Blog #8: I've got 99 problems but a sample ain't one!

Rhythmic Cinema:
"As the amount of information out there explodes exponentially and threatens to become almost the only way people relate to one another, it's a question that seems to beg a response: What would happen if it just vanished and the lights went out?" (Page 80) This quite is so interesting to me. It gets you thinking about how much of our history is being digitalized. What if the lights and power did just stop? We'd lose our entire musical culture from at least the past 20 years. Anything that requires only physical instruments (guitars, drums, etc.) would survive. But all of this remixing, hip-hop, rap, pop would be lost. That's a significant chunk of our culture these days. 


"Eisenstein spoke of this density back in 1929 when asked about travel and film: 'The hieroglyphic language of the cinema is capable of expressing any concept, any idea of class, any political or tactical slogan, without recourse to the help of suspect dramatic or psychological past'" (Page 88). I found this quote really interesting because it makes you think, is it possible to create something now without needing help from the past? After this quote Miller begs the question "Does this mean that we make our own films as we live them?" And that makes me think, yes, we are. Aren't our lives something completely different than the past? Yes, they are. No one has ever lived as technologically advanced as we are today, but does that mean we need to create completely new stuff? Why can't we refer to our past for help? I think it's totally okay to use our past to create our future.


Rhythmic Space:
"I just got 'here' but the only real reason to be here is to go someplace else" (Page 89). I thought this quote was quite interesting, and a bit symobolic of everything we're learning about. It's saying, isn't the point of evolving to continue evolving? It wouldn't make any sense to get to some place and then just stay there. Why would we just quite learning and exploring new voids? We wouldn't. That's the point of rhythmic space. To continue creating and exploring new spaces - constantly creating a more interesting place to live.


Errata Erratum:
"there were no 'finished' pieces and everything in Errata erratum is about that gap between execution and intent in a world of uncertainty. Whatever mix you make of it, it can only be a guess - you have to make your own version, and that's kind of the point" (Page 93). This quote is cool because it's exactly what the argument for sampling and remixing is. No art is ever 'complete' - it is a constant work in progress. I really thought it was cool that Miller paid tribute to Marcel Duchamp because he's really one of the earliest remix artists. He pushed the envelope and when asked 'why' he said, 'why not?' and from there, I feel like remixing really took off and this quote exemplifies the importance of interpretation.


"all in all, the creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act" (Page 97). This quote is from Duchamp himself and it goes along with the first because Duchamp is saying that art is up for speculation, it can mean something different to anyone and it is important that we explore the different perspectives. I mean, someone may truly detest an original piece of art - whether it be a song, painting or photograph or whatever - but when it is remixed by another artist, it may become something completely new and appealing to that person. One of Duchamp's pieces that sticks out in my mind is his 'interpretation' of the Mona Lisa. He painted a moustache and beard on her face, and called it something new. It's so simple, yet funny. I've seen Duchamp's version in poster form at my friend's apartment, and it's just funny because why wouldn't we deface art? Why shouldn't we? It's truly exemplary of Duchamp's idea of "why not?" and I love it.


The Future is Here:
"We're probably the first generation to grow up in a completely electronic environment" (Page 101). First of all, I don't know why he says 'probably' because we ARE the first generation to grow up in a completely electronic environment. I mean, unless he thinks that the next generation will be the first because most of us still remember when we didn't have the internet and a gazillion channels to watch on TV. But still, it's an interesting thought. We're in completely uncharted territory. What are the effects of growing up with the internet going to have on future generations? How far will we advance before we face extinction or self destruction? It's an interesting thing to think about simply because there is absolutely nothing like the world today in the history. We're more technologically advanced than ever before. We've reached the future, so what's next? Quite frankly, I find it terrifying to think about where the world is headed.


The Prostitute:
"My challenge to myself is to always try to create new worlds, new scenarios at almost every moment of thought" (Page 109). I like this quite because I too try to do the same. I think everyone wants to do that. No one wants to be a 'follower' all the time. Everyone wants to be original, do something different and make their mark on the world. I think it has become so easy to just take someone else's work and change it and call it your own. It's like, everyone wants to be their own person. You don't want someone to call you "the modern day Shakespeare" you want, in the future, for someone to say "He's the modern day [insert your name here]." If that makes sense. It's like, you're always striving to be the best YOU you can be, not the best someone else. At the end of the day, aren't we all looking for our niche in the world?


"Memory demands newness" (Page 113). This quote is short and to the point. Take your iTunes for example. We listen to songs for a while, but then we get sick of it. In order to keep a listener's attention, artists must always evolve. Create something bigger and better than before. If they can't do that, they lose the attention of their audience, and there's always someone new waiting in the wings. I think that's what the idea of sampling is all about. While I write this blog, I am listening to Girl Talk. Girl Talk is a remix artist, and all he does is take songs and remixes them into something completely different. What other genre allows me to listen to Jane Says and Teach Me How to Dougie all at the same time? And for that matter, who would have THOUGHT to mix those two songs together? I can confidently say I would never have connected Cali Swag District and Jane's Addiction. It simply breathes new life into songs I had already gotten enough of.


whosampled.com
The song I chose to examine was Jay-Z's 99 Problems. I found that this song actually samples 5 different songs. Including: 

• 99 Problems: Ice-T
• Get Me Back on Time, Engine #9: Wilson Pickett
• Long Red (Live): Mountain
• The Big Beat: Billy Squier
• Touched: UGK
• Sampled - Children's Story: Slick Rick
• Sampled - Nautilus: Bob James

I found this interesting because 99 Problems by Jay-Z is by far the most widely known of all these songs. In fact, I hadn't heard of any of them until I looked at this site. So, I think in a way, the artists should be thanking Jay-Z for getting their work out there. So long as Jay-Z gave credit where credit is due and paid any royalties coinciding with using these works. I found it interesting that Hugo's 99 Problems is considered a remix/cover of Jay-Z's work, rather than Ice-T's. Does that mean that since Hugo credited Jay-Z, by proxy he's also credited the 5 artists that helped Jay-Z create his song? And in turn, did Jay-Z credit Slick Rick and Bob James because he credited UGK? It's just really interesting to look at how a song came to be. Would 99 Problems even exist if Bob James hadn't created Nautilus?? This website is absolutely fascinating! 


I think it all kind of relates back to the quote about being "here" just to go somewhere else. We're always striving to be something new, something different and to go somewhere even further. In the genealogy of 99 Problems, there are a lot of songs and artists involved. I'm sure Hugo's version of 99 Problems will not be the last of the covers. Because, it's also like Miller says, Memory demands newness. Artists are simply taking something that works, and making it work even further. I feel like a broken record here, but remixing, sampling and covering is essentially just breathing new life into something that has been worn out. There's a reason we keep using things from the past - they work. There is no reason to not continue including things from the past. It helps transfer information from generation to generation. I believe in class we talked about a quote from Miller's book where he says that we pass information and values of society from generation to generation through the use of song. Through the use of websites like whosampled.com people are able to see the genealogy of their favorite song, and maybe even discover a really good old song too!  


On a side note, I looked at Queen's page on the website, and HOLY WOW! We Will Rock You is sampled in SO many songs! It's out of control!! I guess that's what you get for making an awesome, simple, catchy beat.