Girl Talk Deconstructed Makes Strong Case as Original Work

Wired has created a really cool graphic that deconstructs all of the tracks sampled in a single song created by “mash-up” artist extrordinaire Girl Talk.

If the old-world gang of the RIAA et. al. would like you to believe that this combination of samples is, in fact, a copyright infringement of every single artist sampled and that Girl Talk should be stopped, sued and probably drawn and quartered.

If one can’t see how this re-use of existing materials hasn’t resulted in a wholly new piece of art then all art will have to be classified as theft.  I mean, if I use the 2×4 I got at Home Depot to build a stool, should I pay a royalty to Home Depot in addition to the original cost of the wood I rightfully purchased?