amen brother. very revealing nice "vid" maudlin

Feels like I learned something interesting today

Long video, but worth the watch. I have HATED the Amen Break ever since it first came out and I find that 99% of songs that use it to be practically unlistenable.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

Very interesting. I like the minimalist style of this video too. Makes all your attention go to the sound. Well done.

I would download sets of wav files for making simple mod music in highschool (late 90's) and many would include a version of the amen snare and amen break. Its a fast, punchy snare, and the break itself was so cleanly isolated and easily looped in its original form that it was never too surprising to me why it first became such a mainstay for lazy producers.

As an even further aside, theres a really fun mix that ?uestlove of The Roots did on BBC 1 not too long ago, entirely composed of the songs sampled for the backing to famous rap songs (usually 70's funk songs with clean breaks or some interesting flair). search 'questlove bbc The Lesson: Sample Montage'

Wow. It takes some attention, but this is an excellent introduction to rap and jungle, and where they come from. It also takes a short jaunt into copyright law and things that everyone needs to know. If you've got the time, consider this a mandatory view...

I'm going to go out on a limb and not completely kiss up to this. Sure, it covers some issues and contains some information, but:

1. it's a mega-snoozer, and
2. the information it contains couldn't be more obvious

What, drum beats aren't completely unique? YOU'RE KIDDING!
What, rap (among other styles) steals music samples? YOU'RE KIDDING!
What, people imitate instead of innovate? YOU'RE KIDDING!

Basically, this is all one big, "no sh*t, Sherlock." There's nothing new under the sun. And I want the last 18 minutes back.

long and boring. should have just cut to the chase: "listen to this drum beat...now listen to this song...now this one..." thats all they needed. still somewhat interesting though. i wouldnt have spotted that otherwise

Well produced clip, with an interesting commentary on culture and copyright. The way he extrapolates from an obscure 60s record is excellent. I certainly learned something today.

*promote

Re-promoting this video to the front page as a VideoSift Classic. Originally published on Saturday 3rd June 2006 (promotion called by gold star member dotdude)

Holy crap, this one has dust on it! Thanks for the promotion, dotdude.

*long

This video has been marked Long (called by gold star member Deano)

*music

Video added to music channel (music called by gold star member Deano)

At the end of the piece, the narrator quotes Judge Alex Kozinski of the Federal 9th Circuit Appellate Court. I've included the extended version of that quote here. His opinions on the "right of publicity" are best summed up in his White v. Samsung Electronics Dissent. The entire opinion is worth reading, but the critical summary is found in the first section which reads:

"Saddam Hussein wants to keep advertisers from using his picture in unflattering contexts. Clint Eastwood doesn't want tabloids to write about him. Rudolf Valentino's heirs want to control his film biography. The Girl Scouts don't want their image soiled by association with certain activities. George Lucas wants to keep Strategic Defense Initiative fans from calling it "Star Wars." Pepsico doesn't want singers to use the word "Pepsi" in their songs. Guy Lombardo wants an exclusive property right to ads that show big bands playing on New Year's Eve. Uri Geller thinks he should be paid for ads showing psychics bending metal through telekinesis. Paul Prudhomme, that household name, thinks the same about ads featuring corpulent bearded chefs. And scads of copyright holders see purple when their creations are made fun of.

Something very dangerous is going on here. Private property, including intellectual property, is essential to our way of life. It provides an incentive for investment and innovation; it stimulates the flourishing of our culture; it protects the moral entitlements of people to the fruits of their labors. But reducing too much to private property can be bad medicine. Private land, for instance, is far more useful if separated from other private land by public streets, roads and highways. Public parks, utility rights-of-way and sewers reduce the amount of land in private hands, but vastly enhance the value of the property that remains.

So too it is with intellectual property. Overprotecting intellectual property is as harmful as underprotecting it. Creativity is impossible without a rich public domain. Nothing today, likely nothing since we tamed fire, is genuinely new: Culture, like science and technology, grows by accretion, each new creator building on the works of those who came before. Overprotection stifles the very creative forces it's supposed to nurture.

The panel's opinion is a classic case of overprotection. Concerned about what it sees as a wrong done to Vanna White, the panel majority erects a property right of remarkable and dangerous breadth: Under the majority's opinion, it's now a tort for advertisers to remind the public of a celebrity. Not to use a celebrity's name, voice, signature or likeness; not to imply the celebrity endorses a product; but simply to evoke the celebrity's image in the public's mind. This Orwellian notion withdraws far more from the public domain than prudence and common sense allow. It conflicts with the Copyright Act and the Copyright Clause. It raises serious First Amendment problems. It's bad law, and it deserves a long, hard second look."

-- Judge Alex Kozinski

Holy crap, I unknowingly used this break in a couple DnB tunes I made back when I was a techno-junkie. I knew was an "amen break" but I didn't know or care what that meant. cool.

*talks

Adding video to channels (Talks) - requested by Deano.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by dystopianfuturetoday.

So, it's the music world's wilhelm scream?

*length=18:09

The duration of this video has been updated from unknown to 18:09 - length declared by geo321.

*promote

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Thursday, December 28th, 2006 5:42pm PST - promote requested by carneval.

this an important element of a lot of modern *electronica, especially dnb

Adding video to channels (Electronica) - requested by carneval.

I love this video.

The History Of Electronic Dance Music has been added as a related post - related requested by notarobot on that post.