Day # 2 of the 30 day Music Meme

[shadowkat]

"A song you like with a number in the title..."

Figure 8 from Schoolhouse Rock and "The Squid & the Whale" soundtrack. I love this song.

Here's the Squid and the Whale version.

And

Watch on YouTube

It brings back memories of childhood - I watched Schoolhouse Rock as a small child, also the melody has a kind of nostalgic soft feel to it. It also reminds me of ice skating as a child - although I was never quite that talented.

There's a weirdly melancholy but comforting feel to it. Also the last two lyrics of the song always send a chill up my spine.

Comments

[shadowkat]

Really hard to sue - or to prove copyright infringement, you have to show it is substantially similar - and that test is not an easy one. Someone tried to sue Cassandra Clare for ripping off some fantasy novel for her works, and couldn't prove it even though it was similar, it wasn't substantially.

This song, which I'm listening to now is kind of like a lot of songs. The Doors weren't as innovative as they like to think they were. And a lot of the chords sound the same across songs. It's actually why I like the Beatles better than the Stones, the Stones tended to borrow heavily from other styles, while the Beatles came up with their own.

I had someone at work who is a semi-professional musician, and had worked as one, also is a lawyer, explain it to me once - that there are variations on chords, etc. But unless it is substantially unique? No claim. Also the costs involved in proving it - not worth the effort.

[cjlasky7]

Difficult to prove... but not impossible. We all know about George Harrison and his My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine legal troubles. He lost big on that one.

Recently, Marvin Gaye's estate sued Robin Thicke for boosting "Got to Give It Up" for "Blurred Lines"--and they won.

Michael Stipe has said in interviews that PS89 was a commentary and update on HILY, so there's not much debate about that. So... did Ray Manzarek, Robbie Kreiger and John Densmore just give REM a pass because they're just that cool?

Historical note: It is ironic that I'm talking about the Doors suing, when Ray Davies swears Robby Kreiger ripped off the guitar riff for HILY from "All Day and All of the Night."

[shadowkat]

Historical note: It is ironic that I'm talking about the Doors suing, when Ray Davies swears Robby Kreiger ripped off the guitar riff for HILY from "All Day and All of the Night."

If I were to guess? That's most likely why they didn't do it. The difficulty with copyright infringement in art - is you can end up shining a light on your own nefarious actions.

It really depends on how motivated the rights holder is, and if they have the funds/legal representation to back them. I'm not kidding when I state it is expensive.

I totally understand why Marvin Gaye's estate went after Robin Thicke - that's cheapening the brand with a pop rendition. George Harrison - I don't know about.

The Doors really kind of fell apart after Morrison died, and he was the motivating force behind them. And if there's a potential claim that they ripped off folks, they may wisely not want to draw attention to themselves.

[cjlasky7]

I think you'd find the details of Harrison v. Bright Tunes fascinating.