From: Larry Solters
Re-The Don Henley/Okkervil River Kerfuffle

Bob-

You missed the point. This has nothing to do with money. It’s simply about these punks having the audacity to take original, copyrighted material and CHANGE it. It’s not about them or Don making money. It’s about them not respecting the original material, treating it like it was some kind of interactive plaything. It’s about respecting the integrity of somebody else’s material – Grammy-winning material.

What both Frank Ocean and Okkervil River did wasn’t merely “sampling.” In Ocean’s case, it was wholesale theft. What Okkervil River did was take the original “The End of the Innocence” and add extra (lame) verses and musical sections. That amounts to musical vandalism. They seem to think that because they aren’t “selling” their little piece of hackery, it’s O.K. to do what they did, which is beyond comprehension.

Perhaps you missed the original News Corp Australia interview –

Don Henley of the Eagles accuses Frank Ocean of ‘stealing’ his song.
4 DAYS AGO JUNE 02, 2014 2:14PM

ROCK legend Don Henley has slapped down hipster singer Frank Ocean for ‘stealing’ the Eagles’ Hotel California and has told him to get his own ideas.

Ocean sampled of the entire 1977 classic – minus the lyrics – for his song American Wedding. However Ocean sings his own brand new lyrics over the million-selling rock anthem.
Henley refused to allow Ocean to release the track, which has since leaked online.

I heard it,” Henley said of American Wedding. “I was not impressed. He needs to come up with his own ideas and stop stealing stuff from already established works.”

Ocean wrote on his Tumblr that Henley was “apparently intimidated by my rendition of Hotel California” and “threatened to sue if I perform it again.”

Henley admitted his lawyers were involved.

“Mr. Ocean doesn’t seem to understand US copyright law. Anyone who knows anything should know you cannot take a master track of a recording and write another song over the top of it. You just can’t do that. You can call it a tribute or whatever you want to call it, but it’s against the law. That’s a problem with some of the younger generation, they don’t understand the concept of intellectual property and copyright.”

“(Mr. Ocean) was quite arrogant about it,” Henley said. “We tried to approach him calmly to talk reason to him via his managers and his attorneys and he wouldn’t listen. So finally we threatened to bring legal action against him. He was clearly in the wrong. I wouldn’t dream of doing something like that. What kind of ego is that? I don’t understand it.”

Henley also nixed a remake of his solo hit “The End of the Innocence” by US band Okkervil River, who had planned to release it online for free.

Okkervil River singer Will Sheff told The Music they “sincerely” loved the song and said Henley was an “old-fashioned guy who doesn’t understand…it’s not like I was making money, I figure that’s all he f—ing cares about.

“It’s not like I was making money off it, but he still made me take it down.”

Henley said he was more concerned by the fact they altered his original lyrics.

“They don’t understand the law either,” Henley said. “You can’t re-write the lyrics to somebody else’s songs and record it and put it on the internet. I’m sorry, but it wasn’t an improvement. We were not impressed. So we simply had our legal team tell them to take it down and they got all huffy about it.

“It’s a different mindset. I don’t know how they’d react if I took one of their songs and re-wrote the lyrics and recorded it, I don’t know if they’d like that. Maybe they wouldn’t care but I care. We work really really hard on our material. We spend months writing it and years recording it. You don’t go into a museum and paint a moustache on somebody else’s painting. Nobody would think of doing that.”

Henley said he did not see either remake as a tribute “If I were going to do something like that (as a tribute ) I’d get permission first. If you respect somebody you ask their permission to diddle around with their work. You don’t just go and do it.”

Henley has no problem with Eagles songs being covered by other artists, the most recent high profile cover was Michael Buble’s remake of Heartache Tonight.

“You can record anyone’s song you like,” Henley said. “It’s called a compulsory license. That’s not what Mr. Ocean nor Okkervil River did. They took the song and they changed it. they put their own stuff on it. Michael Buble did a totally legal cover, that’s standard procedure.”

