Made by Maura

This post is long overdue.  Now that we’ve acknowledged that, let’s move on.

I watched Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix about two weeks ago while I paired my recently laundered socks.  The four part video series was very interesting.  Kirby’s four part series, there is (currently) only one part to my sock series.

Music.  Previously, the most I’d really thought about music remixes is: 1. I usually find them hit or miss and 2. I always get way too excited for Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby when really the song coming on the radio is Queen’s Under Pressure – at least I can’t be too disappointed with that.  When Candice tweeted the link to this great YouTube video link though, it definitely provided some food for thought.  What does it mean if so many of these popular songs rely on the same four chords.  Are we just not as musically sophisticated as we’d like think?  Or do we really just have this innate yearning for the familiar?  Is it a little of both?  As a creature of habit with no formal music training, personally I’m leaning towards the latter – I know I’m not musically sophisticated. (Exhibit A.)

Movies.  I am certainly not a movie buff so my expertise is quite lacking.  I do know that when movies based on books are released, I usually prefer reading the book first.  Something about letting Hollywood decide what the character’s look like doesn’t sit well with me.  I was also surprised when the movie ending to My Sister’s Keeper was different than the book’s ending – umm what???  Sometimes these movies flop and other times you get amazing films like The Secret Life of Bees and do I even need to mention all eight of the Harry Potter films!  Sequels are another way to easily, and inexpensively, create box office hits using recycled material and story-lines.  You lost me with Toy Story 2 but you totally brought me back with Toy Story 3.  In general, movie remixes are okay in my book.

Everything else.  YouTube parodies, SNL skits, every vampire series that’s come out since Twilight.  Remix, remix, remix.  I can do without the vampires but please don’t take away my remixes.  One could argue that taking someone else’s material and being creative with it is even more difficult than coming up with something original.  It’s really easy to get locked into one way of looking at something but a remix takes an idea and twists it in a new way.  So what about the legality of all this?  I don’t care much for politics and I feel that copyright laws involve a fair amount of that sort of thing.  What if instead of searching for sole ownership we created because we enjoyed it?  I know, I know – these people need to make a living.  I completely agree with that.  My thoughts are though that there has to be some fair ground.  How are we going to get there?  I’m not sure and really all I feel I can do is give credit where credit is due.  When I am inspired by someone else’s work, I try and make note of that.  “Fair use” is a pretty normative term, but “good judgment” is too.  If we were all honest though and looked at more than dollar signs when examining copyright laws and infringement, I’d bet we see a happier, more creative place to live and learn.