China Covered

References

originalfarce — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:37:03 +0000

Adams, G. 2008, ‘The song they didn’t write? Coldplay are accused of plagiarism by American band’, The Independent (Arts & Entertainment), 19 June 2008, viewed 19 September 2008,

AllTheLoveGoneBlack 2008, Jeff Buckely-Hallelujah, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Anonymous 2002, Can’t Help Falling In Love Lyrics, lyricsbox.com, viewed 15 October 2008,

at17 2007, Interview with at17, HKpop.com, viewed 15 October 2008,

Bloch, J. 2008, ‘Plagiarism across Cultures: Is There a Difference?’ in C. Eisner & M. Vicinus (ed.), Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age, The University of Michigan Press, Michigan, pp. 219-230

BrittanyERROR 2008, [Full Ver.] TVXQ ‘HEY’ (Don’t Bring Me Down), youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Castanaro V. 2008, ‘Creativity, Originality and Value in Music Performance’, Fordham Law Journal, Vol. XVIII, Book 5, pp. 1271-1296

creakyboards 2008, creaky boards – the songs i didn’t write, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

creakyboards 2008, creaky boards + coldplay + itunes fiasco, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Cusic, D. 2005, ‘In Defense of Cover Songs’, Popular Music and Society, vo. 28, issue 2, pp. 171-177

Davis L, Mules W and Thwaites T 1994b, ‘Signs and Systems’, Tools for Cultural Studies: An Introduction, Macmillan Publishers, Melbourne, pp. 25-43

goolk 2006, paranoid android (at17 @ concert blog), youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Ho, W. 2003, ‘Between Globalisation and Localisation: A Study of Hong Kong Popular Music’, LEWI Working Paper Series, vol. 7, pp. 1-30

jacjohncoles 2007, Give It Away – Red Hot Chilli Peppers, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

jaredmorrisradio 2008, Creaky Boards vs Coldplay Radio Analysis – Jared Morris WGMD, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

JVKV 2002, Lilo and Stitch Exclusive F4 Interview, viewed 14 October 2008,

JXPCWS 2006, radiohead – paranoid android, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Littlewaterbottle 2006, Hallelujah by Ellen – At17 Concert 30/9/06@HK Asia ExPo, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Ogawa, M. 2002, ‘Japanese popular music in Hong Kong: Analysis of global/local cultural relations’ in Befu, H. & Guichard-Anguis, S. (ed.), Globalizing Japan: Ethnography of the Japanese Presence in Asia, Europe and America, Routledge, New York, pp. 121-130

parlophone 2008, Coldplay – Viva La Vida, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

pellevaderkvarn 2008, Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling In Love, 1961 (Blue Hawai, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Plasketes, G. 2005, ‘Re-flections on the Cover Age: A Collage of Continuous Coverage in Popular Music’, Popular Music and Society, vol. 28, issue 2, pp. 137-161

Randall, M. 2001, Pragmatic Plagiarism, 1st edn, University of Toronto Press, Toronto

rollerblade1111 2006, AT17-Porcelain, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

sahailaway 2007, The Cranberries – Dreams, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

thanhlong2006 2006, F4 – Can’t Help Falling In Love With You, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

Tsubasa 2006, Faye Wong – Dream Person, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

UKBestKeptSecret 2008, Porcelain Video – Julia Fordham, youtube.com, viewed 18 October 2008,

vitax… 2008, DBSK: Ripping off Red Hot Chili Peppers?, Asianfanatics.net, viewed 20 September 2008,

Williamon, A., Thompson, S., Lisbon, T. & Wiffen, C. 2005, Creativity, Originality and Value in Music Performance, Karl-Franzens-Univesitat Graz, viewed 19 September 2008,

Backward: Conclusion | Related: Links | Related: Rationale | Lost? Site Map

Conclusion

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:07:12 +0000

In conclusion, originality proves to be an elusive, yet prominent social and cultural construct, shown by the variance in its concepts to the West and the Chinese. Therefore it ascertains itself to be a subjective value system on both an individual and collective scale due to cultural influences and personal tastes and knowledge. Thus, the emphasis on originality in music could be considered a farce, since it may be argued, due to its subjective nature, that it does not truly exist. However, this emphasis exists due to issues of ownership and authorship through copyright and intellectual property laws, which, along with the engrained snobbery towards unoriginality in Western societies has created negative backlash to the cover version. In spite of this, covers are integral, even being considered an “art”, having numerous justifications for their existence such as prolonging, or resurrecting songs of yesteryear, expanding their audience, and most significantly helping to establish the Hong Kong music industry. Therefore, cover versions, whether thought to be original or unoriginal are just as important as their originals, and will continue to be, particularly in China and its territories.

