STEALING ART is the KEY to Success

/ alfomedia (this had some glitches the first time I tried to upload it, oops)
Link to Jensen's "Adam's Ribs" • Jensen McRae - Adam's ...
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/ alfomedia
/ renshawhs
/ renshawhs
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Intro Animator: @icarogabriel17 on Twitter
Intro Music Composer: Chase Ceglie
Stealing, copying, paying homage, let's talk about it! From Quentin Tarantino, to Pablo Picasso, to Kendrick Lamar, and so on and so on, the great artists take from past great artists. It's hard to create something out of nothing ... so don't! Acknowledge that every little idea has come from somewhere and something. For everyone in this video, including the examples of people who are the influencers, not the influenceeeeees , they've taken. And it's a good thing (most of the time)
video essay / review / phoebe bridgers / favorite / kendrick / migos video / best / picasso / understanding / fantano / needledrop / art / aphex twin / jensen mcrae

[@AlfoMedia]

heyyyy sorry the first upload of this had a glitch in it. enjoy :-)

[@remyhavoc4463]

Which makes that upload even more artistically unique because it's a shitty version of what you were trying to accomplish 😂hahaha jk ✌️

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

There's an old saying in professional wrestling, "stealing from 1 person is plagiarism, stealing from multiple people is research".

[@inhuman_human6790]

I like that. I really like that. Thanks for sharing my friend😃

[@artorius4986]

I'm going to steal this comment

[@quincymiller782]

@@artorius4986 plagiarism at its finest

[@jgba3653]

Charly garcia be like

[@sozeytozey]

Is that actually from wrestling? It's a saying I picked up at some point but never knew the origin

[@theneonchimpchannel9095]

Paul McCartney once said "good artists borrow, great artists steal"....and he stole that from Picasso.

[@Jeremy-hx7zj]

I used to find this quote so confusing until I realized that to borrow, you take it, but it remains the original creators possession. When you steal, you take it and make it your own.

[@patzinco]

Unfortunately, that is an unverified quote...

[@blondequijote]

He probably had to translate it at least cuz I think Pablo said it in Spanish.

[@williamdell-price2349]

Dont just steal from one artist. Steal from load. Take what you like and ditch what you dont. Give it enough time and your patch work of influences will become your own style.

[@KindaKaon]

Exactly. We are not wholly unique - our uniqueness is simply a combination of others formed into something unique. Don’t be like Greta Van Fleet and dictate your art from 1 source

[@claycowartisamazing]

Lmao...... common sense would tell you that.

[@SweaterSwagg]

@@claycowartisamazing Being snarky doesn't make you sound cool or smarter than anyone else. Thanks for the useless comment 😐

[@sozeytozey]

Stealing from one place is called plagiarism, stealing from many places is called inspiration -Someone who isn't me

[@claycowartisamazing]

@@SweaterSwagg You don't sound cool or smart. Thanks for the useless comment, random dude.

[@Sneakycat1971]

This is really how people sound original. I have thought about this for a while. People who sound just like the most popular thing have a talent to do that but are in a crowded field of sound alike . The ones who try to imitate their favorite artists but it comes out sounding original get all the attention. It not only sounds original but also sounds good. How did they do it? They are good musicians but they're not good at imitating exactly what they hear.

[@Sneakycat1971]

My advice to bands who can sound just like another band is to try to mash up styles of different bands to get an original feel.

[@Sneakycat1971]

A lot of people have responded positive to this comment. Really the problem is people are scared to be themselves . There is so much information now to help people become better musicians and so much access to inspirational music from the last 100 years to pull from. People need to look inside themselves and only concentrate on music that makes themselves happy. Nothing else matters in the long run.

[@MalMotorDedo]

We need to start to forget about originality and coming w something from the scratch, fixating on being 100% original only generates frustration and unnecessary comparisons

[@blondequijote]

Damn right. That's why my new religion makes Harry Potter the magical savior. Literally just swap Harry Potter for Jesus and Hogwarts for heaven.

