There are two rules I use to sound original while "stealing":
*Never copy just one player, that's way to recognizable. The larger the number of the players you're copying from, the more original you'll sound.
*Play it your way, don't just copy everything.
I'm totaly against stealing parts of songs or whole songs. If it's a cover, that's how it should be called. It is possible that the quantity of familiar phrases in music today is what makes it so repulsive, at least for me. It has happened in the past, but today it's like a regular practice.
FEED THEM TO THE DOGS