songs that sound like other songs

*obligatory post about Elastica/Wire connection*

"Last" by Nine Inch Nails (on the BROKEN e.p.) recalls Queen's "Fight from the Inside" (down to a stolen riff). Trent's a big Queen fan, allegedly.

The first note of Cheap Trick's "Stop This Game" (on ALL SHOOK UP) is a slow fade-in that is purportedly the last note of SGT.PEPPER's.

The Sex Pistols' "Holidays in the Sun" ripped off The Jam's "In the City"

("Girl Like You" was Edwyn Collins, who's not shitty)

I hear a slight resemblance between the choruses of "Heaven is a Place on Earth" and Starz's "So Young, So Bad." Maybe it's just the chord changes.

I'm sure there are several other "Sweet Leaf" rip-offs that I can;t think of right now.

This is Smoke on the Water: Dun dun DUN, dun dun DUN-DUNN
This is Cat Scratch Fever: Dun dun DUN, dun-dun DUN

And hey, did anyone notice the resemblances between "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressure"?

You're shitting me. :-)

(Sorry. Listening to Sabotage at the moment.)

dsico

(Not listening to Sab right now.)

more terribly, the offspring's "get a job" and "o bla di o bla da" by the beatles have very similar choruses (try singing one over the other sometime, it's horrifying).

Furthermore, for the record: an obvious choice, perhaps, but Pulp's "A Little Soul" and Smokey R. and the M.'s "The Tracks of My Tears".

Other than that, the similarity of the intro to Cast's "Fine Time" and Guns'n'Roses "Paradise City" could be pretty confusing at indie discos in the mid-ninties, just when you're ready to blow the whistle and rock out with Axl, Izzy and Slash you get, "What's it all about? Do you really want to know..."

Shit.

I'm sure that's no accident, given Rick Rubin's appreciation for old school metal.

The Manic Street Preachers' "If You Tolerate This Than Your Children Will Be Next" was alleged to have ripped off the Stranglers' "Duchess," but I find that a bit of a stretch.....and I'm a much bigger fan of the Stranglers than I'll ever be of the Manics.

Then, of course, Nirvana stole the riff from Killing Joke's "Eighties" for "Come as You Are." Little known fact is that my beloved Killing Joke stole that very same riff from the Damned's "Life Goes On" (on the STRAWBERRIES album).

Big Black's "L Dopa" off SONGS ABOUT FUCKING is virtually indistiguishable from Killing Joke's "the Wait".

The Germs' "No God" ripps the opening riff off of Yes' "Roundabout," but that's more willfull desecration rather than theft (despite the fact that guitarist Pat Smear is an unapologetic Yes fan).

Oh, and dancing at Mother to retro-ironic white trash trailer rock last night, I realised that there's a Sloan song which is Foghat's Slow Ride down to a T, but I can't remember which one it is.

Butthole Surfers' "Human Cannibal" is "The Rose" by Bette Middler. Sing along. "Some say love..."; it's eerie.

I'm blanking right now....

hearing a new(ish) pulp song a bit recently, "got to have love" & i'm thinking this sounds a lot like "begging" by the 4 seasons. anyone else reckon?

As discussed on the John Stewart - "Gold" thread, it appears that FM gave Stewart carte blanche to take the instrumental of "Sisters Of The Moon" and turn it into "Gold".

"Atlas" by Battles sounds like Ween's "So Many People in the Neighborhood"

the human league's "darkness"/blue öyster cult's "don't fear the reaper"

speaking of the Human League, that reminded me of something I could sing along with Fascination a few months ago. Spent ages trying to remember then saw that I posted it here in January, ha

Sorry, I have a couple that I can't figure out exactly what they sound like - is there a more appropriate thread? The problem could be that they don't actually sound like specific other songs, but something more generic.

"Time Will Be The Only Saviour" by Bill Ryder-Jones (from 'Yawn') reminds of something by The Cure, especially during the opening, but I can't quite place it. Maybe it's just Cure-esque?

"Spike Island" from Pulp's latest 'More' reminds me of something by Arcade Fire from the later albums, but I'm loathe to go back to listen to the latter enough to work out what.

"The Village Green Preservation Society" - The Kinks (1968)
"O-o-h Child" - The Five Stairsteps (1970)

two debut singles -- the chorus of "soda pop" by the saja boys is note for note the opening verse of "jealous again" by the black crowes

tate mcrae's "sports car" sounds like ciara's "oh"

For a Nashville song, interesting that Maren Morris's Circles Around This Town starts out a lot like Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time."

I'm unfamiliar with The Eurythmics' debut album, but "Belinda" has a guitar riff that's the spitting image of "Public Image", and a strangely familiar vocal melody:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLNRGHFDlzQ

It has Elvis Ramone on drums! The rest of the album also has Can's rhythm section. Wikipedia says that Holger Czukay mimed the flute solo in the video for "Never Gonna Cry Again", but if that's Holger Czukay, I am Holger Czukay (I am not):
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EnzfkX6H9lE/hqdefault.jpg

My hunch is that it's Tim Wheater, who is the credited flautist. He's the spitting image of Rowan Atkinson. The band also performed the song on The Old Grey Whistle Test, with Annie Lennox also playing flute - she can play flute, which is something I was shockingly old before I learned it - and Czukay on French horn.

That is today's random dump of Eurhythmics facts. In the Garden is a good album that famously didn't chart anywhere because it was just too good.

