Althouse: "Remember that copyright litigation between Marvin Gaye and the folks behind Blurred Lines?"

September 17, 2014

"Remember that copyright litigation between Marvin Gaye and the folks behind Blurred Lines?"

"Well, Pharrell and Robin Thicke's depositions have now been made public, and let's just say that they perhaps didn't go so well...."

47 comments:

Nonapod said...: Pharrell Williams: Because it's the white man singing soulfully and we, unfortunately, in this country don't get enough — we don't get to hear that as often, so we get excited by it when the mainstream gives that a shot. But there's a lot of incredibly talented white folk with really soulful vocals, so when we're able to give them a shot — and when I say 'we,' I mean like as in the public gives them a shot to be heard, then you hear the Justin Timberlakes and you hear the Christina Aguileras and you hear, you know, all of these masterful voices that have just been given, you know, an opportunity to be heard because they're doing something different."

I don't have anything to say about that but I did find it interesting.; 9/17/14, 1:53 PM
Birches said...: I am shocked, SHOCKED that Pharrell and other successful songwriters/producers are giving writing credits to artists that deserve no such thing.

Katy Perry, you're next.; 9/17/14, 2:13 PM
Shanna said...: I love that Robin's defense is basically 'I was gonna write this song, but then I got high'; 9/17/14, 2:21 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Marvin Gaye's been dead since 1984 and he still manages to sue from the great beyond?! Damn! He's good!; 9/17/14, 2:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Blurred Lives; 9/17/14, 2:30 PM
Brando said...: If you have to steal a Marvin Gay song, why go with "Gotta Give it Up"? That alone is all the proof I need that they were high when they committed this theft!

It's hard to take anyone seriously when he looks so much like the Growing Pains dad.; 9/17/14, 2:31 PM
Bob R said...: If it weren't for Emily Ratajkowski, no one would have ever heard the song.; 9/17/14, 2:46 PM
Julie C said...: The Fug Girls have a saying: Everyone looks hotter in sunglasses.

Robin Thicke is the poster child for this. He takes them off and he looks like a paunchy, middle-aged lounge singer.

Is it surprising that Pharrell Williams can't read music? Is that unusual? I would think it is, but who knows.; 9/17/14, 2:50 PM
Nonapod said...: Is it surprising that Pharrell Williams can't read music? Is that unusual? I would think it is, but who knows.

The overwhelming majority of rock, pop, country, metal, and R&B musicians can't read notation and most have little to no professional training. Oh, they know the basic stuff (major/minor chords, scales) and maybe even a little theory, but you could put a piece of sheet music in front of them and expect them to sight read it. Guitarists can read tablature, but that's more straightforward than notation.; 9/17/14, 3:05 PM
Shanna said...: Is it surprising that Pharrell Williams can't read music?

I don't know enough about him as a musician to know how he composes...you could obviously write a song that way but how do you communicate the notes to others? Record it?

I have been learning guitar and a lot of stuff online is written in tab form (or just chords), which actually has been hard to learn since I grew up with piano lessons, high school band, etc... I want to see sheet music!; 9/17/14, 3:08 PM
eddie willers said...: Is it surprising that Pharrell Williams can't read music? Is that unusual? I would think it is, but who knows.

Neither could John and Paul.

And please don't ask, "John and Paul who?"; 9/17/14, 3:21 PM
eddie willers said...: If it weren't for Emily Ratajkowski, no one would have ever heard the song.

If it weren't for you and Google, I'd still be clueless about Emily Ratajkowski.; 9/17/14, 3:24 PM
Julie C said...: Thanks for the info Shanna and Nonapod. I learned to play the piano as a kid and I assumed that if you learned to play an instrument you learned to read music, but clearly not.

The way the incident was presented in the article made it sound as though Williams was embarrassed that he couldn't read music.; 9/17/14, 3:33 PM
effinayright said...: "Robin Thicke is the poster child for this. He takes them off and he looks like a paunchy, middle-aged lounge singer."

