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Re: If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,870) (80,879) by Andrew from UK Your argument is well constructed but rather misleading. Whilst a distinction between musical quotation and plagiarism is noteworthy, to even the untrained ear the Emotions singles and TGIFY sound so akin to carbon copies that "lifted" may be a suitable term. Whereas my intention is not to suggest Mariah a plagiarist, it would be much easier to not do so had she not paid people large sums to specifically state she had not acted dishonestly. Appropriation becomes misappropriation when dishonest - or theft. She didn't credit the plaintiffs. Given the absurd similarities, it is hard to believe that no dishonesty was involved. The truth may never be found so it is what it is. Hero is particularly confusing. The guy can obviously create a trail to whereby Mariah would have had access to the lyrics he alledges he wrote. But if he self-copyrighted and posted them to himself, why not just let a judge open the envelope? That Mariah's notebook shows the song written after the release of the movie for which she claimed it was is bizarre. Regardless, it's probably best not to try to justify Mariah's position and just accept that it is what it is and hope that no dishonesty was involved. (Friday 9 February 2018; 19:21)

Re: Mariah Blue-Spec CDs (80,876) (80,878) by Billy from Greece Once more, I appreciate your detailed response. Also, thanks for suggesting the other outlets. I thought Taobao was only for clothes, so I'll check that, as well as Fromjapan (though, I get what you mean about the "addictive" part of the whole situation ). I also agree about the difference when it comes to SHM-CD. I first became aware of it with Diana Ross's (wonderful) "Baby It's Me" album. I initially had an early 1990s CD, which had a thin and somehow metallic sound. The 2014 SHM-CD version, on the other hand, wow, what a difference. Everything was amplified, but not in a compressed way, and the sound was brighter (but not shrill). I also got a 2014 Japanese reissue of Teena Marie's (gorgeous) "Irons in the Fire," which is not a SHM-CD but compared to the early 1990s CD, it's like night and day. Amazing sound, there is so much more "depth" and clarity. Good to know that Janet's SHM-CD of "Control" shows improvement as I really want to get it for some time. Also, I've been totally mesmerized by "Charmbracelet" all over again lately but I've always felt some songs sounded somehow "compressed" ("Yours" for instance) or there was something going on with the mastering at some places, though this might as well be the way it was intended to be. So, I was hoping that the SHM-CD version would make it "shine" properly. Glad to know that there's at least some improvement. Once again, thanks for replying. (Friday 9 February 2018; 15:49)

Webmaster (80,877) by Betty from Canada Please update this day in history, thanks. (Friday 9 February 2018; 13:49)

Re: Mariah Blue-Spec CDs (80,872) (80,876) by tadatorao from japan This is long and is perhaps for Billy only. Others are of course welcome. Wow as you can tell that Charmbracelet is the one most sought-after SHM-CD among the Def Jam trilogy, I am sure you have known most everything in this niche market. I totally understand the regretful feeling of letting go of a rare item in eBay or any another site. I have done a quick search for you, there is still a factory-sealed copy in Taobao. Now, this Chinese website is never user-friendly for foreigners in terms of registration and payment. But that seller does accept credit card, most other only accept payment via local system (like prepayment in convenient stores which is very clumsy). You may try this seller. On the other hand, I still believe there is brand-new copies here and there in Japan. Occasionally they are available in Japan Yahoo Auction or online music stores. You can get the item via an online Japanese agent. I use Fromjapan. It takes a little getting-used-to. But once you are familiar with the system, what I worry most is that you might lose control in getting many items from there. To talk about the worthiness of the CDs themselves, well, I am not an audiophile, I listen with my cellphone mostly. But for Ms Mariah Carey, I am willing to listen and learn and pay for anything she releases. I still remember I paid USD12 for the Emotions maxi single when I was a poor high-school kid (age exposed.). As it takes so many years for Mariah to release an album or single nowadays, it actually gives my wallet a time to breath and I can now chase back for all those SACD, Blu-Spec and SHM-CD. Now, many say that these CDs are gimmicks only for record company to sell more. But the truth is, Japan reissue CDs regularly mostly for new buyers and they simply want to use the latest technology available. The re-release are set in affordable price, much lower than the originals. As all other craftsmanship in Japan, they are willing to try and fine-tune everything until they get the best result. The Japanese buyers themselves can absorb the reissues, the industry never rely on export. That's why I see that they are not necessarily milking the old fans, but just put out the records mainly for those who want to find albums that have been out of print, while taking the advantage of the latest technology. The audiophiles in most forums insist that there could not be any difference as long as the CD is manufactured with the same master. They claim a 1 is 1 and 0 is 0 in digital format, no matter what cutting method or material is used. But that could be an over-simplification, as it is not the "up or down of pits" that determine the 0 or 1; it is actually the "transition of pits" that matters. That means, up-up or down-down denotes a 0, up-down or down-up denotes a 1. That's why I believe the accuracy of data-reading does affect the sound quality, no matter how small the difference is. So, at the end of the day, I think it is our ears that matter most. I myself can always tell if it is a SHM-CD, even for those CD (such as Natalie Cole's Spanish album) which has not been released in regular format for comparison. Janet Jackson's RN1814 and Control were first released in the 80s, I can tell significant difference in these two re-releases. For Mariah's, the difference is very very subtle, almost non-existence for E=MC2. Charmbracelet being an earlier release does benefit a bit from the format improvement. As we are talking about the feel of hearing and not comparing the 0s and 1s, I think it is bound to use subjective terms to describe the quality. While some uses "clear", "crystal", "deep" or "warm" to express, "airy" is always the term I can best describe my hearing experience. To elaborate a bit, it feels like all the instruments and the vocal are placed in a more spacious world and everything has more room to stretch. Yes I hear things I never heard before especially when played in my computer too. I bet they are always there, but I just never noticed. Collecting the different versions have given me an ease of mind. I don't have to wonder if there is anything better out there anymore. This is only my personal thinking, and a voice like Mariah's totally deserves this. (Friday 9 February 2018; 03:42)