Frank Ocean has been contacted for comment via his Australian record company, Universal.

The Eagles tour Australia in February/March next year.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/don-henley-of-the-eagles-accuses-frank-ocean-of-stealing-his-song/story-e6frfn09-1226941446957

-Solters

____________________________________________

From: Dean Torrence
Subject: HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Hey Bob,

Got an ex mayor of “Surf City” Huntington Beach and a bunch of movers and shakers who want to take on the task of shaking up The R&R Hall of Fame. I told them that they are wasting their time, tried to explain to them that music people aren’t normal so a normal set of facts will not compute with these arrogant dimwits, but they want to give it ago anyway.

They asked me to come up with some talking points, so I did.

You are more than welcome to add some of your own if you want.

I keep telling these guys that I really don’t care, I don’t give a s___ about the R&RHOF

Now if Jan were still with us, then that’s something totally different. He would have loved to have been recognized and he deserved it!

So if they couldn’t give it to him when he was alive, then f___ them!

But I wrote the talking points anyway because ….. well it was kinda fun.

1. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

At 17 years old, wrote and then recorded a top 10 record (Jenny Lee) in his parents’ garage, using two home tape recorders.

I would say none.

But Jan Berry did.

2. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

At 18 years old, recorded another top 10 record (Baby Talk) in his parents’ garage, using the same two home tape recorders.

I would say none.

But Jan Berry did.

3. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

At 18 years old, had the wherewithal to hand pick their own management team.

I would say none.

But Jan Berry did, and he ended up picking two guys that had never managed before and never produced a record before. Jan Berry at 18 years old talked two 25 year olds, Herb Alpert and Lou Adler, into leaving their musical association with the super-talented Sam Cooke and joining the fledgling Jan & Dean Team. Just a few years later, Sam Cooke at the height of his career was shot and killed. Seems like Herb and Lou made the right decision.

Herb Alpert and Lou Adler went on to become legends in the music industry and they are in The R&R Hall of Fame.

Recently, Lou and Dean were having a great visit, reminiscing about how much fun they had making Rock & Roll records.

Dean used this opportunity to thank Lou for joining the team, even though it was probably a risky choice at the time for Lou and Herb, but in Dean’s mind, if Lou and Herb had decided that it was indeed too risky and decided not to work with Jan & Dean, Dean was convinced that Jan & Dean would not have had a career. Lou answered right back by saying that he and Herb may not have had careers if it weren’t for their successful association with Jan & Dean.

4. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Wrote most of their own songs.

Some did.

Jan & Dean did too.

5. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Produced their own records.

99% did not.

But Jan Berry did.

6. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Arranged their own records.

99% did not.

But Jan Berry did.

7. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Hand picked their own studio musicians and that group became such a force in the world of studio musicians that they became their own entity and were affectionately called “The Wrecking Crew.”

Next to none.

But Jan Berry did.

8. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Suggested to Brian Wilson that he should use The Wrecking Crew to cut his basic tracks and not wait for his own band to get off the road to record.

I would say none.

But Jan Berry did.

And Brian’s tracks got exponentially better from that point on.

9. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

That were recording in the early 60s experimented with using two drummers in the recording studio, giving the drummers written identical parts.

And these parts were written by the artist.

I would say none.

But Jan Berry did.

10. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Were directly involved with their own Branding, Packaging and Advertising Campaigns.

Next to none.

But Jan & Dean were.

11. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Were full time college students while making 30 chart records and 7 top 10 records.

I would say none.

Jan graduated Pre-Med from UCLA with a degree.

Dean graduated from The School of Architecture and Fine Arts at USC with a degree.

12. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Got 3 Grammy Nominations and a Grammy for record packaging.

I would say none.

But Dean Torrence did.

13. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Had a big budget film made about their careers that more than 45 million people viewed.

Next to none.

Jan & Dean did.

14. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Inspired Tom Hanks to write and produce a movie about early 60s rock & roll music.

I would say none.

Jan & Dean did.

15. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Have had Proclamations and Resolutions from major cities and a major state acknowledging their monumental impact on tourism to these major cities.

Next to none.

Jan & Dean have.

City of Los Angeles Proclamation, June 20, 1980

“Whereas, California beaches are a part of the State’s particular lifestyle, both as in-state and international attractions; and Los Angeles is known throughout the world as “Surf City” and whereas Jan Berry and Dean Torrence wrote the song “Surf City” in the early sixties and it became an anthem that put the city on the rock & roll map and in the hearts of teenagers in London, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Paris and other world capitols and whereas, Jan & Dean’s songs reflected the particular glories of the California Life, The Sun, The Beach and The Automobile; and no tourist board or chamber of commerce could have presented a style of living so attractive as Jan & Dean did during their best selling, chart topping songs.”

California Assembly Resolution, August 24, 1994

“Whereas, Throughout their careers, Jan & Dean have made a lasting impression on millions of fans, and their immense and varied talents have earned for them the respect of their professional associates and the general community alike; now, therefore, be it Resolved that Jan & Dean be commended for their promoting California’s indigenous music and lifestyle, and their exemplary musical talent and ability, applauded on the success they have deservedly achieved throughout their careers, and extended best wishes for continued success in the future.”

16. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Have had a major city trademark the title of one of their hit records to use exclusively in their branding and marketing campaigns.

I would say none.

Jan & Dean have.

www.surfcityusa.com

17. HOW MANY MEMBERS OF THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME:

Toured in their original form for more than 45 years.

Other than single artists, next to none

Jan & Dean did, up until Jan Berry’s passing in 2004.
________________

See also - Rhinofy-Jan & Dean Primer

“Don Henley Claims ‘Arrogant’ Frank Ocean, Okkervil River Stole Songs”

“Okkervil River Responds to Don Henley: Copyright Laws Kill Art”

Which way do you want it? No copyright laws or Spotify bitching?

I’m not saying Don Henley’s doesn’t have his finger in the dike of progress, but…

What? What in god’s name are you talking about?

You see the Eagles are on tour overseas. And when you go on tour, reporters ask you questions, and Henley was asked about that Frank Ocean song set to “Hotel California” and a “cover” of “End Of The Innocence,” Henley had them taken down.

Oh, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Ocean set a song to the entire track of “Hotel California,” and the guy from Okkervil River changed the lyrics and more to “End Of The Innocence,” and the truth is, under copyright law, Henley has the right to have these tracks taken down. And if you don’t like copyright law, change it, as ASCAP and BMI are trying to do, but the funny thing is everybody bitching that they want to do it THEIR way suddenly goes ballistic when the public decides to do the same damn thing.

Forget the consumer end of it, what people see on YouTube and hear on Spotify. I’m on the receiving end of the wannabe musician fight, never mind the established musician fight, and the number one complaint you get from everybody in the music business today is…I CAN’T MAKE ANY MONEY!

They blame Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. And then Daniel Ek. As if being under thirty was a crime against humanity. They haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell’s screed wherein he states that inventions are in the air, that if Fanning and Parker hadn’t invented Napster, someone else would have come out with a similar service around the same time.

So the ball was pushed forward. Metallica’s career was dented in the process. But that’s how change happens, someone pushes and someone reacts.

But at this late date, things have sort of become solidified.

I’ll make it very clear, you can’t sample without paying, which is why hip-hop is completely different these days, twenty-odd years ago seemingly every rap hit stole a lick.

But it turns out now you can’t do that. And I for one will argue we’re worse off for it. Because the beats we have today, which resulted from this enforcement of copyright law, are so much less interesting. Used to be there was some melody, a hook! Come on, wasn’t Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing,” with Eddie Van Halen’s guitar, much more interesting than most of the music today?

