keep them in.

It also seems that you insisted last month that Moby's real name is Bart Simpson. Was that also from the book that you are citing?

Regards, High on a tree (talk) 17:14, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Your assertions are incorrect. First, the sort of vandalism that came from whoever used this IP address previously does indeed consist of "revert wars" of similar nature, but this only indicates that whoever made THOSE edits operated in a certain fashion. Revert wars are common among disagreeing users, and not reasonable grounds for accusing editors of a shared IP address of being the same person. They probably came from one person or people in privity -- I'll agree -- but that person was not me. Also, none of the previous edits to articles from this IP's strange history contained proper citations. When I originally included Pippy Baliunas some time ago, I also included the "Schaumgummi" alias which is properly cited to Moby's own website. Furthermore, the "Bart Simpson" comment you cite to is made in completely broken English, indicating to an objective viewer that it wasn't me. Also, "Pippy Baliunas" is no more outlandish than most of Moby's other undisputed aliases. In fact, several of them such as "DJ Cake" and "Pork Guys" are even more bizarre. The sort of vandalism that other users of this IP address did to articles (such as James Gandolfini) consisted of the insertion of outlandish information that was uncited and inserted amidst serious content. My inclusion of Pippy Baliunas is incongruent with such edits.

Your excuses appear quite contrived. The completely broken English is obviously used ironically, in line with the other edits from your IP making fun of editors trying to remove vandalism and fakes. (Btw, both the "Bart Simpson" comment and your "Pippy Baliunas" comments are unsigned.)

The chances that two different people using the same community IP both edit Wikipedia, and both independently arrive at the same article talk page (among more than two million) at around the same time (the "Bart Simpson" comment was inbetween your "Pippy Baliunas" edits) are very small. Additionally, during the same time a reference to Moby was inserted in this vandalism edit ("rv vandalism, updated sources") from your IP into a completely unrelated article, Ming the Merciless.

There are hundreds of millions of English speaking Internet users; there have only been about 12 people commenting on this talk page in 2008.

Compare this edit three weeks ago in Andy Kaufman. It was written in a serious tone, but curiously is not verifiable online, and was reverted as vandalism. (Andy Kaufman, in which edits from your IP take such an interest, was a comedian famous for tricking his audience into believing wrong things, often using a dead serious behaviour.)

Likewise, your claim about Moby could not verified online, despite its subject being one of the most visible and commercially successful figures of electronic music, about whom a very large amount of text has been written during the last years, practically since the Internet became mainstream. Not all facts can be found online, but for this kind of fact it is very unusual not appear online.

Regards, High on a tree (talk) 00:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

(undent)No hits from google except wikipedia mirrors, making it very, very dubious. Please provide a quote with the information, perhaps we'll be able to turn up a hit from google books. If not, a page number should be provided so the source can be verified by other editors. His blog search turns up nothing for pippy, I think it's dubious. I'm going through the rest of his aliases and they're turning up. All of them turn up non-wiki sources except PB. Dubious. WLU (talk) 01:09, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

The existing PB alias citation has a page number - p. 49. See citation at bottom of article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.197.207.69 (talk) 01:17, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

And right now the only person who can verify that is an anonymous account that is an anonymous account that is prone to vandalism. Please provide a quotation. WLU (talk) 01:38, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

In addition, even if Moby has that nickname attributed to him, has he released anything under that name? Are there any CDs that were produced, written, released by Pippy? Has he done anything notable under that name? What advantage is there to having this information on the page when there's nothing attached to the name? All the other aliases I looked into had music attached to them, CD releases, or some sort of on-line reference. He's Moby, all his old material under previous bands and pseudonyms seems to be released. What did he release as Pippy? What singles, albums, tracks, what have you? And if the name truly is used frequently, you're better off waiting until you've convinced other contributors rather than unilaterally trying to implement the change in the face of opposition. WLU (talk) 22:53, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Requested quote for Pippy has been added within reference at bottom of article. I don't believe any mainstream or currently produced CD's have been released under that name, though there may have at one point been local recordings. Perhaps it was a name he used while DJ'ing or playing live. Since it's not mentioned on Google, it's probably not a name he used frequently, but it's apparently a valid one all the same. Valid enough to have been mentioned in a Spin special edition. My best guess is that it was retrieved from one of their interviews, an insider source, or perhaps that it's more well-known in areas where he plays locally such as the New York club/rave scene. I maintain that it should stay. Its purpose is to be informational, of course.

