Greatest Fake Rolling Stones Songs

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Inspired by Chuck's response to the "unheralded Stones songs" thread: actual deliberate fake Stones that we like. I propose:

Band of Susans, "Pardon My French"
The Soft Boys, "Rock 'n' Roll Toilet"
The Upper Crust, "Everyone's Equal" (their vicious variation on "Salt of the Earth")

others?

Douglas (Douglas), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:25 (twenty-one years ago) link

New York Dolls and G'n'f'n'R to thread

James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:31 (twenty-one years ago) link

"I Can't Get No Nookie" - The Masked Marauders
"Sweet Young Thing" - Chocolate Watchband
"Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:34 (twenty-one years ago) link

Mick Jagger solo output!

Millar (Millar), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

The Strokes - "Last Night"

Evan (Evan), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:45 (twenty-one years ago) link

Abba, "Does Your Mother Know"

Burr (Burr), Friday, 2 May 2003 03:48 (twenty-one years ago) link

Cornershop - "Lessons Learned From Rocky I Through Rocky III"

My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Friday, 2 May 2003 04:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

loads of Bowie songs -- "rebel rebel," "jean genie," or even "diamond dogs" would not have been that out of place on a stones album!

Tad (llamasfur), Friday, 2 May 2003 04:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Rocks Off" owns this thread

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 2 May 2003 04:48 (twenty-one years ago) link

that Roots/Cody ChestnuTT song

Al (sitcom), Friday, 2 May 2003 05:42 (twenty-one years ago) link

the stairs - when it all goes wrong
bobbyteens - rock and roll show (in the blatant ripoff category)
pretty things - the whole floogin' early catalog

Richard Hung Himce Elf, Friday, 2 May 2003 07:07 (twenty-one years ago) link

Strangely, nobody has mentioned Primal Scream's "Moving On Up". The ultimate fake Stones song.

And, yes, everything Black Crowes have ever made sounds like Exile-era Stones, only with Mick Jagger having been replaced by Rod Stewart.

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 2 May 2003 09:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

Another one: "Way Down Now" by World Party

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 2 May 2003 09:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

The entire Dandy Warhols back catalogue not to thread!

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 2 May 2003 09:21 (twenty-one years ago) link

Kiss, "Mr Speed"

dave q, Friday, 2 May 2003 09:29 (twenty-one years ago) link

David Kilgour - Today is gonna Be Mine this is kind of a satanic majesties request pastiche, but better!

pulpo, Friday, 2 May 2003 09:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

in fact it might be the best pop song I've heard all year

pulpo, Friday, 2 May 2003 09:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

Chocolate Watchband, c'mere a minute!

Cheryl Crow, git the fuckoutta here!

dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 2 May 2003 10:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

Bohemian Like You - the Dandy Warhols. They actually had to have a musicologist examine it and certify that it was not an exact copy of the Stones in order for their record company to release it as a single, so they wouldn't be open to lawsuits!

kate, Friday, 2 May 2003 11:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

There was this song in the 80s which sounded exactly like a Rolling Stones song: "Coming On Strong" by Modern English. Surprisingly enough, it was their only hit.

Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Friday, 2 May 2003 11:14 (twenty-one years ago) link

I didn't realize that "Melt With You" wasn't a hit!?

dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 2 May 2003 11:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "Magic Colors" fo shizzle.

nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 2 May 2003 11:35 (twenty-one years ago) link

Liz Phair-"6'1"

Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 2 May 2003 13:28 (twenty-one years ago) link

Replacements-"Little Mascara"

Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Friday, 2 May 2003 13:29 (twenty-one years ago) link

Abba, "Does Your Mother Know"

If the Rolling Stones had ever played anything like this, they'd have been jumped after the show.

dleone (dleone), Friday, 2 May 2003 13:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Hermaphroditos" and a bunch of other songs on Frank Black's Dog in the Sand.

o. nate (onate), Friday, 2 May 2003 13:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

For a while there, the Brian Jonestown Massacre WERE a fake Rolling Stones (and considerably more entertaining than the original).

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:21 (twenty-one years ago) link

Most Iggy Pop & James Williamson's "Kill City" album - the best Rolling Stones album after 1973.

Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:27 (twenty-one years ago) link

superstitous always seemed stonesish to me.
dress sexy at my funeral-smog(actually bill has a few that qualify)

thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

"superstition"..i meant

thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:48 (twenty-one years ago) link

Jonestown still is a great Stones!

Anyway, the right answer to this question is the Flaming Groovies' Flamingo and Teenage Head records.

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:51 (twenty-one years ago) link

Jonestown still is a great Stones!

Actually, based on last night's mighty fine performance, they're now back to being a great drone/fuzz/psych/gaze act.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:53 (twenty-one years ago) link


Replacements-"Little Mascara"


YOO R ONN CRAKK

jm (jtm), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:56 (twenty-one years ago) link

fvuck yancey!..otm

thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Friday, 2 May 2003 14:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

Boo to that, Ned! The last time I saw them I was drunk right be the stage and I kept antagonizing Anton, asking him to play "Dead Flowers." He said to me, "I'd love to play it. Fuckin' A! But these fuckers [motioning to his band] can't play shit." One of the guitarists heard him say that, and then it turned into a screaming match. The night before I saw them and Anton yelled, "Yalls haters, not lovers! You remember Kurt, Jimi and Jim? Well guess who's next?" And then he walked off stage. I love that man.

