placing this blame on moby for "stealing Black music" is wrong.
i think one of the reasons Moby's "Play" seems so offensive to some is that his use of other people's music goes way beyond what we normally consider the 'fair use', to use a term often associated with copyright disputes. in other words, using brief samples to create a work that is essentially original has come to seem normal, acceptable, fair use of other people's music. Moby's samples are not brief, and his songs rely so heavily on his source material that his end result is not substantially original. Were the sampled material by Madonna, it would be called a re-mix, and Madonna would get her name in bigger letters than Moby on the record jacket, were Moby even permitted to use the material.
The fact that his remix project exploits people whose musicianship is obviously more compelling than Moby's makes his success seem unfair.
I think of Steve Reich's "It's Gonna Rain", which has a long loop of an African-American preacher throughout -- I've never heard anyone complain about that. perhaps its just less mainstream and therefore attracts less attention, but i think the actual reason is that Reich's piece is a total creative transformation of the source material.
I don't think there can be exact guidelines for who is allowed to quote who. music will always draw from within and without of whatever social milieu it is created in. I totally believe in the cross fertilization of different musical styles. but i find moby's "play" a bit crass.
kurt