If it's not attached to any music, if it's not verifiable outside of one book, why include it? What if he used it once? A google search for the name, using an exact quotation of the previous wikipedia text to remove all the mirrors. Three hits. It's so trivial, I don't think it's worth including. WLU (talk) 23:17, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Even these three hits are copies of this Wikipedia article, just of different versions. In any case, Pippy Baliunas would surely fail WP:MUSIC. Regards, High on a tree (talk) 00:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

But WLU's suggestion was to provide a quotation so that we be able to turn up a hit from google books, and your quotation fails that. Quotations can be made up just as easily as citations, of course. Regards, High on a tree (talk) 00:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Conclusion: We have a piece of information which is likely to be faked, and which is of questionable notability anyway. Therefore I will continue to remove this (as four other users have done too), until an editor in good standing confirms this information, and I ask 98.197.207.69 politely not to damage Wikipedia's reliability and not to make fun of our verifiability policy. Regards, High on a tree (talk) 00:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree, there's no reason to include a nickname that appears to be mentioned once and received no attention, released no music and DJ-ed at no major shows. Common sense suggests that there's no information advantage to including dubiously-sourced material (if it's mentioned only once, it's possible that the authors of the book made an error) With no real improvement to the page I see no reason to include it. WLU (talk) 14:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Relationship to Herman Melville

A source is currently missing for the claim that Moby is related to Herman Melville, and got his middle name and pseudonym in reference to him. It is currently not mentioned in the biography on moby.com. This blog posting rather convincingly argues that both are not related. It is in German and probably not citable as a reliable source anyway, but the sources cited there are in English and look quite solid - for example, it says that there is no Richard Melville Hall mentioned in ISBN 0801881862, an extensive Herman Melville biography with a family tree of his descendants up to birth year 2001.

Until it can be disproven definitely, I have changed the statement, qualifying it as a mere claim by Moby, who actually sort of distanced himself from it in this CNN interview:

He says his parents gave him the nickname Moby: "The basis for Richard Melville Hall -- and for Moby -- is that supposedly Herman Melville was my great-great-great-granduncle."

Regards, High on a tree (talk) 03:51, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Food Stamps!??

I'd like to see a citation for the part of the page, which states that he lived on Food Stamps, in Darien CT? An area that has a median house hold income of $146,755??? Is this correct? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jackdelyelis (talk • contribs) 16:43, 13 June 2008 (UTC) (Jackdelyelis (talk) 16:46, 13 June 2008 (UTC))

Merging Essays, Besides Music, Activism, and Faith.

Could we possible merge the mentioned categories into two or perhaps even three different ones?

much of the information inside the categories are interchangeable and could be applied in any of the topics.

anyone agree?

Wikifan12345 (talk) 02:40, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Picture

Could someone please find a better picture of Moby? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.209.123.126 (talk) 15:28, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I second that. KenFehling (talk) 07:26, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

His religion

Moby say's he believes Jesus to have been "divine" now aside from Muslims and a few random micro-religions the only people who would say that are Christians so he's a Christian. --Protostan (talk) 02:59, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

"i don't even really think of myself as a christian" (http://www.moby.com/journal/2001-02-09/religion.html). If he doesnt consider himself a Christian, he isn't a Christian. Also please note the comment at the top of the categories (Ive moved it to make it more obvious) - it says "Religious categories are not to be included unless relevant to the person's public life Category:American Episcopalians". Thanks. Metao (talk) 03:03, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

At the drop of a hat I was able to find that he's given an interview to Sojourners Magazine, talked about his religion with the BBC, and does talk about the teaching of Jesus on his blog.

