songs that sound like other songs

A few caveats:

1.) Every band's probably got a song like this in their catalogue.

2.) Not a carbon copy by any stretch.

BUT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud4HuAzHEUc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji73VzXyGKE

“Government Center,” by The Modern Lovers sounds like “I Think We’re Alone Now,” by Tommy James and the Shondells. D’oh!

That new Jonas Bros. + marshmello song keeps reminding me of Air Supply’s Lost in Love

I guess this is more a direct copy but I only just realised that the Mario Kart Shy Guy Beach music is the theme from A Summer Place
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19yf447DDFg

John Darnielle has fun with it, but this thread is incomplete without, like, the discography of the Mountain Goats.

...and of course, I'm drawing a blank on examples. The best I can think of is "This Year" -> "Ox Baker Triumphant".

"Man on the Moon" by REM, and their track "The Great Beyond".

this is hilarious. short version: dude from Islands recorded a verse of a Julie Byrne song years ago, then quit music, then started doing music again, found his old recording of the Byrne song, didn't remember hers and thus thought it was his, finished it and put it on his new album. someone mentions it to him and he's like "holy shit!"

he's super apologetic, giving her all the money, etc. seems like an honest mistake / this story, to me, just screams "artist's brain":

https://www.stereogum.com/2151423/islands-julie-byrne-carpenter-prism-song-plagiarism/news/

(sorry if i missed this on another thread)

Wow, actually laughed out loud at that. Feel a little bad for the guy, but hopefully everybody gets out of it unscathed. Many years ago when I was trying to write songs, there was absolutely an occasion when I thought I wrote the best two lines in history and then months later it turned out to be from a song I had listened to dozens of times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2QxgoU00j8

I’ve heard artists unconsciously lifting lyrics or melodies from songs they forgot they had heard thousands of times but a complete cover might be a first… unless you count Led Zep?

Chromatics "Shadow" and Sonic Youth "Wish Fulfillment" have very similar vocal melodies. First time I heard "Shadow", it took me a minute to figure out it wasn't actually a cover of "Wish Fulfillment".

Lol just heard an Olivia Rodrigo song in a cab and like…. Wasn’t this already a song?? Like 10 years ago?? I genuinely feel like I’m having a psychotic break

— Claire Penis (@ZeroSuitCamus) June 18, 2021

I don't get the insistence some folks have that it's a "Misery Business" rewrite; the resemblance is so mild to me. (I sent it to a big Paramore fan for his pov; he was like - "I guess I hear it a little...")

Lorde - Royals
Paul Young - Love of the Common People

White Trash - Apple Pie
U2 - Mysterious Ways

I like the Lorde/Paul Young one btw. That's an interesting observation.

"misery business" and "good 4 u" are just pop rock songs with a similar chord progression in the chorus? really not very similar at all

oh wow at "wish fulfillment" / "shadow" though, never noticed that before

Another case of “they didn’t really sound that similar to me”: https://pitchfork.com/news/george-michael-estate-gives-lorde-its-blessing-over-solar-power-and-freedom-90-similarities/

low - "fly" / u2 - "moment of surrender"

The opening piano of the Sesame Street theme comes up various early 70's Dark Stars and uh, Big Boss Man, I know I've heard it outside the Grateful Dead too, but I can't remember where: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-WoSyMntfc

For me the opening piano of the Sesame Steet theme sounds like Van Morrison's "Blue Money."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dECPWpAlgaU

the opening piano from sesame street uses a pretty well-established blues piano cliche, can probably find a lot of songs that have that figure

not that close but i realised what low's "monkey" evokes for me is "bullet with butterfly wings"

nice, I thought when this song came up in my ABBA shuffle mix, there using that distinctive bit in Joan Arrmatrading's "Love and Affection" in the chorus. turns out it's a Waterloo deep cut, predating L&A by two years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvVngDm7IG8
ABBA • Gonna Sing You My Love Song

*they’re

and eh, *Armatrading

I always thought Slowdive's Souvlaki Space Station sounded like Art of Noise's Moments in Love.

xps opening piano of Sesame Street is strongly evoked by whichever is the slower jauntier version of "Outta Sight Outta Mind" or "Outta Mind Outta Sight" on Wilco's Being There

my mum recently claimed "like a hurricane" was a rip-off of "ruby tuesday" and i sort of hear it

Westbam feat. Nena - Oldschool Baby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7puT1EkWVZM

Bicep - Rever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynuTFCdICVM

that one guitar riff in tribe’s “dis generation” always reminds me of the intro to jeff buckley's “last goodbye”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0fpWz0wznw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt75y38J00s

It's not just me, right?

opening chord sequence of Breathe's "How Can I Fall" is basically "Purple Rain"

Good catch!

The guitar solo apes it for a second too.

God, I must have heard this song 1000 times in dentist offices or whatever, but I've never known the name of the band or seen the video. The singer dude is wearing the type of vest that my sixth grade girlfriend wore to the spring fling in 1990. Why did we never bring that back?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwZ4erdJZRA

I probably heard it for the last time in 1991 or something, and then one night at karaoke, my friend Mark decided to sing both this and "Hands to Heaven" two weeks apart. both have randomly been on my Spotify since.

now who wants to revive Jack Wagner?

That would be all we need

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avHsepGWgZ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdEIkkIqpk

"Gone away" by the offspring sounds like "mad world" by tears for fears, it's not at all subtle, i hope they sued.

Are there any Offspring songs that don't sound like other songs?

Hearing The Mission's "Severina" for the first time in about three decades makes me realise it sounds very much like Led Zep's "Achilles' Last Stand" if LZ couldn't play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbrziO-pxo

Faces - Ooh La La sounds like You Can't Always Get What You Want

Mashup? "You Can't Always Get What I Know Now" "I Wish That I Could Get What I Want" etc

Late to the party, but "Stacy's Mom" and "Just What I Needed." Found some mentions of this from 2004 on other threads
The Cars - C or D/S&D
Pazz, Jop

More connections here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stacy%27s_Mom#Music_video

Listening to "This Nation's Saving Grace" for the first, it struck me that "Paintwork" sounded familiar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxT6a0PavTo

Could it be Edwin Birdsong?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3AKrwna2C8

low - "laugh" and radiohead - "lucky"

oh wait i mean "the tourist" lol

speaking of 'the tourist':

"Horses" by Sea Oleena

Black Flag - police story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocKObK7QetM

逆鱗 - FISH STORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGzIOs4jjVk