Weird Al and parodies- a question of copyright

xpost haha

2 Live Crew's Pretty Woman vs. Roy Orbison's

http://www.benedict.com/Audio/crew/crew.aspx

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. is probably the seminal case for the modern application of the fair use doctrine. After years of neglect languishing in the back waters of intellectual property, the fair use doctrine received the spotlight from the Supreme Court in 1994. The lightning rod was 2 Live Crew (no stranger to Constitutional controversy) and their allegedly parodic use of the "Pretty Woman" song.

One of the critical factors that the court looked at was whether or not the 2 Live Crew version was likely to dilute the market for the original Orbison version. The court seemed to think that the buying audiences for each version were substantively different. Do you think the following songs are targeted at different audiences?

In 1964, Roy Orbison and William Dees wrote a rock ballad called "Oh, Pretty Woman", about the same time that the Chiffons were swinging with "He's So Fine". In July of 1989, the rap group 2 Live Crew released the album "As Clean As They Wanna Be", containing a collection of their songs that don't contain the amount of profanity and obscenity normally associated with a 2 Live Crew album. One of these clean songs is "Pretty Woman". With this song, 2 Live Crew basically took the distinctive bass riff from the original Orbison song and changed the lyrics in true Crew style. Orbison and Dees are credited on the Crew album. Although the music is certainly identifiable as the original Orbison song, it is not unchanged. Also in true Crew style, the music contains interposed scraper noises, overlays of solos in different keys, and an altered drum beat.

Coincidentally, shortly after the 2 Live Crew version came out, the motion picture "Pretty Woman" was released. Interestingly, the soundtrack featured the Roy Orbison version of the song, but the movie took the 2 Live Crew version of the title. Consequently, the movie producers were required to license the Orbison version of the song, but since titles cannot be copyrighted, the producers would not be liable to either Orbison or 2 Live Crew for the use of the title "Pretty Woman" for the title of the movie.

Also of interest is the fact that the movie poster for the film itself became a source of sampling controversy. As may or may not be obvious from the picture in the header above, the face belongs to the star Julia Roberts, but the body belongs to a nameless body double. With the widespread use of Photoshop and other digital manipulators, photographs can longer be considered integrated unique works. In the above case, getting a release from Richard Gere and Julia Roberts may not be sufficient protection for commercial republication without the additional release from the body double.

In looking at 2 Live Crew's use of the "Pretty Woman" song, the Supreme Court successfully looked past the previous fair use decisions which basically stated that any commercial use was presumptively infringement.

"in truth, in literature, in science and in art, there are, and can be, few, if any, things, which in an abstract sense, are strictly new and original throughout. Every book in literature, science and art, borrows, and must necessarily borrow, and use much which was well known and used before."
Emerson v. Davies,8 F.Cas. 615, 619 (No. 4,436) (CCD Mass. 1845)

As notable for its appearance in fair use cases as for its use of commas, the opinion set forth in Emerson was used as an anchor by the court to the return to the original precepts of the framers of the Constitution.

"look to the nature and objects of the selections made, the quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree in which the use may prejudice the sale, or diminish the profits, or supercede the objects, of the original work."
Folsom v. Marsh, 9 F.Cas. 342, 348 (No. 4,901) (CCD Mass. 1841)

Most importantly, the court went back and gave full weight to each of the individual factors of the fair use test as promulgated in the Copyright Act of 1976. Instead of dismissing the Crew's claim on the basis that they had used the appropriated material for commercial gain, the court looked at the other factors of permissible fair use and determined that parody was indeed protected fair use, even though the perpetrators gained financially .

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/04/weird_al_lady_gaga_perform_this_way.php

I had my manager contact Lady Gaga's manager to see if she would okay the parody. Here was the exact pitch:

I'd like to do a parody of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" called "I Perform This Way." The basic concept is that I, as a Lady Gaga doppelganger of sorts, describe the incredibly extravagant ways in which I perform on stage. Meat dresses and giant eggs would most likely be referenced, but also much more ridiculous made-up examples of bizarre wardrobe and stage production. As with all my parodies, it would be respectful of the artist, while having a bit of fun with her larger-than-life image.

