One of the most memorable passages in all of Sag Harbor for me was when
present-narrator Ben explaining bit of own musical “coming of age” becoming
aware of past Benji’s reception of when he calls out Afrika Bambaataa’s
sampling of Kraftwerk’s Trans-Europe Express.
I didn’t understand back then why
Marcus was hassling me, but I get it now.
A couple of years later, if someone said “I stole that off an old Lou
Donadon record,” and the sample kicked it, you got respect for your expertise
and keen ear. Funk, free jazz, disco,
cartoons, German synthesizer music—it didn’t matter where it came from, the art
was in converting it to new use.
Manipulating what you had at your disposal for your own purposes,
jerry-rigging your new creation. But
before sampling became an art form with a philosophy, biting off somebody was a
major crime, thuggery on an atrocious scale.
Your style, your vibe, was all you had.
It was toiled on, worried over, your latest tweak presented to the world
each day for approval. Pull your pockets
out so that they hung out of your pants in a classic broke-ass pose, and you
still had your style. If someone was
stealing your stlye, they were stealing your soul. (61 [hard back])
Here Whitehead takes us not just through a brief history of
sampling but of the philosophy behind the argument for and against “stealing”
other people’s work/music. I used to very
much hold onto the idea that music should be original in its entirety in “pure”
form. As I have grown older I have
realized that everything is a ripoff of everything else. Sampling as a philosophy is not a “modern”
invention. Every piece of music is just
imitating previous pieces of music. What
is so important that Benji already is onto (that Marcus is against) is that
this isn’t a bad thing! With modern
technology sampling has taken on different meanings, but the concept is the
same. Think of how a composer takes a
bass line from another person, tweaks it a bit, and then incorporates it into
their own work. This is exactly the same with modern sampling –
just it is maybe even more obvious because you can search specific audio files
instead of just comparing harmonies.
I really like your comment about how everything is a "ripoff" of everything else. It's weird to think about the creative process and how artists are either directly sampling or in some form imitating stuff they've heard before. In some sense when trying to create a better version of himself over the course of the summer Benji is simply drawing from things he has seen that he thinks are cool, he isn't really trying to find himself or be original.
ReplyDeleteThe crucial point that Benji makes here--and, as you know, it's a central tenet of postmodernist culture more generally--is that Afrika Bambaataa doesn't "steal" Kraftwerk and try to pass it off as his own creation; he turns the cold, robotic synth music into something entirely *new*--warm, inviting, evocative of an intergalactic party rather than a dystopian future. Whenever people go on about sampling not being "original," it's crucial to point out how--when it's done well--distinctive and original the new application of the same "old" music is.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that all music is in some way a "ripoff" of something else, but not in a bad way. We've talked about in class how literature is like one giant conversation with authors constantly writing on similar issues and commenting on each other's work. Music is kind of the same way where everyone is taking little pieces from other people's works but adding on to them and sharing a different way a theme, baseline, etc. can be used.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, sometimes a re purpose of a song can draw up nostalgia or memories, while adding a twist of something new. Immediately, it connects to the listener even more, and could improve a listener's experience. So in that way, it's not "stealing", just adding or improving.
ReplyDeleteAs something becomes more and more ingrained in society it becomes harder and harder to innovate. Music is no different and it seems as though now-a-days a single genre is crowded with the same song with one note difference. Interesting blog post, its cool to see your position on matters like this as a fairly high up musician.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed sampling/copying before in music from ballets, but I hadn't thought in-depth about it until now. There is rarely the same melody in two pieces in major ballets, but often there are similar rhythms and patterns. Also, composers seem to have used similar techniques in their music to create the same feel on stage in different ballets or contexts. When we discussed this section in class, I did not connect it to the classical music I listen to all the time at ballet. Thanks, James!
ReplyDeleteIt's important to remember that at the time Benji is really confused as to what the problem with his comment is, whereas Ben reflects that looking back he can totally see why the social dynamics within the music community didn't support that kind of criticism.
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