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Why is Bruno Mars not after Miley Cyrus?

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Altitude

Altitude

An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure.
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
11,161
13,993
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Denver, nee Austin
#1
Not sure where I'm going with this post and I don't expect a lot of people to come out as Miley Cyrus fans here.

But this new tune of hers called "Flowers" - I just checked, Bruno Mars does not have a writing credit on the tune as far as I can tell. How is that possible?

Robin Thicke and Pharrell got in hot water on Blurred Lines because it shares compositional elements with the Marvin Gaye tune. I hear it, though in that case I think it took a litigious Gaye estate to make a thing of what was probably a pretty normal level of cop.

Ed Sheeran "Thinking Out Loud" versus "Let's Get it On" - again the Gaye estate. A pretty obvious ripoff. I actually don't know how that lawsuit ended up, but any cover band who does one of those might as well throw in a verse from the other to make themselves look clever.

The one about Dua Lipa versus the obscure reggae band from Georgia is interesting. On that one I actually think the similarities are coincidental.

So, back to "Flowers." Sounds like the same chords in the verse, pretty much the same melody, and the lyrics not only rhyme but even contain certain of the same words in the same spots. Apparently Cyrus had been dating one of the Hemsworth brothers a while back; when they split he dedicated the Bruno Mars tune to her, and with this sing she admits it is a response. But no credit to Bruno Mars.

I don't get it. I figure Mars is chill enough to let it go and that's the only reason there hasn't been a problem. Balls out move for Cyrus though.

Chorus from Bruno Mars tune:

I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party 'cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby's dancing
But she's dancing with another man

Chorus from Miley Cyrus tune:

I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in the sand
Talk to myself for hours
Say things you don't understand
I can take myself dancing
And I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can

Discuss?
 
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#2
I have never heard either the Cyrus nor the Mars tunes you refer to, but just seeing those lyrics reminded me of this song that my old high school bandmate Seth J. Gussow wrote circa 1976:

"Wretched, treacherous, runny-nosed pig
Picks up a guitar and starts to sing
Indolant, ignorant three-chord moron
Turns his amp up and gets a hard-on
Needs a Marshall but uses a fuzzbox
What an idiot, he wears white socks
When he dances it's with his hairy hand
He's an a**hole, don't you understand?"
 
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#8
corinpills said:
Well, copyright is based on melody and, to a much lesser degree, chord changes. If you get into legal action based on somewhat trite lyric cliches, that’s a whole other level of who cares?
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Well...the 'LAW' totally disregarded that when it came to Blurred lines which had a different chord progression, totally different melody and lyrics. The only similarity was the drum groove....but I digress. Hey if Stevie Wonder himself said it wasn't a ripoff....it wasn't. The courts didn't ask him. You know.....jury of your peers? Not you regular every day person who said it sounded exactly like the the Gaye tune. Again....I digress.........


Carry on...
 
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#9
DWBass said:
Well...the 'LAW' totally disregarded that when it came to Blurred lines which had a different chord progression, totally different melody and lyrics. The only similarity was the drum groove....but I digress. Hey if Stevie Wonder himself said it wasn't a ripoff....it wasn't. The courts didn't ask him. You know.....jury of your peers? Not you regular every day person who said it sounded exactly like the the Gaye tune. Again....I digress....
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I'd never heard "Got to Give It Up" before that conflict, or never listen to it carefully anyway. Honestly, the more I listened to it, the more subtle similarity I heard. There is no doubt in my mind that Pharrell used it as a template for "Blurred Lines."

The question is whether the Gaye estate taking exception was reasonable. It was, at most, a tribute. I wasn't on the jury but I suppose the question would have been one of possible confusion, I don't see that.

Back to my OP though - this new Miley Cyrus tune is a sequel to the Bruno Mars tune, and contains (to my ears) enough elements from the Bruno Marts tune to suggest that Mars wrote it. I, at least, wondered that immediately the first time I heard it. But he has no writing credit. To me, that's an issue.
 
#10
Altitude said:
I'd never heard "Got to Give It Up" before that conflict, or never listen to it carefully anyway. Honestly, the more I listened to it, the more subtle similarity I heard. There is no doubt in my mind that Pharrell used it as a template for "Blurred Lines."

The question is whether the Gaye estate taking exception was reasonable. It was, at most, a tribute. I wasn't on the jury but I suppose the question would have been one of possible confusion, I don't see that.

