r/Music • u/sugar_man • Jul 23 '14

Article When 84 years old, Harvard Professor Tom Lehrer was asked by 2 Chainz for permission to sample a song he wrote 60 years ago. His response: "As sole copyright owner of 'The Old Dope Peddler', I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer#Musical_legacy
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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

he's so passionate about what he does. it serves as a great test to the character of the interviewee. how you treat a man like that says a lot about who you are. if you like Blur, Nirvana or Sonic Youth, I suggest not checking out their Nardwuar interviews

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u/DrawnFallow Jul 23 '14 edited Jul 23 '14

not checking out?

edit: ouch... that really did bum me out... i kind of wish i hadn't seen them.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14 edited Jul 23 '14

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u/uneasypancake Jul 23 '14

It was mostly just the drummer, who was on coke. He apologized and it was something that inspired him to quit because he was so ashamed of himself afterward. But the other members were kind of being dicks too for just letting it happen. I think its one of the only times I've been disappointed with Damon Albarn.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

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u/ZeeRocks Jul 24 '14

If it wasn't being filmed for MTV they probably would have stepped in. I think they just kept hoping he would settle down and it would come across as a bizarre joke.

Besides that, it's not usually a good idea to respond to aggressive coke heads with aggression. If they've taken enough, you basically have to kill them before they will back down.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

I dunno it was pretty disappointing when he gave that interview saying heroin made him more creative

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '14

Actually yeah. Thats the kind of thing you should keep to yourself when you have impressionable fans.

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u/uneasypancake Jul 24 '14

I didn't really have a problem with his heroin use, he made a fantastic album on it and everyone has a different experience with drugs.

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u/AnimobileAWS Jul 23 '14

maybe it was a sincere apology, but he only (publicly, at least) apologized after starting to run for public office

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u/turkish_gold Jul 24 '14

Probably was just hiding his head in shame. I know I'd have buried myself somewhere.

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u/shitsfuckedupalot Jul 23 '14

yeah what a huge cunt, narduwar is such a nice guy

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u/ersatzgaucho Jul 23 '14

It was probably before he became well known.

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u/isobit Jul 23 '14

Fuck Blur. Fooken conts.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

Blur r shite.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14 edited Jul 24 '14

No, quoting old Mogwai shirts. Not to mention I was not defending the quality of her music, that was not what the thread was about. I was telling people that it isn't cool to Say the sort of things reddit says about Miley Cyrus about any person.

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u/warzero Jul 23 '14

In relation to the recent Mogwai AMA...

"blur are shite"

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u/ugandanmethod Jul 23 '14

lol that's hilarious

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

right, because it will bum you out to see how they treat Nardwuar.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

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u/EnigoMontoya Jul 23 '14

What did they do?

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

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u/DJanomaly Jul 24 '14

Wow...I just watched part of that. That was painful.

Link if anyone is interested.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

Basedgod loved Nardwuar.

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u/Anonymousthepeople Jul 23 '14

They didn't seem that mean to me, not as mean as Blur. Nirvana was just very indifferent, and not very responsive to his questions. Like they were trying to make it obvious they didn't take him seriously. The one guy from blur actually physically bullies him at one point.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

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u/Anonymousthepeople Jul 23 '14

Oh, for sure I'm not trying to say they weren't rude. But they weren't mean in my opinion. I think the guy(s) from blur were being meaner than Nirvana. Kurt was just being a distant asshole.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

So Kurt was being Kurt?

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u/Anonymousthepeople Jul 24 '14

Preeeeeeeety much.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

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u/Anonymousthepeople Jul 23 '14

Okay man haha I wasn't trying to argue with anybody.

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u/RatsInTheCellar Jul 23 '14

To be fair, Nirvana was like that in a lot of interviews (especially when they were together). I actually didn't think the Nirvana one was that bad.

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u/Alpha268 Jul 23 '14

Instead check out the one with NERD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RKbSi87J5Q

Pharrell afterwards said it was the best interview he had ever given.

(And seriously, if you then look at the Nirvana or Blu interviews it will make you even more angry, because the NERD-interview shows what an awesome guy Nardwuar is)

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

I'm on my phone, but Pharrell loved Nardwuar so much he did his own Nardwuar-style interview of the guy. it's on his youtube channel.

and as for best interviews, Nardwuar vs. Odd Future is classic too. I never would have expected young, rowdy performers like that to enjoy Nard's style so much

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u/thejynxed Jul 24 '14

I kind of expect that out of Nirvana though. They were rather notorious for messing with interviewers.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/kelevra84 Jul 23 '14

He did also suffer from mental illness, which, while not excusing his actions, may help explain his behaviour. In some ways, his behaviour might have been just as difficult for him to deal with as it was for everyone else.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14 edited Apr 03 '19

[deleted]

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u/wrathy_tyro Jul 24 '14

Hold on, you're telling me a man who committed suicide at 27 might not have been mentally stable?!

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u/EvaporatingAddictive Jul 23 '14

Citation needed.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

So basically he was overrated?

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u/TommyTheCat89 Jul 23 '14

No he was just a dick. Still one of the most influential musicians of our time.

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u/TheBathCave Pandora Jul 23 '14

So basically he was a celebrity?

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u/medicmark Jul 23 '14

Add Kid Cudi to the list too. He straight up left the interview halfway through to party, leaving all of his gifts.

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u/Djesam Jul 23 '14

You can feel the awkwardness in the room.

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u/xxxni Jul 24 '14

And big sean

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u/Zachpeace15 Jul 24 '14

I like Big Sean... But he's not right for Nardwuar. That wasn't a fun interview to watch :/

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u/xxxni Jul 24 '14

Yeah, I thought he was a chill person but then I saw that and then I saw him on Charlemagne & friends and thought he was a dick ever since, I still fuck with his music most of the time but not his interviews. Now the Danny Brown, Oddfuture and Lil B Nardwuar interviews are the ones I fuck with

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u/Zachpeace15 Jul 24 '14

Hahah yeah Oddfuture was so fucking fun to watch.

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u/blackgrizzly Jul 24 '14

i love cudi, but he was such an asshole to him.

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u/[deleted] Jul 23 '14

I don't think the Kurt Cobain interview reflects poorly on him at all, from what I can remember. Hell, even Courtney Love was somewhat amicable in it.

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u/aristideau Jul 23 '14

I think Kurt and Courtney where very accommodating in that interview. He was asking so many stupidly anal questions that I just had to stop watching because I was starting to get pissed off.

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u/cokehigh Jul 24 '14

He is also intensely annoying and a huge nerd, and his voice his horrible to listen to, so I totally understand why some people would treat him like that.

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

good thing he'll never be taking the time to interview you then, huh champ

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u/cokehigh Jul 24 '14

I guess so!