Music Redux

February 14, 2011


Is this how my parents felt? 

Fighting to hear songs on the car radio used to be my passion in middle school. My parents rarely wanted to listen to newly released music, instead preferring music of their youth in the 1960s and 70s. I could not understand why they didn’t want to be a part of what was fresh and new, and believed that, if they would just listen, they would hear that my music built upon the melodies and chords of their favorite songs. 

Three times yesterday I heard songs within songs and was struck by a thought. Am I old enough to have songs from my youth coming back in style? It is kind of a cool feeling, like I am now a part of the history of music. 

I listened to The Decemberists and heard REM. Lady Gaga’s performance on the Grammy Awards brought to mind Madonna, and I watched Katy Perry perform what I thought was her big hit only to find out it is just her new hit. 

Today, the morning after the Grammy Awards, rather than be grumpy about the fate of new music, I spent some time learning about the stories behind these songs. 

The Decemberists and R.E.M.

The Decemberists are a Portland, Oregon based band that has emerged nationally with their sixth album, The King is Dead, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in December 2010. I listened to their Pandora radio station and wasn’t sold, but heard the single “Down by the Water” on the radio and decided to spend more time with the music. 

My boyfriend noted that the song sounded like an old R.E.M. tune, and he was right. Peter Buck, guitarist and co-founder of R.E.M., plays a 12-string guitar on “Down by the Water’ and also plays on two other songs on the new album.  Decemberists’ lead singer Colin Meloy spoke about the influence of R.E.M to Billboard. "So I started writing these boldfaced R.E.M. songs, and I thought, 'If we're going to go there, it would be fun to get Peter [Buck] to get onboard,' and he was totally into it." 

Learning that the Decemberists embraced their passion for another band so much that they enlisted the original artist makes me feel better about music as a creative expression of a unique sound, albeit one that carries its influences along with it as it changes. 

Listen to: 

The Decemberists "Down by the Water"

R.E.M. "Orange Crush"

Lady Gaga and Madonna

I am not alone in recognizing Madonna’s influence in Lady Gaga’s new single “Born This Way”, which was released on February 11, 2011. I heard the song as a performance on the 2011 Grammy Awards and at first couldn’t place which of Madonna’s many hits it sounded the most like. “Express Yourself” came to mind, as did “Vogue”, especially given Lady Gaga’s dance routine and stage performance. 

A quick internet search revealed that fans and music reporters are questioning whether the roots of the melody are unique to Lady Gaga. John Polly of the Logo network told MTV News, "She seems to borrow pretty heavily, clearly visually, and sonically, from Madonna. Which is probably super smart, I mean, why wouldn't you?" Polly asked. "As far as we know, she seems to have Madonna's blessing."

Lady Gaga spoke to ABC News about comparisons to other music stars. "I could go on and on about all of the people I have been compared to," she said, "from Madonna to Grace Jones to Debbie Harry to Elton John to Marilyn Manson to Yoko Ono -- but at a certain point you have to realize that what they are saying is that I am cut from the cloth of performer, that I am like all of those people in spirit."

Madonna has not commented on the song, but there has been some media speculation that copyright related action may be in the works. Fox news interviewed Los Angeles based attorney Ed Lasman, who said, "If one can prove access and similarities too great to be happenstance, one may have a good claim for copyright infringement.” 

Some critics have noted that Lady Gaga’s young fans may not even know the Madonna songs that seem to be echoing in “Born This Way”. Depending on your view of copyright infringement, at the very least, Madonna deserves credit for building popularity for the dance hall beat mixed with visually arresting performances. Fans have voted for this music style with their allowance money, and “Born This Way” debuted at #1 on iTunes. 

             Listen to: 

Lady GaGa "Born This Way"

Madonna "Express Yourself" and "Vogue"

Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream and Katy Perry’s California Girls

Katy Perry may be everywhere, but my boyfriend can’t remember who she is. “She sings ‘California Gurls’, the song always on the radio,” I have told him more than once. “California Gurls”, the lead single from her album titled Teenage Dream, spent six weeks as the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the top selling digital song of 2010. 

Last night as we sat down to watch the Grammy Awards, I figured that after watching her performance, we could put the “Who is Katy Perry?” conversation to rest. She appeared onstage, dangling from a gilded swing, and belted out a song I didn’t know. The ballad wouldn’t help my boyfriend remember her. Luckily, her medley extended into her popular song....”California Gurls”. Only it wasn’t. 

To me, Perry’s new hit song, “Teenage Dream”, sounds incredibly similar to her mega hit, “California Gurls”. Jocelyn Vena of MTV said it "picks up right where 'California Gurls' leaves off.” The songs are produced by a team led by Lukasz Gottwald, often called Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco and Max Martin. Dr. Luke attended the Manhattan Music School for two years before joining the Saturday Night Live band as a guitarist. He soon moved on to producing and his list of clients are a who’s who of number one hitmakers, including Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ke$ha and Avril Lavigne. 

Perry is credited with co-writing the songs, along with a team including Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Benjamin Levin and Bonnie McKee. “California Gurls” includes a writing credit to her singing collaborator, Calvin Broadus, aka Snoop Dogg. 

Dr. Luke’s stable of artists are not the most played on my iPod, so I am probably not the audience he is catering to with each new song he presides over. But when a listener believes they are hearing the same song by the same artist, the formula is missing a key ingredient: originality. 

               Listen to: 

Katy Perry "California Gurls"

Katy Perry "Teenage Dream"