[@brion_aiota]

Anytime I get so inspired by something that it makes me want to imitate it, I never get worried it’ll be too similar cus I know that pretty early on it’s gonna turn into something else whether it be due to my inability to copy something well or my squirrelesque attention span chasing down some idea that emerges. I always end up somewhere that barely resembles the inspiration, if at all.

[@mikemckenzie4016]

Francis Ford Coppola has said (and I'm highly paraphrasing here) that copying is important to do for an artist in the beginning, because it continues a connection that the thing you're copying made with you, so it's starting from something genuine. And when you've explored that thing in earnest, other stuff will come up and eventually you can't help but shape it into something new that is undoubtedly your own voice.

[@SavedByGrace_CitizenEmperor]

Good artists are able to integrate existing elements and make them sound organic and make them their own. They will stick out from the infinite crowd of solid or bad artists that copy styles and bring little or nothing original to the table. It's always that way. Maybe especially in the EDM area. A new trend, everybody's hopping on the hype train and you end up with thousands and thousands of simliar sounding tracks that cannot even be distinguished because DJs and producers usually don't put their own vocals on the tracks.

[@ArKaneAcrumProductions]

yup

[@boinecastillo7455]

I don't get edm

[@patgarner]

At first, what you were saying pissed me off. The most prolific creative period I have ever had as a musician where I not only wrote the most music I ever had, but wrote the most music that I absolutely loved, that I ever had, was after a long period of time where I avoided listening to any music whatsoever outside of what I heard in movies or tv shows I watched. I went from listening to all kinds of music all the time for most of my life to listening to nothing. For at least a few years. And that freed me from comparing my music to anything else and freed me to create music that was my music and not someone else's music or me trying to make someone else's music or be someone else. While I don't wholesale disagree with you now, I think you left something out. Or at least didn't articulate it in a way that resonated with me. So I say yes, take influence everywhere you can, but don't be limited by it. The point is to use what you've heard to learn how to express your own heart and imagination.

[@zekiel2574]

We’re talking about success here and how it’s received by the public, not about making art you’re totally proud of. Those who find mainstream success most of the time had no idea that they would be successful and a lot of times even have a dislike for the art they make that the public eats up

[@dragonz4477]

alright you’ve sold me, i’m making kid b now

[@ReyhanJoseph]

J Cole literally cites Nas and Em it's crazy the verses he writes now with his voice

[@norffstudios]

This reminds us that creativity is often inspired by what came before us, and that it's okay to draw inspiration from the works of others. We should not be afraid to borrow, to build on, or even to steal from our artistic predecessors to create something truly unique and meaningful. Great job Aflo Media.

[@asap5629]

stealing from 1 person is plagiarism, stealing from multiple people is called "creativity"

[@austinedeclan10]

Every generation of artists builds upon the work of their predecessors

[@MichaelMikeyMike]

Great video Harrison, really inspiring! I'd also like to recommend the book "Steal Like An Artist" by Austin Kleon which touches on some similar topics as this video 🤘

[@NobodyWhoIsHere]

i write creatively and a similar thing came up that sort of goes along with this: you don't need to make something as original as possible, because when you're reading what you look for is familiar and fun tropes to enjoy ad infinitum. you add your writing style and characters and all that plus a story, yeah, but you're writing is going to have better structure and stronger legs to stand on if it has the framework of ideas and tropes before it that you can just do well and have fun with. same thing applies to music, i think. look at what you have and put it together in your own way

[@thesundrinker]

The gatekeeping is REAL, especially on the tube. The big fish don't like other fish getting big. The fish that want to eat, repeat this for them for a piece of the lunch. Get out of the pond, make music, make videos, make them for you first.

[@bmbpets4861]

I’ve been watching your videos for a couple years now and this is my favorite video you’ve ever put out! Love this man

[@AlfoMedia]

thank you!

[@bmbpets4861]

@@AlfoMedia absolutely man@! keep up the good shit my guy!