I hadn't written a single line of the song at this point, but that was the concept I had in my head. Because of my 30-year track record, most artists know that my songs are all in good fun and they're more than happy to approve a parody just based on the concept alone.

We eventually got a response from the Gaga camp: she would need to "hear it" before she would approve it.

Okay, I thought, she wants to know exactly what the lyrics are going to be before she signs off on the parody. Some artists just are a bit more protective of their material and don't want to take any chances. Fair enough.

I was right in the middle of my Australian tour and I didn't have a whole lot of free time, but I cranked day and night until I had a set of finished lyrics.

We send the lyrics to Lady Gaga and wait on figurative pins and needles for her to give us the go-ahead. After a few days, we get our answer: "She actually needs to hear it. Otherwise the answer is no."

Hmm. Well, this was mystifying to me. At this point she has the lyrics... and hopefully she is familiar with her own song... and the parody is basically her music... with my lyrics. It really shouldn't be that hard to decide - based on having the lyrics right in front of you - whether or not you'd be "okay" with a parody. But, alas, we'd been given an ultimatum. If she didn't hear it, she wouldn't approve it.

Okay then. I decided - based on my belief that people are basically good - to go through the trouble and considerable expense of actually recording the song. Now, I never do that - never. But because I was really excited about this parody, I decided I would faithfully jump through as many hoops as Gaga deemed necessary.

After the Australian tour, I was supposed to go on a long-awaited family vacation over my daughter's spring break - but because I now had to record what ostensibly was going to be my "hit single" as quickly as humanly possible, I cut our vacation short and came back to L.A. to spend long days and nights in the studio. The band and I worked around the clock. On April 11, I put the finishing touches on the mix and mastered the track. Done.

Or so I thought.

A couple days later we got the final word: Lady Gaga says "no."

*silent scream*

And that's it. As of this posting, I still don't know specifically what kind of problem she has with the song (obviously I take a few jabs at her, but y'know, it's satire - that's how it's supposed to work). And I'm especially confused as to why she waited until I actually recorded the song (at her insistence!) before saying no. It's not like there were any surprises in the finished song that she couldn't have foreseen by, you know, READING THE LYRICS.

A conventional release for the song and video would have also raised a nice chunk of change for the HRC - an organization which I have to assume Gaga supports. Hopefully, if fans enjoy hearing the song online, they'll make a donation anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUxXKfQkswE

good for gaga!

No, Bad for Gaga! Weird Al is harmless and loveable and his heart is always in the right place.

lol

good for Gaga for making herself look like a humorless ass

A conventional release for the song and video would have also raised a nice chunk of change for the HRC - an organization which I have to assume Gaga supports

what is this referring to? didn't see any other mention of it

i am pro humourlessness and anti comedians who mock people and have the temerity to demand they laugh along

also why is he even asking for permission? it's totally unnecessary, right?

I'm turning on her with amazing quickness, where I loved her like crazy as little as six months ago.

hahahahaha okay I think she nixed this because of the little "express yourself!" in the background before the second chorus

xp: yes we all know you don't understand humor lex, there's no need to remind us

what is this referring to? didn't see any other mention of it

It's at the tail-end of the youtube clip. All the song's proceeds would've gone to HRC, but now that's an impossibility since he can't sell it. Now he's just directing viewers/listeners to donate.

weird al is way more pop than lady gaga

hahahahaha okay I think she nixed this because of the little "express yourself!" in the background before the second chorus

― fat fat fat fat Usher (DJP), Wednesday, April 20, 2011 2:04 PM (58 seconds ago) Bookmark

otm

honestly i'd be more or less fine with Gaga taking the Coolio route and saying "this song is about a topic that's really important to me and i'd rather this not be the song with a high profile parody," it's more the jerking the guy around and making him send a recording AFTER already submitting a lyric sheet that's some bullshit.