And there's more: check this out "I can't really know anything. Having said that, though, on a very subjective level I love Christ. I perceive Christ to be God, but I predicate that with the knowledge that I'm small and not nearly as old as the universe that I live in. I take my beliefs seriously for myself, but I would be very uncomfortable trying to tell anyone that I was right." [3].

He sees to be a humble guy who doesn't identify with the media's portrayal of what a Christian is yet he believes deeply. --Protostan (talk) 03:11, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Oh, he is definitely a believer, I dont dispute that. What I dispute is twofold. First, he isn't a Christian in the sense that he doesn't (appear to) belong to any particular denomination, and he clearly doesn't identify himself as Christian. Second, I dispute that his faith is not relevant enough to his public image to warrant categorisation. Regarding the latter point, I could see myself being convinced otherwise - that his faith (or rather, the level of media attention given to his faith) does warrant categorisation, but how can we categorise someone who does not categorise himself? If sources contradict the man himself, we have to go with the man, right? Although we 'could' talk in the article about how his faith is reported vs how he describes it himself, as long as we are careful not to get into OR. Metao (talk) 05:59, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Not all Christians belong to a denomination and amazon.com has identified him as a Christian as has Christianity Today. 71.142.250.117 (talk) 21:36, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Amazon is not a reliable source. Christianity Today is arguably a biased source. In any case, you have not provided evidence that his faith is relevant to his public image. Even if you had, Moby does not consider himself Christian. Metao (talk) 00:19, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Let's agree if he is a Christian or not first. If necessary, we can come to relevance and whether he is Episcopalian or something else later. I agree with Metao that Moby's own descriptions override what Amazon and Christianity Today say. However this makes it difficult because Moby is ambiguous - he says "I perceive Christ to be God" but also "I don't even really think of myself as a Christian". I think there is enough doubt that we have to remove the categorisation as "Christian". Similarly, if someone tried to categorise him as "Non-Christian" there is enough doubt that we would have to remove that too. (Chorleypie (talk) 16:14, 15 February 2009 (UTC))

Moby remix for Nas

The article says about Moby's remix for Nas. I never heard about such thing. Does anyone know what it is - if this information is true? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.23.25.110 (talk) 19:20, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Pippy Baliunas

Please stop adding this as an alternative name, unless you can find a referenced, authoritative source. It is not listed on Moby's webpage. It seems to appear only in a block of text that features on several dozen gossip and info sites that all appear to be using content originally taken from Wikipedia, in a bizarro feedback loop. Metao (talk) 03:48, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Eminem

Has this page ever featured a section on rapper Eminem's attacks on Moby? Many fans of pop culture have a limited knowledge of Moby, relegated essentially to "Southside" and "that guy who got called a fag by eminem".

Bah, that's just Eminem talking back to one of many people that criticized him for anything. My opinion is that it's not particularly relevant.

I thought Moby was a band

It says it's the guy be he performs with a girl... who's the girl? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Spoon45 (talk • contribs) 16:29, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

NAS???

"...remixed the Beastie Boys, David Bowie, Nas..."

Someone give me please info that Nas really have Moby's remix. What song? I can't find any info. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mitrandisc (talk • contribs) 22:01, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Contribution to "Earthlings" Soundtrack

Moby also contributed the soundtrack to the animal rights documentation EARTHLINGS. http://www.earthlings.com/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.134.174.21 (talk) 11:05, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Destruyed - allbum "contradiction".

I've removed the line about Moby's description of the released album contradicting his comment from Jan 2010 as he said it would be "less electronic", not "not electronic". There's no inherent contradiction in the statements. Jack of Many (talk) 20:07, 7 August 2011 (UTC)