YES! When I see him like this, I expect him to start crooning, "Star Wars! Nothing but STARRRRR Wars!" Don't let them end..."; 9/17/14, 3:38 PM
Shanna said...: The way the incident was presented in the article made it sound as though Williams was embarrassed that he couldn't read music.

Do you know if he plays an instrument or which one? Ah, I'm on the internet aren't I? So, according to google, he plays keyboard, guitar, and drums and played drums in band. Musical notation is completely different for drums, and we've already talked about guitar, so I guess you could do those without learning to read music. I think it would be odd to learn keyboards without doing so.

I learned to play the piano as a kid and I assumed that if you learned to play an instrument you learned to read music, but clearly not.

I was the same. Tab's are a big adjustment.; 9/17/14, 3:43 PM
effinayright said...: Here are some lyrics from the timeless classic in question:

[Verse 3: T.I.]
One thing I ask of you
Let me be the one you back that ass to
Go, from Malibu, to Paris, boo
Yeah, I had a bitch, but she ain't bad as you
So hit me up when you pass through
I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two
Swag on, even when you dress casual
I mean it's almost unbearable
In a hundred years not dare, would I
Pull a Pharside let you pass me by
Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you
He don't smack that ass and pull your hair like that
So I just watch and wait for you to salute
But you didn't pick
Not many women can refuse this pimpin'
I'm a nice guy, but don't get it if you get with me

****

Right up there with other timeless classics such as "Fly Me to the Moon", "The Way You look Tonight", and the like----don't you think, Althouse?; 9/17/14, 3:45 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: Here's the money quote: "I told my wife the truth. That's why she left me."; 9/17/14, 3:58 PM
Charlie said...: Robin Thicke is a poser and a fraud? Who knew?; 9/17/14, 3:59 PM
Birches said...: On reading music:

You can learn to play the piano (or keyboards) using guitar tabs. Basically, you're just learning chords. There's whole books out there that follow that style.

I also had piano lessons, and wish I'd learned chord structure as well, not just following sheet music. It's infinitely more helpful if you'd like to try composing stuff yourself or to try and learn to play songs by listening. My bil taught himself the piano; he is infinitely better than I could ever be at playing because he started out just using cheat books.; 9/17/14, 4:07 PM
Shanna said...: You can learn to play the piano (or keyboards) using guitar tabs. Basically, you're just learning chords.

Ah, good point. I think that's how a friend of mine played in jazz band.; 9/17/14, 4:10 PM
MadisonMan said...: Neither could John and Paul.

What about John Paul, I and II, and Benedict and Francis?; 9/17/14, 4:24 PM
Bob R said...: If it weren't for Emily Ratajkowski, no one would have ever heard the song.

"If it weren't for you and Google, I'd still be clueless about Emily Ratajkowski."

I still have to Google her name, but I don't think I'd have trouble picking her out of a lineup.

Discussing the music of Blurred Lines is like discussing the articles in the first issue of Playboy (the Marilyn Monroe issue.); 9/17/14, 4:28 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh, Music Industry. I still love you sometimes. Hahaha. All depositions should be like this.; 9/17/14, 5:09 PM
Mary Beth said...: If it wasn't written by a white man can we still complain about it promoting rape culture?

I like the song. I don't think the lyrics are especially worse than the ones in songs when I was a teenager ('70s). My daughter (18-year-old) hates the song.

