Live MY Life?

I was mindlessly singing along to that extremely overplayed song by T.I. feat. Rihanna, "Live Your Life" the other day and I found myself getting really upset. First off, Rihanna has participated in at least 6 songs where she rips off other people's beats, and in this case she even "samples" (more like steals) the vocals from the "Numa Numa" song.
**the songs she, or should I say, her producers, have ripped off:

1. "Disturbia" uses the beat from "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics
2. "SOS" rips "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell
3. "Sexuality" has Prince's "Controversy"
4. "Shut Up and Drive" took New Order's "Blue Monday" (you can even see the direct correlation on You Tube here)
   
5. "Umbrella" is "Zombie" by the Cranberries
6. And "Life Your Life" (though she only participates in the chorus), rips O-Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei" or more popularly known as the "Numa Numa Song"

Also, some suggest that even more of her songs are rips too, but these are the only ones I can verify. Perhaps her (or her producers') strategy is to take songs that were once popular and use their catchy hooks and beats to once again top the charts. Though not all of these ripped songs were huge hits, most of these songs are classics that many, if not most people (even those who weren't alive when they topped the charts) know. Take "Sweet Dreams" and "Tainted Love": I do not think it is a stretch to argue that these songs are timeless, and people could sing the words, or at least the hum the classic beats to these songs in their sleep. So, all Rihanna has to do is off set the beat by one or two measures and she has an instant hit. Ever wonder why her songs are so goddamn catchy? Because the songs she ripped off are too.

But I digress, my hate/love of Rihanna isn't even the original reason for my post. I figured out that, Rihanna and her horrible Auto-Tuned/synthesized vocals aside, the title of the song is a completely misleading and cruel imperative. Though the song is titled, "Live Your Life," the song is really more about the lives of the wealthy T.I. and Rihanna. It tells us to live our lives, and that "you're going to be a shining star/with fancy clothes and fancy cars" (or, excuse me, fancy ca-ars). What a horrible message is this? No, Rihanna, most likely I will never be able to afford the fancy clothes and fancy cars that you have, nor will the majority of people listening to you sing this shit on the radio. Oh, and T.I., though I am so happy for you that you can "articulate but still would grab a nigga by the collar quick ," that is not something most of us would strive for. So it sounds like you are telling us to live your life, not our own. Thanks for the great message which just perpetuates the depression of us Americans during this fabulous economic recession.

topic addition

Though I initially planned on this blog being solely dedicated to the critiquing and analyzation and praising of live sound, I decided (just this second) that I want my blog encompass all my thoughts in relation to music. This way I can analyze and discuss not only live sound, but also recorded sound as I listen to much more recorded than live music.