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As defined by Webster’s:
Homage: noun, something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another
Rip-off: noun, 1 : an act or instance of stealing : THEFT; also : a financial exploitation
2 : a usually cheap exploitive imitation
First, I should tell you what inspired this piece. I was writing and the television was tuned to Bravo just a few feet away from me. All of a sudden my foot starts tapping. My conscience mind fixes onto the song being played on the television. Here’s the line of thought that transpired:
“Hey, that’s not a bad tune. How come I never heard of this guy before?”
A full five seconds pass.
“Wait a minute. Wait just a goddamn minute. That’s Jimi. That’s ‘The Wind Cries Mary’. What the fuck is this shit!”
Yes, it was Jimi Hendrix’s music, set to the same pace and rhythm of the original. Only in the place of Jimi’s unique and masterful guitar play was a mediocre pianist. And in the place of Jimi’s unmistakeable voice was this prissy British crooner, who I suppose could be easily be mistaken for any prissy British crooner; except for the fact that he was singing Jimi’s tune. Then the narrator chimes in with some bits about the ‘artist’ that is James Cullum. (Is that is name? Does it matter?) Apparently he’s currently the best selling musician in Britain, and is already one of the best selling British musicians of all-time, even though I’ve never heard of him until just this moment. No mention of Jimi. None. Not even a barely legible disclaimer identifying this as Jimi’s work.
Obviously, Mr. Cullum isn’t the first ‘artist’ to make his name from another’s work without giving the proper tip-of-the-hat, nor will he be the last. So why has this instance bothered me so much? When Limp Bizkit remixed George Micheal’s song ‘Faith’, I didn’t care: one hack ripping-off another. Plus, George probably didn’t write the lyrics himself anyway. When the Backstreet Boys ripped-off New Kids on the Block’s act, I didn’t care. When George Lucas ripped-off….well pretty much everybody, I didn’t care. Even when Hitchcock’s classic movie ‘Psycho’ was remade, and remade badly at that, I didn’t care. In fact, I’m not really against remakes, as quite a few remakes have been a marked improvement over the original.
But this is different. This is Jimi. DON’T. TOUCH. JIMI. Hands, off, Jimi!
[As a side note, something that has perhaps elevated my aggravation is that this blatant rip-off (more on that later) comes on the cusp of the recent Pepsi commercial starring a twelve year-old Jimi Hendrix, choosing Pepsi over Coke; inadvertently setting him on the musical path of rock-and-roll over polka. I’ve never cared much for Coke or Pepsi, but after watching that commercial Pepsi has joined diamonds, Nike and Disney on my list of boycotts. Yes, this commercial was tongue-in-cheek. Yes, everyone with any sense at all will know that Pepsi had no influence over Jimi’s work. But still, this commercial of a twelve year-old actor playing Jimi Hendrix, schilling Pepsi over Coke, is absolutely shameless.]
That said, being someone who has frequently used references and allusions to other writers’ works in his own writing, there is still a question of paramount importance that needs to be answered: What keeps this rendition by James Cullum from simply being an homage to the late, great Jimi Hendrix?
Rip-off - 1: an act or instance of stealing. Clearly, 90% of the people who hear Cullum’s version will still recognise it as Jimi’s work –as I did- so the recognition is implied. And it must be assumed that Jimi Hendrix’s estate will be receiving royalty payments, even if Jimi himself isn’t there to collect. Mr. Cullum hasn’t broken any laws; so technically this can’t be defined as theft. 2: a usually cheap exploitive imitation. A financial exploitation. Ah, there it is.
Homage: something that shows respect or attests to the worth or influence of another. Considering that Hendrix is now deceased, and this song was brilliant and in no way needed to be changed, I would say that this rendition was most contrary to being respectful. Unlike the above reference I used [Don’t touch Jimi]. Again, I assume 90% of the people reading this will get the Seinfeld reference, so recognition is implied. But unlike Cullum, I stand to make no financial gain from using that reference in this piece (even if I were to sell this opinion piece to someone—which I doubt—it could not be attributed to that one line); whereas Hendrix’s original piece has now become Cullum’s flagship song for his new album. It is the song that appears in his commercial; it is the first single released off his album; it is the soundtrack of his first music video. This version of ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ made Cullum’s career; and it is safe to assume that shortly after this version loses its marketing cache, Cullum will recede back into the dystopian underworld of afterthought hacks.
But only after a bunch of people have made a lot of money.
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"Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman - a rope over an abyss." ~Nietzsche
Augmented Reality
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Homage or Rip-Off