[@user-bo2gl5ln6c]

This was so good that i watched it twice

[@almostoriginal6054]

i wouldn't say it's about being bad at copying someone else. It's more about copying a bunch of artists. Then it doesn't matter if you're good or bad at copying them, you've already made it your own thing by having many different influences specific to you

[@orlarihan6336]

i've been thinkin for a long time that art is mostly mistranslation and its cool to see a similar perspective expressed here :3

[@chappellgroan]

Phoebe Bridgers also stole from Elliot Smith

[@bigboss4178]

_“Good artists borrow, great artists steal"_ -Pablo "Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y" Picasso

[@hermestrismegistus3417]

I prefer to think of it like adding fresh ingredients to a forever soup

[@Mira2Cold]

real ones were here for the first upload

[@theworldmayneverknow3876]

popular rap songs are a prime example of this. well, a more straight forward example. copy, paste, slightly alter, then boom: a rap beat and/or lyrics

[@Kai_Bariani]

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards was "stolen" from Walk in the Park by Beach House.

[@johnnyCheeseburger]

It's very fitting that that quote from Picasso is often attributed to many artists of history. I knew it as a Stravinsky quote.

[@ronnierockit4468]

This is how I approach acting a lot of the time. Start with a bad impression, and work it out to make it work for what you're doing.

[@nate4697]

Drake has done this for years now. Every time there's a new sound in rap he tries it out and does his version of it. It keeps things interesting and keeps his music evolving. His take on dance music with Honestly Nevermind was probably his most creative work since More Life.

[@cameronbishop6001]

Absolutely agree! That's why I stole Ivan Aivazovsky's The Ninth Wave and sold it to a billionaire for a whole bunch of money!

[@NotCrazyLimitedEdition]

Isn't the title track of Punisher specifically about Phoebe Bridgers being a helpless Elliot Smith copycat?

[@koketsosimelane8056]

These videos are awesome, never have i ever hit the subscribe button quicker

[@SavedByGrace_CitizenEmperor]

Elitist thinking can be harmful. Some kind of fans demand originality so much, they cannot enjoy stuff that sounds similar. But it will always sound like that. It's easy to fall into that trap. Almost automatically, when you hear a new song, you will compare it to other songs you've heard before and you're rating will not be separated from these other works. Because you cannot like every single song released, you should like what you like and that's it. Some artists are more innovative, others sound like other artists. It doesn't matter, it's just an ego thing to show off how great your music taste is and how much better it is than the taste of the masses who listen to unoriginal, bland, manufactured artists. I like to pick out a couple or a couple more artists from many genres. That's more than enough, and you cannot like every artist anyway because they are so different. They don't have to invent the wheel, I personally have to like them. Innovation is great but it doesn't guarantee that I like the music then. Taking elements of different genres that work and make it a new thing is great. I think of Nu Metal. Take Rap, take metal, take pop and make it a new genre. Obviously it uses ingredients that existed before but in a new exciting mixture.

[@cosmicdib4823]

Referencing and learning from other artists helps build your visual library. As long as you borrow elements and not the style.

[@jessicalohmeyer9508]

Dude I love you for this video. My inner critic bashes me for "copying" other musicians' styles and not being more "original" -- there is some narrative/false belief from childhood and society that planted that. The first song I ever wrote as a little kid had a melody similar to One Sweet Day by Mariah and BoyzIIMen and I've always been ashamed by that. These days when I try to write a song with a quality that I admire from someone else's music, it actually comes out as its own thing, and usually not like that song at all, which is an error in copying, but a success in creation. My ego is delusional about this and you just gave evidence to prove it wrong. TY

[@UGLY-MONEY17]

Just found your channel. This video is accurate. I love it. Just subscribed

[@tylerhackner9731]

Thanks for the reupload

[@sunnni_]

Thank you for introducing me to Jensen. Now I am about to listen to her music

[@Trrack10]

Love the new content style 😊

[@bellaF]

i think about this concept so much

[@dizzykrogan]

Jonny cash’s cover of hurt is a good example of this, making it into something entirely different. Also not music related, Hidetaka Miyazaki has taken a lot of inspiration from other sources, berserk being a major influence on his work, while making something wholly distinct.

[@itselote]

absolutely love this video, i always say that music is all about inspiration

[@jacobw7360]

Another great example of this is japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. His advice is to copy again and again until you are good enough to make a product that is part consequence of the copying and part yourself

[@justanormaIdud3]

love this reupload!