So Don Henley’s a man of laws. At least in public. I’m sure he did his protesting of the drug laws back in his day. Then again, he didn’t get on the runway, light up a joint, put out his middle finger and say to the feds COME GET ME!

Which is kind of what Frank Ocean and Okkervil River did here. These were not kids at home playing for their buddies, these were professionals trying to make it, in the case of Frank Ocean, he most certainly did, why should the rules not apply to him?

And then there’s this guy from Okkervil River, mad that he can’t continue the folk tradition of changing things to his liking. Does this guy even have a lawyer, has he read Don Passman’s book? Has he never heard of lawsuits? How Ray Parker, Jr. paid Huey Lewis? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Since you can barely stop these rearrangements/covers, maybe we need a change in copyright law. So the original composer can be compensated. Then again, it gets even more complicated when the covering artist gives his music away for free.

So, it looks like Don Henley is fighting a losing battle.

Only he’s not. Or to put it in another way, where there’s a writ, there’s a hit. If you’re making money off what I do, I’m gonna SUE!

And believe me, this guy in Okkervil River wants to make money, otherwise why would he be putting out this entire cover series for free?

It’s kind of like Disney, which protects its intellectual property to the nth degree. Because it’s all it has.

Don Henley may be rich, but his songs and recordings are all he has. And most of those recordings are owned by the man, who never pays what he should and doesn’t pay on time. And suddenly he’s the enemy?

Furthermore, by today’s standards, Henley’s not that rich. The guys you don’t know the name of are.

But the truth is so many talk out of both sides of their mouth. They want to utilize the new tools yet complain that the new tools rip them off, they’re not consistent.

You can’t steal a live performance, which is why Henley and the Eagles are out on the road and haven’t made new music in nearly a decade.

Frank Ocean and Okkervil River could do the same thing. But they’d rather use the Internet to embellish their images on the backs of Henley’s work.

It’s damn complicated. Henley’s right, but it’s easy to argue he’s wrong. Then again, rap acts who fly above the radar no longer rip off willy-nilly, as stated above. Furthermore, give Henley credit for asking these questions, having a brain, employing his intellect, he comes from an era where there was a middle class, and it was reasonable for the intelligent to make music, to become recording stars. Today, what people who are left like that don’t. Because music is the land of the underclass and the wannabe. Or, to put it simply, why doesn’t the Okkervil River guy write a song as ubiquitous as “Take It Easy,” never mind “End Of The Innocence.” Ditto on Frank Ocean. For all the hype, he certainly hasn’t written his “Hotel California,” although he’s used the original to further his career.

Accuse me all day long of being a Henley lover.

I’ll say this is a guy who has always stood up for what he believed in, from Walden Woods to now. And too many of today’s stars are afraid to take a stand on anything, they’re just interested in how they look and…the money.

But how are they gonna make that money again?

P.S. I almost hate writing this, because it’s gonna generate so many hits for “Rolling Stone,” this is what the press loves, a ginned-up fight to sell papers, in this case clicks, but forgetting the vitriol, there’s a serious issue underneath.

Okkervil River cover

Used to be you wanted to be hip, today you want to be knowledgeable.

You remember hip, where I know about what you don’t and it’s so much better than what you’ve been exposed to and as a result I’m so much better than YOU!

We all know these people… Tell them about something you just bought and they’ll tell you about something better. Forget about being impolite, trampling what you’ve just purchased, they’ve got a desperate need to demonstrate their status, which is embroidered by their accoutrements. Even better, or worse, is that in many cases the people belittling what you’ve purchased, what you’ve experienced, have never ever utilized/listened to your purchase/preference, they’ve just got an innate need to feel superior.

And then came the Internet.

First and foremost, all information was available for everyone to see.

In other words, if someone tells you about their cousin who knows this or that…you can check it out, instantly! Especially in an era of LTE. You’d think this would eliminate old wives’ tales or heresy, but the truth is many don’t like facts/absolutes, they’d rather make up their own reality.

