tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post4500000714615137538..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Time for MusicBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-86383448035451920182015-03-13T06:39:44.351-05:002015-03-13T06:39:44.351-05:00But I would hardly call the Beatles, one of the fe...But I would hardly call the Beatles, one of the few truly original musical groups in pop, "notorious plagiarists". Led Zeppelin, yes, the Beatles, no. There was a court case about a couple of lines of the lyrics to John Lennon's Come Together, but the music itself was completely original. I think there was a George Harrison song that was shown to be too similar to another song. But really, this is just the amount of legal maneuvering you would expect with a group that successful. Money attracts lawsuits the way honey attracts flies. The Beatles were doing some genuinely new things. Led Zeppelin were recycling old blues songs with bigger amplifiers.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-66530771650045013572015-03-13T06:32:46.305-05:002015-03-13T06:32:46.305-05:00I have a couple of items about that case in today&...I have a couple of items about that case in today's miscellanea post. I think that there are two fundamental principles that are running up against one another here. On the one hand, pop music is a commercial or industrial process akin to sausage-making given an aura of artistry by promotion and marketing. But at the same time the illusion is cultivated that every pop musician is a true artist, marching to the beat of their own drummer, a special unique snowflake telling the story of their deep inner emotional life. With a backbeat. All this stuff about inspiration and doing a homage to another artist is to be understood as the actions of those who are still deeply original people. A case like this tends to shatter the illusions. Different pop songs tend to have the same underlying structure the way different Chevrolets are built on the same chassis.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-85935791414593029932015-03-12T16:53:59.675-05:002015-03-12T16:53:59.675-05:00Speaking of lawsuits... I am curious to hear your ...Speaking of lawsuits... I am curious to hear your take on the Gaye estate's (winning) lawsuit against William Pharrell for plagiarism.<br /><br />I find the whole thing ludicrous on so many levels. Pop music has a limited range so recycling old ideas is inevitable.<br /><br />But there's something more pernicious at work. Of course shameless plagiarism exists and should not be tolerated: all artists must try to make an original contribution. But it's the idea that "borrowing" or even "stealing" is bad that gets me. Baroque musicians were trained by retooling the works of the old masters. Incorporating elements from the past was an essential part of their craft. Of course, what you made with it was the ultimate test -- but what Pharrell Williams is accused of doing is something Bach did all the time (and Handel even more). <br /><br />The Beatles were notorious plagiarists (like Led Zeppelin). So what? The point is that they stole from others to create a unique work of art that distinctly theirs. <br /><br />Blurred Lines borrows from Marvin Gaye's Got to Give it Up, that's true, but it's a complete different song (a pretty bad one if you ask me).<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-74064675964838066982015-03-12T08:00:03.114-05:002015-03-12T08:00:03.114-05:00Wouldn't that make an interesting opera libret...Wouldn't that make an interesting opera libretto: the Cage vs Björk Trial!<br /><br />I am most familiar with Mann's book Doktor Faustus. It was many years ago that I read the Magic Mountain, sounds like I should revisit it.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-478168040534602732015-03-11T18:51:29.456-05:002015-03-11T18:51:29.456-05:00I'd love to witness that lawsuit being argued,...I'd love to witness that lawsuit being argued, the attorneys for JC on the one side, for Bjork on the other.... Think of the witnesses who might be called to testify!<br /><br />I agree totally with your praise for Prof Berger's self-description/analysis of his own reaction to/relationship with the Schubert. As to the science, well, I shake my head in pleasant agreement without actually knowing anything much beyond what the text in front of me says.<br /><br />I specially appreciated JB's citation of Mann-- there are wonderful passages in Magic Mountain dealing with time etc, in one of which the character Joachim is praising the usefulness of a simple tune that occupies or consumes a... I want to say a period of four minutes but I expect that is my memory playing tricks.Marc in Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04331547981498637474noreply@blogger.com