OTM

I'm turning on her with amazing quickness, where I loved her like crazy as little as six months ago.

'Judas' + this = rapidly decreasing interest

There's 'Imperial Phase' and then there's just being a stuck-up arse.

i mean anybody CAN parody anything now and if it's funny/good have it be heard by millions with or without the original artist's blessing. Weird Al is virtually the only person doing that that asks permission, which is cool but that means he always runs the risk of this happening.

Exactly. I remember Al saying he felt absolutely terrible when he found out Coolio felt really strongly about Gangsta's Paradise and, had he known, he would never have released it. Gaga and her people, on the other hand, were jerkwads.

so wait what happened -- coolio approved the parody and then was bummed out when it was subsequently a hit?

the label/rights owners approved the parody and weird al thought that meant coolio was also cool with it

oh ok.

Even still, I feel Coolio's reaction is unwarranted, because maybe Stevie Wonder isn't keen on getting sampled by Coolio in the first place, but apparently it's cool for Coolio to write words over Wonder's stuff, but not Weird Al.

haha so true

>also why is he even asking for permission? it's totally unnecessary, right?

if you change the lyrics to a song you're covering, you don't qualify for a compulsory license; you need the copyright owner's permission to approve your version. this is how the similarly humorless led zeppelin killed the cover version of 'stairway to heaven' with the lyrics to gilligan's island sung atop.

wtf man to me having weird al parody your song is perhaps the highest praise you could ever receive, it's like you're official a part of culture you know?

^^^OTM. Gaga just keeps getting lamer imho

humorless self-righteousness, never a good look

and in the same way - it's okay for Gaga to parody Express Yourself (I still hear it almost every time) without permission or acknowledgement.. but not okay for Al to ask permission AND acknowledge it.

good for gaga!

― lex pretend, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 1:59 PM (46 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lex, I have made a concerted effort to not sban you for the last several months in accordance with my newfound outlook on just putting it all out in the open. however, this post just inspired me to do both.

I'm sure HRC is a little perturbed over kissing those proceeds goodbye now that they know. xps

Express Yourself (I still hear it almost every time)

you DID fix that for me, I was being generous :)

my wife hates that I sing "Express Yourself" over it every time it comes on the radio, but that may be because I've forgotten half the words to "Express Yourself" and just sing "la la la la la"

such a funny parody too. fuck u gaga

Al's addressed it on his site: http://alyankovic.wordpress.com/the-gaga-saga/

Man, I wish you all could have had a chance to see the video we were going to do for this thing. It was going to be BEYOND AWESOME, and disturbing on many levels. Oh well.

Al should parody Lex imo

the "W-H-I-M" part is so genius

why would anyone who hates humor post on ILX, which is basically a garden where zings are harvested

i like how passionate al is about his craft. he should drop the "weird" and become classy al

Oh man, have you guys read this? http://www.theprophetblog.net/lady-gaga-flips-out-over-madonna-plagiarism-claims

A bit of it does sound quite a lot like ‘Express Yourself’, though, doesn’t it?

“I don’t think… I swear to you. I am not stupid enough to put out a record and be that moronic.”

The reference seemed so obvious that it had to be intentional because, as you say, you’re not stupid…

“No. Listen to me. Why the fuck…? I’m a songwriter. I’ve written loads of music. Why would I try to put out a song and think I’m getting one over on everybody? That’s retarded. What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about. I will look you in your eyes and tell you that I am not dumb enough or moronic enough to think that you are dumb enough or moronic enough not to see that I would have stolen a melody. If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression. It’s the same one that’s been in disco music for the last 50 years. Just because I’m the first fucking artist in 25 years to think of putting it on Top 40 radio, it doesn’t mean I’m a plagiarist, it means that I’m fucking smart. Sorry.”

The criticism did seem to take the wind out of the song’s sails.

