Listen to the music discussed in the book!
This is an educational website—the audio clips below are intended to help illustrate the material discussed in the comic book. The majority of these clips are hosted on third party services such as YouTube and SoundCloud. The remainder are either from Wikimedia Commons, or short excerpts posted for the sole purpose of illuminating the discussion of topics such as musical borrowing.
As explained in the comic, more people than ever are making music. That is something we should celebrate. But artists and composers deserve our support—financial as well as moral. If you like any of the music below, please consider buying it from Amazon, iTunes, or your preferred service.
Page 12
Click below to listen to a rendition of Ancient Greek music from Duke Professor William Johnson (opens in new tab)
Page 26
Salve Regina
Page 41
The image to the left is the first page from Petrucci’s publication of Intabolatura de lauto (book 1) by Francesco Spinacino. Here is some of the lute music from this book
Page 52
“. . .and he shall reign forever and ever” from Handel’s Messiah
Beethoven’s quotation of Handel in Missa Solemnis
Part of Mahler’s First Symphony that is similar to Missa Solemnis
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring
Berio’s quotation of Stravinsky
Page 53
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Part of Brahms’ First Symphony that echoes Beethoven
Part of Mahler’s Third Symphony that echoes Brahms
Mahler’s Second Symphony
Berio borrowing from Mahler in Sinfonia
Page 57
The French national anthem
Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture quoting the French national anthem
An episode of Rick Beato’s “Everything Music” demonstrates similarities between Holst’s The Planets and Williams’ Star Wars soundtrack
Page 66
The folk song Zhuravel (“The Crane”)
Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony quoting Zhuravel
The folk song Beriozka (“The Birch Tree”)
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony quoting Beriozka
Page 71
The Anacreontic Song
The Star-Spangled Banner
Pinkerton’s theme from Madame Butterfly
Jimi Hendrix playing The Star-Spangled Banner
Page 72
My Country,
’Tis of Thee
God Save the Queen
Battle Hymn of the Republic
John Brown’s Body
The Marines’ Hymn
Jacques Offenbach’s Genevieve de Brabant
Page 79
Nelly Was A Lady
Page 82
Henry Russell’s The Old Arm Chair
Samuel Carusi’s The Old Arm Chair
Page 85
Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag
Page 115
George Gershwin performing I Got Rhythm
“The rhythm changes” chord progression from I Got Rhythm
Charlie Parker riffing on the rhythm changes
Page 132
Skip James, Devil Got
My Woman
Robert Johnson, Hellhound on my Trail
Leroy Carr, When the Sun Goes Down
Robert Johnson, Love in Vain
Kokomo Arnold, Sagefield Woman Blues
Robert Johnson, I Believe I’ll Dust my Broom
Son House, Walkin’ Blues
Robert Johnson, Walkin’ Blues
Hambone Willie Newbern, Roll and Tumble Blues
Robert Johnson, Traveling Riverside Blues
Leroy Carr, Mean Mistreater Mama
Robert Johnson, Kind Hearted Woman Blues
Page 133
Rory Block, Hellhound on my Trail
Ben Harper, Dust My Broom
Rolling Stones, Love in Vain
Grateful Dead, Walkin’ Blues
Led Zeppelin, Travelling Riverside Blues
Cream, Crossroads Blues
George Thorogood, Kind Hearted Woman Blues
Page 134
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Ida Red
Chuck Berry, Maybellene
Chuck Berry, Roll Over
Beethoven
The Beatles, Roll Over
Beethoven
Prince, Johnny B. Goode
Page 135
Chuck Berry, Sweet Little Sixteen
The Beach Boys, Surfin’ USA
Chuck Berry, Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Page 147
Nat King Cole, Answer Me, My Love
The Beatles, Yesterday
Bobby Parker, Watch Your Step
The Beatles, I Feel Fine
Page 148
Paul McCartney demonstrating how Bach’s Bourée inspired Blackbird
Page 149
“La Marseillaise” portion of All You Need Is Love
Bach portion of All You Need Is Love
“Greensleeves” portion of All You Need Is Love
“In the Mood” portion of All You Need Is Love
“Here come a flattop. . .” from Chuck Berry’s You Can’t Catch Me
“Here come old flattop. . .” from The Beatles’ Come Together
Cream, Badge
(co-written by George Harrison)
The Beatles, Here Comes the Sun
(written by George Harrison)
Page 160
The Axis of Awesome, 4 Chords
Page 168
Bar-kays, Son of Shaft
Public Enemy, Caught: Can We Get A Witness?
Malcolm X, 1964 Boston Radio Interview
Public Enemy, Party for Your Right to Fight
Public Enemy, Don’t Believe the Hype
Page 169
The Jimmy Castor Bunch, The Return of Leroy Pt. 1
Beastie Boys, Hold It Now, Hit It
Gilbert O’Sullivan, Alone Again (Naturally)
Biz Markie, Alone Again
Page 173
George Clinton, Get Off Your Ass and Jam
N.W.A, 100 Miles and Runnin’
Page 180
The Police, Every Breath You Take
Puff Daddy, I’ll Be Missing You
The Turtles, You Showed Me
De La Soul, Transmitting Live from Mars
Page 188
The Chiffons, He’s So Fine
George Harrison, My Sweet Lord
Listen to George Harrison discussing this case
Page 190
Isley Brothers, Love is a Wonderful Thing
Michael Bolton, Love is a Wonderful Thing
Page 193
Marvin Gaye, Got to Give It Up
Pharrell Willliams and Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines
Page 206
The Legendary KO, George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People
(explicit lyrics, opens in new tab)
(video by The Black Lantern)
Page 216
Listen to a mashup of I Got a Woman and I Got a Savior
The Southern Tones, It Must Be Jesus
Ray Charles, I Got a Woman
Clara Ward, This Little Light of Mine
Ray Charles, This Little Girl of Mine
Page 224
Total Eclipse of the Heart, Literal Video Version
(opens in new tab)
Baby Got Back in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan
(opens in new tab)
Page 226
DJ Earworm Mashup, United State of Pop 2017 (How We Do It)
The Grey Album video
Mashup of Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full and The White Stripes’ My Doorbell
Special thanks to our web designers Balfour Smith, Michael Wright, and Madeeha Khan, and to our research assistants Peter Berris, Cory Fleming, and Rich Hatch.