White man singing soulfully.; 9/17/14, 5:14 PM
Anonymous said...: Keep in mind folks, this is the industry who would have happily strangled the net with SOPA and PIPA to ensure their 30 pieces of silver and and yet played to the moralists when it came to kids downloading, as if under their oversight, royalties and credits go to the actual creatives in a timely and fair fashion guided by the firm hand of Justice. hahaha.; 9/17/14, 5:51 PM
Joe said...: I detest Robin Thicke, but thought I'd find out what this was all about. I listened to the first minute of Blurred Lines before I had to stop. I then found a video that compared Blurred Lines with Marvin Gaye's song. When the video started, I honestly thought they were showing the video of Marvin Gaye while playing the audio of Thicke. Yeah, it's that close--it's not even a clever steal.; 9/17/14, 6:05 PM
jr565 said...: The song does not sound like Got to Give It Up. What sounds like Got to Give it Up is the background falsetto "whoo" and perhaps the bass line. When I heard it I knew exactly what they were going with it, and said it sounds SIMILAR. but not the same. Ice Ice Baby IS Queens Under Presssure, Vanilla just didn't pay them royalties.
This is more IN THE STYLE OF. You can't copyright that.; 9/17/14, 6:25 PM
jr565 said...: Brando wrote:
It's hard to take anyone seriously when he looks so much like the Growing Pains dad.

that would make sense since he is his son.; 9/17/14, 6:27 PM
eddie willers said...: This is more IN THE STYLE OF. You can't copyright that.

I never thought My Sweet Lord sounded like He's So Fine.

The judge did not agree.; 9/17/14, 6:32 PM
jr565 said...: You play this comparison of the two songs where they put the vocals for Bluured Lines on top of the backing track for Got to Give it Up and the put the vocals from Marvin Gayes song on top of Blurred lines and you can see that they don't really match. Nor sound the same. the melodies are completely different. the chord changes are different. The tempo is similar. They both sing in falsetto. But NOT the same songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZNA8ExCdZA; 9/17/14, 6:36 PM
Fritz said...: Music gets stolen. Robert Johnson reportedly turned his back when he thought other guitar players were in the audience to steal his licks.

Led Zeppelin is currently being sued by the estate of Randy California who wrote something like Stairway to Heaven before Zep, and played it while they were on tour together.

http://fritz-aviewfromthebeach.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-stairway-to-supreme-court.html

Even Ann's favorite, Bob Dylan, steals massive amounts of lines and licks from other songs, although he mashes them up pretty thoroughly.

"Blurred Lines" doesn't do much for me, but Emily Ratajkowski sure does. . .; 9/17/14, 6:41 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I never thought My Sweet Lord sounded like He's So Fine."

Yes, it does. I don't think George Harrison intentionally copied it, but he had the melody in his memory and didn't realize, when he set it to words, that it didn't from within him, but from without.; 9/17/14, 6:47 PM
Jeff said...: What's similar is the background which sounds like a restaurant, club or somewhere else where people are relaxing and talking. But this was not original to "Got to Give It Up" either. The same kind of background was in Ramsey Lewis "The In Crowd" years earlier. And probably others I can't recall.; 9/17/14, 7:07 PM
Birches said...: "I never thought My Sweet Lord sounded like He's So Fine."

They are exactly the same. It's always annoyed me that the judge ruled it was "subconscious plagiarism." If Harrison wasn't a Beatle, he wouldn't have been nearly as generous.; 9/17/14, 7:26 PM
Birches said...: Ok, I just listened to "Gotta Give it Up." I just don't see the similarities. The chord progression is completely different.; 9/17/14, 7:32 PM
eddie willers said...: If Harrison wasn't a Beatle, he wouldn't have been nearly as generous.

Maybe Ann can be the judge since she and I are very close in age. I imagine we both remember when each song was at the top of the charts.

Hearing My Sweet Lord never once reminded me of He's So Fine...and I owned BOTH records.

Not to mention that the other musicians, and the producer, (Phil Spector, the King of Girl Group songs, of all people) failed to notice this similarity with a song that they all knew intimately.

I'm guessing that because the first three notes are the same (He's So Fine/My Sweet Lord) people figure that somehow Hal-le-lu-jah, Ha-re Krish-na sounds like Doo-lang Doo-lang Doo-lang

Reminds of the great story where the wives of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein were at a party where Mrs. Kern brags that her husband wrote Old Man River.