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:04 (twenty-one years ago) link

(and anyway, me telling anton stories ist dumb cuz the next 20 posts will consist of much better ones)

Another great Stones record: Verbena's "Souls for Sale"

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:06 (twenty-one years ago) link

Anton had his stroppy moments last night, bless him. I did like the fact he flatly called one song "Johnny Marr is Dead."

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

(okay, two more anton moments: one of my best friends spent a day with anton in cleveland trying to procure him some heroin (my friend finally gave up and just gave anton his own stash, bless his heart). another: anton supposedly beat the shit out of one of his bandmates recently using the old soap in a pillowcase trick. cuz the dude threatened to quit the band. way to convince him to come back, anton!)

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

All I am going to say is that almost NOTHING mentioned on this thread sounds anywhere near as much like the Rolling Stones (or anywhere near as good, for that matter) as almost all of the second Faster Pussycat album, *Wake Me When It's Over.*

chuck, Friday, 2 May 2003 15:29 (twenty-one years ago) link

Taime Downe should be some kinda genius, but. Then again that Newlydeads album didn't help his cause much.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:30 (twenty-one years ago) link

You best not be steppin' on the Groovies, Chuck!!!

Yanc3y (ystrickler), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

The first album is a total classic. I couldn't get into the second one.

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:32 (twenty-one years ago) link

(Faster Pussycat that is).

Mr. Diamond (diamond), Friday, 2 May 2003 15:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

Sex Pistols, "Did You No Wrong"

Burr (Burr), Friday, 2 May 2003 18:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

entire (double) album (includes cover of "Child of the Moon")
http://graphics.ink19.com/issues/march1998/covers/cheater_slicks.jpeg

Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 2 May 2003 18:02 (twenty-one years ago) link

Van Morrison - "Brown Eyed Girl"

zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Friday, 2 May 2003 18:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

Jesus and Mary Chain - "Nine Million Rainy Days"

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 2 May 2003 21:22 (twenty-one years ago) link

Abba, "Does Your Mother Know"
If the Rolling Stones had ever played anything like this, they'd have been jumped after the show.

More seriously, they'd look like hypocrites. I mean: Did Bill Wyman react the same way Bjorn does in those lyrics when he got to know Mandy Smith? :-)

Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 2 May 2003 21:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

The Berlin Brats-"Tropically Hot"

Arthur (Arthur), Saturday, 3 May 2003 00:07 (twenty-one years ago) link

a whole slew of early elvis costello songs could've been great Stones songs -- "you belong to me," "pump it up," "miracle man," "waitin' for the end of the world," "i'm not angry," goodly portions of get happy!!. with some exceptions, the more EC got away from sounding stones-y, the more he began to suck.

Tad (llamasfur), Saturday, 3 May 2003 06:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

ZZ Top - Francine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--dFfte8rs

brio, Monday, 18 March 2013 20:11 (eleven years ago) link

Stones Rip-offs Vs. T. Rex rip-offs, hommages & covers

brio, Monday, 18 March 2013 20:14 (eleven years ago) link

Southern Culture on the Skids - It's All Over But The Shouting

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Southern+Culture+On+The+Skids+It's+All+Over+But+The+Shoutin'

It's All Posable Colaboration (Dan Peterson), Monday, 18 March 2013 20:26 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIgB5Hmkugc

Thus Sang Freud, Monday, 18 March 2013 20:43 (eleven years ago) link

jonathan fire eater- "station coffee"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhYW2ZLAzeg

mizzell, Monday, 18 March 2013 20:44 (eleven years ago) link

"My Oh My" Sad Cafe

Mark G, Monday, 18 March 2013 20:47 (eleven years ago) link

Always thought "Dreaming" by The Izzys was primo Stones theft.

http://vimeo.com/52646765

Johnny Fever, Monday, 18 March 2013 21:10 (eleven years ago) link

Aerosmith have a few.....

m0stlyClean, Monday, 18 March 2013 23:08 (eleven years ago) link

I always thought that The Mooney Suzuki had a bit of 'Stones in 'em

this one especially

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqh5GqMFWJI

set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 00:00 (eleven years ago) link

Frank Kogan once suggested in one of his blindfold tests that this was imitation Stones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9wODxxFAjA

I love it, but I don't know. Maybe the Bo Diddley guitar--the vocals remind me more of the Who.

clemenza, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 03:16 (eleven years ago) link

The Cult - Love Removal Machine

Slash N Burn, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 09:41 (eleven years ago) link

Psychic TV - Godstar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1yr8w_vZ5E

TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 10:13 (eleven years ago) link

Drive By Truckers -- Marry Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlcOs3fCN3M

Brad C., Tuesday, 19 March 2013 13:38 (eleven years ago) link

^^ good call

set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 15:32 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgzYMF6T0VE

Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 20:16 (eleven years ago) link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgzYMF6T0VE
try again!

