Annnnd they're asking for $5 million for "actual damages" for each instance of infringement. AND MUCH MUCH MORE. Never have the words "demands a jury trial" been more exciting.

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At The Guardian, journalists who identify themselves as Guardian employees in their Twitter bios are advised to include a disclaimer such as, “These are my personal views and not those of my employer.”

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As we know from the first Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... album, which came out way back in 1995, Raekwon and Ghostface don't take kindly to people biting their style.

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For his part, Page — who's credited as the track's lone writer — thinks that these long-simmering accusations are a pile of rubbish; "What's he got, the riff or whatever?... I haven't heard Jake Holmes so I don't know what it's all about anyway. Usually my riffs are pretty damn original," he told Musician in 1990. Although some people who were playing with Page at the time might disagree about those assertions:

"We played with Jake in New York and I was struck by the atmosphere of 'Dazed and Confused.' I went down to Greenwich Village and bought his album and we decided to do a version," [Yardbirds drummer Jim] McCarty said. "We worked it out together with Jimmy contributing the guitar riffs in the middle. Don't you think he's the riff-master?"

Apparently, Page also bought the album the same day. According to Yardbirds historian Greg Russo, a certain John Alusick witnessed Jimmy Page purchasing it at Bleecker Bob's Record Store on Bleecker Street. The Yardbirds quickly set about adapting the song that had captured their collective imagination.

Yardbirds singer Keith Relf tinkered with the lyrics while drummer Jim McCarty and Jimmy Page expanded the song structure itself. The song stuck to the original arrangment until the bridge. Even at this point, the fret-tapping acknowledged Holmes' original. Then Page threw in some eerie effects, bowing his guitar like a violin. Whereas a violin's neck is curved, a guitar neck is flat. Consequently, Page was only able to bow a couple strings at a time to produce an bizzare melody. When he bowed all six strings, the effect was startling. Strange moaning and whooping sounds were produced. This was a gimmick he had incorporated into his bag of tricks back in his studio days. He had first used it on two tracks on the Little Games LP, "Glimpses" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor."

To be fair, Page was a rock and roller in the 1960s, so maybe he just doesn't remember all that. And you have to admit that adamant self-glorification is a better defense than mewling about mixing up research notes!

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Earlier this week, the American folk singer Jake Holmes sued Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and the band's associated publishing and record companies over copyright infringement involving the hazy classic-rock staple "Dazed And Confused," which Holmes claims was nicked from him when he opened for Page's pre-Zep band the Yardbirds in 1968. Holmes' take on the song, which appeared on his 1967 debut "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes, is above; you can hear the Led Zeppelin version below if you're far away from a radio station that gets the Led out on a semi-regular basis.

For his part, Page — who's credited as the track's lone writer — thinks that these long-simmering accusations are a pile of rubbish; "What's he got, the riff or whatever?... I haven't heard Jake Holmes so I don't know what it's all about anyway. Usually my riffs are pretty damn original," he told Musician in 1990. Although some people who were playing with Page at the time might disagree about those assertions:

"We played with Jake in New York and I was struck by the atmosphere of 'Dazed and Confused.' I went down to Greenwich Village and bought his album and we decided to do a version," [Yardbirds drummer Jim] McCarty said. "We worked it out together with Jimmy contributing the guitar riffs in the middle. Don't you think he's the riff-master?"

Apparently, Page also bought the album the same day. According to Yardbirds historian Greg Russo, a certain John Alusick witnessed Jimmy Page purchasing it at Bleecker Bob's Record Store on Bleecker Street. The Yardbirds quickly set about adapting the song that had captured their collective imagination.

Yardbirds singer Keith Relf tinkered with the lyrics while drummer Jim McCarty and Jimmy Page expanded the song structure itself. The song stuck to the original arrangment until the bridge. Even at this point, the fret-tapping acknowledged Holmes' original. Then Page threw in some eerie effects, bowing his guitar like a violin. Whereas a violin's neck is curved, a guitar neck is flat. Consequently, Page was only able to bow a couple strings at a time to produce an bizzare melody. When he bowed all six strings, the effect was startling. Strange moaning and whooping sounds were produced. This was a gimmick he had incorporated into his bag of tricks back in his studio days. He had first used it on two tracks on the Little Games LP, "Glimpses" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor."

To be fair, Page was a rock and roller in the 1960s, so maybe he just doesn't remember all that. And you have to admit that adamant self-glorification is a better defense than mewling about mixing up research notes!

