Madonna sings Jacko's tune
Sunday,October 23,2005
By Roger Friedman

Believe it or not,Michael Jackson now has Madonna to thank for some extra cash.

The Kabbalah Crier (formerly the Material Mom) has sampled the bass lines from a Jackson-penned song on her new album.Her tune "Sorry" contains a segment from "Can You Feel It".That's a song Mikey wrote in 1980 with brother Jackie.It appeared on the Jackson's 'Triumph' album.

"Can You Feel It" is credited to the two brothers and published by MiJac Music,Michael's company.Even though Jackson's ownership in MiJac is leveraged to the tune of $70 million,he still gets royalties.

And Madonna will have to ante up for use of the sample.There's talk that "Sorry" will even be a single release from Madonna's forthcoming 'Confessions On A Dancefloor',which could mean even more dough for Michael.Of course,he'll have to split the fees with Jackie,who actually wrote several songs used around the time of the 'Victory' tour,circa 1984.

Ironies abound here,since Michael speaks these days to almost no one in his family,including Jackie.But even more interesting is that Michael for a long time had a competition going with Madonna in which he would try to top anything she did,according to sources.The fact that she's now thrown him this bone should feel like a major validation of success to Jackson,I am told.

Madonna's album,sources say,is full of samples this time around---quite a different story from year's past.Even though her first single "Hung Up" is,I think,a brilliant dance record,that's due largely to a chunk of Abba's "Gimme Gimme Gimme" wafting through it.Madonna is going to have to pay for a few samples on this album,including one from Donna Summer's "I Feel Love".

Not paying in advance for a sample can lead to bad publicity and lawsuits.Just ask Kanye "Clip Job" West.He appropriated Shirley Bassey's famous "Diamonds Are Forever" for his new album without asking the singer's permission or seeking the proper licence.The result has been a very disgruntled Bassey speaking out against him and a barrage of lawyer's letters.There is even talk that Bassey may sue West,since she now appears as an unpaid guest star on his platinum-selling CD.

And by the way: Madonna may deny that her dance single "Isaac" is about Kabbalah philosopher Isaac Luria,but she'll have a hard time proving otherwise.She was better off with that story anyway.Her new spin,that the song is about a man named Yitzhak who chants in Hebrew on the record,makes no sense at all.At least with the Luria version,it seemed like she knew about an important person in her adopted religion.Now she says she never heard of Luria.I think that may be worse.

God, he's obsessed...



What's that supposed to mean? Just some RANDOM comment thrown in there, because Can You Feel It was from 1981, and the Victory tour and album (which was basically the brothers submitting their own works rather than a collaborative album) has bugger all to do with the article. Hell, Can You Feel It wasn't even performed on the Victory tour.
[Edited 10/26/05 4:40am]

Ellie said:

LOL...Roger Friedman is a prick who never seems to get his facts straight.His articles are actually fun to read,just to see all the errors he makes (lol).How the hell does he know if MJ speaks to anyone in his family? And notice how he implies that Madonna uses samples on her album without paying for them,or getting the proper licence.Does he really think a major superstar (on a major label) could get away with that? She has already spoken about asking permission from Abba for a sample that she uses in "Hung Up".

Basically he'll slag anyone off and imply certain things about them until they personally come to speak to him. When they do that they're "safe" for about a year and he'll lick their arse, like he does with all his little "sources" without questioning them. He was practically cumming in his pants when he saw MJ perform in 2002 at that Apollo theatre thing with Dave Navarro.

Sometimes the sources are lying, sometimes not - I respected him enough to be one of the one members of the media to even look at some of the defence's side during the MJ trial, but he does contradict himself a hell of a lot, and this Madonna article is just chatting shit to fill up column space.

Ellie said:

He's been attacking Madonna for years...lying and making up shit.I guess this will continue unless she sits down and does an interview with him,lol.

Ellie said:

Maybe you're new around here (I know you're not, just go along) and I'm not sure if you know this....but Roger Friedman is an moron, hack, and schyophant, but not in the order! He has no idea what is going on...he just likes to make incredibly stupid and uneducated comments. As if a Madonna sample is going to "bail" Michael Jackson out! Reading his articles just makes me cringe. He has to be blowing Murdouch. He must be!

