I like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and that type of synthesized 80s music (not enough to buy any of that kind of music, but bear with me). The problem is, I’ve never been able to really find any radio station that plays that genre. So, imagine my surprise when, while flipping through the stations, I hear the background from a Duran Duran (?) song.
Imagine my surprise when it ended up being Rhianna’s song SOS.
Skip ahead a few weeks to my High School’s weight room. The radio is blasting present-day hits, and then, without warning, I hear the tune to ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!. It is a serendipitous moment, broken almost immediately by the vocalist singing, “Time goes by so slowly.”
It is not ABBA. The “Material Girl” has perverted something new, this time with her song Hung Up. Granted, it’s catchy, but why steal a tune from ABBA?
The next scenario is a stake dance. I have just listened to Guns and Roses’ hilarious rendition of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Later on in the queue came a song with the following lyrics:
Take a look at my girlfriend
Shes the only one I got
Not much of a girlfriend
Never seem to get a lot
“This is Supertramp!” I exclaim, pumping my fist. But, before I could even start thinking about how I could possibly dance to Supertramp, the song continued, in a very rap-esque way:
It’s been some time since we last spoke
This is gonna sound like a bad joke
But momma I fell in love again
It’s safe to say I have a new girlfriend
Nope, this isn’t Supertramp with Breakfast in America, this is Gym Class Heroes with Cupid’s Chokehold.
Why? WHY!?
Apparently this thing happens a lot–and has been happening for a long time. It really bothers me, to expect to hear one great song and have it end up being something completely different.
July 26, 2007 at 6:00 pm
the rihanna song “SOS” lifts soft cell’s cover of “tainted love.” not any Duran Duran song.
but i see you general point. (not that i agree with it)
July 26, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Thanks for the info. I’m not too savvy when it comes to music, and I’ve probably got most of this stuff wrong.
July 26, 2007 at 8:36 pm
If you dont care enough about the music that is being sampled to buy it, then why do you care that it is sampled in the first place? Sounds like maybe you care more than you are letting on, and thats a good thing. i grew up with 80s post punk and new wave, they are still my favourite genres of music. I cant deal with a lot of new music for this exact reason, i can respect DJ’s and remixers, who work on a track and change it drastically, but when you are basically taking an entire song and putting your vocals over it, its not really art anymore, its like a counterfeit painting…