Tag: Gary Moore

  • That Metal Riff

    Yet another pointless controversy surrounding Lady Gaga. You can say a lot about her, but her listing on WhoSampled.com is relatively modest compared to other artists. Still, Dutch punk band The Heideroosjes took note on their website after a fan pointed out that the intro to their song We All Share The Same Sun from 2004 sounded a lot like Lady Gaga’s Electric Chapel from 2011. The Heideroosjes honestly said they wouldn’t sue (cause they hate it too when little artists go after big ones like greedy bastards, which they are not) and weren’t doing it for attention (even though it did caught the attention of the national press).

    As some people pointed out in the responses to the news, Lady Gaga did not steal anything from the Heideroosjes at all. In fact, both of then used the same over-used metal riff that has been around for some 30+ years. Curt King wrote a brilliantly detailed article about this including some audio-samples. Listen to those and you’ll note that with only slight variations, they all sound ‘the same’. So no, Lady Gaga didn’t steal from anyone specifically, just rehashed yet another bit of pop-culture.

    And just to be obstinate,here’s one of my favourite versions of the riff:

    Gary Moore – Hiroshima

  • Gary Moore – Still Got the Blues

    Gary Moore died yesterday so I decided to switch the post I had in mind for today around to make room for this one.

    Gary Moore was undeniably a very creative musician who had good control over his instrument of choice the guitar. And though he wrote quite a bulk of original work, his most famous song of all, Still Got the Blues, seems to borrow very slightly from an older song. Check out the song Nordrach by Jud’s Gallery at around 6:18 and 9:16 (source: whosampled.com). It sounds very identical.

    The leader of the band thought so too and sued Gary Moore in 2008 (why so late?) and won. Gary Moore denied having heard the songs and while the court acknowledged he probably didn’t steal it on purpose he may have heard it on the radio or live back when it was played in 1974, even though the music had never been put on a record. Honestly, even if Gary Moore did hear it, forgot it, but remembered it sub-consciencely when he recorded his song, I think the claim is a bit too far. But such are copyright laws.

    Gary Moore (1952-2011) – Still Got the Blues