The Art of Assemblage and Remix:
A Journey Through Time and Genre
In order to showcase the complex and various ways that assemblage and remix can be seen through a musical application, I compiled a Youtube playlist with a variety of songs (both contemporary and modern) that highlight these all-encompassing terms "In Action." The playlist is organized into different categories, so it’s important to play the videos in order. Below will be an explanation of the categories and additional rationale explaining why I chose each of these examples in particular. For time’s sake, if you are not able to view every video, you can check the category guide to make sure that you are at least viewing songs that are supposed be presented together in their correct sequence:
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Click here for full playlist!
01
Conventional Use of Samples
Good Times (Chic) - Rapper’s Delight (The Sugarhill Gang)
- As one of the earliest recorded uses of sampling in hip hop’s history, this classic sets you up for the sort of journey to expect throughout the rest of the playlist.
La Campanella (Niccolo Paganini) - Shut Down (BLACKPINK)
Habanera (Carmen) - Nxde ((G)I-DLE)
- Both “Shut Down” and “Nxde” are examples of songs that use classical music samples. Sampling classical music is extremely popular within the pop genre as a whole. “La Campanella” and “Habanera” are both works which have entered the public domain.
U Can’t Touch This (M.C. Hammer) - Flamin’ Hottie (Megan Thee Stallion)
-"U Can't Touch This" was sampled in Megan Thee Stallion's partnership campaign song for Flamin' Hot Cheetos. She has also appeared in ad commercials promoting the snack.
The Powerpuff Girls Theme Song - Super Shy (Newjeans)
- Newjeans’ second EP, Get Up, was a full collaboration with The Powerpuff Girls. The collaboration continued outside the musical realm to include custom merchandise with images of the group as Powerpuff girls.
Shooting Stars (Bag Raiders) - Got Me Started (Troye Sivan)
- Troye Sivan was the first artist that the Bag Raiders granted permission to to use this sample. Any other songs that sample “Shooting Stars” were not permitted to do so and infringe on the copyright holder. Unless, of course, it was used for something like a school project, for example, which falls under fair use.
Venom (Stray Kids) - Dice (NMIXX) - S-Class (Stray Kids)
- The trill that is repeated throughout “Venom” can be heard slowed down starting at the [1:23] timestamp in the “Dice” video. The “Venom” trill was sampled again by Stray Kids in the title track of their third studio album, 5-Star, at the [0:18] second mark. [Sidenote: the whistle at the beginning of “S-Class” is also a sample, but unfortunately, it’s not free on Youtube so I can’t add it to the playlist.] The groups who sing these songs are under the same entertainment company, and Stray Kids have an in-team producing unit that work on creating music for and with their group.
02
Controversial Samples (If the Artists Would Admit to It)
Taurus (Spirit) - Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift) - Deja Vu (Olivia Rodrigo)
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-I chose to include (arguably) the most famous example of a legal battle over copyright music, “Stairway To Heaven”, which was accused of stealing the riff from “Taurus”; along with a more recent example, “Deja Vu," which was accused of having a bridge too similar to “Cruel Summer” to be considered original. I wanted to put these two examples in particular in conversation with each other (over the hundreds of other possible examples) because their situations had opposite outcomes: Led Zeppelin won their legal battle. NYU music professor Lawrence Ferrara, who worked in defense of Zeppelin, explained that many songs draw inspiration from (or model the style of) already existing works. If it were possible to monopolize or control a certain style/a certain sound, it would essentially be the death of creativity, and inhibit future composers’ work. He successfully argued that “Stairway to Heaven” was transformative through assemblage and remix. Olivia Rodrigo, however, was not vindicated in a court of law. And, it's likely she agreed to credit Taylor Swift, St. Vincent & Jack Antonoff on her song to avoid a drawn out legal battle with the most influential powerhouse in the music industry.
03
Covers: Just How Transformative are They?
Beggin’ (The Four Seasons) - Beggin’ (Madcon) - Beggin’ (Måneskin)
- Originally, I was only planning on highlighting the Måneskin version of “Beggin’” as a popular cover because I didn’t even know that the Madcon version was a cover too! When I was growing up, I had only ever heard the Madcon cover so I believed it was the original. Måneskin are an Italian rock band who often post cover songs, and their cover of “Beggin’” went viral on TikTok a few years ago. (They do make original music as well.)
Magic (Pilot) - Magic (Selena Gomez) - Ozempic Commercial (Ozempic™)
- This song serves as an example of a cover that outshines the original (subjective opinion). Selena Gomez covered “Magic” while she was on the show “Wizards of Waverly Place,” and so many people my age (including me) who grew up watching her had no idea this was a cover and not her own original song.
- The tune of “Magic” is also sampled in an Ozempic commercial: “o- o- o- Ozempic,” sung to the tune of, “Oh, oh, oh, it’s magic.” This jingle, however, actually falls into the category of parody song rather than a cover, which is in fact protected by fair use.
Motley Crew (Post Malone) - [Artist of the Month] Motley Crew Covered by Stray Kids Hyunjin (Studio Choom)
- I included this dance cover of the song “Motley Crew” to help us consider the transformative qualities of covers through aspects other than auditorily. Can we consider original choreography to someone else’s song a form of assemblage and remix? Well, it could be argued both ways depending on the lens you look at it through: hearing the song through the dance cover video may dissuade listeners from seeking it out from the original artist, which would be a copyright infringement. But, the visual transformation between Post Malone’s music video and Hyunjin’s dance cover place the two videos worlds apart from each other. This cover should be regarded as visual remix. [Note: The Studio Choom video does credit the original track in the description.]
04
Slowed + Reverb
Agora Hills (Doja Cat) - Agora Hills (Slowed + Reverb)
- Slowing down a song and adding reverb to it is actually not transformative enough to evade DMCA strikes. It’s only a matter of time before the slowed + reverb version of this song is taken down.
05
Official Remixes
Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s wife (LE SSERAFIM) - Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s wife (feat. Demi Lovato) (LE SSERAFIM)
Save Your Tears (The Weeknd) - Save Your Tears (Remix) (The Weeknd & Ariana Grande)
34 + 35 (Ariana Grande) - 34 + 35 (Remix) ft. Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion (Ariana Grande)
-These examples all highlight songs that have official remixes with the original artist and featuring artist(s). Obviously there is no concern over DMCA laws when the original artist is involved in the process of remix and invites other artists to collaborate. These remixes serve as a form of assemblage when the featured artists write their own verses to the beat of the original song.
06
Unconventional Use of Sampling
Prodigal Son: Someone Saw Me (Timotheé Chalamet) - as if (glaive)
- the song “as if” samples dialogue from Timotheé Chalamet’s performance in the play Prodigal Son. This unconventional sample highlights transformation across media forms.