Yesterday in the car with my dad, Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up" came on the radio. I vomited in my mouth a bit when an image of a smug-faced, blinged-out Kanye West came to mind as soon as I heard the familiar brass line. I was immediately reminded of how many people would have naively wondered how this "Mayfield guy" got away with stealing Kanye's "beat".
My dad actively supports artists' rights and copyright laws. He never downloads music, and would frequently question my integrity during my Kazaa and Napster filled preteen days (to no avail). Some how I feel as though my conscience is clear now because I read blogs to get my free mp3s instead of fancy programs that give PC's viruses. (Yeah, I'm kind of full of crap). It was so irritating to me that the potential was so high for someone to wrongfully attribute Mayfield's songwriting to Kanye. I told my dad how irritated I was and he immediately replied, "that's sampling culture for you". It got me thinking.
I'm not one who believes that art or music should be judged predominantly by its degree of difficulty; it's not a problem that sampling can be accessible to the masses because of its ostensible simplicity. It's not even a problem that sampling often exploits the immediate recognizability of the original record. Sampling culture at it's best is something I support, and I feel its a shame that this legitimate art form can sadly be reduced to exploitative plagiarism at its very worst. No, I'm too much a product of the new millennium to be bothered by any potential ills.
The problem is that too many people have a lack of investment in their craft. It's a problem that is especially apparent and easier to fall victim to in sampling culture. A man like Dilla or a guy like Immuzikation (if you haven't checked out "Fish Tacos" do so RIGHT NOW. It's one of the most masterful mash-ups I've heard in a while) obviously has investment in their craft. But it's too easy to pull a Borges "Pierre Menard". Only, after the billionth time of hearing someone else just "choose" someone else's work, it stops being novel. It is the musical equivalent of Duchamp's readymade, but there is one crucial difference. The readymades were placed in a gallery with the intention of being a type of cerebral art. There's usual nothing cerebral about sampling culture, and there doesn't need to be. However, people who listen to the music should be "cerebral" in terms of being more aware of the medium's social implications, and aware of the original music. Not to mention the fact that artists have a responsibility to protect the legitimacy about their craft (and combat any questions claims of its illegitimacy) through their actions: giving credit where credit is due, being knowledgeable, not lazy and fully invested in their music.
The opposite can with sampling, yes. While people can become ignorant of the original material that was sample, people can also learn about music that they never knew existed.
My point is simply this: In an age where everything is easy, and people use music exploitatively (trying to look cool, just making profit, etc...) it would be nice to see musicians, themselves, trying to actively subvert this pervasive laziness in a lot of youth culture, particularly American youth culture. It's inherently easier for people to accuse artists in newer art forms such as beat-making of such laziness, than it is in older ones such as playing an instrument. Playing an instrument can take years upon years to master, and beat-making doesn't necessarily require such intense training. That being said, this is no one's fault, and no one should think that music should be inherently complicated or have to take years to master.
I guess that's why I'm drawn to less familiar music in the first place- it's like a bit of insurance that what I'm listening to is going to be full of heart. The artists aren't making as much money, so they have to love what they're doing enough to compromise luxuries; If I have to go hunting to listen to and read about particular artists I must truly appreciate their work. In this hunt for knowledge I automatically develop a connection to the music, and break away from this generation's pervasive passivity.
My dad actively supports artists' rights and copyright laws. He never downloads music, and would frequently question my integrity during my Kazaa and Napster filled preteen days (to no avail). Some how I feel as though my conscience is clear now because I read blogs to get my free mp3s instead of fancy programs that give PC's viruses. (Yeah, I'm kind of full of crap). It was so irritating to me that the potential was so high for someone to wrongfully attribute Mayfield's songwriting to Kanye. I told my dad how irritated I was and he immediately replied, "that's sampling culture for you". It got me thinking.
I'm not one who believes that art or music should be judged predominantly by its degree of difficulty; it's not a problem that sampling can be accessible to the masses because of its ostensible simplicity. It's not even a problem that sampling often exploits the immediate recognizability of the original record. Sampling culture at it's best is something I support, and I feel its a shame that this legitimate art form can sadly be reduced to exploitative plagiarism at its very worst. No, I'm too much a product of the new millennium to be bothered by any potential ills.
The problem is that too many people have a lack of investment in their craft. It's a problem that is especially apparent and easier to fall victim to in sampling culture. A man like Dilla or a guy like Immuzikation (if you haven't checked out "Fish Tacos" do so RIGHT NOW. It's one of the most masterful mash-ups I've heard in a while) obviously has investment in their craft. But it's too easy to pull a Borges "Pierre Menard". Only, after the billionth time of hearing someone else just "choose" someone else's work, it stops being novel. It is the musical equivalent of Duchamp's readymade, but there is one crucial difference. The readymades were placed in a gallery with the intention of being a type of cerebral art. There's usual nothing cerebral about sampling culture, and there doesn't need to be. However, people who listen to the music should be "cerebral" in terms of being more aware of the medium's social implications, and aware of the original music. Not to mention the fact that artists have a responsibility to protect the legitimacy about their craft (and combat any questions claims of its illegitimacy) through their actions: giving credit where credit is due, being knowledgeable, not lazy and fully invested in their music.
The opposite can with sampling, yes. While people can become ignorant of the original material that was sample, people can also learn about music that they never knew existed.
My point is simply this: In an age where everything is easy, and people use music exploitatively (trying to look cool, just making profit, etc...) it would be nice to see musicians, themselves, trying to actively subvert this pervasive laziness in a lot of youth culture, particularly American youth culture. It's inherently easier for people to accuse artists in newer art forms such as beat-making of such laziness, than it is in older ones such as playing an instrument. Playing an instrument can take years upon years to master, and beat-making doesn't necessarily require such intense training. That being said, this is no one's fault, and no one should think that music should be inherently complicated or have to take years to master.
I guess that's why I'm drawn to less familiar music in the first place- it's like a bit of insurance that what I'm listening to is going to be full of heart. The artists aren't making as much money, so they have to love what they're doing enough to compromise luxuries; If I have to go hunting to listen to and read about particular artists I must truly appreciate their work. In this hunt for knowledge I automatically develop a connection to the music, and break away from this generation's pervasive passivity.
Please don't incorrectly simplify this post to "oh, she doesn't like hip-hop or support sampling". If you're that stupid, you probably can't read this post, anyway. But, next time "Touch the Sky" comes on and someone mentions how great the beat is, I'm going to only mildly agree... then send them a link to a site about Curtis Mayfield.
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