Saturday, July 07, 2007

My Sweet Lord, Redux

So I admit I'm only passingly familiar with the new girl singers: your Christina Aguileras and your Aly and AJs and your Skye Sweetnams. (Please don't punch me, Dave.) So I wasn't really following the career of Avril Lavigne too closely until I read this:


Lavigne faces U.S. lawsuit


Canadian pop sensation Avril Lavigne is being sued by U.S. songwriters for an alleged copycat version of an original song.

The 1970s band, the Rubinoos, have claimed Avril Lavigne’s hit single "Girlfriend" is a ripoff of their 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."


I leave it to the powerpop connoisseur to decide the merits of the case.



Look, I don't know whether she copied it intentionally or not. Powerpop is a genre, pop in general is a genre, and so yes, there are similarities between songs, words, chord progressions, guitar lines, what have you. I'm not as interested in the merits of the case as I am in the Lavigne camp's response. The snottiness with which the claims have been met is pretty breathtaking, slamming the Rubinoos as obscure and money-grubbing.

Lavigne's manager Terry McBride denied any credibility to the Rubinoos claim: "This is a song she'd never heard of that was a minor hit before she was born," he said. "This is a stretch and there is no basis for it."

As soon as he received the allegations six weeks ago, McBride said he hired a musicologist to compare the two songs. The music expert reported the songs are completely different and not even in the same metre, McBride said, dismissing the allegations as a form of "legal blackmail."


Their defense continues:


Lavigne's manager, Terry McBride
, CEO of the Nettwerk Music Group, tells Billboard that the suit has no basis. "There's nothing similar [between the two songs]," he says. "Our musicologist says there is no similarities of melody, choral progression or meter."

McBride added, however, that he would potentially settle the case out of court. "You are forced to consider doing this because American lawyers can do these cases on contingency. If I defend and win, it costs me $300,000 U.S. If I go to get my costs back, the other party declares bankruptcy. You end up footing the bill. Avril has insurance that covers off these sort of suits that are so prevalent in this business."


Two things: "our musicologist"? They have one on staff? I know a few musicologists, and this isn't what they do. Also, she has copyright infringement lawsuit insurance? That strikes me as.... odd.

Avril belongs to the YouTube/MySpace generation, so impassioned defenses of her are not hard to find on the web. Most accept uncritically her manager's assertions, which says something about how much our young people trust corporations and authority. As with Bill O'Reilly's defense of the Monkees, money is its own defense these days. Sad, really.

The case reminds me of two famous copyright infringement cases from the past involving artists I really respect.

The first, of course, is the George Harrison/Chiffons controversy over "My Sweet Lord." That case dragged on forever, eventually getting subsumed into the larger Allen Klein/Beatles legal issues which were so ugly. (Klein, after his break with The Beatles, actually purchased the publishing company which owned "He's So Fine" to continue the suit. "Dick move" doesn't even begin to describe it.)

The second is the freaky meta-case involving Saul Zaentz and John Fogerty, in which Fogerty was sued for writing songs which sounded like John Fogerty songs. Specifically, the issue concerned "The Old Man Down the Road" and its similarity to Creedence's "Run through the Jungle."

As Dave Marsh tells it:
Fogerty was still pissed when he finally made another record, Centerfield, in 1985. The final track on each side was an unmistakable slug at Fantasy owner Saul Zaentz: “Mr. Greed” and “Zanz Kant Danz.” Zaentz, apparently feeling as vindictive as Fogerty, sued for libel, asking $142 million damages, then charged Fogerty with infringing on a Fantasy copyright-”Run Through the Jungle.”

Centerfield’s first track, and its first single, was “The Old Man Down the Road.” Everybody who heard it remarked on its amazing similarity to “Run Through the Jungle.” And so Fantasy sued Fogerty for royalties plus damages for plagiarizing his own song!

Amazingly enough, the case actually went to trial and in the fall of 1988, John Fogerty spent two days on the witness stand with a guitar on his lap, explaining “swamp rock” and its limitations to a jury. Pressed about the similarity between the two songs, he finally snapped, “Yeah, I did use that half-step. What do you want me to do, get an inoculation?”

