Thursday, December 17, 2009

Chains

Spotting these things can be like Magic Eye. I know the Grateful Dead sample is there—pretty much every story about the new AC EP mentions that this is the first licensed GD sample. Sometimes I think I can "see" it, then it vanishes. It continues to elude me.

So what are we supposed to make of all this "first licensed sample" talk... I suppose there are two implications:
1. GD are showing their support for AC. Possible, but irrelevant. Licensing is a money game (and a legal game). It's like talking about how much Matt Holliday is going to make next year, and not whether he can throw strikes.
2. AC are wearing their GD influences on their sleeves. Again, possible, but the sample is so obscure that I had to be told it was there, and it still more or less is lost on me.

It's not that want the music press to turn their backs to news, legal matters, etc., just to be a bit more clear on what they're trying to get across.


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