Backward: at17 | Forward: References | Lost? Site Map

at17

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:06:30 +0000

at17

at17

The pervasiveness of English cover songs in the Hong Kong music scene is still evident today with acts such as at17, who further reinforce that cover songs, or unoriginal music, are still just as important. Ellen from at17 comments that “our fans don’t really listen to English songs. They are 17 or 18 years old and when we sing English songs, we can introduce more English songs and singers to our fans” (at17, 2007, para. 15). This ascertains that covers still connect songs with a new, and often more diverse audience, who do not normally listen to certain types of music that the cover originates from, or do not have conventional access.

The full extent of covers’ ability to connect or promote is encompassed in at17’s cover of Julia Fordham’s ‘Porcelain’, “our fans went out to buy Julia Fordham’s album. They discussed it with us in the online forum and thanked us for introducing such a great singer to them” (at17, 2007, para. 16). Tribute, or homage is expressed through Ellen’s thoughts on covering ‘Hallelujah’, “I fell in love with Jeff Buckley’s version and the way he played the guitar, the selection of notes, it’s poetry. I arranged the song. It was my dream” (at17, 2007, para. 16).

Julia Fordham’s ‘Porcelain’

at17′s version of ‘Porcelain’

Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’

at17′s version of ‘Hallelujah’

She further states that of the English song market, “There are so many more genres and varieties. You can find anything you want…. there are more styles and they are more distinctive” (at17, 2007, para. 15), which conveys the Chinese concept of originality, by drawing from imitation. Eman, the other half of at17 draws on the cultural difference in their cover versions,

The linguistic mix is interesting, but we are not ambitious, just trying to find the
most appropriate way to express ourselves. Like the line ‘Never been kissed’.
How do you actually say it in Cantonese without sounding silly? The English
phrase is much more expressive, concise and to the point (at17, 2007, para. 23)

This exemplifies how certain cultural hurdles may impact and instigate change in a song’s interpretation further highlighting the importance of cover versions in an intercultural context. Lastly, the magnitude of covers, as a creative tool, or an art, as mentioned by Cusic’s, is accentuated by at17. Castanaro, as discussed previously, outlines that “The existing concept of originality is concerned only with the creative process and not the product” (Castanaro, 2008, p.1287). In any case, at17 has both bases covered with Ellen discussing their creative process as thus:

“We try to be comfortable with the songs we sing, not just cover them. When we are comfortable with the songs, there is already something individual in them. We have to listen to the songs and then re-create the chords and everything, so it’s not 100% correct. And sometimes the slight differences sound good as well, and that helps create our individual sound” (at17, 2007, para. 18)

Eman expands on this:

“We usually rearrange the songs we cover, sometimes because of the limited manpower, or maybe we can’t manage the technical aspect. When we rearrange the songs, we give them our own personality. We sing them with a different tone. Sometimes the technical limitation of a two-woman band can give new direction to the arrangement…. When we are rearranging, we restructure the songs, like cutting away certain parts or move different parts of the song around. The restructuring is in the details. We don’t do it for the audience. We do it to make the songs comfortable to our ears, for ourselves” (at17, 2007, para. 19)

This alone would classify their covers as original under Castanaro’s concept. However, more obvious examples of their innovative interpretation are “the song Can’t get you out of my head – we went to Shanghai and we could only bring a bongo and an acoustic guitar, so we just performed with those two instruments” (at17, 2007, para. 20) and “Radiohead’s Paranoid Android with just 2 acoustic guitars” (at17, 2007, para. 20).

Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’

at17′s version of ‘Paranoid Android’

Backward: Hong Kong’s Music Industry | Forward: Conclusion | Lost? Site Map

Hong Kong’s Music Industry

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:02:59 +0000

Hong Kong’s Music Industry

Another example of important unoriginal music is the period of the rise in cover songs, “which would become one of the mainstays of the Hong Kong pop music scene” (Ogawa, 2002, p.122). This rise can be attributed to the “lack of composers and producers of Shanghai-style music in Hong Kong” (Ogawa, 2002, p.122) as a result of the handover to Britain. Ogawa states that “There are several different types of cover versions (Ogawa, 2002, p.122): an original piece covered by a singer using a slightly different musical arrangement, another where the original’s lyrics are translated into a different language, and the original covered by a singer who uses different lyrics with a different language with the same melody (Ogawa, 2002, p.122). JVKV’s cover song falls in the latter category, as well as Faye Wong’s ‘Dream Person’, a cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Dreams’, which is also the most popular type of cover in Hong Kong (Ogawa, 2002, p.122).

The Cranberries’ ‘Dreams’

Faye Wong’s ‘Dream Person’

These covers achieve historical significance as they helped to establish Hong Kong’s music industry as “Although they copied Western songs and sang in English, they prepared the foundations for the acceptance of original Cantonese songs in the next period” (Ogawa, 2002, p.122). Therefore, the importance of cover songs is invaluable to the Hong Kong music industry, as it not only helped establish the industry economically and socially, but also culturally.

Backward: Can’t Help Falling in Love | Forward: at17 | Lost? Site Map

Can’t Help Falling in Love: Elvis versus JVKV

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:01:02 +0000

Elvis versus JVKV

Can’t Help Falling in Love: Elvis versus JVKV

Examples of different versions of 'Can't Help Falling in Love'

“Songs need new voices to sing them in places they’ve never been sung in order to stay alive. (Emmylou Harris, qtd. in Griffith)” (Plasketes, 2005, p.137). This seems to be the case with Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ and JVKV. Although this song has not been lacking in coverage, covered many times by the likes of UB40 to U2, and Andrea Bocelli to Bon Jovi, JVKV is notable in their version as they appeal to a different audience. Cusic affirms, “the cover version of the song reached a new audience who never heard the “original” version. The “new” audience was separated by a generation or by musical taste (Cusic, 2005, p.173).

Elvis’ ‘original’ version of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ in the movie ‘Blue Hawaii‘

JVKV’s version of ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’

Which version appeals more to you?

Not only does JVKV bring ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ to a new generation with a different musical taste, but to a new area of the world through the adaptation of the lyrics to accommodate the Chinese audience. By adapting the lyrics, the song has been transformed into an original creation, differing majorly from the original. In JVKV’s version, it starts with an English rap, “Who’s that? At the door? One time, let’s go” (http://www.lyricsbox.com/f4-lyrics-can’t-help-falling-in-love-v5v4jzj.html) that does not appear in the Elvis’, and that is just the beginning of the song. The rest of the lyrics are indistinguishable to the previous audience, with only the song’s title phrase remaining, “coz I can’t help falling in love with you” (http://www.lyricsbox.com/f4-lyrics-can’t-help-falling-in-love-v5v4jzj.html). This change in language gives JVKV’s cover significant precedence, not only appealing to a now obtainable audience, but by transforming the lyrics, the appeal increases, as a mere translation would not necessarily suit the audience’s culture.

JVKV realise the significance of their cover as evident in an interview. Vanness Wu declares, “We’ll do our best to make this song a hit for our generation” (JVKV, 2002) recognising the importance to keep the song alive. Vic Zhou remarks on the differences to Elvis’ original recording, “Compared to the original, our version is a bit different. We’re changing the beat and the melody slightly so that it’s more contemporary” (JVKV, 2002). This signifies the adaptation necessary to appeal to the new audience, a transformation that should also be of value. Ken Chu’s comment, “Re-recording this classic hit from Elvis, I hope we don’t let him down” (JVKV, 2002) highlights another notable aspect of covers; paying homage or commemorating an artist (Homan, 2006, p.3). Lastly, Jerry Yan’s insight, “I hope that we can deliver a fresh new feel to the song” (JVKV, 2002), affirms their aim to creatively interpret the song innovatively.