Like in the music business, where everything popular sucks.

Really?

Yup!

Now it’d be one thing if you listened to their choice and discovered it was demonstrably better, but this never happens anymore, because the truth is everything worth liking/listening to by most people gets traction.

But that’s less stuff than ever.

Huh?

In a world of many, most gravitate to the few.

It’s like selling shoes… Show the patron two and he’ll buy one, show the patron five and he’ll buy none, he’s confused, and the truth is in the last few years we’ve all become confused, we’re overloaded with an onslaught of information.

You’d think the self-styled experts, the faux hip, would acknowledge this, but instead they keep digging deeper into the ditch, removing themselves from the mainstream, all in an effort to demonstrate their superiority.

But the truth is hip is passe, today nothing lies in wait for eons waiting to be discovered. If it’s any good, it blows up instantly.

That’s if it’s great, actually.

If it’s good, it’ll find a niche.

If it’s not good, forget about it.

So the hip trumpet edgy and good, forgetting that to maintain, to grow, to dominate, it’s got to be edgy and GREAT! We’re open to anything if it’s great, but there’s very little great out there, and the hip denigrate the great, because usually all they’ve got is their self-anointed hipster status, and they can’t bring themselves to acknowledge what everybody else thinks is great is.

Used to be we lived in a limited universe. Five thousand albums a year. Now we’re deep into six figures, everybody’s playing in music. But we’ve developed no new ears, no one to listen to all these tracks.

There used to be a filter, that’s why there were only five thousand LPs. You needed someone to believe in you, because recording was expensive and distribution was a huge hurdle. Prior to iTunes, et al, getting your album in the store was almost an impossibility.

So, when the hipsters trumpeted their preferences…they truly weren’t that obscure. Their favorites got written about in magazines, they got some airplay, there was context for their choices.

But now there’s no context, because what the hip are into almost nobody else is. There are no walls for their message to echo off of.

In other words, if someone is telling you the obscure music they’re listening to is better than the big hit you are, ignore them, everyone else is.

And especially ignore the wannabe musician with no traction who tells you what he does is better than what is a hit. Because today everybody gets a chance, everybody can play, and if what you’re doing is great, you’ll blow up.

Yup, it’s true, if you’re great, people will be lining up to give you money, not only labels, but promoters, they need acts to fill out the festival bills.

So if you’re great you’ll get mainstream promotion and then you’ll hit and the hipsters will hate you, because you’re not obscure anymore.

And then there are the hipster favorites, who sort of break through, like the Alabama Shakes, who’ve got a good sound but no hits. Do we blame the radio formats? Why don’t the Shakes hunker down and release a smash…  BECAUSE IT’S NOT IN THEM!

Maybe it is, we’ll see, but it’s been so long since they’ve released new music.

But they got ink in magazines that have to feature something, hell, every week they’re trumpeting something new that’s forgotten almost instantly, which is the bane of the major recording artist – they put it out, everybody shrugs their shoulders and moves on.

Except occasionally.

We’ve all got so much input, we’ve all got so many choices, what makes you think yours demands time from me?

That’s what I hate about Pandora, that’s what I hate about Songza, do you really want me to sit through mediocre, unappealing stuff?

The halls are narrowing, what makes it through is less in quantity, and as a result we’ve got a whole bunch of people left out who are bitching.

Do you hear the concert promoters bitching? They only book what can sell tickets. They’re equating great with demand. They’re today’s kings, if you have a fan base, people should show up and buy tickets. But the truth is, most of what’s hip sells very few tickets if it can sell any at all.

It’s the data culture we live in. Music is soft, subjective. And as a result, those passionate about it like to exclude the objective, the data that illustrates some are winners and some are losers.

And the biggest losers of all are those who keep telling us hits are crap, what they listen to is better, and that they’re much hipper than we are.

Hip, WHO CARES?

