Inspiration Comes In Many Forms: Did Usher Copy Homer Simpson?

from the wow-wow-wow dept

Mon, Jan 24th 2011 8:57am — Mike Masnick

This one is a bit old, and I had meant to write about it during the holidays, but got busy with some other stuff. However, it's such an amusing story I can't resist writing it up, even if it's a bit late. Apparently, some radio DJs noticed some serious similarities between Usher and will.i.am's new song OMG... with a Homer Simpson song from a few years back. Of course, you have to hear it yourself: Of course, to be fair, this is a really simple song, and there's at least some chance that these songs were created entirely independently. Alternatively, it wouldn't be at all surprising to find out that someone had seen this Simpson's episode and without even remembering it, that little hook got caught in their mind, and was there subconsciously later on.

Either way, the real question should be: does it really matter? I mean, it's amusing, but is the world any worse off if Usher and will.i.am did blatantly copy Homer Simpson? Even if you don't like one song (or the other), copying doesn't do anything to harm the original, and obviously the Usher song is really quite different in overall tone and intent. The two are hardly competing. When this story first came out, lots of folks were quick to slam Usher and will.i.am -- and it may seem easy to mock them for supposedly copying a cartoon character -- but music is all about inspiration and creating and building off of a variety of influences. If one of those influences happens to be Homer Simpson... is that really such a problem?

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Filed Under: homer simpson, inspiration, music, usher, wow wow wow

32 Comments

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The eejit (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 8:33am

Only if you happen to be Rupert Murdoch.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 8:56am

D'Oh
This has the same lesson as the South Park episode "The Simpsons Already did it".

Cartman
"Dude, the Simpsons have done everything already. Who cares?"

Stan
"Yeah, and they've been on the air for like, thirteen years. Of course they've done everything."

At this point they've been around for 22 seasons. If you haven't ripped off the Simpsons, it just means they haven't ripped off you yet.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:05am

to be fair, the Simpsons are a culture by them self's so as Chronno S. Trigger put it so well "
At this point they've been around for 22 seasons. If you haven't ripped off the Simpsons, it just means they haven't ripped off you yet."
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mattarse (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:10am

So isn't the real question who gets to send the DMCA notice to youtube?
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:15am

Re:
The 'D' stands for 'D'OH!'
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RD, 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:26am

The only recourse
The only recourse is to sue Usher into oblivion, obviously. I mean, he STOLE from the creators, so he should pay the price. The law is the law, right? And theft is theft, right? I mean, he didnt just share it, he SOLD this STOLEN song and made money from it! Thats what the local drive-by copyright max super-supporters who comment here support, so he should be SUED to the fullest extent of the law, lose everything, and be put in jail. This is the way the IP maximalists see it, after all.
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Richard (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:36am

Re:
Of course the comparison video is fair use - since it only re-uses the material in ways that make a critical point.
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AJ, 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:36am

Re: The only recourse
Agreed... They should also sue all the third parties that had their hand in this. The record companies, the agent, the guy stamping the disk, the guy driving the truck for UPS, the store the plastic disk's were sold from.. let's throw in apple as well as you know that junk is selling like hot cakes on on I-Tunes... lets make sure to get em all, LETS GET ALL THE CROOKS IN ONE WHACK!

We then need to spend millions of dollars on crooked politicians so that we can have the laws made even more severe because obviously they aren't severe enough or this wouldn't have happened in the first place..

Also: Just in case someone posts any small snippet of either one on you tube, lets toss go ahead and send a pre-emptive C&D......
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Kevin (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:38am

Reaction?
Quick sue everybody.
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Richard (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:39am

I'm wondering
if they don't both rip off some earlier work. Most comedy songs don't work that hard on creating original melody after all
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PW (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:45am

Shoe on the other foot
I wonder if the events had taken place in reverse, Usher/will.i.am song first and The Simpsons copying it, if the would have been as gracious. Too frequently it feels like musicians forget about how inspiration comes from various sources and copying is the most sincere form of flattery.
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Hephaestus (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:55am

OMG ... can't breath ....
Laughing, tears, vision going white ... I so needed that.

