If you like music, thank other music

Hello, loyal LTF-ers! It has been a long time since I was inspired to update this blog, but with the recent news regarding the ruling in the Robin Thicke vs. the estate of Marvin Gaye case and the Tom Petty vs. Sam Smith brouhaha, it seems that songs that sound like other songs are more timely and relevant than ever.

Photo credit: ABC News

The general consensus among creative people seems to be that the decision to make Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke pay damages of $7.4M to Marvin Gaye's estate is ultimately damaging to the music industry. They argue that at its core music is an art of pastiche, in which themes, ideas, melodies, bass lines, rhythms, etc., that have come before are reused in fresh, new ways to create new works of art.  Creating a litigious environment in which artists fear this basic process of pastiche is ultimately detrimental to the creation of new music.

Photo credit: Getty Images

All of this examination of the fundamental pastiche-iness (I made that word up) of music has inspired some great comparison between songs in popular media this week.

One of my favorites is this blog post by Chicago radio station WXRT, in which they cite 10 instances of songs that sound like other songs, including Jack White sounding like Led Zeppelin, Radiohead sounding the the White Album-era Beatles, and the Black Keys sounding like Pink Floyd, among others.

But to my ear, the most compelling comparison they make is between Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" and Beck's "Loser," primarily because "Loser" was such a sonic leap for its time, sounding like almost nothing else out there at the time.

 Beck's sound here is still so distinctive 20 years later that the Cage the Elephant version sounds almost derivative to my ear. And therein lies the challenge of regulating the borrowing of music ideas. How similar does a song have to sound to another song to be considered a blatant ripoff?

You take it on faith, you take it to the heart

It may be four hours long, but the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers doc "Runnin' Down a Dream" is the best two nights of television I've spent in a long time. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, this comprehensive documentary chronicles the entire life of the legendary rock star and his iconic backing band. You'll learn that before they were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, they were a country-rock band called Mudcrutch (under a slightly different lineup) whose first album tanked hardcore.

The first third of the doc is my favorite - you see the kinetic power of the young band as they go from obscurity to darlings of the British club scene to major American megastars. There is no shortage of sheer magical serendipity in the story of their formation and their initial record contract. You get the feeling that this band was literally destined to be successful.

But the power of the documentary is in its completeness. The story of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers has a little bit of everything - addiction, battles with the record company, creative genius, wild travel, music videos, crazed fans, infighting, reconciliation and, of course, heartbreak. But through it all shines the zen soul of Tom Petty himself, who in his reflections and interviews sounds more like a Buddhist sage than a rock star from the Deep South.

The doc runs so long because Bogdanovich is not afraid to let the music speak for itself. He includes tons of live footage, sometimes whole songs at a time, preferring to let the power of "American Girl," "Free Fallin'," "Learnin' to Fly," "Won't Back Down," and "The Waiting," (among many others) make the point for him.

I was extra thrilled by this doc because, after spending four hours absorbing the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers story, Bogdanovich chooses to close on an anecdote from Eddie Vedder about a joint show they did in Milwaukee - and I just happened to be at that show! (I feel strangely immortalized in film as a result.)

Don't let the long running time scare you away - this doc is not just for diehard fans. In many ways, it tells the story of every rock band and it gives a clear picture of the changes that took place in the music business between the late 1970s and the present day. It is as much a documentary about music history in general as it is about one specific band. (MTV Executive Bill Flanagan is interviewed in this doc and without exception, every single thing he says about the music industry and the Heartbreakers specifically is stunningly insightful.)

As a sample, check out this clip about "The Waiting:"



Seriously, watch the whole doc. And when you're done, make sure you own Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits.

Tom Petty bonus

Tom Petty's "American Girl" is one of my favorite cruising-around-in-the-summer songs, and with the weather hitting 90 today, it seemed like a good time to dig out some Tom Petty and dust it off for the season.

How fortuitous then that I checked my email today to discover that a new special edition of Petty's Highway Companion was released today. Click on this link to hear full songs and clips from the new special edition.

Or visit Petty's MySpace for a sneak preview and a couple of demos. (I recommend "Big Weekend.")

I'm pretty sure I will never forget hearing him perform "Free Fallin'" at Summerfest last year as I watched the Big Bang fireworks overheard... truly amazing.