Good Vibrations or Misappropriations?

Erik den Breejen's "Smile"

Copyright is a hot topic these days, from the misguided SOPA and PIPA acts to the Cariou v. Richard Prince case that is currently working its way through the courts. Now Artnet reports that painter Erik den Breejen has received a cease-and-desist letter from the lawyer of Beach Boys lyricist Van Dyke Parks. Den Breejan’s recent Freight + Volume show, “Smile,” featured the artist’s series of works inspired by the album, “SMiLE.” The series included paintings of brightly colored blocks of the album’s lyrics from the album assembled into ocean waves, smiling lips, flames, and other imagery related to the album. It also included paintings of session worksheets and images that had no text, but were titled with song titles from the album.

So the question here is: What is included in a musical work’s copyright?