Songs That Resemble Songs You Wrote But Never Released Because You Were Like 18 And Just Recorded on Cheap Tape Recorders, Anyway

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There's a melodic bit in Sam Prekop's "Dot Eye" (2005) that reminds me of one of the first songs I wrote, "Schizou Gangster Taps" (1995) -- I think we both use the word "obsession," too.

The verse of Death Cab for Cutie's "A Lack of Color" rips off my Casio-driven "Aluminum Sugarcoat" (1998) so shamelessly, it's unnerving.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 7 November 2006 23:38 (eighteen years ago)

I had just written and recorded a perfectly fine song about zombies when Johnathan Coulter's "We Just Wanna Eat Your Brains" became a 'net sensation.

Also, I sang backup on a song by a high school friend of mine with the anthemic refrain "Mama don't let the sun set on me tonight"; shortly thereafter came the big anthemic Elton John refrain "Don't let the sun go down on me."

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 00:28 (eighteen years ago)

Oh man, this happened *all the time* and still does.

Latest one: Davy Graham's "Blues Raga" so similar to my "India Tune" but to be fair to DG, my version was recorded at half speed.

Another: "Whatever" Liam Lynch" I did before as "Wanker". It's in the details, isn't it?

A friend of mine wrote a song so similar to "For Lovers" Wolfman/Pete Doherty, it's silly. We decided at the time it was pants but the tune was great, so wrote new words for it.

I could go on.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 10:38 (eighteen years ago)

I somehow managed to make it to my early twenties without ever having heard Dylan's Lay Lady Lay. When I eventually did, I was horrified to discover that it's based around exactly the same chord progression as one of my best compositions.

Bastard.

― Palomino (Palomino), Wednesday, 8 November 2006 19:14 (eighteen years ago)

similarly, wall of voodoo went forward in time 10 years to somehow acquire a cassette of my tune "for pecan," stole my chord progression, went back and recorded their international hit, "mexican radio."

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Thursday, 9 November 2006 20:47 (eighteen years ago)

There are some very odd similarities between the Decemberists' "16 Military Wives" and a song I wrote when I was 15 called "War and Peace". My song was even more embarrassing, however, and not as catchy.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 9 November 2006 21:06 (eighteen years ago)

I recorded a bizzare 'fuck with friend's 4 track' experimental pesuto-noise-industrial 7+ minute THING called 'You Broke My Face' when I was like 16-17.
i think I was pounding on a carboard box at one point over fake stupid pseudo-Pixies guitar and screaming.

In any case, I want to find it....and release it. I think 7+ years of tape decay/bleed may have improved it...

― The GZeus (The GZeus), Thursday, 9 November 2006 23:05 (eighteen years ago)

I just wrote and recorded a song for NaSoAlMo which Casuistry informs me has the same melody as a certain Juice Newton song we've all heard. Thing is, I can't even remember how "Queen of Hearts" goes except for the chorus. I think this kind of shit happens to me more now than it ever did when I was 13-16 and recording stuff in my garage with a little consumer Yamaha keyboard before I even learned how to play the guitar.

― martin m. (mushrush), Friday, 10 November 2006 09:56 (eighteen years ago)

Oh, the "stolen" melody is just the beginning of my verses which apparently is the same as the verses in "Queen of Hearts." The whole song isn't a one-to-one match or anything.

― martin m. (mushrush), Friday, 10 November 2006 09:57 (eighteen years ago)

There was some radio rock song a few years back that stole a lyrical trick I had in my 1995 "hit" "She Blows Me Away (Teeth Are Sharp In Places)" where the repeating chorus part "she blows me away" on the last refrain instead went "she blows me". I don't really remember the exact radio song or the lyric (it wasn't mine exactly), but the construct was too similar for me not to be all wtf.

― diebold with a vengeance (nickalicious), Friday, 10 November 2006 19:04 (eighteen years ago)

I see (on Later) Jarvis has nicked one of my song lines again!

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 13 November 2006 09:49 (eighteen years ago)

"His Name Is Alive" ... oh wait.

― Dear Cafes of London (kate), Monday, 13 November 2006 13:27 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

That bit in LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends" where he sings "If the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, and I still don't wanna stagger home" echoes my 1995 song "Stagebomb," with the line "If the sun floats away tomorrow morning, if the sun floats away tomorrow morning, if the sun floats away, you've only got one friend to blame."

― jaymc, Wednesday, 26 August 2009 14:26 (fifteen years ago)

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