New Wave Outpost Forum

Why did you allow Jay Z to "sample" Forever Young on his (apparently) new disc? why why why fucking why? I'm sooooooooo sick of this fucking shit. I heard this god awful version of the song...and wanted to throw up.

"Keepin the '80s alive!"

They probably did it for the money (which they've been doing since the day it was released--Laura Branigan recorded it within a year of their version). Honestly, I think we all just have to chill with the elitist ownership of these songs and celebrate the fact that they are being handed down through generations and musical genres (which isn't a new phenomenon--just one that's affecting our generation now). That song was the theme song of my sophomore dance, and guess what? It's going to be the theme song of many proms this year, a testament to its longevity. And the whole message of the song is to celebrate being young, and the truth is, the musical landscape is pretty much defined by the young. Jay-Z's version wasn't recorded for us. Alphaville's version was. We'll always have that version as ours and really, can anything take away its importance and relevance to us?

I haven't heard this one yet, but the other night a recent movie that I saw had some sampled-up version of "You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)" in its closing credits, and I have to say that I loved it ! Some group or dude called Flo Rida. I think they did it right.

I don't mind too much when our old favorites are sampled or covered. It's exposing a new generation to some cool music. IMHO, the issue is if the new version [i]sucks[/i], or slaughters the song horribly. Yuk !

I thought Flo Rida slaughtered the original, changing its meaning completely. While I don't really like all the extra rapping in Jay Z's version of Forever Young, I think it's in the spirit of the song, and he's faithful to the original. I'd never buy the song, but I give it a thumbs up.

At least Jay-Z can rap. How do you think Daft Punk felt when they heard the humongous steaming dump Kanye West took all over "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"? And then to add insult to injury, his thing (and I call it a thing because it doesn't even deserve to be called a song) goes to #1 on the Hot 100 while their original doesn't even chart.

As far as Flo Rida (and America's newest slutress Ke$ha) changing the meaning completely with "Right Round," wait, you mean "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" [i]wasn't[/i] about oral sex??

What the hell are you doing listeniong to Jay Z anyway, I thought you stopped listening to music made after 1989??[:)] Jay Z Rules!

[quote][i]Originally posted by budaniel[/i]
<br>Jay-Z's version wasn't recorded for us. Alphaville's version was. [/quote]The funny thing is that Jay Z is the age of someone who the Alphaville version was recorded for (he's 40).

Right, but Jay-Z isn't about to record A/C rap songs. He's recording for the people who buy the most music--kids.

He is probably realizing what good music is now.

when hip hop artists sample songs that I would think are REALLY obscure songs to them, I always wonder if someone in their creative circle brought it to their attention. I mean, everyone probably knows Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round no matter what genre of music they like so it was kind of obvious for Flo Rida to do a 'spin' on it, but Alphaville's song was never quite as mainstream and I just can't imagine it ever having been on Jay-Z's radio when he was a kid. Then again, they might listen to 80s stations on satellite or something looking for inspiration.

"Forever Young" was in [i]Napoleon Dynamite[/i]. I don't think it's obscure at all.

um--yeah. Jay-Z may have seen the movie and gotten his FIRST exposure to the song ever, like, you know, TWENTY years after it was recorded. I don't think being used in one movie takes away a song's potential underground status (I'm a huge fan of the song and I have NO recollection of it being used in Napolean Dynamite). Just because "Add it Up" by the Violent Femmes was used in a commercial a while back, does that mean the song isn't mostly obscure to people? Do you think if you walk into a hip hop club and say, "Yo, yo yo. Does everyone like the song Add it Up by Violent Femmes?" Everyone's going to answer, "It's a classic! Just wish it hadn't been tainted by being used in that commercial!"

I doubt Alphaville owns the song nowadays (if they ever did). It seems like only a handful of artists manage to hang on to the rights of their publishing.

I'm always happy for the band when I hear they've been sampled. I'm sure in the later years, for most bands, the income isn't coming in like it used to. This kind of thing supports the bands we love and prevents them from going into selling real estate.

Dare I mention the new Kanye West song that is mostly Tears For Fears - Memories Fade...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6rjQ9VVLDI

With Kanye West singing? It's more like "Melodies Fade."