“There’s a lot of people who want to see me fail. The minute they see something to shoot at, they shoot, and the bigger I become the bigger target I am. Nobody in this room at any point looked around and said ‘Oh my God, it’s ‘Express Yourself’. ‘ Not once. Listen. I swear to you. I can only be honest with you about it.”

What will people say about ‘Judas’?

“I dunno… I think they will really love it. (Starting to well up) I just don’t want my fans… I don’t know. This is exhausting. I just don’t wanna perpetuate that shit. I’m sure you want to address it but it’s just so ridiculous. I was just fucking shellshocked by it. It’s so funny to hear you say, ‘It must have been a homage’, I’m like, NO. When I homage, I fucking homage with a big sign saying I’ve done it. Why would I not do that now? (Sighs) I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) I feel like honestly that God sent me those lyrics and that melody. When you feel a message to give to the world and people are shooting arrows at it… there’s no way for something that pure to be wrong. (Reaches for Marilyn Monroe lighter) I need a cigarette.”

Nice work throwing around the "R" word there, Gaga.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

It’s the same one that’s been in disco music for the last 50 years.

what a thoroughly ridiculous person

1961 was one my favorite years for disco.

lololololol @ gaga

i won't deny that, this wholw weird al thing notwithstanding, things do not seem to be proceeding to plan with her

"judas" is a big yawn. why do lapsed catholics rebel in the tritest ways?

Oh god:

On April 9, 2004, Yankovic's parents, Nick, 86, and Mary, 81, were found dead in their Fallbrook, California, home, apparently the victims of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning from their fireplace that had been recently lit. The flue was closed, which trapped the carbon monoxide gas inside the house, suffocating them. An hour after his wife notified him of his parents' death, Yankovic went on with his concert in Mankato, Minnesota,[38] saying that "since my music had helped many of my fans through tough times, maybe it would work for me as well" and that it would "at least ... give me a break from sobbing all the time." Although Yankovic played the concert as planned, a scheduled meet and greet following the concert was canceled.[39]

All this Paul McCartney talk just makes me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqP1FEpoBG8

McCartney didn't want one of his songs to be turned into a parody about eating meat, yet he named his band after the best side order to have with a pizza. Crispy fried beetles.

god i will watch Al TV youtubes all fucking day if you get me started now

Mothersbaugh is right; I've listened to a few Devo records on the basis of loving "Dare To Be Stupid" & aside from a few songs, I really just want to listen to "Dare To Be Stupid" again. irl about 10% of my utterances come directly from that song, no lie.

I think UHF marks the real drop off in quality (the album, not the movie, though I think I was already too old for the movie & don't love it the way e.g. my younger brother does). Even Worse is pretty spotty too---side 2 is mostly terrible---though "I Think I'm A Clone Now" is terrific & outshines the songs it's a parody of.

"Good Old Days" is one of his best songs!

btw speaking of that era of Weird Al can I just give a shout-out to one of his most overlooked tracks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfIs3Uz7xBo

really? man, I don't hear it. (re. "Good Old Days"). I like "Alimony" though.

Dare To Be Stupid is the obvious pinnacle of Weird Al's career. Mothersbaugh's high praise is warranted.

basically whenever I consider listening to James Taylor or something similar, I realize I really just want to hear "Good Old Days"

oh hahaha I had forgotten about "Mr. Popeil"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSnaL_UgW9s

So what would the food-themed Lady Gaga parody be?

Yeah Weird Al in 3D is the best album but Dare to Be Stupid is the best song. I'm having "Gonna Buy Me a Condo" thread flashbacks...

So what would the food-themed Lady Gaga parody be?

"Just Fast"?

"Mr. Popeil" is fabulous; I think another 10% of my daily utterances come from that song. "You could even cut a tin can with it, but you wouldn't want to!".

I saw Weird Al live about 10 years & I was pretty surprised at how tight his band was; "It's All About The Pentiums" was pretty rocking, actually.

his live band is one of the best bands in the country; they kind of have to be in order to nail all of those pastiches/parodies

So what would the food-themed Lady Gaga parody be?

"Potatoface"

'Stuff Her Face'?

