Aug 19 2023

Selects: How Music Sampling Works

Selects 53 min 6 movies discussed
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Today music sampling is a common practice, especially in electronic or hip-hop music. But how does it work? After all, other artists made the original music, and most of them would presumably like to be paid. Tune in to this classic episode to learn more about music sampling.

AI Summary

# Stuff You Should Know: Music Sampling

Join Josh and Chuck as they dive into the fascinating and complex world of music sampling, tracing its evolution from avant-garde tape splicing in the 1940s through the golden age of hip-hop to today's legal battlegrounds. They explore how early innovators like DJ Cool Herc and Grandmaster Flash turned drum breaks and snippets of funk classics into an entirely new art form, while also examining the copyright lawsuits and "sample trolls" that fundamentally changed how artists create music. Whether you're curious about the Beastie Boys' iconic samples, the amen break's surprising influence on drum and bass, or why corporations started cracking down on hip-hop producers, this episode breaks down the creativity, legality, and business behind one of music's most important innovations.


Movies Discussed

Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
1967 2h 7m
★ 7.7
"Guns and Roses on their song Civil War...they played the cool hand luke bit — Mentioned as a sample used in Guns N' Roses' song Civil War." — Josh
Johnny Got His Gun
Johnny Got His Gun
1971 1h 52m
★ 7.5
"Metallica...sample Johnny got his gun. That's right. In the video, too. — Mentioned as being sampled by Metallica in their song and used in the music video." — Chuck
Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell
1989
★ 7.8
"And Dustin Diamond from Save by the Bell. It was not a rapper. — Dustin Diamond from the TV show was mentioned in context of financial hardship and eviction." — Josh
Strawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields
2012 1h 27m
★ 3.9
"That was the intro for the Beatles Strawberry Fields — Referenced as an example of the Melotron being used by Paul McCartney to play a flute sample." — Chuck
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951 1h 32m
★ 7.5
"They sampled I think the day the earth stood still. Extensively throughout this one album — Referenced as being extensively sampled by Living Colour in one of their albums." — Chuck
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The New Sound of Music
1979 49m
★ 9.5
"Check out the 1979 BBC documentary, The New Sound of Music. That is very awesome. — Documentary about music concrete and electronic music pioneers that Josh and Chuck reference as educational material." — Chuck

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