# Sampling? Or revamping?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sampling-or-revamping/755278>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 21, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sampling-or-revamping/755278 "2016-05-21T03:12:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sampling-or-revamping/755278/1 "2016-05-21T03:12:39Z")

</div>

Several sites say Lil Hardin Armstrong’s “Oriental Swing” was sampled by Parov Stelar to make his “Booty Swing.” The two songs appear side by side [here](http://www.whosampled.com/sample/74896/Parov-Stelar-Booty-Swing-Lil-Hardin-Armstrong-Oriental-Swing/).

I say sampled schmampled. “Booty Swing” is just “Oriental Swing” gussied up a bit. Big ol’ drumbeat, horns like at the end of OS (approx. 2:45 in the video), order of verses changed. To my ear, BS is just a different arrangement of OS, and doesn’t even come close to being its own (different) song.

Am I mistaken, and this is what “sampling” means now? Or are these webfools misusing the term?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sampling-or-revamping/755278/2 "2016-05-21T04:03:33Z")

</div>

Sampling means digitally recording part of a tune. The sample is then used as part of a new composition.

People misuse it to mean _quoting_ a tune, which is when you physically play a bit of one tune as part of another, or _plagiarising_, or even _covering_ a tune.
