Free Culture Extra Credit Blog

As Lawrence Lessig so aptly observed, creativity and innovation always build on the past. This has been true since the beginning of "art," and will continue as long as we find such creations aesthetically or audibly pleasing. In fact, many argue there is little frontier left in the world of art, leading to "progressive" or "experimental" music, which is little more than a haphazard orgy of mediums. That being said, it is impossible, regardless of copyright laws, etc. to put a stop to this process.

He then proceeds to say that the past tries to control the creativity that builds on it. This is evident in the lobbying for stricter copyright laws and the shameless greed of artists who rallied against groups like Napster in the early 2000's. His third idea supports a free society, in which these trends are not present, but, unfortunately, his fourth point states we do not live in such a world.

Nevertheless, artists like Girltalk continue to "sample" previous works, creating their own art from completely recycled material. But it is not only the electronic music scene who does this. If one is to visit www.whosampled.com, they can see the frequency of this in every genre, including pop. Hopefully we can move towards the view that this practice is not deviant, but rather a tribute, and continue to make innovative new art, while building on the past.