Dr X O'Skeleton, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 20:18 (eleven years ago) link

Came to post "Whiskey Woman" but Yancy got here a decade before me.

Johnny Too Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 21:14 (eleven years ago) link

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

your fretless ways (Eazy), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 21:24 (eleven years ago) link

A lot of Reigning Sound track, but this one gets the Brian Jones years down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz44VU2KyuQ

and I'm pretty sure this is how they'd have arranged this Stax record, too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXotMusTin4

I love how the murk mimics a horn section

bendy, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 22:06 (eleven years ago) link

Also this Alejandro Escovedo song, more in the late-Seventies mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NArdXSzO9Ew

bendy, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 22:09 (eleven years ago) link

Reigning Sound is a good choice.

Johnny Too Borad (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 23:00 (eleven years ago) link

Lenny Kravitz - Mr. Cab Driver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ8V-FktUNk

first one that pops to mind, surprised no one picked this up

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:29 (eleven years ago) link

The Only Ones - Lovers of Today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIaK0FwMos

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:29 (eleven years ago) link

Mink DeVille - Venus Of Avenue D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhaG-pqh-5Q

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:30 (eleven years ago) link

The Soft Boys - He's a Reptile

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

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:32 (eleven years ago) link

Sounds a hell of a lot like the Stones, and is great in its own right:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MRm-GcwgGQ

dlp9001, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:33 (eleven years ago) link

Kingmaker - Hard Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nusyN4kC83k

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:35 (eleven years ago) link

Dogs D'Amour - Billy Two Rivers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkXEZjn5QGc

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:36 (eleven years ago) link

k, last one for now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM6Roy62NTg

some people might disagree but the main riff and the maracas keeping the beat are totally stonish imo

cock chirea, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 00:39 (eleven years ago) link

Television, especially the early bootlegs when Richard Hell was still in the band, is pretty Stonesy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY6qIMMWcYE

brio, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 14:02 (eleven years ago) link

incidentally - looks like Richard Lloyd really digs YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/lloyd206

brio, Wednesday, 20 March 2013 14:06 (eleven years ago) link

New Radicals - Mother we just can't get enough

Heard it on the radio today and reminded me of the stones. The song's a bit of a mess and it overstays its welcome but I always had a soft spot for it back in the day.

Moka, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 05:22 (eleven years ago) link

one year passes...

Hearing Ryan Adams for the first time today and "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues" is an obvious attempt to sound like the RS. It's a rocking song but also pretty stupid.

Moka, Monday, 1 December 2014 05:48 (ten years ago) link

My oh my, Sad Cafe

Mark G, Monday, 1 December 2014 07:51 (ten years ago) link

four years pass...

Iggy Pop: "Fall In Love With Me"

a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 24 October 2019 05:26 (five years ago) link

MJ & MJ "State of Shock" (and it sucks)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co_xk00Q3lY

AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 24 October 2019 08:29 (five years ago) link

Been keeping track of songs like this here. Side one is more 70s/80s, second half more 60s

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ruR5qnI2ewAPw4HxxLGiv?si=UDayfk5GSmyAJuTIieebAQ

file of unknown origin (bendy), Thursday, 24 October 2019 11:48 (five years ago) link

Paul Revere & The Raiders: "Ups and Downs"

a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 24 October 2019 14:24 (five years ago) link

It's been ages since I played it, but DFX2's Emotion--a mid-'80s EP that Christgau give in an A, I believe--is very Rolling Stones-like.

clemenza, Thursday, 24 October 2019 14:39 (five years ago) link

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=dfx2

clemenza, Thursday, 24 October 2019 14:40 (five years ago) link

Arc Angels: "Paradise Cafe"

a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 24 October 2019 15:12 (five years ago) link

four years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tw_hbYYbbE-

Alarm: "Sold Me Down The River"

Paul Revere & The Raiders: "Ups and Downs"

― a bevy of supermodels, musicians and Lena Dunham (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, October 24, 2019 9:24 AM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

also, "Time after Time"

budo jeru, Friday, 12 July 2024 03:45 (five months ago) link

B-52s “Love Shack” is everything a later era Stones song should be.

Western® with Bacon Flavor, Friday, 12 July 2024 04:42 (five months ago) link

Another Paul Revere one -- "The Great Airplane Strike"

Listening to "Time After Time" rn -- It's a rewrite of their Pontiac GTO Judge jingle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUSg2WoX2XA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukOm8AuxLEY

B-52s “Love Shack” is everything a later era Stones song should be.


Well, Fred Schneider is only a skosh more camp than Jagger

Bad Bairns (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 12 July 2024 12:13 (five months ago) link

The Tommy Stinson songs that were tacked onto the Pleased to Meet Me box set are fake Keef Stones songs.

henry s, Friday, 12 July 2024 12:20 (five months ago) link

zz top - "it's only love"

the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili), Friday, 12 July 2024 15:02 (five months ago) link


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