5 minute read
MUSICAL TIDBITS
A small collection of ‘sound bites’
Unless you’ve been under a rock or completely out of range of any media, you’ve probably heard that international pop star Ed Sheeran was victorious in the copyright infringement lawsuit leveled against him. This isn’t just a victory for Sheeran; it’s a victory for songwriters everywhere.
JOHN BARTUS
For elucidation and illumination purposes, copyright law basically dictates that the copyrightable parts of a song are lyrics and melody. That’s it. Chord progressions, rhythms, even song titles aren’t protected. I could write a song and call it “I Am The Walrus,” and as long as the lyrics and melody were different, I would not have infringed upon the Beatles’ classic. (Note to self: this is not a good idea.)
is the owner and operator of Top Notch Sportfishing in Marathon. His passions include scuba diving and enjoying the natural beauty of the Florida Keys.
This week’s weather looks to make for fantastic boating and fishing conditions. Light east winds will give you just enough of a cooling breeze, but not enough to make your boating experience uncomfortable with rough seas, so get out there and fish.
The mahi bite has not exactly been on fire this season, but that will change any day now. There have been a few mahi caught, but few and far between with any real size.
The black grouper bite has been good since the opening of the season on May 1, and the permit bite has also been good the past couple of weeks. This time of year, permit congregate on wrecks for spawning. Luckily for them, harvesting this species is prohibited from April 1 to July 31. However, sportsmen can typically knock this species off their bucket list if they put some time in to catch one this time of year. Drifting a crab above the wrecks where they congregate, using a ⅜ oz. jig head and lighter 20- to 30-pound fluorocarbon leader should land you one of these beautiful hard-fighting fish so you can get a fantastic photo.
The scattered sargassum grass has made live baiting and trolling difficult lately, but there has been just the right amount of wind needed to fly a kite. Using a kite to fish gives you more control over the placement of your baits and makes it less likely to have your live baits get fouled by sargassum.
Kite fishing is an extremely productive method of targeting pelagic species including, but not limited to, blackfin tuna, sailfish, wahoo, king mackerel and mahi. Several quality blackfin tunas up to 30 pounds were caught this week by the kite fishing method.
Several large schools of cero mackerel have been making their way across reef patches lately, making for a fast action fight that is fun to conquer on light tackle. Typically, when someone hears mackerel, they don’t think of sushi. Instead, they think of smoking it for fish dip because most mackerel species are oily. Cero mackerel happens to be one of my favorite species for sushi since fresh cero mackerel doesn’t have an oily or fishy taste. These mackerel can be targeted by trolling small shiny spoons along the reef or fishing live pilchards on light #3 wire.
The mangrove snappers are staging up and getting ready to invade the reefs in the next month or two. In the spring and early summer, mangroves are the primary snapper species targeted by reef anglers. You can use chunks of cut bait like ballyhoo, but if you really want a quality mangrove snapper, your best bet is to use a live pinfish on either a jig head or knocker rig. A 20- to 30-pound fluorocarbon leader with a 5/0 circle hook usually gets the job done. Use just a heavy enough jig head or sinker to get your bait to the bottom. Using too much lead can have you constantly re-tying your rig after getting snagged in the reef again and again.
Great weather and plenty of options for fish species to target only means one thing: Get out there and catch the fish of a lifetime – and have fun doing it. Tight lines, everyone.
To book a trip with Top Notch Sportfishing, call Captain Bill at 732-674-8323.
This most recent lawsuit was filed by the family of the late Ed Townsend, co-writer of the Marvin Gaye hit “Let’s Get It On”. The suit claimed that Sheeran stole the rhythm, chord progression, and other elements from the 1973 soul hit when he wrote his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud.” Perhaps the plaintiffs were emboldened by the really bad verdict in the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit leveled by Marvin Gaye’s estate against Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke — a verdict the jury got so unbelievably wrong.
This jury got it right. There were no similarities in lyrics or melodic structure between the two songs. Ed Sheeran testified in his own defense, and really made his case understandable to non-musical jurors. As he explained it, “(These songs have) dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords, which are also different and used by songwriters every day, all over the world. … They are in a songwriter’s ‘alphabet,’ our toolkit, and should be there for all of us to use. No one owns them or the way they are played, in the same way that nobody owns the color blue.”
Sheeran’s victory is one for all songwriters. Nearly all music is derivative; the building blocks are the same. Let’s move on to…
Singing in the rain. Taylor Swift really is a badass. When the threat of lightning delayed the start of one of her recent outdoor concerts in Nashville, she waited it out. Starting more than three hours late, she treated her audience to the full Taylor Swift concert they had paid for — even though it was pouring rain. Many artists would have called it and canceled the show, but not Swift. The love her audiences feel for her is certainly reciprocated, and she showed her love and appreciation big-time.
There are videos online of this concert showing a very soaked Taylor Swift playing guitar and piano and singing for the tens of thousands of fans who waited patiently in the rain. She certainly gave her all that night, staying on stage for the full show and finally wrapping up after 1:30 a.m. Swift fans are among the most dedicated in all of music, and she certainly showed her dedication to her fans.
Speaking of a performer who has inspired generations of dedicated fans, Willie Nelson recently celebrated his 90th birthday with a pair of star-studded concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Neil Young, Stephen Stills, George Strait, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Chris Stapleton, The Chicks, Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley and Snoop Dogg all came to jam with Willie and give him birthday props. Hollywood stars Owen Wilson, Helen Mirren, Ethan Hawke and Jennifer Garner all handled MC and introduction duties.
It’s a testament to the universal appeal of the Red-Headed Stranger that this diverse group of musicians all took the time to come out and play his party. Not to mention that if you put Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg in the same place — I’m sure anyone who even just drove by the Hollywood Bowl got a contact high from all the weed. It must have been one hell of a party. Happy 90th, Willie!
— Catch John each Monday at Boondocks, Wednesdays at Brutus Seafood, Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, and this Saturday afternoon at Dockside. Find his music anywhere you download or stream your music. www.johnbartus.com
