God, it’s brutal out here.
Or at least, that’s what Olivia Rodrigo once said.
Following the release of her 2021 debut record “SOUR,” the Disney star turned global pop phenomena was met with a tidal wave of outrage. Critics claimed that many of the tracks sounded too much like the classics of the 2000s and '80s. But rather than focus on backlash against the record’s crown jewel, “good 4 u,” I want to look at it’s opening track, “brutal.”
Many listeners were quick to point out that she had directly lifted a guitar riff from rock legend Elvis Costello’s 1978 track, “Pump it Up.” In spite of this, he defended the creative decision.
“This is fine by me," Costello said in a tweet. “It's how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy.”
Amid the numerous copyright infringement lawsuits facing other artists, Rodrigo’s predicament asks an important question: When does wearing our influences on our sleeve cross into copying territory?
Let’s pivot this lens to a more contemporary example.
Ever heard of a record called, “After Hours?” The smash-hit album by pop and R&B singer-songwriter and producer Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd), solidified a new music trend that had been years in the making:
Retrowave.
After smaller artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen with her 2015 masterpiece “Emotion” and bigger names like Taylor Swift with “1989” had begun to kindle the flames, it was ultimately The Weeknd’s 2020 album that caused the fire to erupt — courtesy of it’s most iconic song, “Blinding Lights.” It gave retrowave staying power.
Now, everyone and their grandma are doing '80s-influenced music. Pop music of the early 2020s will be remembered by this sound. Let’s return to the original question and ask ourselves: what makes a good example of influenced music, what makes a bad example and what is plain stealing?
I think it’s easier to draw the distinction between good and bad influenced music. We’ll call this the “P.O.P.” test, and it’s defined by three criteria: presence, originality and performance.
If an artist is able to clearly present themselves through their lyrical style, singing, etc., their presence is distinct. Furthermore, if they perform the track with energy (notice I did not say volume) and verve, they successfully execute a performance. Last and most
importantly, if an artist is able to take ideas and put their own spin on it — make it sound fresh — they have demonstrated originality.
This last category is most hard to define on its own.
It relies on the success of presence and performance.
Now, let’s put the P.O.P. test into practice with two recent retrowave tracks. On the good end is Charli XCX’s “New Shapes” The latest single off her upcoming record “CRASH,” is an excellent example of using your influences well. The song features distinct, electric performances from Charli and featuring artists Caroline Polachek and Christine and The Queens.
Furthermore, its structure and lyrics very much sound like a Charli XCX song. Though it’s not as groundbreaking as her more hyperpop-oriented tracks (see: “Click”), the sticky chorus and themes of heartache put the track right at home in her discography. Lastly, producers Lotus IV and Deaton Chris Anthony take care to make the neon production sound fresh rather than derivative.
In short, “New Shapes” passes the P.O.P. test.
However, the same cannot be said for The Kid LAROI’s “Stay.” Often, I can’t tell if this is a cover of an unreleased Weeknd track. LAROI’s singing sounds atonal and hoarse, and Justin Bieber is straight-up phoning it in. I am no closer to understanding who The Kid LAORI is as an artist by listening to this track.
Ultimately, when musical trends come to life, it seems that the artists that capitalize on the trend best are the ones that keep it original and fresh. When influences of past art or sounds come into play, it becomes easy to coast rather than actively innovate and pay homage.
So now it comes to copying, and we can look no further than the recent Tory Lanez and Madonna influence. On their recent song “Pluto’s Last Comet,” Lanez’s flow directly lifts melodies from Madonna's hit from the '80s, “Get Into the Groove.” The Queen of Pop herself called Lanez out for such offenses.
The conversation around copyright infringement and it’s blurred lines with influence is complicated. Too complicated to sum up in an op-ed piece, so let’s bring it back to Costello. To perpetuate art is to wear your influences on your sleeve. It is to take what you love and put your own spin on it. Sometimes, we see it in trend, other times we see it manifest in entirely different genres. In cases of direct copyright, where there is clear interpolation of sounds and lyrics without credit, that’s obviously grounds for critique.
However, when homage gets blurry, that’s when things can get dangerous, especially when a new artist is still finding their sound.