Even if Fantasy did, the jury didn’t. They acquitted him in early November 1988, and, having proven his skills in running through the modern jungle, John Fogerty went back to making his new record. Which he vowed would sound not approximately but exactly like Creedence.


Those who know me know I have a thing about people being snotty about those who preceded them. (I've been in several arguments about this re: Paul Weller.) On the whole, I think Lavigne's people would do well to deal with the Rubinoos and admit that pop has a history, that just because a song was written before you were born doesn't mean you never heard it, and that we all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors. In other words, they should throw some scratch to The Rubinoos and stop throwing out The Rolling Stones red herring ("they said 'Hey! You!' first!"). It's not like Avril's going to be living in a refrigerator box over 100 grand.

(h/t The Kenosha Kid)

39 comments:

Kid Charlemagne said...

Go Rubes!

Sue that little Canadian pop trollop for all she is worth!!

steve simels said...

Goddamnit, I posted something absolutely brilliant here an hour ago and blogger ate it.

Feh.

Anyway, the short version is that ever since Lavigne was outed as April Levine from Canarsie, it ill behooves her to get all pissy about her supposed artistic integrity.

steve simels said...

Actually, I must admit that when I first heard the Lavigne/Levine song, I immediately thought of the Rubinoos.

Not saying it's a real rip-off, but it certainly seems aware of the earlier song....

steve simels said...

Chuck Berry has sued, successfully, twice over this sort of stuff. One against Brian Wilson, whose "Surfin USA" was, of course, merely "Sweet Little Sixteen" with new lyrics, and once against the Beatles, whose "Come Together" was a loose rewrite of Chuck's "You Can't Catch Me."

My favorite, though, is the Stones, who were unaware that the chorus to their "Have You Seen My Baby" was in fact identical to KD Lang's "Constant Craving."

When it was pointed out to them, rather than have a legal hassle they just Lang a co-writer credit.

Kid Charlemagne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kid Charlemagne said...

When it was pointed out to them, rather than have a legal hassle they just Lang a co-writer credit.


The Stones must be bipolar.

When the Verve used a looped sample from a symphonic version of "The Last Time" in "Bittersweet Symphony" the Stones sued and were awarded 100% of the royalties for the song.

Maybe it was the publishing company and not the Stones that went after them, but I always found that a bit excessive. But, it was stupid to use it and not get clearance prior to release.

steve simels said...

Maybe it was the publishing company and not the Stones that went after them, but I always found that a bit excessive. But, it was stupid to use it and not get clearance prior to release.


I'll betcha it was Allen Klein, not the Stones themselves. Sounds like his style....

Dave said...

No worries, I DESPISE Avril. I'm not sure if I hate her much more or only a bit more after her unconvincing and weirdly unpleasant/overbearing cheerleader brat-punk phase, ripped straight from self-proclaimed "Avril-lite" Skye Sweetnam herself (whom Dr. Luke, writer/producer, worked with just before he hooked up with Avril, hmmmmm, no song available from that session yet but if it sounds like "Girlfriend" I will be quite upset). (Skye should sue, too.)

Thought you might be interested in a choice quote from Performing Songwriter magazine from an old Avril co-writer:

PS mag: We just did an article with Avril Lavigne, with whom you wrote with ...

Chantal: I find it funny that it's in Performing Songwriter. A mean, Avril, songwriter? Avril doesn't really sit down and write songs by herself or anything. Avril will cross the ethical line and no one says anything. That's why I'll never work with her again. I sent her a song two years ago called "Contagious," and I just saw the tracklisting to this album and there's a song called "Contagious" on it-- and my name's not on it. What do you do with that?

PS mag: Call the lawyers?

Chantal: See, I won't do that. I'll just tell you. Art should not be subject to that kind of controversy. Art should be pure. In my head it is, anyway.


I'm all for co-authorship, and wish that artists like Kelly Clarkson and Ashlee Simpson got more deserving credit for their songwriting input (Kelly only gets credit when a critic think her tunes suck!). But if this is true, it's really despicable and I can add it to my anti-Avril checklist.

