It has come to my attention from various sources that there is a saxophone epidemic on our hands. I think the interesting thing about it is that the saxophone has always played an odd role in pop music. You have your Kenny G., the late Clarence Clemons (of Bruce Springstein’s outfit), INXS’s Kirk Pengilly and a slew of other sunglass-wearing guys swaying in the background waiting for their time in the spotlight. I never really thought the saxophone was consider cool in rock and hip-hop but somehow it creeps in there from time to time. Is it making a comeback?
So I can’t decipher if today’s artists are using this instrument ironically in their music or not (I’m guessing a yes for Macklemore).
Let’s have a listen to some saxophone soundalikes:
(note: one of the producers on “Problem” is Max Martin. He has made numerous appearances on this site)
Some similarities here as well:
In a previous post I compared Macklemore vs. Le1f
I thought it was fitting to bring The Beastie Boys into the mix. Their song “Brass Monkey” features a sample from Wild Sugar. I included them both here:
And finally in I thought there was a hint of the melody and rhythm of C&C Music Factory’s famous track in Grande’s riff.
Attention! If you want to listen to 10 hours of THE MOST EPIC SAX OF ALL
then hop over to
Also worth checking out:
“The 25 most awesome saxophone songs of all time” at DeathAndTaxes
Nicki Minaj – Anaconda vs. Sir Mix-a-Lot – Baby Got Back
Yes, I noticed it too, but it seems to be a legit sample. Sir Mix-a-Lot said in an article that people expected him to be mad about the song, but he’s pleased. I don’t if he’s meant to be mad because he hadn’t given permission, but maybe what was actually meant was that he might be annoyed to have given her such a hit, like one of my lecturers at TAFE said the members of Canned Heat must have been pretty annoyed about Bryan Ferry’s Let’s Stick Together because it was a bigger hit than the original, but I have to say that it’s another opportunity to benefit from their song and “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”.
Alt-J – Huger of the Pine vs. Miley Cyrus – 4×4
Miley Cyrus – My Darlin’ vs. Ben E. King – Stand by Me
Miley Cyrus – We Can’t Stop vs. Doug E. Fresh – La Di Da Di vs. Rihanna – Pour It Up
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball vs. Gary Moore – Always Gonna Love You vs. Undo – Sanna Nielsen vs. [Roar – Katy Perry vs. Sara Bareilles – Brave]
Miley Cyrus – Adore You vs. Rihanna – Loveeeeeee Song
It’s important you know that Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty saxophone solo is a SAMPLE of Balkan Beat Box’s track “Hermetico”, which was released way back in 2007, aka BEFORE ‘Thrift Shop’.
While I don’t actually see the resemblance, it’s important to clarify so there’s no confusion.
I also suggest maybe using sites like whosampled to research your posts, as so many similar tunes might actually turn out to be covers or samples.
Hey, thanks for your tip on the Derulo track. 99% of the time I do my research to make sure nothing on the site is based on samples. I admit I got a little lazy with this one but wasn’t too focused on the similarity in the melodies, but more on the general idea of using saxophone loops in pop music.
As a side note I’ve been running this site by myself and before WhoSampled.com even existed.
Fair enough. I didn’t mean to offend or anything. I enjoy your blog very much.
This particular track really annoys me as someone who knew the original track before because people are familiar with the solo more than the rest of the song, and attribute it to Derulo even though that part is totally unchanged.
Just before I commented I searched the track on google and the first article was about a Klesmer cover of Jason Derulo’s Talk Dirty, which is like playing the melody to Dido’s Thank You and calling it a cover to Eminem’s Stan… the only difference is, Dido was credited in Eminem’s song.
No problem!
Talk Dirty also reminds me of Miserlou by Dick Dale (1962), the one sampled in Pump It by B.E.P.
Sorry, Miserlou is actually a Greek song dating back to at least 1927 and was covered by Dick Dale, but I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, because there are probably a lot of people who aren’t aware of the sample in Pump It.
http://robertacucchiaro.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/misirlou/
And this part of Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof (1964). I know it’s meant to sound Russian, but it’s meant to sound like the music of the Russian Jews or Yiddish people and thus probably owes a lot to Israeli music. Talk Dirty probably sounds like any Middle Eastern sounding tune. BTW, as you mentioned Eminem, here’s an article about him applying for a lawsuit.
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/6251646/eminem-sues-new-zealand-political-party-over-lose
If this page is gonna be littered with saxophones, might as well include Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street and George Michael – Careless Whisper.