Wednesday 26 May 2010

A Music Note

I have a few pet peeves today in regards to the music industry.
One of them is the lack of originality.
The other is how many people have no idea about the original songs
these 'new' tracks have borrowed from.
While I am certainly no guru on the subject,
I have decided to dedicate my first post to some songs that you
may or may not have known were sampled and re-used to make big hits.

The first culprit - Poker Face by Lady Gaga
While I am the first to admit that Gaga is musics recent
performance savior - It doesn't change
the fact that one of the base elements of Poker Face
is indeed been borrowed from that of...

Ma Baker by Boney M
The now rapturous MA MA MA MA's first happen at about
1:03, then continues throughout the rest of the song.
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This one really hits a nerve with me.

Watcha Say from Jason DerĂ¼lo
The 'mmm watcha say' that this song is so well known for
is, in fact, from the beautiful...

Imogen Heap, with Hide and Seek
You will find the familiar melody hiding somewhere around 2:52,
but I highly recommend the entire song.
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This next one is probably the best example
I can give of how this happens today.

Right Now from Akon - I've had to use the non-official version
because of Vevo constraints - Sorry

This particular song has zero originality, It doesn't make it not a great tune
- in fact I love it and used to play it on repeat.
It still doesn't change the fact that it is a complete rip off of this next song
- right down to the 'Na Na Na's and the excessive auto-tune.

Remember from The Underdog Project

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While the next example is not particularly well known,
it will tickle the fancy of some more classically trained musicians out there,
or just fans of Mancini.
---------** WARNING**--------- The following song contains very adult content.

Dance with the Devil from Immortal Technique

The first time I heard Dance with the Devil it really touched me
and reminded me that I am human,
but part of what makes it so powerful is the jumps between sixths that is...
Henri Mancini's Love Story
My grandparents used to have a music box that played this song,
I still think of that when I hear this.

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**EDIT** Before you start bombarding me saying this is a collaboration- That's great, I'm happy you know, many don't.**End EDIT**

With this one I kind of feel like I am beating a dead horse.
So many people complain about this one,
yet it is still something people just don't get. Just have a little listen to the first 20 seconds of each one
and you will get my drift.

Here is the original..
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger from Daft Punk

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These are obviously only a few of the many, many, many, many
(you get the idea) examples that could be used, the list goes on and on.
There are countless Michael Jackson bass licks and Beatles melodies hidden
in todays 'fresh' music, but I was trying to focus on
really obvious samples here. I'd love to hear your pet peeves in this area.

Leave me a message in the comments with anything you feel like should be on this list.

Thanks - KT



4 comments:

  1. I Don't Have to Try - Avril Lavigne and I'm The Kinda by Peaches, and then of course, I probably don't have to tell you about Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" and Toni Basil's "Hey, Mickey."

    JUST ALIKE!!

    Also, I am pretty sure that there was a song by Ashlee Simpson that used some of the same chords as a Zeppelin song, but I can't really remember what.

    - Alyssa

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  2. Yesterday's TED talk was about how the lack of copyright helped the creativity on the fashion industry:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL2FOrx41N0

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  3. Katie, I don't know if it's just my computer screen, but the text gets cut off on the right side.

    And I love this post! :)

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  4. Creative arts have always been about ripping people off. I could go on all day with examples.
    @alyssa Girlfriend is a straight up rip off, she didn't even try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1PaOziQrzc
    "Hey, Mickey" predates both and has a similar cheerleader feel (and is better known), I think your jaw will hit the floor at this one though. It's far more obvious that the "David Bowie and Queen v. Vanilla Ice" case

    I also don't entirely agree with Kanye's Stronger, aside from nobody remembering where it really came from. He's not trying to pass it off as his, and it's an awesome song. (though most of the awesome comes from daft punk)

    Another similar case is Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone (the numa numa song). Nobody here knows who it is. For being such an internet sensation for a few years I'm surprised people don't recognize it. I remember laughing my ass off the first time I heard "live your life" by Rihanna because I was picturing a fat kid lipsynching to it. Again, she wasn't trying to pass it off as hers, just sampling a catchy beat, but people don't know where it came from. She's far from the only one, I've heard it sampled in other music as well.

    This is of course totally disregarding the little kids that will accuse George Micheal of ripping off Seether ten years on.

    Straight up plagiarism is pretty rare, most of the time it's the fans fault for not getting it, rather than the artists.

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