cover version
21 tracksA new recording of a song by an artist other than the original. A cover can be faithful or transform the song's genre and meaning.
Melody
interpolation
3 tracks.
What it is
Re-recording a melody or lyric from an existing song inside a new one, instead of copying the original recording as a sample does. The borrowed tune is performed again by the new artist, and its writers are usually added to the credits.
Read more on WikipediaRelated concepts
hook
70 tracksThe short, memorable idea a song is built to stick with you: a sung phrase, a riff, a synth line. A hook is designed for repetition and usually arrives early.
sampling
25 tracksTaking a fragment of an existing recording and reusing it in a new one, as a loop, a chop or a texture. Sampling is central to hip-hop and dance music and raises questions of credit and copyright.
Hear it in these tracks
Robin Schulz
Sugar
Sun-bleached deep house with a soul hook: Robin Schulz builds a sweet, bouncing groove around Francesco Yates and an interpolation of Baby Bash's 2003 'Suga Suga', a number one in seven countries in 2015.
The Police
Roxanne
Sting wrote 'Roxanne' after seeing street workers near the band's Paris hotel in 1977: a plea to a woman to leave that life, set to off-beat reggae guitar and a tango-like rhythm, the A&M debut single that became the Police's signature song.
Portugal. The Man
Feel It Still
Portugal. The Man's Grammy-winning sleeper hit: a quick, swinging slice of psychedelic funk-pop that borrows its melody from Motown's Please Mr. Postman and rides one of the decade's most recognisable basslines.