Lilo and Stitch Exclusive F4 (JVKV) Interview

JVKV’s cover of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ was released not only as part of their album, Fantasy 4ever, but also as part of Disney’s Lilo and Stitch movie. Thus, another argument for the cover’s importance rests on it filling the demand in Asia for Disney movie soundtracks spurred on by Beauty and the Beast’s Chinese language original soundtrack released in the 90s, which sparked the call for songs understandable for Chinese youths (Ho, 2003, p.16).

JVKV for Lilo and Stitch

Backward: Covers: Unoriginal? | Forward: Hong Kong’s Music Industry | Lost? Site Map

Covers: Unoriginal?

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:58:37 +0000

Covers: Unoriginal?

According to Cusic, “The definition of a “cover” song is one that has been recorded before” (Cusic, 2005, p.174). This is not to be confused with a cover record, a common misconception, “which has come to mean a recording exactly like the original, or first, recording except sung by a different singer and played by different musicians” (Cusic, 2005, p.174), which would attribute to the connotation of cover songs as being unoriginal. However, this can be disputed by the legal requirements for a cover song, “An important aspect of the compulsory license is that it allows the licensee to create his own sound recording of the original work, but it does not permit the licensee to copy the original recording” (Castanaro, 2008, p.1293). This insists a degree of originality must be incorporated to make it differ from the initial version.

Arguing for cover songs, Cusic states their value as a creative practice, “In today’s world, cover songs and cover recordings are a lost art. By demanding that singers write their own songs, the public is “cheated” of hearing great singers and musicians interpret a great song” (Cusic, 2005, p.176). Although the singing abilities of Taiwanese boyband, JVKV (formerly known as F4), are debatable, they are an example of the “many legitimate reasons for “making a new version”” (Plasketes, 2005, p.149).

JVKV, formerly known as F4

Backward: What is originality? | Forward: Can’t Help Falling in Love | Lost? Site Map

What is originality?

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:57:09 +0000

What is originality?

“Crudely, of course, we say that something is original if some significant aspect of it is new, in the sense of not having been produced before by anyone to the best of our knowledge” (Williamon et al, 2005, p.7). This simplistic definition suggests that ignorance, naivety of knowledge, or even trickery can make a derivative original by dispensing the derivation. Whilst true in a sense, in the music industry, these acts of deceit are more often than not uncovered, no matter how obscure, such as the the Coldplay Controversy and Korean boyband, Dong Bang Shin Ki/TVXQ. The latter of which, conveying plagiarism extends beyond geographical and cultural borders.

Coldplay’s song in question: Viva La Vida

Creaky Boards’ ‘The Songs I Didn’t Write’

Creaky Boards discussing similarities

Radio Analysis

Dong Bang Shin Ki’s ‘Hey (Don’t Bring Me Down)’

Red Hot Chili Pepper’s ‘Give it Away’

Is one common line enough to be considered “unoriginal”?

Williamon et al state that the use of original in everyday language “really means something like: ‘sufficiently original as to lie beyond the bare minimum level of accepted originality’” (Williamon et al, 2005, p.9), which infers that originality is subjective, and that there are levels, or shades of originality, set either personally or by society. This subjective nature is evident in the difference in Western societies to Chinese society, regarding originality.

Bloch suggests that the difference in views is a result of China’s collectivist society (Bloch, 2008, p.220) stating, “it has been assumed that there is less concern for how intellectual property is appropriated or attributed. Therefore, a greater level of imitation in the creation of new intellectual property is both encouraged and valued” (Bloch, 2008, p.220). He goes on to argue that the West tends to romanticise ideas of creativity so that imitation and originality are extremes (Bloch, 2008, p.222). However, he concludes that this is an example of the West asserting views of supremacy as “imitation continues to be associated primarily with so-called collectivistic cultures, such as China, which values the imitation of previous knowledge as an expression of the connection between past and present” (Bloch, 2008, p.222) albeit the West is also guilty of memorising, plagiarising and imitating constantly.