I think this particular lawsuit is frivolous, as the similarities aren't that great (I would point to Avril-lite's "Hypocrite" and Avril-awesome Fefe Dobson's recent "Get You Off," from her shelved but incredible sophomore album. Bonus: both artists are Canadian! And for a better Dr. Luke precursor to "Girlfriend," try Megan McCauley's "Tap That," a wonderful Salt n Pepa meets Evanescence mad scientist amalgam that the singer has since stupidly disowned.)

dave™© said...

Did Berry really sue the Beach Boys? I knew he got a credit, but I was unaware there was a suit involved.

The second suit, over "Come Together," had one good outcome: Lennon recorded the "Rock 'n Roll" album to pay off Berry - arguably, his best solo elpee (as opposed to singles and songs).

And did a version of "You Can't Catch Me" in the style of "Come Together"...

steve simels said...

Dave said:

I'm all for co-authorship, and wish that artists like Kelly Clarkson and Ashlee Simpson

With all respect dood, uh, but I have trouble with that sentence...

Anonymous said...

Simels, check this music out, please.

I'd suggest "Feel No Sin" which was actually rendered a B side.

The entire selection page has something good in every link. The Smokestack tracks are amazing.

-Mr.Murder

Anonymous said...

Not that I have inside knowledge or anything, but I don't find it at all odd that mega-successful musicians have insurance that covers everything, including copyright infringement. Even being 100% original is no guarantee that someone won't pop up and claim rights to your latest hit.

Dave said...

With all respect dood, uh, but I have trouble with that sentence...

Why?

steve simels said...

The use of the word artist to refer to Kelly Clarkson and Ashlee Simpson.

I think the correct term is "people who have sold records and so what."

Dave said...

That's a silly thing to say. Ashlee and Kelly are two of the best artists currently making music -- I mean, would you call Pat Benatar an artist? You yourself compared Kelly to Pat in a previous post (and for the record, Kelly Clarkson and Ashlee Simpson are both more consistent and generally better artists than Pat Benatar).

steve simels said...

Ashlee and Kelly are two of the best artists currently making music

Well, then we disagree. I think they're soulless disposable corporate shlock. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but still.

steve simels said...

This whole Kelly Clarkson is an artist thing is beginning to remind me of the 80s, when Giorgio Moroder was briefly considered a genius.

Dave said...

What Kelly/Ashlee tunes have you listened to? They're right up this blog's alley, for the most part both do guitar pop.

I see from Google you liked the Arctic Monkeys album (wasn't on my Voice ballot but it made my top 20 elsewhere), so here's "Hole" from Kelly's new album, w/ Monkeysesque riff:

Hole

And for some great Ashlee-rock try "Love Me for Me" or "I Am Me."

I
Am Me


Love Me for Me

Dave said...

Woops, Ashlee Simpson - I Am Me

Dave said...

(I'd like to know what you think of those songs, actually, trying to ignore the social implications you feel listening to Ashlee/Kelly as artists entails -- I mean, doesn't this sound kinda like power pop?)

steve simels said...

dave:

I'm sorry, I just don't hear it.

I'll grant you that I'm genetically indisposed to take anything that emanates from the pop cultural crime against nature that is American Idol with even a modicum of seriousness, so you're trying to convince the wrong guy.

But like I said -- every generation gets the Pat Benatar it deserves.

The Kenosha Kid said...

Ashlee Simpson makes some catchy power pop. But I think she forfeited whatever credibility she had on SNL.

Dave said...

Well, "I Am Me" is from after the SNL fiasco, so she didn't forfeit her ability to (co)write/perform catchy power pop. And having seen her live post-fiasco, I can say with some certainty that her live show is completely authentic (unfortunately she gets less than 50% attendance these days).

Dave said...

Tho I gotta say, having finally seen Ashlee's reality show, I've actually seen the acid reflux via ThroatCam Pix (r)(tm) that made her lose her voice before the SNL performance (all documented as it happened in the second season). She was able to perform several days later just fine at a public event somewhere big (Radio City Music Hall maybe?).

The Kenosha Kid said...

Even more to the point (this is after clicking through your links), if a producer can combine the beat from Oh Mickey, the guitars from the Ramones, and a generic emo teenage voice and create profit, how is the teenager the 'artist' and not the producer?

steve simels said...

how is the teenager the 'artist' and not the producer?

I think your phrase "generic emo teenage voice" is the key here.

