I thought yesterday’s post would be the last time I’d blog about this issue, but a statement jumped right out of Inquirer Entertainment’s article on Orange and Lemons this morning, almost making me spit the coffee I was drinking:
“We have no malicious intent,†says vocalist and guitarist Clem Castro. “In fact, we’re not even aware that such songs already exist.â€
Damn f. Now they’re denying that they even knew about the song? This is completely contradictory to their own statement in no less than two Manila Bulletin articles:
On October 5, Jamie Hipe of Star Records was quoted:
Yes, they wrote the melody and used ‘Chandelier’ as their peg
On October 16, the band itself was quoted:
You can say that ‘Chandeliers’ was the inspiration, the peg of ‘Pinoy Ako.’ But it wasn’t derived from that or any other song.
My thoughts about this excuse was summarized in the thread regarding this issue in Pinoyexchange, wherein user sgrebs stated exactly what I had in mind:
I think tama ang suspetsa ko kung bakit bigla silang nagdeny ng pangongopya - pag inamin kasi nila, the burden of proof is on them to show na considered fair use yung pagkopya nila, whereas kung todo deny sila, it’s up to the accusers to show na may foul sa ginawa nila.
Now I’m regretting I wasn’t able to watch Kontrobersyal on ABS-CBN last night. All my friends are saying that it’s a lame case of the network defending its own; they only aired the “expert opinions” of Laurence Dyogi, Mel Villena and the lyricist Jonathan Manalo, who all are involved with Pinoy Big Brother and of course, as stakeholders, could not be considered as credible experts in the issue.
If ABS-CBN wanted to really be objective about the issue, they should’ve at least referred to Jojo Panaligan and Kaye Villagomez of the Manila Bulletin, if not Giselle Roque, who was the music writer who blew the whistle on OnL and was interviewed by the Bulletin regarding the issue.
Now I’m wondering how this issue would all end up.
Related entries:
Orange and Lemons cry foul; a music writer rebutts
PBB’s Theme Song: Another Case of Plagiarism?
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Update:
Bryant has an excellent entry about this issue, which also includes other local bands’ songs in question such as Session Road’s “Garmonbozia” and Cueshe’s “Stay”, for all of you who are curious about other cases of local bands that are accused of ripping off foreign material.
8 responses so far ↓
1 sk8erboi // Oct 20, 2005 at 6:34 pm
naka… kung sakali maiipit ang OnL jan… and if ever it’s really true [i don't want sides. hehehe] they’ll regret their denial.
2 bryant // Oct 21, 2005 at 1:32 pm
hi jon. nice site. can i mention your site and link your post too on a post redux re ONL? thanks!
3 Jon Limjap // Oct 21, 2005 at 2:28 pm
Sure dude, go ahead
I’d appreciate it.
4 bryant // Oct 21, 2005 at 4:41 pm
thanks dude. nice site, btw.
5 Anonymous // Oct 25, 2005 at 3:15 am
It appears that the band was misquoted in the Phil Daily Inquirer when Clem said he wasnt even aware that such songs exists. He was referring to songs like “Happy Hour” by The Housemartins in comparison to ONL’s A Beginning of Something Wonderful and a certain song from NSYNC in comparison to ONL’s The Nerve. Got this from Mcoy’s post in the ONL mailing list.
6 Jon Limjap // Oct 25, 2005 at 2:54 pm
Well, for their sake I hope they clear it up.
Then again, that would merely reiterate the fact that they were aware of The Care’s “Chandeliers” and therefore, should’ve been conscious of the fact that they’ve created a song that’s waaaay too similar to it.
7 Anonymous // Oct 26, 2005 at 5:57 am
This is a sad affair not only for Paul but to the entire filipino community since the putative song in question has been flagrantly plagiarized.
If the song were about feelings, emotions, topics of the day then maybe some or if not, most would have felt they could have let it slide except those who are personally involved. However, this song talks about the modern filipino, as of what PBB depicts, maybe its modern lifestyle…
This song, has become quite an anthem to the simple and ordinary filipino because they found pride in it and they somehow see themselves in it that they are top class and can compete with the global changes the world has to offer.
In this regard, for those that defend or support ONL or for those whose dreams were shattered and are in denial then basing things on an academician’s point of view….allegedly, they did not violate the 7 chord progression rule regarding plagiarism.
