"Endless Flight"

“We got an original new joint from Trey Songz called “Cant Be Friends.” “I’m telling ya’ll this song is hot; it’s classy, unique, and it will be a hit!”
　
These were the words of the V103.3 radio host. At the time, I was driving home from work and I had just tuned into the radio. I found it interesting; a new song from Trey Songz. I have to admit, he’s not one of my favorite artists, but his music is feasible. If I turn on the radio and happen to hear a song by him, I don’t mind listening. So, I tuned in and awaited hear this new, “unique” song. I listened for a minute. It began with an orchestra introduction; the sounds of violas and violins were quite evident. There was a nice R&B beat and rhythm, which was characteristic of Trey Songz. The lyrics began…it was a love song about a guy who wished he had never gotten involved with a past girlfriend and couldn’t bear the thought of being “just friends” with her. Yet, something was off. It was as if I had heard the song before. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I instinctly knew it wasn’t an original song.
　
When I had finally arrived home, I felt kind of irritated. In my mind, I kept thinking of that song. It wasn’t the lyrics or the extra instrumentals that I thought about; it was just the background orchestra. The sound of the background orchestra kept constantly repeating in my mind. It didn’t take too long to figure out what the source of my solution would be; YouTube, of course! I logged into YouTube and tried to find some kind of reference to where the unoriginal song came from. My results kept coming to a dead stop. I knew somewhere, out in vast communications media of the internet, where billions of people logged into YouTube, there was one individual in the world that knew about the original song. However, the solution to my problem laid right next to my laptop. It was a movie called “Babel.” I bought it because I thought it was the greatest movie ever created. I looked on the back cover and searched for my answer. There it was! I entered the name into the YouTube search box “Gustavo Santallola, Endless Flight.” I was right; Trey Songz used a piece of Santallola’s song to make his song “Cant Be Friends.” The only difference was that Trey Songz version was up-tempo, had a R&B foundation, and had lyrics. Santallola’s song was slower and was purely made up of an orchestra.
　
Yet, I caught myself.  I had committed a crime in the popular culture world. In some way, I had become a member of aestheticism. What does this mean ? Here’s the example: I had classified one singer as a “real artist.” and  another as a fake artist. Yet, how can anyone determine who is a real artist? There is no set of rules or standards for this kind of definition. Maybe it was the fact that Trey Songz is a mainstream artist that make me think that he wasn’t a real artist. Many artists have reused other songs and many more will continue to do so. This has become a norm in the music industry. Lyrics from other songs are literally and purposely recited in other songs, with the reference of the singer attached. I don’t find it original for artists to reuse lyrics. Yet, I can't define someone as a fake artist. Although I can’t be the judge of real music, Trey Songz swayed the masses once again. His song, “Can’t Be Friends” hit number seven on the Billboard charts for the R&B and Hip-Hop category.

If you were interested, this is Santaolla's version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHUMsNRvEIs

This is Trey Songz version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9lotWzKLIY