Back to my OP though - this new Miley Cyrus tune is a sequel to the Bruno Mars tune, and contains (to my ears) enough elements from the Bruno Marts tune to suggest that Mars wrote it. I, at least, wondered that immediately the first time I heard it. But he has no writing credit. To me, that's an issue.
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I would have guessed that Bruno knew about it and that it was a "reply" to his song.
 
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#11
As far as lyrics go, the Mars "When I was your man" lyrics are archaic, patriarchal, selfish, and egotistical.

The Cyrus lyrics are independent, bold, and pro feminist.

While it is possible that the Cyrus lyrics are a response to Mars, "Flowers" upbeat rhythm differs from the Mars somber ballad/dirge.

The Cyrus harmonic progression and motion are also far more interesting than the Mars boring and static harmony.

Mars should be paying Cyrus a royalty if the song comparisons revive the somnambulant Mars song.

I'm certain that Cyrus would find this discussion amusing, at least for a short time. She's too busy to linger in it for more than a minute. But, she would appreciate the additional attention this discussion brings to her superior song.
 
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#12
A few years ago Miley wrote a song called "Midnight Sky" (for her Plastic Hearts album) that borrowed liberally from the melody of the Stevie Nicks classic "Edge of Seventeen." She wrote to Stevie in advance, sent her the recording, and asked for Stevie's permission to use it -- noting that she had an alternate melody ready to substitute if the answer was no. Stevie not only granted permission, but the two wound up becoming good friends. And when Plastic Hearts was released it included, in addition to Miley's "Midnight Sky," a mash-up of the two original recordings titled "Edge of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix)" on which the two collaborated. This might all be irrelevant to the Bruno Mars case, of course, but my bet is that he and Miley are good friends and that she published the song with his blessing.

BTW and FWIW, I really liked Plastic Hearts, which is much closer to the "rock" end of the pop/rock spectrum than most of her stuff. (One of the producers she brought in for this album had just finished up an album with Ozzy Osbourne.) And I have to admit that I really like the new album too, despite it being much more toward the "pop" end of that spectrum. The songs are very well crafted, and Miley's voice just slays me.
 
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#14
gln1955 said:
I think these things are kind of silly. It's pop music. Everyone is drawing from the same well, so sure lots of songs are going to sound similar.
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In general I completely agree, but in this particular case it is abundantly clear that Miley's song was written quite intentionally as a kind of takeoff or response to Bruno's; it definitely is not a coincidence. That's why I feel sure that he must've been in on it and that she had his blessing to release it.

BTW, the Bruno Mars song saw a big jump in streams and sales after "Flowers" was released. I don't think he is complaining....
 
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#15
If the "inspiration" person has enough money to hire lawyers, but not enough to be happy about their lot in life, then you could be in trouble. Other than that, you can get away with a lot of close sounding stuff.

Legally, what constitutes infringement is not a hard line - somewhere between "every note and word is the same", and "the two songs share one chord" is the turf on which things get discussed.

ACDC could probably sue themselves, and make a case either way.
 
#19
Lobster11 said:
In general I completely agree, but in this particular case it is abundantly clear that Miley's song was written quite intentionally as a kind of takeoff or response to Bruno's; it definitely is not a coincidence. That's why I feel sure that he must've been in on it and that she had his blessing to release it.

BTW, the Bruno Mars song saw a big jump in streams and sales after "Flowers" was released. I don't think he is complaining....
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This is the scenario I expected as well. And to the point a few have made, there seems to be more reason for artists to be appreciative when another tributes their song; there’s much more to be gained than lost. But you can’t account for the litigious nature of our society.
 
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#20
ShadowGroover said:
As far as lyrics go, the Mars "When I was your man" lyrics are archaic, patriarchal, selfish, and egotistical.

The Cyrus lyrics are independent, bold, and pro feminist.

While it is possible that the Cyrus lyrics are a response to Mars, "Flowers" upbeat rhythm differs from the Mars somber ballad/dirge.

The Cyrus harmonic progression and motion are also far more interesting than the Mars boring and static harmony.

Mars should be paying Cyrus a royalty if the song comparisons revive the somnambulant Mars song.

I'm certain that Cyrus would find this discussion amusing, at least for a short time. She's too busy to linger in it for more than a minute. But, she would appreciate the additional attention this discussion brings to her superior song.
Click to expand...
Does Bruno Mars owe you money or something?
 
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