Land Down Under

[Fletch]

had to get this off my chest...
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jud ... id=9753045

Objective listening reveals there's a resemblance to the children's song in some of the flute riff. It gives the sound a distinctly 'down under' feel and clearly an artistic homage to a cultural norm.

It is clearly NOT plagiarism. It's hardly a direct sampling from the original artist or anything of that sort. It even changes the notes into a minor key at one point. This is a clear miscarriage of justice, and they should investigate the judge's finances.

If this Judge is right, the UK should most certainly get royalties every time someone in the USA plays "My Country Tis of Thee"... which is to the tune of the UK's national anthem!

...and the USA should seek damages from Jimmy Hendrix for the Star Spangled Banner incident.

[flipya]

Agree, it's bullshit to punish every artist for using a riff borrowed from an ancient childrens' song.

I have noticed before that the flute in Down Under is inspired by the Kookaburra-song (we sang it in school at least once a week), but come on! You should be allowed to draw some inspiration from that, it´s cultural heritage. And so is Down Under, so it should get equal protection and rights

[Gareth]

now this scary.......as i was reading your post, Men At Work's 'Down Under' began playing on the local radio station (it is still playing)......!!!!

....the song became our 'unofficial' anthem during our victorious America's Cup campaign in 1983....or was it 1984...??

[flipya]

now this scary.......as i was reading your post, Men At Work's 'Down Under' began playing on the local radio station (it is still playing)......!!!!

Lol, I was driving through town this morning and traffic was particularly bad. Just as I put the car in neutral, realizing I was gonna be stuck for a while, the radio started playing ´Standing Still´ by Jewel