Drawing from Pennycook, Bloch claims, that plagiarism is a Western value, imposing itself on other cultures where it does not apply (Bloch, 2008, p.221). This idea is furthered, “Therefore, he argues that plagiarism can be seen as an act of resistance against the imposition of alien rules. In other cases, it may be seen as an act of survival where the risk of having the wrong idea outweighs the reward of having an original one” (Bloch, 2008, p.221).

In addition to this, the subjective nature of originality is proven to be a social, or cultural, construct as “the importance placed on imitation does not obviate the importance of originality. But what is meant by originality still may not be the same as it is in the West” (Bloch, 2008, p.222). The Chinese perception of originality is further enlightened through two traditional Chinese sayings:

“Memorising three hundred poems from the Tang dynasty,
Even if you don’t know how to write,
You can steal the pieces to write a poem” (Bloch, 2008, p.223)

“Wen gu ru xin (Review the old materials to gain a new perspective)” (Bloch, 2008, p.223)

He goes on to interpret, saying that the former “recognises the value imitation has on the production of original knowledge. The rhetoric of imitation is also part of the Chinese form of epistemology” (Bloch, 2008, p.223) and the latter “demonstrates how imitation can lead to originality rather than be a hindrance” (Bloch, 2008, p.223). These ideas differ greatly from the Western denotation of originality, and may not be translatable in varying contexts, disputing originality as a term, and the problem encountered in applying it to the increasingly universal dimension of music.

Further problems encountered with the notion of originality in music is determined by a definition by Williamon et al, “To describe something as original is thus to say that it is different from other instances of that type of thing within the cultural context in which it is situated” (Williamon et al, 2005, p.8). Applying this quote in terms of music, a song’s originality requires it to be different to other songs within its cultural sphere. However, this definition fails to take into account songs that cross cultures, and thus are not limited to a singular cultural context, but are rather adaptable hybrids. According to Williamon et al, would this be considered, by process of elimination, (as Saussure theorised: We define things by what they’re not (Davis et al, 1994, p.32-33)) to not be original? The originality of such songs will be discussed later on, in terms of English songs covered by Chinese music artists.

In a more specified definition of musical originality, Castanaro states, “Traditionally, it is believed that originality in a musical work lies in the rhythm, melody or harmony of the piece. This notion of originality fails to account for the multitude of components that make up a musical work” (Castanaro, 2008, p.1281). The emphasis on originality in music is primarily concerned with intellectual property of the artist or songwriter, and protecting their rights as the creator. Castanaro pinpoints the current legal problem,

In the current copyright regime for musical works, there is no definition of originality.
A work sufficiently meets the criteria for originality as long as it was independently
created with a modicum of creativity. The existing concept of originality is concerned
only with the creative process and not the product” (Castanaro, 2008, p.1287).

Further highlighting the problem, Williamon et al state, “In music, identifying the highly original can be difficult precisely because the interpretation of music is itself so notoriously subjective” (Williamon et al, 2005, p.11). Advancing this view, Randall quotes Aquin stating, “the originality of a piece of work is directly proportional to the ignorance of its readers. There is no originality… Originality does not exist; it is a delusion (Randall, 2001, p.235). According to this pessimistic standpoint the emphasis on originality in music is a fallacy, as there is little reasoning in stressing something that does not exist, at least not in concrete terms.

Backward: Introduction | Forward: Covers: Unoriginal? | Lost? Site Map

Introduction

originalfarce — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:52:26 +0000

In the Western world, originality is stressed, institutionalised by educational systems. This, in turn, results in originality being given prize place in their value system. However, due to their capitalist society, this appears not to be evident in their music industries, with cover after cover being pumped out by music producers looking to cash in on prior popularities. Nonetheless, there are still a clear majority of music connoisseurs who refuse to validate remixes as a form of tasteful music, let alone original. On the other side of the world, originality means something different. In China, where the main focus of this essay will lie, the society’s view of this concept differs, also engrained through education, leading me to question, ‘what is originality?’ Through these different connotations, I will then attempt to convey, through covers, as my definition of ‘unoriginal music’, why Chinese covers of English songs, are just as important as their originals.

Backward: Home | Forward: What is originality? | Lost? Site Map