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I found myself wanting to answer that all those uses were "fair" above, although I'm not sure if that's because I really think it's fair or if I'm aware of how problematic it is/would be if they aren't. For some reason also, I feel much more comfortable with a parody (say, Tina Fey on Sarah Palin) than I do with un-cited literary works (hello, David Shields). I imagine though that that is just about my WIERD upbringing (that WIERD was for you, Anne!) and not really reflective of my legal views. For me, I think "fair" and "fair use" are achieved by using or borrowing another's work, with credit, in a way that complicates or furthers your own work. Obviously most times this is not the case. I dunno if they had to contact Soft Cell for the sampling of his song but in my opinion they should, especially because it is a profitable venture. I contradict myself though, because I happened to love Shields, and he didn't really acknowledge everyone properly, and it was at his own profit. I suppose my real issue with 'fair' is that it feels like it ought to be respectful... and yet that is another ridiculous term that would need definition and I'm sure each court would treat differently. I think we are following pretty closely the prescription of the Constitution, and to it more closely would require a loss of our freedoms...something else the constitution might have something to say about.