Re: If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,870) (80,875) by Special K from USA Well damn. Drops mic. (Friday 9 February 2018; 00:55)

Emotions (80,874) by Billy from Greece I listened to the whole album the other day after a while and realized that, while I love it, there is a feeling of "echo" throughout the whole album that I don't think is present on other MC albums and creates a sort of strange vibe. Has anyone else noticed that? (Thursday 8 February 2018; 23:32)

Re: If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,866) (80,873) by Hilton from USA Lol. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 19:59)

Re: Mariah Blue-Spec CDs (80,865) (80,872) by Billy from Greece Dear tadatorao, thank you so much for such a detailed reply. In fact, you've answered to a couple more questions that I've had in mind for a while. I have to day that I agree as far as SHM-CDs are concerned. I remember coming across a SHM-CD of "Charmbracelet" on eBay a while back and I regret not getting it as I cannot find any available copied anywhere, contrary to SHM-CD copies of Mariah's subsequent Universal albums. I've always wondered whether the SHM-CD format would do "Charmbracelet" more justice sonically. I also get what you mean with the "airy" quality. I'm not a huge audiophile connoisseur or get as deep as some people do, but lately I've been trying to locate the best sounding versions of CDs I love, as several times you can tell the difference. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 19:57)

Charmbracelet (80,871) by Billy from Greece This album has aged really, really well. Very artistic album. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 19:39)

Re: If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,866) (80,870) by CDC from CA Well, brazen rip offs have been the bedrock of music since Homo Sapiens pounded two rocks together in a deliberately timed sequence. So listen, appropriation in music is not new or unique to one artist and hardly Mariah Carey. Chuck Berry is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and can anyone name a single Chuck Berry song that isn't derivative of a musical phrase that existed before? Paul McCartney and John Lennon have spoken about lifting and modulating existing chords from every which kind of source one can imagine - from earlier rock and pop, to classical, to obscure experimental. This is just apart of the makeup of being a writer or even just someone with creative ideas. I've studied and worked in creative fields and I've always been encouraged to "copy" because to "copy" is to learn from and improve on. Which is why a lot of the legal recourse in intellectual property protection for the creative arts are problematic. Mariah finding a written lyric by somebody else and wiping original writer's name replacing it with her own proves malicious intent and therefore plagiarism. Mariah reworking, updating and modulating a bubbly disco song buoyed by strings and STAX horns - with new gospel organ and new jack swing keyboard tones and pauses focusing her upper register is musical quotation. BTW if you look hard enough in, say, Duke Ellington's catalogue I'm sure you'd find where the writers of "Best of My Love" found their inspiration for that song. But the conversation about musical quotation vs. plagiarism is a footnote in most of the best writers' careers. Mariah has 30+ years of material and some of her best lyrics are ones that only a fraction of her regular audience or plagiarism accusers care to discover. So a focus on lawsuits and settlements is moot. Bottom line is that she writes music that has resonated with people in every continent. Adopted as anthems for some. And thats what should be the point of focus when scrutinizing her songwriting credentials. Just some listening material to close: Mariah Carey - Melt Away (1995) *NSYNC - It's Gonna Be Me (2000) (Thursday 8 February 2018; 19:32)

