Sampling and Borrowing the Melody
Some of my very favorite music from the last quarter-century utilizes sampling. I can remember an era when the very concept of sampling someone else’s music was up for debate. Public Enemy was a group who sampled more heavily than any of their contemporaries and in doing so created an undeniably original sound. But times changed. The debate about sampling was a red herring and was much less about ethics of borrowing than it was about corporations recognizing an opportunity to cash in. Here Chuck D. and Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy talk about the era.
So where is the ethical line in sampling? What is the difference between homage and just plain thievery? Recently, Lady Sovereign dropped a track called So Human. The hook to the better part of the song is borrowed from the The Cure. As is the entire chorus melody. And presumably, all proper sampling and publishing rights were accounted for. More likely than not, Robert Smith of The Cure wouldn’t mind her doing so. Is this art talking to art? Is it just lazy poor pop music? I can’t help but to think that when the entire hook of the song is lifted and so is the vocal melody for the chorus, nothing has significantly been changed except for the lyrics. Isn’t that what Weird Al Yankovic use to do. At least he had the grace to call it parody.