[@gerritsevereid4657]

didn’t even talk about how Phoebe Bridgers is completely inspired by Elliott Smith :)

[@bongi2184]

I’m a very huge advocate for copying or stealing from artists you love. It’s how I started making music and it’s what I recommend to anyone who’s asked me how to get started making music. I used to (attempt to) remake the beats from songs i really liked just to hone my skill (Kaytranada and the likes) and now years later people have told me “this is definitely a [refers to me] type beat” whenever they listen to my music

[@izeizeflo]

One of the best (or arguably the best) guitar player of our generation John Mayer once said: "It’s my failure to sound like my heroes that’s allowed me to sound like myself.”

[@jayephbee]

Thanks I need that. Love the comments section too.

[@SweaterSwagg]

Great video!

[@brianquint6126]

Even more important than stealing is knowing what to steal.

[@wheelsofmercury]

Well said, dude!

[@Sebboebbo]

Da king is back baby he neva miss

[@flgangcage6313]

This is why even though people hate type beats on KZbin.... type beats should never go away

[@jackprestonmusic]

I’m going to steal this video concept and post it on my KZbin channel. 🥂

[@MDB999]

This was very inspirational

[@imawfulljusttosee]

That thumbnail is perfect

[@ForeverGotShorter]

The lead singer of one my favorite bands ever, Braid, said that when they started out they wanted to be a mash-up of Fugazi and Jawbreaker: the crazy guitars of the former mixed with the poetic, confessional lyrics of the latter. Obviously there were other influences mixed in, but those two were the main ones. Their first album sounds VERY Fugazi-ey. By their third, their sound had become something pretty unique. They didn't really sound like Fugazi anymore, they just sounded like, well, Braid.

[@luciuscoldstone]

good ass video!! great insights full of perspective... you need to teach a class on this mate !!!

[@spamytv]

Great insight

[@LA-yf4jf]

so basically steal it and drive it like you own it

[@seyniole1898]

You're inspiring many man.

[@ace15Nura]

I think is well known that mainstream artist used to with underground artist. Not that they steal their sound but found a way yo make it work in their context.

[@ThisIsLowKey]

Adam's Ribs has me in fucking tears right now. Holy shit.

[@PAJACEK]

great vid, imma steal some parts of it.

[@jas_bataille]

After 15 years of songwriting I find that I'm now able to connect the dots : those 4 notes comes from X song, this little passage from this other one, the inspiration is this or that... at the beginning, you're afraid that you're going to end with a copy of something, but that's not how it works at all. It's also really fun and crazy cool when you have let's say : a singer badly copying Amy Winehouse playing bass, a grunge guitarist who wants Hendrix's tone, a jazz drummer going a cross between Bohnam and Portnoy in the Winery dogs ... I guess that's basically what my new band is and, man, we may not be ready yet, but I sure as hell never heard something like this before! It's an amazing feeling when something that's not supposed to work actually do :D

[@vic6099]

also the fact that Phoebe has a whole song (punisher) about her being a copycat of Elliot Smith

[@dukesilver702]

Alfo Media is Polyphonics's brother right? I mean, the similarity between the voices are as similar as Greta Van Fleet and Led Zeppelin

[@AlfoMedia]

or maybe we're the same person...

[@aldonroe4558]

Unnecessary comment about Greta Van Fleet: I do totally agree that their first EP and Album are very, very clearly Led Zeppelin inspired, but I do totally think they came into their own style with their second album. Definitely still got some Zeppelin influence, but it feels a lot more original. Great vid!

[@flaibeatz]

wow finally of years of research i found the truth. nobody will tell you this thanks man i really appreciate this....i will forever be grateful

[@badconnection4383]

At first I was one of those people who believed that stealing art was the wrong thing to do as it just makes you into a copy. Until I started writing my first screenplay, I'm writing a Martial Arts revenge story set in the 1970s about a young woman seeking to kill the governor of New York because she watched him kill her father and her baby sister when she was 12. This concept isn't wholly original as it's kinda Kill Bill and many other films, but it's ironic that Kill Bill is the main source of inspiration behind this because Kill Bill is a clone in itself.

