Theft & Originality
- Thread starter Corpsey
- Start date
IdleRich
IdleRich
In fact it says on wikipedia "Co-written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie (written on a ukulele), the song is known for its opening drumbeat (played by Hunt Sales). The rhythm was based on the Armed Forces Network call signal,[5] which Pop and Bowie picked up on while waiting for a broadcast of Starsky & Hutch.[5] The drumbeat has since been imitated in numerous songs, including "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet and "Selfish Jean" by Travis; however, Sales's use of the rhythm was not original, as it was itself derived from "You Can't Hurry Love", released in July 1966 by The Supremes,[6] and "I'm Ready for Love", released in October 1966 by Martha and the Vandellas. Even Ian Paice of Deep Purple has used the beat in some live performances during the Machine Head Tour."
Corpsey
bandz ahoy
I change it and now it's like the terrible title of a horrible 19th century novel
IdleRich
IdleRich
Didn't they actually say in an interview that they set out to make a song that sounded like Got To Give It Up? After that they were always gonna be struggling to claim any resemblance was coincidental. For what it's worth I didn't think that they were that similar.
IdleRich
IdleRich
I think that that is an important point. Cos there is (potentially) so much money in hit songs there is a lot of time and effort put into proving whether a song did or did not rip off another (or, I think, a good defence is if you can prove that there was another earlier song that is similar to both) and so we end up thinking that the truth of the relationship between tune A and tune B is the same as the result of the legal conclusion but really that's only part of the story.
IdleRich
IdleRich
Fair point. I always hold a totally unreasoned animosity to Costello but I think he's exactly spot on here.
IdleRich
IdleRich
But does it change your opinion in any way now you know that he just nicked it from a horror film?
forclosure
Well-known member
e.g. Killing Jokes Eighties in relation to Come as you are
forclosure
Well-known member
interested to know why? too smart for his own good or is it just his singing voice both are valid imo
IdleRich
IdleRich
But I like the post-modern way that the title both anticipates and deflects that, although sadly it's been changed for a more generic one now.
IdleRich
IdleRich
I was gonna say "no reason" but actually I do remember one thing that annoyed me. Aaaaages ago there was a new release of Beatles songs, in fact two releases, one was red and one was blue. I guess they were remastered versions of the singles or something I dunno. But I remember that when it came out there was a queue to get the cd in HMV or whatever and Elvis Costello stayed up all night to be first in the queue at HMV Oxford Street or something - I just remember thinking "what a prick, who has to performatively stay up all night to buy a load of songs he has already just so we all know what a big Beatles fan he is". I'm not saying that that is the basis of it but I genuinely found that annoying. I mean, do you reckon that he even listened to it when he got home? Perhaps a couple of songs and then... probably thought, you know what I know all this anyway, maybe skip to Tomorrow Never Knows and file away in the collection, the main thing was for everyone to see me buying it after all. Though I might be being totally unfair, perhaps he welded it into his cd player and he listens to it every day ten times.
IdleRich
IdleRich
I actually quite like a few of his songs. Not really got anything against his voice. Though everything he did since he stopped being new wave left me pretty cold. But it's more something about him really. The totally unfair caricature I've built up of him is as someone offensively boring. It is unfair though. I wonder if I can be big enough to stop doing that.
IdleRich
IdleRich
OK I obviously asked that in a silly way, but when you find out that something you really like is effectively copied from something else then does it spoil it for you? Or decrease your opinion of the artist you previously thought was wholly responsible? For me the answer that it certainly can do. It depends on to what extent they've changed it and so on. I don't remember what thread it was but I remember recently talking about songs where essentially someone has taken someone else's song and reissued it as their own with absolutely minimal changes.
forclosure
Well-known member
yes but i thought that was meant to be part of the charm and why we all loved him. Although i have to ask who is "we?" in this scenario