It just goes to show how really pathetic label music has become.
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Hephaestus (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 9:56am

Mike thanks for the laugh ...
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Scot Brith, 24 Jan 2011 @ 10:00am

I see yellow people
Uhh... Somebody here knows Homer Simpson is a fictional character, right? Some guy voices his words, and other somebodies write what he says. In fact, there's probably a whole two seconds in the credits for that episode dedicated to showing what non-fictional person(s) actually wrote the song. Maybe some other non-fictional person should find out who that was.
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Berenerd (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 10:07am

Re: The only recourse
There are exceptions to every rule. The big labels and such can't commit infringement because THEY ARE THE LAW! Where is Judge Dredd when you need him?
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 10:14am

If Matt Groening had known this would happen I doubt he'd ever have created the Simpsons.
That's the world freetards would have us living in, a world without the Simpsons, or music, or movies, or software.

No one making anything in case someone else copies them or does something later.

We're dooomed DOOOOOOMed
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Mr. LemurBoy (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 10:15am

Re: I see yellow people
Homer Simpson isn't real? That's unpossible!
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 10:16am

Re: Shoe on the other foot
Going the other direction, it would likely be a parody. This is a serious song, pretty much entirely ripped from the Simpsons. So much for artistic integrity.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 11:19am

Duplication requires very little inspiration.
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Jose_X, 24 Jan 2011 @ 11:45am

Re: Re:
It also adds value to the original by drawing attention to it and popularizing the tune or whatever.
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Jose_X, 24 Jan 2011 @ 11:49am

Re: Re: Shoe on the other foot
Well, does it make sense that you can mock something serious but you can't add seriousness to something mocking?

The integrity part comes in if you try to claim credit in general without realizing how much you borrow from society.
"but music is all about inspiration and creating and building off of a variety of influences"

The integrity failure is in trying to deny others access to the work.
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Jose_X, 24 Jan 2011 @ 11:54am

Re:
If it weren't for the principle of the First Amendment and liberties in general.. if "freetard" fair use was not created.. the Simpson's would have been nowhere nears as funny and would have had much less success.

I think you are attacking the Simpsons. I really do.

Now go tell the Supreme Court that freetards have enabled garbage like the Simpsons to exist. Then mention how denying the Simpson's will promote the progress.
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Jose_X, 24 Jan 2011 @ 12:06pm

Re:
Oh, so now everything that uses a wheel has required little inspiration, huh, because the creators didn't come up with every part by themselves?

Did you come up with all of the amazing aspects of communication called English? Did you come up with the music and dance? How about the materials and design forming your clothing? How about the technological effects used in the video and music? How about the ideas expressed in the lyrics?

What you are demonstrating is the arrogance of copyright law (and patent law) supporters. That failure of analysis leads them to anger when they suspect anyone got a whiff of what they created, but they totally fail to see how much their own work is but an amalgamation of pieces that they have experienced from others and worked their way into their thinking.
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 12:49pm

Re:
Collage is uncreative.
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rome (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 1:14pm

First Usher copied the poor goat... (Usher blatant copy) Homer's people can stand up for him but the goat got a raw deal.
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PaulT (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 1:49pm

Re: Re: The only recourse
"Where is Judge Dredd when you need him?"

Still hiding from the Stallone atrocity ("hey, I know, let's take the bad-ass Dirty Harry of the future and stick him in a prison with Rob Schneider as a sidekick!")
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Atkray (profile), 24 Jan 2011 @ 2:57pm

Re:
Mmmmmmmmmmmm............goat *drools*
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Valkor, 24 Jan 2011 @ 3:00pm

Re: Re:
Abstract art is uncreative, because it's not a real thing. You're joking about the collage thing, right?
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Valkor, 24 Jan 2011 @ 3:00pm

Re: OMG ... can't breath ....
I'm seeing much more elaborate mashups in the future. I'm going to go pop some popcorn!
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 4:42pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I
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Anonymous Coward, 24 Jan 2011 @ 7:17pm

"but music is all about inspiration and creating and building off of a variety of influences."

That's nor influence, that plain and clear plagiarism. But who would go against such rich people... Fox maybe?
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BBT, 25 Jan 2011 @ 6:53am

For more Usher copying of joke songs:
See Usher & R. Kelly's song "Same Girl" which copies Flight of the Conchords' "Same Girl.

OMG USHER IS A COPYING THIEF IT IS AN EPIDEMIC
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