'Pepperoni'?

"Jalapeño" (I'm thinking "Alejandro" in case it's not obvious)

Haha. I was just about to say "Pepperoni"

Still have never seen him live but friends where I live are pretty heavy fans -- we're talking a mom and dad who were 80s fans and kids who love him now -- and saw him last year; they couldn't stop talking about 1) how long the show was and 2) how the energy never stopped, they had the audience from start to stop going every step of the way. Per Dan's comment it makes me think about how one of the best orchestras of its time was Spike Jones's in the forties -- relentless touring and they had to be able to do everything at the drop of a hat, and did.

i thought Nirvana said they were disappointed with Weird Al's parody because they were expecting something more cutting?

― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, April 21, 2011 9:38 AM Bookmark

This was RHCP I think, and they were right. <3 Al though and <3 you all for this surge in the thread. Lotsa love here too: Classic or Dud: Weird Al Yankovic

Pa-Pa-Parsley

Cobain's thoughts on the video/song

In an interview performed by MTV in mid 1992, Cobain had the following to say:
MTV: What about Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana"?
Cobain: Oh, I laughed my butt off. I thought it was one of the funniest things I ever saw. He has some good people working for him. Those people really know how to... I mean, I'm sure he has a lot to do with it, but they really know how to reproduce things to the T. He had the exact same setup. It's the same video with him in it. It's great.
MTV: Do you go along with the idea that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Cobain: Sure. Yeah.

In an interview performed by MTV

Performance interview, the latest craze.

Pizza Face obv

xpost They just perform that way, hey.

His Al TV interview with Avril Lavigne is fucking priceless.
"Can you just sit there and say 'um' for a minute?"

Pizza Face vs Jalapeno for the win, I think Jalapeno, he hasn't done anything about spicy food specifically, although "Taco Suave" might allude to seasoning in a general way.

Alejandro could make a song about frozen pizza-- just plug in DiGiorno's and Emilio's

alright here's a first draft for the chorus of "Jalapeño":

Don't make a flame, don't make a flame, jalapeño
My mouth's in pain, my mouth's in pain, habanero
Don't wanna eat, don't wanna chew
Just want to drink something that soothes
Don't make a flame, don't make a flame, serrano

I think Jalapeno wins with Pizza Face a close second.

not food, but he totally could have done "Rad Bromance"

oh Rad Bromance would be so good

haha i said on twitter the other day that Weird Al missed his chance to capture the zeitgeist with "Rad Bromance"

Album drop off, sure, but "All About the Pentiums" is one of my fave Al tracks.

imo "White & Nerdy" was a much better execution of a similar concept

I was all about Pepperoni but Rad Bromance is just too good to pass up

obv Al's execution would've been 100x better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_P1OhKUw6I

How about a song about him not wanting multiple salad dressings? "Just Ranch"

McCartney didn't want one of his songs to be turned into a parody about eating meat, yet he named his band after the best side order to have with a pizza. Crispy fried beetles.

McCartney also refused a request from Norwegian comedy act Prima Vera to turn "Coming Up" into a song about facial plastic surgery.

he hasn't done anything about spicy food specifically, although "Taco Suave" might allude to seasoning in a general way.

i laffed

gotta say i love when Geir comes correct with the Norwegian pop trivia

"Taco Grande" is one of my all-time fav Weird Al jams, seriously

All through the lunch shift at work I was like "Dammit, it's called 'Taco Grande,' I gotta get back to ILX and fix that!"

basically whenever I consider listening to James Taylor or something similar, I realize I really just want to hear "Good Old Days"

I reckon "You Don't Love Me Anymore" is just about equally good.

(and with a great Extreme parody video even)

Do you remember sweet Michelle?
She was my high school romance
She was...fun to talk to and nice to smell
So I took her to the homecoming dance

Then I tied to her to a chair and I shaved off all her hair
And I left her in the desert all alone
And sometimes in my dreams I can still hear her screams
Sometimes I wonder if she ever made it hoooooooome....