Mrs. Hammerstein interrupts and say's "MY husband wrote Old Man River. You're husband wrote "duh-duh-duh-DA".; 9/18/14, 12:05 AM
Static Ping said...: Ace had fun with this back in August 2013 with 10 points:

http://minx.cc:1080/?blog=86&post=342969

My favorite point:

Robin Thicke Dug Up Marivn Gaye's Corpse, Raped It, Videotaped Himself Raping Marvin Gaye's Corpse, And Then Sold That Rape-Tape to the World and Became a Millionaire.

I'm just thankful that Weird Al Yankovic covered the song as Word Crimes so I can listen to it without being completely ashamed of myself. "Irony is not coincidence...."; 9/18/14, 8:25 AM
Brando said...: "that would make sense since he is his son."

Oh, I knew that--what I didn't know until recently was that Alan Thicke sang the theme tune to Diffr'ent Strokes. You remember, the show whose intro told us that wealthy white men could just snatch little black kids from playgrounds and only good-natured hijinks would ensue.; 9/18/14, 8:34 AM
Brando said...: I remember thinking it was a bit of a reach to claim that "My Sweet Lord" infringed on "He's So Fine"--sure, the "doo lang doo lang doo lang" riff is nearly identical, but that could be said about a lot of other songs that use similar riffs. It would be nearly impossible to write a song that doesn't have parts that sound that much like parts of other songs. I'm no copyright expert though so maybe the standard is stricter.; 9/18/14, 8:37 AM
Shanna said...: what I didn't know until recently was that Alan Thicke sang the theme tune to Diffr'ent Strokes.

Seriously??? Off to youtube!

You remember, the show whose intro told us that wealthy white men could just snatch little black kids from playgrounds and only good-natured hijinks would ensue.

That show was kind of insane, but the 80's had a lot of crazy shows. Robot daughter! Alien Daughter! Alien puppet!; 9/18/14, 9:19 AM
Shanna said...: It would be nearly impossible to write a song that doesn't have parts that sound that much like parts of other songs.

Do you know how many songs use some combo of A/D/G? Tons. I don't know how you could possibly not copy occasionally.

I didn't think the actual songs themselves sounded alike, but the backbeat was present in both...; 9/18/14, 9:23 AM
Brando said...: Yeah--I'm embarrassed to admit that as a kid I greatly looked forward to watching Diffr'nt Strokes (followed by Silver Spoons) every Saturday. They always had a "very special episode"--the '80s were a heydey of letting social messaging bluntly invade sitcoms.

No one ever found out what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."; 9/18/14, 9:48 AM
Brando said...: "Do you know how many songs use some combo of A/D/G? Tons. I don't know how you could possibly not copy occasionally."

Yeah--there's a lot of cases where I hear the opening bars of a song and mistakenly think it's the start of a different song that uses an almost identical intro. Everything has to copy something else at some point, intentionally or otherwise.

It's the same with moviemaking and other art forms--if you look hard enough you'll find another artist has done something similar enough that you'd at least think there was some influence from one to another, even if the latter artist hadn't ever seen the earlier work.; 9/18/14, 9:52 AM
Shanna said...: They always had a "very special episode"

Yeah, let's have a creepy episode about child molesters in a show for children! That's a great idea.; 9/18/14, 10:11 AM
Brando said...: Well, using Gordon Jump as the molester guy did make me afraid to watch reruns of WKRP.; 9/18/14, 10:42 AM
Jupiter said...: Listen to the vocal melody of "I, saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". Then listen to the guitar riff on "My Girl". I, saw Mommy kissing, I, saw Mommy kissing ...

Obvious theft.

More generally, Black People invented music (in Egypt, I believe it was), so whenever white people sing or play an instrument, they should pay a royalty to Black People. Right, Crack?; 9/19/14, 11:40 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: jr565,

"This is more IN THE STYLE OF. You can't copyright that."

Life would be so much better if you stopped commenting on things you don't understand, but I do, like race and (in this case) what a "derivative work" is.

You simply have no knowledge or skills in either area,...; 9/19/14, 4:37 PM