Blogger Book Club: The Art of Imitation

Everybody has their vices. Mine is listening to pop radio in the car. (And watching Law & Order.) I like to do this for two reasons: 1) I genuinely like some of the songs, and 2) out of curiosity, since I am often puzzled by what pop culture deems "good" music and think that repeated listenings will reveal the reasons for its popularity to me. Anyhow, on a recent drive I noticed some striking similarities between "The Way I Are" (feat. Keri Hilson and D.O.E.) by Timbaland (released July 9, 2007) and "Circus" by Britney Spears (released December 9, 2008). I made a mashup of the two tracks to better illustrate these likenesses. Here's what you'll hear: Timbaland Bridge--Britney Bridge--Timbaland Chorus--Britney Chours.

Listen:

Ummm... Let's compare. Same tempo, though we can let that one slide since successful pop songs only work at certain tempos. Similar, almost identical, melodies and melodic contour. But what I found most exceptional was the cadence and rhythm at which the lyrics are delivered. These songs were not written by the same person, nor did they have the same producer, though Britney did work with Danja, who produced "The Way I Are", on her Circus album. And she apparently used samples from "The Way I Are" for a mashup with her track "Gimme More" for an interlude during her 2009 The Circus Starring: Britney Spears Tour.

(For the record, I don't know if Timbaland has a serious musical agenda or artistic vision or what his views are concerning ironic references, but I think he's a slick sampler and pop music semiotician: semi-buried in the background of "The Way I Are" is a sample of "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa, while the recurring "Yeah!" and "Talk to me, girl" that precedes the bridge sound suspiciously like the "Yeah!" and "Take it to the bridge/chorus" in "SexyBack" (released July 7, 2006) by Justin Timberlake (or is it Timbalake?).)

This is nothing new for pop music. And as Lessig points out, this kind of "sampling" is the norm in jazz. In fact, "building on the creativity of others before" (p. 103) is how an aspiring jazz artist is often measured. Have they absorbed the language of the art form's innovators? Can they play Coltrane's "Giant Steps" solo verbatim not because it's the only way they know how to blow on the tune but simply because they've paid their dues? Can a trumpet player play like Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Lee Morgan, Clifford Brown, Randy Brecker, and Tom Harrell and still have their own distinctive voice? In jazz improvisation, a sly reference to the past in a contemporary solo speaks volumes about the artist who was creative enough to work it in.

I've always thought that the amount of "copying" in pop music greatly exceeds the amount of innovation. The few innovators there are--say The Beatles, 1980s Michael Jackson, Nirvana, or Dr. Dre, to name only a few--do their thing and then have to watch as the rest of the industry emulates them. Is this imitation done out of reverence to these ground-breaking artists like a jazz musician paying homage to the greats of his instrument in an improvised solo? Maybe for the high school kid in a garage band, but in general I think it's mostly driven by economics. The innovators innovate and then everyone else files in behind their sound to capitalize on what's hot. I just wonder why Britney is allowed to be so blatant while someone else might get sued? Where's Joe Satriani when you need him? I guess in a different way, this also speaks volumes about the artist.