Stripped/acoustic (80,869) by Edward from USA I'm making mp3's playlist of those acoustic/stripped versions floating around. If anybody know of any other acoustic/stripped versions other than the ones that have been posted here, please let me know. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 19:11)

Re: If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,866) (80,868) by Andrew from UK In Mariah's plagiarism cases it is hard to not side with the plaintiffs after listening to the tracks to which the comparisons are being made. TGIFY is way too similar to Just One Of Those Love Songs that it almost sounds like the same track. "I hear melodies in my head and people write them down for me" doesn't wash if what you're hearing in your head is something that you actually heard on the radio. But the whole Emotions project is marred by accusations of plagiarism, all three singles do actually sound almost like carbon copies of other songs. It did make me wonder if Mariah got desperate to follow up the debut album and not drop off as a one album wonder. One would hope that any wrongdoing was unintentional, but in terms of Emotions, for example, White said: "Sampling is one thing, but she lifted the whole song" and, well, he won the argument. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 18:39)

Yes, B (80,867) by Nikki from usa Show me a superstar with numerous hits that's doesn't have a lawsuit of copyright against them. Even Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On had a lawsuit against it. Mariah did initially have some issues with it when she didn't understand the legalities of it, but she made it right when she found out. She wasn't actually taken to court for Emotions, but the guy did a lot of hooting and hollaring. But, once that happens, the vultures come out to make a quick buck. This is a very sue happy industry and many lawsuits lack merit simply because they're trying to copyright something very basic that shows up in millions of songs. Over 1200 people claimed to create part of Hero. The one guy that made it to court couldn't even prove he ever had a song. Some were settled out of court, but most cases were dismissed. Mariah's been sampling for a hot minute, but she's been giving credit for awhile now. People who don't understand the biz are even claiming Mariah's no songwriter because she's has 6 songwriters with her for a song. They don't realize most of those are just crediting a music sample and not lyricists for her track. The Trackmasters said MC was a *b* to work with because she insisted on giving Shook Ones their due when they just wanted to credit Mobb Deep. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 17:57)

If we take our blinders off for a minute (80,866) by Edward from USA I don't understand how anybody could still justify her "Oops, I didn't know" for obviously carbon copying the melody for "Emotions". At what point is it Ok to take our blinders off and be objective? Last time I checked, even in Mariah's World, two plus two still equaled four. Some of the lawsuits against her are pure bullshit and she knows very well which ones, she obviously didn't settle for those. But those they settled for, well, it has happened in the music industry since forever. Yes, there's a possibility that you could use a melody that somebody else has used without knowing, but a whole effing song? Yeah, Mary Poppins, right. I guess Michael Bubble's only crediting Mariah for the lyrics of AIWFCIY because the melody on his take on of the song is slower. There. Is. Not. Justification. Ed Sheeran had to share credit on "Shape of You" with Candy Buruss because he used a sample of "No Scrubs", he basically carbon copied "Amazing", yes, almost note for note, for his song "Photograph", and again he was sued for sampling Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it Out" for his "Thinking Out Loud" song. If you listen to the songs, you don't need a judge to tell you he's as guilty as Mariah is for getting too emotional and doing the same for "Emotions". I love Ed Sheeran and I love Mariah, but at some point one must stop justifying the unjustifiable. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 17:02)