"Ahead by a Century" by The Tragically Hip and "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" by John Mellencamp which came out only a few months later.

the way adrienne lenker sings “incomprehensible” in that song sounds just like the way paul westerburg sings “here comes a regular”

I was struck by a general vibe similarity between the theme song from Barbarella and the theme song from The Love Boat, and both feature a climax of sorts with the word "love" spread over two bars - sung by Bob Crewe and Jack Jones respectively.

Just realized Charles Fox was a co-writer of both songs.

mike oldfield's "incantations" part 1 is a direct homage to side 2 of tales from topographic oceans

I think Hammer Room by Mogwai really sounds like the daytime theme from the Tiny Wings game app.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nzDi2V6BOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShLX-4dfQfg

There's a minor Italodisco classic called "Over the Sky", credited to Alyne, but it's really a bunch of session musicians and a model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVqvfjLfsfI

The chorus bugged me for a while until it dawned on me that it's basically the same melody as Madonna's "Cherish", mixed with a bit of Mike Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow". Only it came out four years earlier so that's okay. It sounds simple enough - dah, dah-dah-dah / dah, dah-dah-dah - that it's probably ancient though.

my kid pointed out a weird one today when we were listening to Mirror Ball by Neil Young on the way to school —

Neil Young - “Act of Love”
Underworld - “I Exhale”

not sure if it counts as the verse or the chorus, but the bit of depeche mode's 'damaged people' that's all like 'when you're in my arms/the world makes sense/there is no pretense . . .'

brought to mind 'i don't know how to love him' from jesus christ superstar ('should i bring him down/should i scream and shout/should i speak of love/let my feelings out?')

Hello/Ace Frehley - "Back in the New York Groove"

Lou Reed - "Charley's Girl"

This barely counts - it doesn't count at all - but the 90s Heardle yesterday was Divinyls 'I Touch Myself', and although I got it on the first second or two, I also considered that it could've gone into Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday

the chorus to the verve’s “on your own” kinda reminds me of “I touch myself”

haha it's true!

today's was Guns n Roses "Don't Cry" which sounds like Miley's "Flowers"

which also sounds like Ace of Base "Beautiful Life"

Jorge Ben Jor's "Fio Maravilha" aka "Filho Maravilha" sounds like "All Along the Watchtower."

acid mothers temple "pink lady lemonade"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gVzqxH4qag

r.e.m. "life and how to live it" (first 15 seconds)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wbJbr6CaUw

Here's one - watching 70s Dr Who episodes and noticed the music suite for "City of Death" may have been subliminally stuck in Howard Jones's mind until the 80s when he added a nice piano intro to "Everlasting Love"

Particularly 1:50 to 2 minutes and a bit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kppa8Trnhoo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWPhbwYQlB0

huh, just heard the Jim Croce song and was like "This sounds familiar!"

Jim Croce - Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb85NvjbBm8

Pavement - Trigger Cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEs3vODGrE

Rosalia "Reliquia" and His Name is Alive "Cornfield"

Heard this terrible song on the radio - it's from a Paddington Musical -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO-4_BjoIig

but it sounds like Torn (Natalie Imbruglia) and also Photo of a Photograph by There I Ruined It
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxmKc0OhsnU

Somehow I feel like Madonna’s “Express Yourself” was a covert rewrite of “Fascination” by Human League. There’s no obvious link but I feel like they have the same bones.

Olivia Dean's "Nice To Each Other" sounds like Peter Bjork and John's "Young Folks"

Bjork - Hunter
Jay-Jay Johanson - Backstage

lol seems like everyone else on youtube has had the same reaction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZLCUx3YJ_0

Jäje Folke Andreas Johansson (born 11 October 1968),[2] better known by his stage name Jay-Jay Johanson, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, known for his melancholic vocals.

lol

Greg Brown, "Rexroth's Daughter"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz0MoB55x4U

Just realizing that the melody tracks very closely with "Shelter from the Storm"

She'd stand there in my doorway
smoothing out her dress
= She came up to me so gracefully, and took my crown of thorns

And say, "this life is a thump-ripe melon; so sweet and such a mess"
= Come in, she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm

Jackson Browne - That Girl Could Sing
Alan Parsons Project - Games People Play

XTC - War Dance
Travis - U16 Girls

Same verse melody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5OBajm9IBQ

XTC did actually want Lillywhite to produce Nonsuch at one point but he was too busy holidaying with Kirsty, denying him the realisation a half-decade later that he was effectively in the presence of one of its songs after all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXgjN_9Id88

David Byrne/Brian Eno - Regiment
Stereo MCs - Connected

The new Bruno Mars single has some backing “oh oh ohs” that sound identical to Junior Senior’s move your feet.

a lot of feller filler is indistinguishable from eno's "over fire island"

start of D:Ream "UR the best thing" just reminded me of "You're the one that I want" from Grease

Everybody recognizes the similarity between "Heaven is a Place on Earth" and "You Give Love a Bad Name," but "Heaven ..." also sometimes sounds a bit like "Kidney Bingos" by Wire.

Oh, and I assume it's intentional that Sabrina Carpenter's "Manchild" sounds like "What a Fool Believes," and also that the new Bruno Mars sounds like "You Make Me Feel like Dancing." I suppose interpretation is the new sampling? Sayer is used to getting ripped off on that front.

Wait wut?!?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxqreCG0htQ

GNR sounds so close that when you don't get the chorus it's downright shocking.

woah, not come across that before!

Was the riff from "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green" a direct influence on Guru Josh?

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

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

oops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2CIiES_xxk