So here’s one to counterbalance some of the relentless gloom. You can’t call this a turnaround, yet. But if you squint at this in the right light, click your heels three times and think positive thoughts, it’s possible to imagine that it shows you that we’re reaching the end of big music’s big slide.

Here’s what record music sales looked like in the U.S. for the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2010 (courtesy of the RIAA, using Nielsen SoundScan data):

You’ll note that overall sales are still down. But this is the music industry! So a decline of 1.3 percent almost seems like growth spurt. Last year, for instance, sales were down 6.1 percent during the same period.

Again, this is way too early to call the bottom on a decade-long decline. It’s entirely possible that the sales almost-non-decrease is just a temporary burp.

But if sales have stabilized, then things get very interesting. Assets like Warner Music Group, for instance, might actually be undervalued. And digital outlets like Apple’s iTunes and Spotify might finally deliver on the promise that they’ll deliver more money for the industry than its legacy CD business.

In related news, here’s one way to sell music, which seems likely to work for many people in my Twitter/Facebooksphere: Get Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and all your other celebrity/comedy buddies to create a 30-minute video you’ll release in conjunction with your new album.

Which is what the Beastie Boys have done.

Here’s a two-minute teaser trailer, which involves some f and m-f bombs.

Hollywood director James Cameron–whose “Avatar” began the explosion of 3-D in movies–has been complaining about too many substandard movies being made using the technology.

But this film, “Gulliver’s Travels,” starring Jack Black, looks like it will be terrific in 3-D and is chock-full of special effects too.

It’s coming out for Christmas.

Here’s the video of the latest trailer:

The U. S. Supreme Court has put a halt, at least temporarily, on plans to let Google’s (GOOG) video site stream coverage of the “Proposition 8″ trial, which kicked off today in a San Francisco courtroom.

California voters approved Prop. 8, a ban on same-sex marriages, in last fall’s elections, and the court is now being asked to overturn the law. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker was going to allow the trial to be covered, on a tape-delayed basis, on the world’s biggest video site.

But the Supreme Court this morning granted a temporary order overruling Vaughn. The court didn’t explain its reasoning, according to the Los Angeles Times, but perhaps we’ll hear more down the road–the ruling is only supposed to remain in effect until Wednesday.

In the meantime, if you want nearly real-time coverage of the proceedings, you still have other options. The San Jose Mercury News, for instance, is covering the trial from the courtroom. Here’s reporter Howard Mintz’s report on Judge Walker’s explanation of the Supreme Court decision:

Walker is beginning the proceedings by discussing his effort to broadcast the trial by posting it on the court’s Web site by using the YouTube platform. He just noted the court has received more than 138,000 responses to the proposed court rule change that allows broadcast, most in favor. The judge informed the court that only 32 people opposed it, prompting chuckles when he said “the returns are in.”

Other options include Twitter, of course. The American Foundation for Equal Rights, the advocacy group that filed suit to overturn Prop 8, has a hashtag here, for instance.

And if you really want video, here’s another option–an anti-Prop 8 video starring the likes of Jack Black and John C. Reilly:

The video has a star-studded cast, all singing Marc Shaiman’s “Prop 8–The Musical,” including Jack Black (as, um, Jesus), Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Margaret Cho, Allison Janney and others.

It’s set as a musical being presented by the Sacramento Community College Players.

Prop 8, a ballot initiative passed in the November election in California, eliminated the right of gay and lesbian people to marry by overriding a state Supreme court decision and changing the state Constitution.

It is currently undergoing legal challenge.

In any case, this video is very funny, especially the part about shrimp cocktail:

Please see this disclosure related to me and gay marriage.

The video speaks for itself, but it has DeGeneres trying out a thing called a Hawaii chair:

And this is a different kind of funny–warning, it is a aimed directly at teenage boys, including using one to guide the proceedings–from the MTV Movie Awards this week. It features Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Ben Stiller trying to make a viral video for their upcoming movie, “Tropic Thunder.”

Here’s the video: