Inspiration Or Appropriation

Exampes of what some would consider appropriation that others may see as inspiration.

1.Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, ZZtop was quoted as saying Rock and Roll was their interpretation of the Blues. (admitting to the appropriation)
Rolling Stones songs Sweet Black Angel, Brown Sugar, pretty up front too. If You do some digging into the Stones You'll find a lot of not hidden footage of Mick and Kieth studying the Blues. Yes I went to a Stones show in Nashville where Muddy Waters opened, so Im guilty of the appropriation as well (even though I didn't stay for the whole show, got freaked out when Sympathy for the Devil came on..the red strobe lights, left and ended up going to a jam session at Stonegate.).Also saw a cool video of Kieth Richards and Chuck Berry, Richards had set up a jam of sorts, and Chuck Berry was not impressed by who Richards was..The way Berry pulled out Lucielle was like He was drawing a weapon. That is a serious musician…or was, Is he still alive?..Berrys eyes were the eyes of a man that would not hesitate…again, I digress..So common knowledge, example after example, and that's just in music.

in order to understand a different culture one must respect. All things. The less respect, the more room for exploitation. Are all cultures separatist by nature? Not in my experience. I think its the opposite…So that's it, you guys turn..Inspiration vs Appropriation

Fight.

"Let's be global! Not that global."

Every human takes ideas from others and gives them a new spin. This is our life formula.
Nobody makes up stuff from nothing, we all base our inspirations on whatever we have experienced.
There is no culture that came from itself and then was never shared.

It's totally ludicrous. Without inspirations from others we can't come up with anything new.
Every melody or picture is inspired by something and then becomes in itself something new.

We have to stop this crap of not allowing others to inspire us or everything will become stagnant.

a reply to: didntasktobeborned

What are you even getting on about? Is it that you have an issue with white boys playing the blues? Is it musicians stealing from one another?

Plenty of the very best black players would have starved without the Brits bringing focus on them. I saw John Lee Hooker open for SRV in about 1984. Was that a bad thing? Hell no it wasn't.

The Howling Wolf Sessions with all those popular cats is pure gold.

So I'll ask again, what's your problem?

originally posted by: REDMORGAN
a reply to: didntasktobeborned

Is it that you have an issue with white boys playing the blues?

So I'll ask again, what's your problem?

1. Have you even heard "White Boy Lost In The Blues" by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee? Heard it the first time about 35 years ago I guess. My burnout dad used to attempt that tune when I was a child, never got around to telling him that he was the epitome of that song even though he couldn't afford brass buttons or a Desoto...That would have been mean of me. And come to find out, he wasn't faking the funk, he really was a humanitarian, and I believe he did care.

2. Holy cow Man, I have tons of problems, but a BIT%$ aint one. Yo.

3.Sympathy is by far one of my top 5 favorite Stones tunes.I didn't think Satan was actually there..but I was in early stages of figuring out my own worldview..and I hadn't smoked in like two months and had actually been saving one cigarette just for the show, hot boxed it right before I went in..it was an all in all pretty awesome night.and the place we ended up was the Station Inn, not stone gate, been a few years..That Station Inn place was a complete accident, I happened to have an instrument with me, got to jam a little, got over the red strobe lights pretty quick.

If one were to follow your logic ( very carefully) then it stands to reason that B.B. King, Muddy Waters and other Blues greats misappropriated their material from others as well.

After all I am certain if one was to study in depth the Blues it would reveal that the sound and words came from music they were exposed to at Church and from songs and stories that they were privy too as children.

It's no doubt each artist from every generation has influenced others in one way or another and no sound, or rhythm is truly a unique signature but developed from whatever they have been exposed to over their lifetimes with each adding personality and flavor unique to them.

a reply to: didntasktobeborned

Umm, Lucille belonged to BB King, not Chuck Berry. Just for the record.

I personally ascribe to the "sincerest from of flattery" position.
There's nothing new under the sun after all.

originally posted by: underpass61
a reply to: didntasktobeborned

Umm, Lucille belonged to BB King, not Chuck Berry. Just for the record.

Well dust my broom, how embarrassing, been a long day..thats bad. It was Chuck Berry and His guitar whatever its name was, definitely wasn't BB King. He just treated it very intensely, almost like a person, the guitar that is. But the video was the last one that was put out about just Richards on Netflix.

Ive looked at other pictures of Chuck Berrys eyes on stage for this reason, that's how Im sure it was Chuck Berry on the recent vid on Richards..I was very impressed by the way he Treated Kieth Richards..He took no crap. And he let him know.

Thanks for the correction.

a reply to: didntasktobeborned

No worries, I don't know if Chuck had a name for his but I wouldn't doubt it.

How do you think stuff continues to progress?

Jesus if we were never allowed to tinker with another's ideas, we would still be hunter gatherers.

Most musicians take a little from all other musicians they admire and eventually come up with there own style. Once they find their 'groove' nobody really does justice to their hits, though there are some good renditions sung by others in coming years.
The exception to that rule was the 1960 release of Love Hurts, sung by the Everly Brothers. It was a good song, but not overly passionate.
In 1961 Roy Orbison's rendition of Love Hurts came out; it totally sucked, and was beyond his talents to make it work. Ugh!
Nazareth hit it out of the park with their remake in 1974, with all the emotion that song deserved and could handle.

a reply to: didntasktobeborned

I like ribs, fried chicken and watermelon. Does that make me guilty of culinary appropriation or a racial stereotyping?

I say it makes me guilty of neither, I'm just somebody who likes ribs, fried chicken and watermelon.

This "appropriation" stuff is all in itself just so much racist bovine feces.

Some might say Brown Sugar is about both heroin and 'Black Chiks', In the song Some Girls he's more direct.In the song Spoonfull by Howlin Wolf he talks about his romantic love for Heroin. Its a definite cross reference..Sam and Daves Soul Sister…Heroin.I hear Mick liked his heron on occasion.Whats really being appropriated?a reply to: REDMORGAN

SPAM

He should have called it 'The Six String Grenade', when he played , that's what it was like..a reply to: underpass61

I like ribs, fried chicken and watermelon. Does that make me guilty of culinary appropriation or a racial stereotyping?

The comment brings about imagery that reminds people of a certain culture of a particular stereotype. In this case American Negro. (being one of three..Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid), So the only thing you are guilty of is provoking a thought targeted at a certain group for their ability to recognize it..Now, are You exploiting that? Just by posing the question..

originally posted by: Applesauce2022
If one were to follow your logic ( very carefully) then it stands to reason that B.B. King, Muddy Waters and other Blues greats misappropriated their material from others as well.

I was attempting to illustrate both sides of the argument, then observe the discussion. Rock music and The Blues were just my example. What You posted was right on the money though, if I actually thought there was an issue...which I really don't..as everything came from something..so to speak...

An example in music I always found interesting was The Banjo. The epitome of 'White' American folk type music..Its an African instrument, originally made from human skin and bones/animal as well..The Banja..

a reply to: didntasktobeborned

Okay...makes sense. Funny you mention the banjo as I was thinking of it when I was first made my post. Dreadlocks are another example that one culture claims as belonging to their side but started thousands of years ago in another culture

Plenty of the very best black players would have starved without the Brits bringing focus on them.

Thats intense. The Stones were the unsung hero of the American Bluesmen....and Women. Didn't realize that.

So the Stones were kind enough to throw the Colored Folk a a sandwich after plugging in and recording..How generous of them.

Also Im not at all saying that the Stones didn't pay their dues in the music world. In their right , some of the hardest workers in Rock and Roll...

My previous use of your quote and my subsequent reply were an illustration. Thank You for the input and allowing me to show a purist notion of things...My opinion..The Stones liked to hang out and play music and they loved The Blues and American culture, and have become part of it.Who is going to drum for them now?

A boss of mine and I had an ongoing debate..Who would you rather your Daughter marry, a Stone or a Beatle? I always picked a Stone, him a Beatle. We both have daughters of course. Those were good conversations.a reply to: REDMORGAN