DavidEye said:

It really speaks volumes about Fox that they let this shit go! To me, if you can't get something as simple as entertainment facts straight, God knows what you are doing with all the other stuff. It's not like we didn't know Fox lies and spins the hell out of shit but this constant attack on facts is just further proof. What's even worse is the fact that he is so baised (although during 2003, he hated Madonna!).

DavidEye said:

Who is he. The name sounds familar (even before I started reading his article (they are not high art....maybe low end sci-fi). Does he ever show is face?

Oh it's OK, I know. I just like picking holes in his crap. Have you seen a picture of him?



What pisses me off is that Fox News is now considered a reputable news source, and even worse, this guy is just an internet entertainment gossip columnist so he can legally get away with just repeating whatever his "surces" tell him, but then international news stations and papers pick up his stories and cite the source as "Fox News".

DavidEye said:

I hadn't heard anywhere that he wasn't speaking to his family these days.
After the united front they put on for his trial I find this hard to believe. Who is this guys source for this info?
Roger - something smells like unfounded gossip around here.

Basically, we all knew she sampled "Can You Feel It". The rest was a bunch of filler over 3 paragraphs.

Kanye West didn't clear the Shirley Bassey sample? Seems unlikely.

Perhaps Kanye cleared the sample from the copyright owners and publishers, but since the sample is of Shirley Bassey's voice and it's looped so much, she could be constituted as a guest performer

or it's just another "fact" Roger pulled out of his ass.

man fkk that fat mothefkkker he's in love with michael jackson pathetic bitch!!!

what extra cash?? michael jackson makes of his catl's alone 45 million a year

but still i would fkkk madonna anytime anywhere

i would spank that ass
[Edited 10/26/05 12:53pm]

CinisterCee said:

HOw does that stuff work? Do you have to clear it? If you use the sample, you pay for it. Approval be damned, no? I know that covers are probably different but I remember No Doubt saying they were kind of disspaointed with a Countdown Singer-esque dance cover of "Don't Speak".

here's a recent pic of Maddy hanging out with the "King of Sampling" P.Diddy

Oh God, that's just dork central there

Ellie said:

CinisterCee said:

Samples need to be cleared?

(rushes back to computer to erase all the Cakewalk project files)

DavidEye said:

-----
Now you are showing how much you don't know. Major stars use samples without paying for them all time. Mariah Cary never paid for the Emotions song she ripped off a few years ago.

Roger not a fan of sampling in general and for good reason.

CinisterCee said:

-----
No it is true or at least that is what Shirley is saying. I can't believe you guys think that no-talent rappers are honest enough to get clearences all the sample. The music industry is full of crooks. Why do you think Payola goes on?

laurarichardson said:

I understand that.But why is he implying that Madonna would use samples without getting permission? He has no proof that she didn't get permission,he's just trying to talk shit about her,like he always does.If he wants to diss,that's fine...but at least he should get his facts straight.

Remember when Des'ree sued Janet over 'Got Til It's Gone' and won?

DavidEye said:

Ellie said:

She just wanted her name credited basically. Maybe there was some monetary compensation as well, but that's not what she was after.

Novabreaker said:

who's Des'ree? I thought Janet was sampling Joni Mitchell on that song

Des'ree had a huge hit somewhere around 1999 with her track, ermmm, the title eludes me now ("High", "Free" or something?). She was the world's biggest selling female artist that year, you may have heard her vocal contributions also on Terence Trent D'Arby's song "Delicate".

It was the song 'Feels So High'. The basic melody of the verses of GTIG were from that. However, I heard 2 other hit songs in the next couple of years that ripped it off too and nothing was said about those - 'Show Me Love' by Robyn and 'Life Ain't Easy' by Cleopatra.

'You Gotta Be' was her big hit, that seems to have been re-re-re-re-released about 100 times and is a B-side to all her other singles
[Edited 10/28/05 5:07am]

laurarichardson said:

First, what Mariah song does she sample or "rip off" an Emotions song????

And Mariah sampled a lot ever since Fantasy but she seems to credit it usually.

Second, it is shocking that any artist on a major label could sample and not claer it. Most big companies have very conservative lawyers who would have a fit if they knew that was happening?