Everything's Stolen or Borrowed?

From Splice Today, on the release of Helplessness Blues by the Fleet Foxes, and the (sometimes self-conscious) use of old art in new art:

The Fleet Foxes come from a long tradition of pop cleaning up folk sources. Indeed, the tradition is so long that it’s sometimes hard to figure out where the pop starts and the folk ends.... The song “Lorelai” is a tribute to “Fourth Time Around,” Bob Dylan’s snipe at the Beatle’s “Norwegian Wood,” which was itself a tribute to Dylan. “Everything’s stolen or borrowed,” Robin Pecknold sings with just a hint of a nasal tic to remind you of Dylan’s mannered vocals, as the background harmonizers lilts in rapturous layers of pristine production to remind you of the sparse harmonies of John and Paul. The Foxes even include an odd, swirling out-of-time break, as if they lost their sitar and were forced, on the fly, to substitute genius arrangements and a state-of-the-art studio. “I was old news to you then/Old news, old news to you then,” Pecknold repeats on the chorus. Old news is good news, especially when it’s new and shiny and on the web.

He may have a point, to a degree...

The Beatles, "Norwegian Wood"

Bob Dylan, "Fourth Time Around"

Fleet Foxes, "Lorelai"

There is some significant borrowing taking place here. But Splice Today adopts the position that this kind of borrowing is a bad thing:

There’s something disturbing about listening to a band so enthusiastically celebrate the fact that it has no soul.

I agree with Joey. To the extent that one criticizes more modern generations for their retrospective, rather than prospective artist drive, then they should at least cite an example of true ex nihilo artistry for purposes of comparison. Otherwise, let's leave the "soul", whatever that may be, out of it.

Brian Eno Tribute

For those that will tolerate more than fifteen minutes of conversation with me, you may know that I tend to geek out on modern music history from time to time (for instance this and this and this). In furtherance of this pursuit, I came across an article this morning, titled Five Things Your Favorite Indie Band Owes to Brian Eno, which details a few of the many influences that Brian Eno has had on modern indie music. Which is cool, 'cause up until this point, I didn't have a fucking clue who Brian Eno was. Boy was my face red. Here's a bit of what I didn't know:

Eno famously developed his conception of ambient music while recuperating from a car accident. Stuck in his hospital bed, he couldn't adjust the volume of some music a friend had brought him. After struggling for a while to hear it, he realized it was better to just let it meld with all the other sounds in the room. (He may also have been on a shit-ton of morphine.)

Among other things, this confirms one of my long held but controversial beliefs that artists do drugs, and sometimes it works out pretty good. [UPDATE: It also works for Adele.]

The article also included a number of tracks to help demonstrate five influences identified, which include i) ambient soundscapes (Tracks 1 and 2), ii) theatrical flamboyance (Tracks 3 and 4), iii) songs as collages (Tracks 5 and 6), iv) the use of guitar with echo and swirl to create awesome (it's pretty scientific) (Tracks 7 and 8), and v) a methodical, intellectual approach to creativity (Tracks 9 and 10).

Coincidentally, Eno's got a new album out called Drums Between the Bells. You can check it out on Rolling Stone.

Trace That Tune

Did you know that...

...actually came from...

Kind of a cool story. Check it out here.

From the North Mississippi cotton fields to The Black Keys

Driving late at night last Sunday back from Kansas City, this song by The Black Keys came up on shuffle:

"Busted" appears on "The Big Come Up," The Black Keys' debut album released on May 14, 2002. According to the copyright registration document, band members Daniel Auerbach and Patrick Carney claim authorship credit. The date of creation is listed as "2002."

It was years before, back when I had the pleasure of living with ol' Mandermate and Dusty at 42nd and Burt. Countless albums graced the halls of that easter egg of a mansion. Day and night music played to inspire morning madness, afternoon antics and nighttime none-of-your-business. I was introduced to a LOT of new stuff. But there a few albums came into my life at that time that will stay in my head 'till my dying days. One of them was "Shake Hands With Shorty."

"Shake Hands With Shorty," by the North Mississippi Allstars came into my life during the summer of 2004. It was released on May 9, 2000. Among others, "Po Black Maddie" struck a chord:

One can only imagine that it struck a chord with The Black Keys, too. Though the lyrics are different, it's clear that the music in both songs is the same. If we were to stop there, it might lead you to believe that The Keys had outright copied The Allstars. Fortunately, I didn't stop there.

[This episode of Trace That Tune brought to you by Budweiser Beer. An American classic.]

Turns out, the liner notes for Shorty give credit to R.L. Burnside for "Maddie." Born in 1926, Burnside learned to play blues from Fred McDowell (interestingly, it turns out that Muddy Waters was his cousin-in-law). Burnside didn't start recording until the late 1960's. Even then, it wasn't until he signed with Fat Possum Records in the 1990's and partnered with Jon Spencer (of Pussy Galore fame) and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion that he started gaining national attention.

Burnside first recorded "Poor Black Mattie" in 1967(8) with George Mitchell. The song appears in "First Recordings," released in 2003 . When asked about the song, Burnside had this to say:

RL Burnside - Blues Story - Poor Black mattie
by fredozydeco

So, a Black Keys song sounds a lot like a North Mississippi Allstars song, which was originally recorded by a guy who calls the song "old tractor drivin' blues." As far as I can tell, it's unclear whether Burnside originally wrote the song, or if he heard somebody else drivin' and a singin'. Given Burnside's extensive sharecropping experience, either story's possible.

Hi-Five The Cactus - The Extraordinaires

From Daytrotter:

There are times in listening to the work of Philadelphia band The Extraordinaires that you feel like you're sailing the seas of cheese or getting into the lives Winona and her big brown beaver, or the other characters made out of modeling clay, coming to life in the prog-rock world of Primus, but that same silliness is nonexistent. Or it's not as thick.

Of the song "Hi-Five The Cactus,":

In retrospect we realized this song was a total rip off of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, but it's set in the desert west and Rudolph is replaced with a lonely compassionate cactus. This was almost a children's song if it weren't for the dark Shakespearean twist at the end. Spoiler: No one gets out alive.

Who's up next for Trace That Tune?

RiP! A Remix Manifesto - Brett Gaylor

This "Trace That Tune!" portion of the film argues the first point (of four) advanced by the A Remix Manifesto, a progressive counterpart the more conservative view expressed in A Writer's Manifesto (Mark Helprin). The first point states:

1. Culture always builds on the past.

Though the film's legal discussions aren't necessarily accurate, RiP!'s social commentary is insightful and well supported (even if it leans a little too left sometimes). Check it out on Hulu.

I use this video to introduce a project of mine. I'm going to do my damndest to collect as many instances of this "Trace That Tune!" as possible. So if you have any instances to offer, please please PLEASE post them up here. Let's see how many are out there, and where they pop up the most.