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/06/time-to-get-the-led-out-in-court/feed 16 http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/axl-rose-to-get-in-the-ring-courtroom-with-his-former-manager http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/axl-rose-to-get-in-the-ring-courtroom-with-his-former-manager#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 09:40:42 +0000 Maura Johnston http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/axl-rose-to-get-in-the-ring-courtroom-with-his-former-manager Curmudgeonly Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has sued his former manager Irving Azoff for $5 million, saying that Azoff sabotaged sales of 2008's forever-in-the-making Chinese Democracy and tried to screw up the band's live itinerary around the release of that album in hopes that Rose would begrudgingly reunite with the probably more lucrative Appetite For Destruction-era lineup of the group, despite there being many bygones to be bygoned on that front. The release of Chinese Democracy was certainly one that raised a lot more questions than it answered, and it would appear that this particular piece of litigation is something of an attempt to answer at least a few of them. Would Chinese Democracy have sold better had it not been sold only at Best Buy outlets, which didn't really go the distance as far as promoting the thing? Did it need Slash's guitar lines as a selling point? Or would it have sold better if it didn't sound like it had been labored over for 14 years?

The lawsuit will certainly shed a bit more light on one of the more murkily twist-filled (yet ultimately disappointing) pieces of recent rock and roll lore. But is something of a risky move for Rose as far as his future in the business goes; not only is Azoff his former manager, he's the guy in charge of the behemoth concert-promotion-slash-ticketing company known as Live Nation Entertainment — the end product of the recently approved merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Perhaps this is a sign that the man is, once and for all, done with the business. But if Axl does want to tour again while this litigation is going on, where will he play? Basement shows? Or just the basement of the John Varvatos store that sits where CBGB once did?

One thing's for sure: A sequel to this song is long overdue.

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]]> Curmudgeonly Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has sued his former manager Irving Azoff for $5 million, saying that Azoff sabotaged sales of 2008's forever-in-the-making Chinese Democracy and tried to screw up the band's live itinerary around the release of that album in hopes that Rose would begrudgingly reunite with the probably more lucrative Appetite For Destruction-era lineup of the group, despite there being many bygones to be bygoned on that front. The release of Chinese Democracy was certainly one that raised a lot more questions than it answered, and it would appear that this particular piece of litigation is something of an attempt to answer at least a few of them. Would Chinese Democracy have sold better had it not been sold only at Best Buy outlets, which didn't really go the distance as far as promoting the thing? Did it need Slash's guitar lines as a selling point? Or would it have sold better if it didn't sound like it had been labored over for 14 years?

The lawsuit will certainly shed a bit more light on one of the more murkily twist-filled (yet ultimately disappointing) pieces of recent rock and roll lore. But is something of a risky move for Rose as far as his future in the business goes; not only is Azoff his former manager, he's the guy in charge of the behemoth concert-promotion-slash-ticketing company known as Live Nation Entertainment — the end product of the recently approved merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Perhaps this is a sign that the man is, once and for all, done with the business. But if Axl does want to tour again while this litigation is going on, where will he play? Basement shows? Or just the basement of the John Varvatos store that sits where CBGB once did?

One thing's for sure: A sequel to this song is long overdue.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2010/05/axl-rose-to-get-in-the-ring-courtroom-with-his-former-manager/feed 5 http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/scalding-grease-normal-side-effect-of-undrained-mcdonalds-sandwiches http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/scalding-grease-normal-side-effect-of-undrained-mcdonalds-sandwiches#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:35:42 +0000 Dave Bry http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/scalding-grease-normal-side-effect-of-undrained-mcdonalds-sandwiches "When Frank Sutton bit into his sandwich, scalding grease 'flew all over his mouth,' a fellow diner recalled. Mr. Sutton's wife took ice from her drink and applied it to his face, but his lips blistered. When he told one of the employees, he testified that she said 'this is what happens' to the sandwiches 'when they aren't drained completely.'"
-Apparently, the obesity epidemic is not working fast enough for the folks at McDonald's, who are always coming up with new and better ways to hurt people with fried chicken. Makes those Olympics commercials suggesting the world's top athletes maintain their supreme physical fitness by eating french fries and chicken McNuggets seem even more insidious.

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]]> "When Frank Sutton bit into his sandwich, scalding grease 'flew all over his mouth,' a fellow diner recalled. Mr. Sutton's wife took ice from her drink and applied it to his face, but his lips blistered. When he told one of the employees, he testified that she said 'this is what happens' to the sandwiches 'when they aren't drained completely.'"
-Apparently, the obesity epidemic is not working fast enough for the folks at McDonald's, who are always coming up with new and better ways to hurt people with fried chicken. Makes those Olympics commercials suggesting the world's top athletes maintain their supreme physical fitness by eating french fries and chicken McNuggets seem even more insidious.

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