sampling

 if you sample something, it's because you couldn't easily make it yourself

don't lie to yourself and tell yourself that your clever recontextualization of a miles davis sample somehow makes you a jazz musician

it does not

and if your music becomes profitable, you owe some percentage of those profits to mr davis

1. if you could come up with that jazz lick by yourself, or that's what you're telling yourself to justify sampling it w/o credit, you would also have to own saxophone.  and a microphone.  and have recorded that saxophone on the microphone in a studio etc with accompanying technicians around to check the levels (of course, you could do this yourself)  -- but you didn't.  and moreover, it never occurred to you to set into motion this chain of events that would result in the creation of aforementioned sample.  you took a picture of someone doing something -- hey, that's ok, that's valid art!  that's just not being miles davis

2.  recontextualization is a valid form of art.  in fact, meta art like this is sort of the new thing, in this world filled with pre-existing art by our forefathers and benefactors of previous generations.  we grow up breathing and eating and existing in an ocean of complete pieces of art like plankton in the sea.  we don't really grow up around musical instruments.  but this cultural saturation of complete musical compositions is all set contextually within media, performances, and other art.  from birth we learn to assign emotions and historical/social/cultural significance to sound, to its timbre, to its source, etc.  the ability to take these pieces, a note that is no longer just a note imbued with texture, and tone, and volume -- but also with a historical and cultural footnote, with sonic alliteration provided by studio trickery and technology.  led zeppelin is a great example of this, maybe one of the greatest most famous bands ever ( i love them ) -- and almost all their music was them essentially recontextualizing music they had absorbed from around them, and doing it in such a way that it was completely reshaped into an almost unrecognizable new product.

 in summary, its ok not to be miles davis, although i agree, its also depressing.  but then, that motherfucker was sad as shit so, who cares.