# Great use of samples in pop music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425 "2008-01-21T22:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/1 "2008-01-21T22:30:10Z")
What are some of your favorite uses of samples (riffs copied from another, usually older, song) in recent pop music? Mine would have to be [Someone To Call My Lover](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BVvEYqmXkWo) by Janet Jackson, which loops the opening riff from America’s _Ventura Highway_. This song has a great beat and wonderful vocals (though the line about the “funky car” is kind of awkward.) I think that is a very classy and graceful use of a great classic riff. On the other end, there’s that shitty song by Jessica Simpson that samples _Jack and Diane_ by John Mellencamp. That one does NOT make a good use of the song, in my opinion. In the world of rap, I’d have to go with De La Soul and their song _Eye Know_ which samples the horn riffs from _Peg_ by Steely Dan (actually I think it’s a replica, not a straight-up sample.) But it’s used very well. What are your favorites? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/2 "2008-01-21T23:03:59Z")
Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/3 "2008-01-22T00:59:23Z")
As much as I should dislike Rihanna - she embodies much of what I loathe with a passion in Top 40 music - I still love the use of **Tainted Love** in her second single, **SOS**. The song uses so much of the sample that it is probably more accurate to call it an hommage, but call it what you will, it’s damn catchy. ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/4 "2008-01-22T05:16:34Z")
**P. Diddy’s** Come With Me features **Led Zeppelin** ’s Kashmir. Don’t know if that qualities as pop though… ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/5 "2008-01-22T05:19:04Z")
No matter what you think of Vanilla Ice, Under Pressure is an awesome song. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/6 "2008-01-22T05:48:43Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] No matter what you think of Vanilla Ice, Under Pressure is an awesome song. [/QUOTE] Totally different songs. The Queen/Bowie version went ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Vanilla’s went ding ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Show Vanilla some respect. That ding is all original, baby. ---
**Author:** ![percussion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@percussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percussion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/7 "2008-01-22T05:56:04Z")
[QUOTE=Two and a Half Inches of Fun] Totally different songs. The Queen/Bowie version went ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Vanilla’s went ding ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Show Vanilla some respect. That ding is all original, baby. [/QUOTE] Every time I see the clip of him saying that it makes me cringe. Pay respect where respect is due ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/8 "2008-01-22T12:07:08Z")
Jill Sobule’s ‘Cinnamon Park’ uses the basic piano line for Chicago’s ‘Saturday in the Park’ to celebrate getting stoned at a park and listening to a battle of the bands. GREAT song made all the better for the sampling. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/9 "2008-01-22T13:03:41Z")
Spoon’s song “Back to the Life” is either sampling or doing an _incredible_ job of covering John Bonham’s drumbeat from “Black Country Woman.” It gives the song exactly the lurching rhythm it needs, so good on them for making it work. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/10 "2008-01-22T13:09:03Z")
It got him in trouble but Biz Markie’s steal of _Alone Again (Naturally)_ by Gilbert O’Sullivan was great. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/11 "2008-01-22T23:09:19Z")
[QUOTE=Two and a Half Inches of Fun] Totally different songs. The Queen/Bowie version went ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Vanilla’s went ding ding ding ding dingy ding-ding. Show Vanilla some respect. That ding is all original, baby. [/QUOTE] “It’s that itty bitty ching. It’s not the same!” Cracks me up every time. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/12 "2008-01-22T23:33:14Z")
Soho’s “Hippy Chick” samples the opening guitar riff of The Smith’s “How Soon is Now,” which is one of the coolest guitar bits around. But that was a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-use-of-samples-in-pop-music/434425/13 "2008-01-23T00:25:57Z")
I don’t know if it counts as a sample, but Billy Paul’s Me and Mrs. Jones started with a horn lead in that was the music from Doris Day’s Secret Love. I thought that was very effective. Also, Sublime’s use of Gershwin’s Summertime worked very well in that band’s work by the same name. It also contains one of my all time favorite gotcha lyrics, “I want to hold her…head under water.” I didn’t see that coming. ETA: Sorry, you asked for recent, but I am going to leave the post.