Version
There is no truth, there are only versions
Related: difference - repetition
Definition
- A description or account from one point of view, especially as opposed to another: Your version of the accident differs from mine.
- A translation from another language.
- A particular form or variation of an earlier or original type: downloaded the latest version of the software from the Internet.
- An adaptation of a work of art or literature into another medium or style: the film version of a famous novel.
Version (music)
"Versioning", is at the heart not only of reggae but of all Afro-American and Carribean musics: jazz, blues, rap, r&b, reggae, calypso, soca, salsa, Afro-Cuban and so on. With the advent of twelve inch discs, the same principle has been extended to black American soul. --Dick Hebdige, Cut 'N' Mix: Culture, Identity, and Caribbean Music (1987) - Dick Hebdige [Amazon US]
Cover versions in early rock and roll
In the early days of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African American musicians were rerecorded by white artists, such as Pat Boone, in a more toned down style that lacked the hard edge of rock and roll, and vice versa. These cover versions were considered by some to be more palatable to parents, and white artists were more palatable to programmers at white radio stations. Also, many songs originally recorded by male artists were rerecorded by female artists, and vice versa. Such cover version is sometimes called a cross cover version. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_version#Early_cover_versions [Dec 2004]
Sample (music) [...]
In music, sampling refers to the act of taking a portion of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument in a new recording. This is done with a sampler, which can either be a piece of hardware, or a computer program on a computer. Similar to sampling is the technique of creating loops of magnetic tape with a reel to reel tape machine.Often "samples" consist of one part of a song used in another, for instance the use of the drumline from Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks" in songs by the Beastie Boys, Mike Oldfield and Erasure. "Samples" in this sense occur often in hip hop and R&B, but are becoming more common in other music, as well. --http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_sampling
See also:
Musique concrete - Early tape based "sampling"
Plunderphonics - in which samples are the sole source of sound for new compositions
Interpretation [...]
An interpretation is a presentation or portrayal of information altered in order to conform to a specific language. This may be a spoken, written, pictorial, mathematical, sculptural, cinematic, geometric or any other form of language.
The purpose of interpretation would normally be to increase the possibility of understanding, but sometimes, as in propaganda or brainwashing, the purpose may be to evade understanding and increase confusion. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretation [Jun 2004]
Remediation [...]
New visual media achieve their cultural significance precisely by paying homage to, rivaling, and refashioning such earlier media as perspective painting, photography, film, and television. They call this process of refashioning "remediation," and they note that earlier media have also refashioned one another: photography remediated painting, film remediated stage production and photography, and television remediated film, vaudeville, and radio. --Remediation: Understanding New Media - Jay David Bolter (Author), Richard Grusin (Author) [Amazon.com]Appropriation [...]
More aggressive than allusion or citation, appropriation is the excision of material from one context and its reuse in another context, usually with intent to expose some unrecognized irony in the original or to undermine notions of authorial responsibility. The range of possibilites extends from simple reuse, as in collage, to Sherri Levine's rephotographed photos by Edward Weston (see aura). --Robert BeltonPlagiarism [...]
Plagiarism is the use of another writer's work without proper acknowledgment (compare credit).
There is some difference of opinion over how much credit must be given when preparing a newspaper article or historical account. Generally, reference is made to original source material as much as possible, and writers avoid taking credit for others' work.
Plagiarism should not be confused with copyright infringement, which is using another writer's work with or without full acknowledgement in a way that violates the exclusive legal rights granted to the author by copyright law. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
Originality [...]
- Not derived from something else; fresh and unusual
- Showing a marked departure from previous practice; new: a truly original approach. See Synonyms at new.
- Being the source from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made.
Adaptation [...]
Any alteration of an original to fit or serve the same or a different purpose. An adaptation should add something to the content of the original, otherwise it is a copy.
A biological adaptation is an inheritable characteristic of an organism that increases its reproductive success. Within the context of the biology of the eye, it refers to its capability to adapt to different levels of light.
An adaptation is work whose theme, story, or structure is based on another work, sometimes transformed for the medium. For example, the works of William Shakespeare have been the source for several adaptations.
Adaptation was also the title of a movie starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep released in 2002. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptation [May 2004]
See also
subversive, controversial, perversionSource Analysis
Source Analysis: Classical source analysis, one of the more long-standing and widespread approaches in traditional art history, is the study of artists' allusions to and appropriations of the work of earlier artists. The analyst hopes to discover if the later artist's sources indicate admiration, citation, emulation, or simply a learning experience. As such, the artist's practice is not to be confused with forgery. Famous examples of source analysis include such things as Manet's Olympia as a reworking of Titian's Venus of Urbino and Rauschenberg's Retroactive I as a reworking of Masaccio's Expulsion of Adam and Eve. --Robert Belton, Words of Art, accessed Apr 2004
Remix [...]
A remix is an alternate mix of a song different from the original version. It may incorporate elements of dance music. It is often used to create an upbeat version of a song for playing by disc jockeys in nightclubs.
In addition to dance remixes, many R&B, pop, and rap artists use remixes and alternate versions of songs with "featured" guest stars, in order to give them new life, or to make them a hit if they're failing.
In recent years the concept of the remix has been applied analogously to other media and products. In 2000, the British Channel 4 television program Jaaaaam was produced as a remix of the sketches from the comedy show Jam. In 2003 the Coca-Cola Corporation released a new version of their soft drink Sprite with tropical flavours under the name Sprite Remix. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remix[Apr 2004]
Black Music
One of the most interesting areas of 'studying' disco and house music, is their relationship of sampler and samplee. The house record borrows from the disco record by isolating a sample of it and make a whole new record from that sample by using digital equipment.
This is a phenomenon of 'black music' in general. Examples can be found in every 'black music music genre'. Which begs the question: is this quality unique to black music or can it be extended to white music?
I do not have the answer for that question, but I will leave you with some 'black music' examples:
- house music record isolates sample from disco record
- standards in jazz music
- 'versioning' in reggae
- scratching as analog sampling in hip hop
Studio One
The most versioned riddims are more than 20 years old and originated at Coxone Dodds legendary Studio One studio, Brentford Road, Kingston. Many producers has made more than one classic riddim, but none can compete with the Studio One output from the late sixties and early seventies. Versions of "Moving Away", "Pretty Looks", "Nanny Goat", "Drum Song", "Jah Shakey", "Full Up", "Real Rock", "Skylarking" and "Joe Frazier" are riddims you'll hear your favorite soundsystem play in any session.Postmodernism [...]
There is no truth, there are only versions [...]Venus of Urbino 1538 - Titian
Venus of Urbino 1538 - Titian, (Oil on canvas, 119 x 165 cm, Uffizi, Florence)
Olympia 1863 - Edouard Manet
Olympia 1863 - Edouard Manet (Oil on canvas, 130.5 x 190 cm, Musee d'Orsay, Paris)
Manet's Olympia (1973) - Mel Ramos
Manet's Olympia (1973) - Mel Ramos
A contemporary take on both Giorgione and Playboy magazine is a series
of tributes to the "great masters of Western art" by Mel Ramos.
Ramos contemporizes great classics such as Manet's Olympia, which
was derived from Titian's Venus of Urbino, which was taken from Giorgione's Sleeping Venus. Ramos claims that the "eroticism of nudes depicted throughout the history of art is essentially the same in the contemporary idiom as exemplified in pin-up pictures.
--Jolena Tracy