Great works influence others.
Most of what’s created these days is usually built off of something created in the past. We can learn from these. Star Wars was mind blowing in 1977, but it might surprise you to find that George Lucas’ inspiration for it was based in part from Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (which may very be one of the greatest films I’ve ever watched, personally). We all danced to Rhianna’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music”, but her “mama-say, mama-sa” comes from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”, which in turn took it from Manu Dibango’s Soul Makossa. It doesn’t mean that the newer version erases the original – we can have both. It’s nice to see the origins of things.
Take Kraftwerk’s Computer Love (not to be confused by the 1985’s funk classic of the same name by Zapp, sweet in its own right). To listen to the first few notes, you’re instantly reminded of Coldplay’s “Talk”. I never realized that Coldplay used their music for that song. My mind was blown away here. For music that came out in 1981 (off the Computer World album), it’s a nice piece that practically predicts the future.