[@moodypoetsociety]

Even a totally original idea is always copied in some way by something that happened in real life.

[@Jakeakatheone]

Great Nas song. "No Ideas Original"

[@LordIronfist]

The goo goo dolls were just the Replacements 2 for the first several years of their career -to the point that Paul westernerg co-wrote one of their early singles (we are the normal) and it was, noncoincidentally, that same album where the goo goo dolls start to find their own sound. If you listen to their discography in order you can hear the influence of the replacements get replacemented by the sound of the later 90s era of the goo goo dolls

[@javenwilliams9875]

De La Soul is a great example of your point

[@ag9652]

As a wise man said "every rip needs a ghostbusters"

[@breakingmadeline3063]

I think the frontman of the black crows said it best. He said something about how every song is just apart of the song of life. I've always related to that. I also think putting it in perspective, it really is just one, bigger lexicon. Reading books and stealing from the author's techniques is actually the golden rule of being a good writer. If you try to make something new, you'll make nothing. It's only when I realised this did I start *actually* conceptualizing art in my journals as opposed to having an idea and thinking "oh, that's actually stupid. *blank* did it better" Just make sonething better.

[@marcusvaillant3565]

The Jensen example is like how Fleece got popular because of their Alt-J parody

[@NoryaMaria]

Great video.

[@NFNTY88]

“Great artist steal, But you don’t steal to become a great artist. “ - Jhazz Showard

[@FlameForgedSoul]

"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants". _Isaac Newton_

[@carmichaelk.5214]

Creativity is bravery.

[@Meri1x]

this shi fye

[@Swittch]

Boutta steal ur intro and put it in my song, thank you

[@dwinosam]

People like to take statements literally. Enriching your mind and being influenced is different from emulating a bland copy

[@XANAX-Pilled]

My friends' band was influenced by X, and they're quite successful: eventually, Exene did a song with them.

[@BookPirate1]

REF: Axis of Awesome 4-Chord Song

[@tyroberts4494]

I've always thought Pheobe might of been inspired by Wilco, especially with her production.

[@NameOfTheChannel]

Core of art lies in the soul creating it. Obviously great artists will steal certain traits from others in their works (consciously or not), but what sets them apart is life experience. Shit you can't simply steal.

[@_zombiehunter]

"imitation is the greatest form of admiration" -some random instagram quote

[@rickyrouze1191]

greeeeeat video wow

[@trilogyalone4256]

I did this for my album

[@lukechase6346]

Man I was sure you were gonna talk about Phoebe being a “copycat killer with a chemical cut” but I guess she’s already on the giving back end :)

[@bbbeware]

i think this is a good video, and i mostly agree with the point being made... but i think it's still good to keep in mind that it's false to say "all art is stolen". that's such a generalization that it just can't be true. truly talented individuals that come up with unique ideas exist

[@yungjetski2751]

happy to see i’m not the only one thinking this. GO STREAM LEECH BY ANTUAN THE PYMP. It’s a concept album i self produced and wrote with the only feature being my buddy austen. The entire album was crafted in honor of all of my favorite musicians, from Tyler the creator to Dilla. It’s one of the most interesting albums i’ve heard and regardless of if it takes off, im extremely proud of how interesting it sounds. If you guys are open to giving it a listen, i’d check it out! It’s out on all streaming platforms including youtube!!

[@Jeremy-hx7zj]

This is why you can ignore people who try to criticize artists simply by saying, "this is just artist x and artist y with a bit of artist z. Totally unoriginal"

[@bbbeware]

ive always hated that argument

[@MarySoria-xo9zw]

Holyshit. These are all accurate

[@PickleRicksFATASSCOUSIN]

So is copyright kinda useless then?...

[@DJSlaughter]

It's like the band I will eventually start. It will be like Deftones, but takes the electronic, atmospheric aspect of what they do a little further. Maybe even a Deftones Nine Inch Nails hybrid

[@edgeworth097]

That actually sounds kinda cool. I love Deftones, so that would actually be interesting