Re: Mariah Blue-Spec CDs (80,820) (80,865) by tadatorao from japan Hi Billy, or any lamb interested in the various versions of Mariah's CDs, I have just collected the Blu-spec CDs these days. Sony Music Japan released #1's in "Blu-spec CD" format early on 22 July 2009, and then all other albums except Merry Christmas in "Blu-spec CD2" format on 15 June 2015, exactly the same day #1 to Infinity was released. To answer the question whether there is any improvement in audio quality, well, most audiophiles will tell you that there is no difference as the data stored in the disc is the same as the original release. The difference only lies in the laser cutting method. I bet you can easily find all these technical information online. Indeed, Sony explicitly stated on the CD obi that the original masters are being used (that means 92-99 of the respective year in which the album was released). That means no new or extra data are stored in the Blu-spec CD. Personally, I don't find there is much difference. Anyway, there is an update on the Japanese liner notes and I myself is an obi fetch. I am willing to collect the Blu-Spec version nonetheless. That being said, #1's Blu-spec has already become a prestige item and you gotta pay a steep price to get one these days. Now, what I wanna tell is, CB, TEOM and E=MC2 have been re-released by Universal Music Japan in SHM-CD format on 19 September 2012. MCIIY was also available in SHM-CD format when first released on 1 December 2010. While most audiophiles claim that it would not be possible to have any improvement in this format either, I can assure you that I always can tell a SHM-CD from an ordinary one. The difference lies on the material being used. That means no extra data is stored on the disc, but the manufacturer claims that the material enhances more correct reading of data by CD players or computers. If I have to describe, I always find SHM-CD has a more "airy" quality. The ordinary CD has a more "solid" feel. The difference is more obvious in re-release of older albums, but I can still tell the subtle difference on CB, TEOM, E=MC2 which didn't require much improvement as they are released comparatively later. I also have the SACD of #1's. It is universally agreed that SACD is the best format as it does have increase in stored data. I might tell more when I have time to do the haunting task of transferring the SACD to digital data. Happy collecting. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 15:31)

Re: Can't Let Go (80,788) (80,864) by Jamie from UK I love Can't Let Go. Always been my favourite. Mariah herself even said in the original #1's album that she felt this should have been a number 1 song. Plus she sang a snippet at the Adventures of Mimi tour. And gave it some recognition on the Rick Ross track Can't Say No. So I don't think Mariah has forgotten this classic gem. I like that it's not given too much attention as I like how different it is to the rest of her songs at that time and that it's kept a bit more exclusive to fans. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 14:43)

Re: (80,861) (80,863) by Bill from the UK I think the majority were actually settled out of court, rather than being dismissed. I think Hero has been dismissed several times but the others weren't. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 11:21)

Re: Songwriters hall of fame snub (80,859) (80,862) by Bill from the UK I think Emotions and Make It Happen were settled out of court. Make It Happen and I Want To Thank You have the exact same chord progression and background instrumentation, albeit switched to a different key. TGIFY was accused of sounding too similar to Xscape's "One Of Those Love Songs". Hero has been well documented about the lyrics being lifted from elsewhere. It's Like That apparently replicates a song called "Sexy". I forget the artist and I've never heard the song. As I said, I don't really care either way about it but these instances probably all play a part in recognising somebody's song writing ability. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 11:19)

(80,861) by B from USA Best Of My Love obviously influenced Emotions but the chord progression is different. The cord progressions of Make It Happen are different than Alicia Myers' song. You can do this for almost every song. Can a chord progression be copyrighted? Haven't all of the suits, not related to the Emotions album/era, been dismissed in Mariah's favor? (Thursday 8 February 2018; 05:22)

Note changes she only did once (80,860) by 123 from USA I love this collection. I know she has to have a lot more. I'd be great to see more of this instead of lipping to original versions that she struggles with. These note changes are a testament to her musicality. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 05:15)

Re: Songwriters hall of fame snub (80,849) (80,859) by B from USA Keep in mind that in 1991 sampling was in its infancy. Wasn't most of those lawsuits dismissed? (Thursday 8 February 2018; 04:44)

Re: Songwriters hall of fame snub (80,849) (80,858) by Tevin from USA What song is compared with Hero or TGIFU, ILT in its sound? (Thursday 8 February 2018; 04:30)

Re: Quincy Jones (80,848) (80,857) by Mara from United States My my. I read the interview today too. He is spilling like mad. I guess his secret garden is no more a secret. Wow. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 04:08)

Jermaine Dupri is finally getting the credit he deserves (80,856) by B from USA This article diminishes Mariah's contribution to the writing of the songs she collaborated with JD on. Mariah had already written the lyrics and melody for Always Be My Baby before JD became involved and yet this article says he's responsible for that smash. I guess this is how they justify not inducting Mariah. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 03:52)

Re: Quincy Jones (80,850) (80,855) by RibbonB from USA Not sure my last post went through, but Pryor talks openly about a two week affair with a man in his autobiography. Pryor was very open and his ex wife also confirmed on Twitter. On another note, Tpain was mentioned in the Quincy interview and he confirms that his production on the PYT remake did suck. Lol. (Thursday 8 February 2018; 03:47)

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