I mean, obviously, Phil Spector was the auteur of "Be My Baby" but that record wouldn't have the power it has if not for the fact that Ronnie Spector is, in fact, an artist.

Dave said...

Which song are you referring to?

Skye Sweetnam wrote and co-produced all her tracks in the basement of 21-year-old (completely new to production) producer James Robertson in his basement near Toronto.

Fefe Dobson also writes her own stuff, in fact as written one of the most moving songs ever about the effects of parental separation in "Unforgiven."

Would you consider Aretha Franklin or Elvis or Frank Sinatra artists? They wrote far less than Ashlee or Kelly or Skye or Fefe Dobson ever did. (Kelly and Ashlee co-write almost all of their material; Skye writes all of her own material.)

The Kenosha Kid said...

It's the extent that they "write their own material" that I question. I suspect that that Chantal interview posted above applies equally well to Ashlee Simpson. (I also think Kelly Clarkson is a separate category - given the recent drama over her new album, I am willing to accept that she really does write her own stuff).

As far as Aretha, Frank and Elvis, they really are vocalists or "song stylists" more than artists.

Dave said...

You could call Ronnie Spector's voice a "generic teen girl group" voice, too, but it would be a dumb and dismissive thing to say. So is "generic teen emo" voice -- Skye, Ashlee, and Kelly all have distinctive voices (and Skye is smarter than most of her critics; she preemptively called herself Avril-lite in the above "Hypocrite," even though she doesn't really sound like Avril).

The Kenosha Kid said...

Scotty Moore was the real artist behind Elvis - and the inspiration for John Fogerty's style - which brings us back to tonight's word...

Dave said...

Well, you're wrong about Kelly and Ashlee being at all like Avril -- for one thing, Ashlee has a whole show where she kicks around ideas with her producers (who are consistent, the same two basically for both albums, and there's never been any indication from either of them that they weren't credited for work they did). Kelly is now getting attacked because she's writing her own material, which is idiotic because the link between her old material and her new stuff is (very obviously) HER. Her producers with which she co-wrote "Behind These Hazel Eyes" (for instance) haven't made anything like it since, yet everything on her new album is a stylistic follower. It's not that hard to believe that she has a serious hand in writing AND performing this stuff.

steve simels said...

Dave:

I'm beginning to think this is strictly a generation gap thing.

I mean you may hear "the most moving songs ever about the effects of parental separation in "Unforgiven." But what I hear is an unintentionally hilarious, overwraught parody of teen angst.

I think we're gonna have to just agree to disagree on this issue.

dave™© said...

This whole Kelly Clarkson is an artist thing is beginning to remind me of the 80s, when Giorgio Moroder was briefly considered a genius.

Well, didn't he produce Donna Summer's "I Feel Love"?

So what's your problem???

steve simels said...


Well, didn't he produce Donna Summer's "I Feel Love"?

So what's your problem???


And Sam the Sham wrote some great songs. Big deal.

Perspective is in order....

And don't take this stuff so personally....we're just having fun here.

Dave said...

But what I hear is an unintentionally hilarious, overwraught parody of teen angst.

I don't think the following line is particularly overwrought:

"Sorry is a word you like to say / Sorry won’t erase the things you did yesterday / I want you to know that I didn’t need you anyway / And this rope that we walk on is swaying / And the ties that bind us, they will never ever fray / But I want for you to know / You are…unforgiven."

You left me but you're still my dad, and I'll always love you but I'll never forgive you. I don't know many ADULTS that are so mature! Plus the tune rocks.

steve simels said...

Dave said...

This is an interesting discussion, and I'd like to continue it -- perhaps as a dialogue here. You know -- as a kind of He Said, You Said for other folks to comment on.

If you feel that's appropriate.

Right now, I'm crashing.

Dave said...

Me too! But sure, feel free to carry on the convo elsewhere.

TMink said...

Steve wrote: "I think they're soulless disposable corporate shlock. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but still."

Yeah, the soulless part is what gripes me and turns me off. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is LIKELY a bad thing.

Trey

TMink said...

Do the Ramones fit in here anywhere? Hey little girl, "I wanna be your boyfriend." That was from 1976, probably written earlier. Who is alive to sue???

Trey