Danger Mouse's The Grey Album

158 Pages·2015·2.65 MB·English

by  Charles Fairchild

THE GREY ALBUM
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The Grey Album
Charles Fairchild
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Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.
1385 Broadway 50 Bedford Square
New York London
NY 10018 WC1B 3DP
USA UK
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury is a registered trade mark of Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc
First published 2014
© Charles Fairchild, 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from
the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization
acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this
publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fairchild, Charles, 1967- author.
The grey album / Charles Fairchild.
pages cm. -- (33 1/3 ; 98)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-62356-660-9 (paperback)
1. Danger Mouse (Musician). Grey album. 2. Danger Mouse
(Musician)--Criticism and interpretation. 3. Rock music--History
and criticism. I. Title.
ML420.D1436F35 2014
781.64--dc23
2014013574
ISBN: ePDF: 978-1-6235-6123-9
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham,
Norfolk, NR21 8NN
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Track Listing
1. “Public Service Announcement” (2:45)
Beatles song: “Long, Long, Long”
2. “What More Can I Say” (4:25)
Beatles song: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
3. “Encore” (2:40)
Beatles song: “Savoy Truffle”
4. “December 4th” (3:35)
Beatles song: “Mother Nature’s Son”
5. “99 Problems” (4:07)
Beatles song: “Helter Skelter”
6. “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” (3:59)
Beatles song: “Julia”
7. “Moment of Clarity” (4:00)
Beatles song: “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
8. “Change Clothes” (4:04)
Beatles songs: “Piggies” and “Dear Prudence”
9. “Allure” (4:05)
Beatles song: “Dear Prudence”
10. “Justify My Thug” (4:13)
Beatles song: “Rocky Raccoon”
11. “Lucifer 9 (Interlude)” (2:04)
Beatles songs: “Revolution 9” and “I’m So Tired”
12. “My 1st Song” (4:45)
Beatles songs: “Cry Baby Cry,” “Savoy Truffle” and
“Helter Skelter”
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Grey Album in a Post-Album World 1
1 Music, Incorporated 16
New world, old industry 18
Selling the album, destroying the single 25
Crowds, clouds and idols 33
2 Danger Mouse v. Capitol, Capitol v. Music 43
The aesthetic practices of the powerful 44
From fair use to safe harbors 50
Ownership rights, authorship rights and
natural rights to music 53
3 The Aesthetics of The Grey Album 57
The aesthetic legitimacy of The Grey Album 59
The musical traditions that shaped
The Grey Album 63
Musical fidelity and sample-based music 77
4 The Music of The Grey Album 82
The legacies of The Beatles and The Black Album 84
• vii •
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THE GREY ALBUM
The making of The Grey Album 89
The flow of The Grey Album 93
Conclusion 111
Notes 119
Bibliography 131
• viii •
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Acknowledgments
I would like to offer my thanks to a number of people
whose enthusiasm, insight and feedback made this a
better book. The editorial staff at Bloomsbury continually
responded to my ideas with care and professionalism.
From the proposal through to the final draft, their
understanding of who might read this book and why
helped me shape my writing beyond my usual (perhaps
slightly too academic) assumptions about why we write
about music. I would like to thank my peers, colleagues
and friends who have offered their honest assessments
of my ideas in all manner of fora, formal and informal,
social and professional. I would like to particularly thank
Chris Coady, David Larkin, Alon Ilsar and the inimi-
table Richard Toop. I would also like to thank above
all, Rachel Campbell for the constancy of her intellect
and boundless willingness to dig into ideas about music
simply because they matter. You have made all of this
possible.
• ix •
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