I hate to burst the bubble but the 7 chord progression rule, in landmark cases decided by foreign courts under the Intellectual Property Rights which have been in actual existence post or pre-world war 1, this is a flimsy defense since the pattern could be changed anytime by a fret or a half-note on the seventh note.
Presently, under the 8 chord progression based on the drum and baseline, if the song or composition in question fails to change at the 8th base and drum progression then it is a vital requisite to be considered as a plagiarized material not discounting the facts of testimonies of credible witnesses and “scholars†to that effect.
This is what admittedly happened during the course of this song.
The worse part in this case is for the band to not give credence to where the song was allegedly “inspired†from so as the real composers would be deprived of their royalties and their dignity.
Mind you, it’s not only our dignity and credibility as a songwriter that is in question but our respect to other’s intellectual property rights as well.
Cueshe, Session Road etc. may not be getting much attention because their songs dealt with corporeal, if not, things which do not appeal to a filipino’s sense of patriotism. However, ONL’s song just hit the x on the spot because it appeals to filipino pride in general.
I guess this is a resounding wake up call for all the bands to please copyright their songs. It’s simple, if signed artists get ripped off, what more unsigned bands wherein anyone can just reproduce the melody or even the lyrics, bring it to a recording label and voila’, they wake up one morning listening to their song being sung and maybe arranged differently by someone else.
Giselle
8 Anonymous // Nov 14, 2005 at 8:50 pm
Just some rebuttals for some fans in denial: This thing is being discussed and OnL is being taken to task not because of “crab mentality†nor “inggit.†The fact remains that the song (whose spirit and lyrics were provided by a lyricist & not OnL) is about being Pinoy and about proudly proclaiming what we are capable of. Hence, a lot of us patriots cannot take this thing sitting down…We know we are more than great copycats and innovators/samplers! We have a lot of talent and we want this to shine through! We want to be recognized for who we really are and what we can do! We don’t want to sell ourselves short by clamming up for the sake of so-called “peace†and let ourselves be represented by a song - a band - an image – that grossly misrepresents who we proudly are and what we can really do! Clamming up and “settling†for less than what we deserve has been our sin for so long…We don’t want Pinoy music, which makes up a large part of our identity, and its industry to be a macrocosm of our political landscape and social suffering now do we?
We have a lot of superb, young bands with excellent material just waiting for the proper break. It’s just a shame that the influential PBB media machinery was used on a project that sells us short. (Note that I said “project†and not “bandâ€. Pinoys are forgiving to a fault and OnL will surely get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th chance.) Whoever ABS gets to sing (not even compose) the PBB theme song will influence Filipinos far & wide, they’ll be a household name. Recall just how far OnL has gone because of this project…Now imagine, sitting in their place now, another of your favorite OPM bands who are still not getting the recognition they deserve. Now you see what I mean? There are a lot of them out there… I’m not saying OnL is not deserving. It’s simply that the resources could have gone further and done more good had it been handled better. And we are voicing this out so that PEOPLE LEARN THEIR LESSONS & NOT COMMIT THE SAME MISTAKES.
On the more technical side: It is not sampling. And even if The Care were merely sampled, all the more it requires artist credits. And it cannot be ust “similarâ€, “inspired by†or “pegged on†Chandeliers either, because of the uncanny similarities in chords, notes, and arrangements of guitars/banduria, drums and bass lines. Neither can it pass the “7 chord progression rule†(which itself is debatable). The similarities overwhelm that rule. It’s not just the intro, it’s not just the verses. The chorus, contrary to Clem’s claims, seems the same. And it’s not hard at all to sing Pinoy Ako’s lyrics to Chandeliers instrumentation (contrary again to Clem’s claims). The main melodies are identical. And as I found out, even Pinoy Ako’s bridge has the same chords/melody as Chandelier’s coda. And if you still don’t believe me, listen to this mash-up I made, a response to OnL’s challenge to match the two songs note for note – an unedited Chandeliers panned mostly on the left channel, running side by side with Pinoy Ako on the right channel spliced to match respective stanza-chorus-coda/bridge counterparts part-per-part:
http://media.putfile.com/pinoychandelierstayo
Tell me if you still think that is not the same song with different lyrics sung to fit?
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