Rockin’ me, rockin’ me, when you roll with me
Ain’t no stoppin’ me, stoppin’ me
Gotta go with it baby
You’re so damn fine and you’re on my mind
I swear I’m about to lose it

And this is just an extra, deep into Luke Bryan’s latest spring break EP. It’s so damn catchy I woke up with it on my brain, and ain’t that the indicator of a hit, the same way I had to come home from school and put on the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour,” but now I can take my music with me everywhere and ever since Stagecoach I’ve been on an irrepressible Luke Bryan kick and everything they say is true, there’s too many tailgates and cliches, but the music is so professional and so hooky that it feels so good listening to it and ain’t that what we’re all looking for, something to ride shotgun, make us feel good as we navigate this roller coaster known as life?

This year’s Spring Break EP starts with “She Get Me High,” with a bass drum Jimmy Buffett never featured, a locked-in groove that’s accented by an acoustic guitar, and just a bit of twang and if you’re not taken right to the beach you’ve never been.

What I like most is the line about the Yeti.

On top of my Yeti
On an old boat dock
Standin’ in the river on an old flint rock
Clouds roll by
She get me high

Huh? What’s a YETI?

I listened to “She Get Me High” for weeks before I was finally forced to look up the lyrics, was he talking about an ancient Bigfoot or… Turns out it’s a COOLER! That’s right, they’re called YETI!

A song entitled “She Get Me High” should be boring, a throwaway. And that’s the great thing about “She Get Me High,” it IS  a throwaway, the way so much of what was on the White Album was, but just like the Beatles’ second-rate stuff was much better than everybody else’s so is Luke Bryan’s.

No, don’t send me hate mail, Luke Bryan is not the Beatles, he’s of the moment, he’s forgettable…BUT WHAT A MOMENT!

You can wear your black jeans, you can go to the club at midnight, believe you’re better than everybody else as you listen to music most people can’t fathom or…

You can join the masses and exult in joy!

You might feel inadequate, as all those people you want to nestle close to groove all around you, but isn’t this the stuff of your dreams? Girls in cowboy boots and daisy dukes, guys with smiles? There’s this belief that great music must be dark and barely penetrable, but that’s hogwash, if Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow listened to this Spring Break EP they’d still be together.

And Gwyneth Paltrow is a good lookin’ girl, but this is not the TMZ of songs, making us feel both inadequate and contemptuous as the famous and beautiful cavort, because the truth is every girl is good lookin’ to somebody, you’ve just got to FIND THEM!

Yup, you think your hair is frizzy, you wish you didn’t have only one dimple, but I guarantee you there’s a guy who’s infatuated with you, if you just let your freak flag fly and open your mind to them, if you just left the house and parade.

Music is all about how it makes you FEEL!

The notes don’t have to be perfect, the recording doesn’t have to be pristine, you’ve just got to be able to drop the proverbial needle, push play and be moved.

There’s the powerful opening riff, what you used to hear on rock radio before it became Active and eliminated most of its audience, being so hard and impenetrable that most people tuned out.

There’s that bass you can hear, dancing around at the bottom, keeping you bonded to the song.

And sure there’s a banjo, deep in the mix. Not standing out there saying I’m faking country, but adding flavor.

And then there’s that ORGAN! It’s like Felix Cavaliere is sitting on the keys. Remember groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon, well give “Good Lookin’ Girl” a couple of spins and you too will be groovin’, because that’s what the track is all about, the groove.

And you can sit there and nitpick. You can sit there and intellectualize. You can stand by the side of the pool forever debating whether to take the plunge or…

You can dive in and have this music wash over you and feel refreshed and alive.

If you’re too good for trucks, if you’re all about runway fashion, if you’re self-conscious about your image, you’re too good for life.

And that’s a shame.

Good morning good lookin’ girl
I ain’t never felt nothing quite like…

“Good Lookin’ Girl” YouTube

“She Get Me High” YouTube

Luke Bryan’s latest spring break EP – Spotify playlist