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The point of this thread is to link songs that belong to one band but feel like they are channeling another musician. It's tricky I know, but I can't be the only one who notices that it happens.
This thread will accept submissions by artists who clearly stole from other musicians like Vanilla Ice stealing from Queen's/David Bowie's "Under Pressure".
The song by Simian Le Breeze sounds like The Beatles wrote it. At 0:35 onward it's pretty amazing.
I also think a ton of Dave Matthews' Band's songs sound like that Led Zeppelin's Ramble On.
1:00-1:08 is especially similar. The way Robert Plant says the words, "Ah, sometimes I grow so tired" almost sounds like a dead ringer for Dave Matthews singing.
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I'm uncomfortable with the word "steal," in this context. it usually denotes a basic misunderstanding, by the listener, of what musical quotation and transmutation means.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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A band I like called Snowmine has songs that totally sound like they were written and performed by Grizzly Bear. But if you're not familiar with Grizzly Bear's fairly signature sound, that might not mean much to you.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: All songs sound like others, because 90% of all songs on the radio use the same 4 chords, with very little variation.
There is a lot of truth to that. Hell, I love to use the good old I-V-iv-IV myself from time to time but there are always rule breakers around too. This song breaks all the molds yet made the hot 100.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Every single Panic at the Disco song sounds like every single Fallout Boy song.
I'm not entirely convinced there are two separate bands.
Ha! I thought I was the only one. Also, I'm depressed because youtube doesn't work while I am in China.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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The band Jonezetta released an album called "Cruel to Be Young" that is one of my favorites of all time. There is a lot of variety to the songs, but one in particular - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM4t7B6ZPeQ "Paint & Picture" reminds me of Coldplay quite a bit.
Posts: 298 | Registered: Sep 2011
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: All songs sound like others, because 90% of all songs on the radio use the same 4 chords, with very little variation.
Gross simplification aside, yes. Even more amplified by the actual color-by-numbers studio process that literally uses the same templates to create multiple tracks by the same artist. With sometimes hilarious results.
That being said, there are a fair number of hits that don't follow this formula. Most of the Beatles after Meet the Beatles is an example (though not all). They are just ignored when the claim is made.
Of course, it's a little disingenuous to say that pop songs aren't original because they use the same chord structures. Those are structures are the underpinnings of classical harmony, and most western and near eastern music has been aware of them and their portability to different styles and contexts for literally thousands of years. It's a bit like saying Bach wasn't original because he used a keyboard.
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It's not like saying Bach wasn't original. Using the same 4 chords to write a song IS different than Bach writing chord progressions and avoiding minor sevenths so as to not get branded a heretic.
There are a few groups that don't follow that formula though. Much of Dave Matthew's band doesn't. There are others. Most of the big name pop stars though? Templates. Cee-Lo Green? A hack Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: It's not like saying Bach wasn't original. Using the same 4 chords to write a song IS different than Bach writing chord progressions and avoiding minor sevenths so as to not get branded a heretic.
There are a few groups that don't follow that formula though. Much of Dave Matthew's band doesn't. There are others. Most of the big name pop stars though? Templates. Cee-Lo Green? A hack
I think most of Dave Matthews band from the 90s doesn't even sound like the rest of DMB. part of what drew me to them was that all their music sounds different from itself.
Then they went mainstream with Everyday and were never quite the same after, though Groogrux came closest I think.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: It's not like saying Bach wasn't original. Using the same 4 chords to write a song IS different than Bach writing chord progressions and avoiding minor sevenths so as to not get branded a heretic.
There are a few groups that don't follow that formula though. Much of Dave Matthew's band doesn't. There are others. Most of the big name pop stars though? Templates. Cee-Lo Green? A hack
I think most of Dave Matthews band from the 90s doesn't even sound like the rest of DMB. part of what drew me to them was that all their music sounds different from itself.
Then they went mainstream with Everyday and were never quite the same after, though Groogrux came closest I think.
I'm with you. Dave Matthews Band is still my favorite group, but it hasn't been the same since Everyday (Which was a Dave Matthews solo album)
It's sad, but the change happened after his sister passed away. If you get a chance, go torrent the Lillywhite Sessions. The Lillywhite Sessions eventually became the Busted Stuff album, though in my opinion a lot of the emotion from the LWS was lost in translation.
It's ok, DMB has said they are fine with it. Hell, they are fine with people recording their live concerts and posting them on the internet.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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"Some Devil" was his solo album. "Everyday" was a band album. They came out close together though,
I actually liked most of SD. I also like what became Busted Stuff, though for a very long time I didn't.
I'm sad JTR never made the cut from the LWS to Busted Stuff. Thankfully the recording culture means we have lots of versions to listen to from live shows, but I feel like he doesn't play it very often.
You could make a whole album out of his unreleased music he teases and plays at shows over the years.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Slightly off the topic but it's related enough that I'll throw it out there that almost all of Weird Al's songs that aren't actual parodies are at least "Style Parodies" of different artists.
My nerd mind was blown when I found out, for example, that "Everything You Know Is Wrong" was meant to sound like They Might Be Giants.
Some of the style parodies are so spot on I hear arguments between people who say it's a genuine parody but can't agree on which song it's meant to be.
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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TMBG is so protean, though, that I don't know what a parody of their sound would be. You could do a parody of a particular era of theirs, of course. [Edit - that said, now I'm really curious to listen to Weird Al's parody of them.]
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Sorry for the double post, but I've always felt like TMBG's Greasy Kid Stuff was intended to sound like Bowie.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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The whistling sound I just made sounded an awful lot like any number of whistlings performed by other forum members.
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"Happy" by Pharrell was sung and written by Pharrell, but he wrote it for CeeLo Green, and if you listen to the song, it almost sounds like CeeLo is singing it.
Posts: 164 | Registered: Sep 2012
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quote:Originally posted by Thesifer: "Happy" by Pharrell was sung and written by Pharrell, but he wrote it for CeeLo Green, and if you listen to the song, it almost sounds like CeeLo is singing it.
I didn't know that but I could definitely see CeeLo singing it. It sounds like his kind of song.
Posts: 891 | Registered: Feb 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Geraine: It's not like saying Bach wasn't original. Using the same 4 chords to write a song IS different than Bach writing chord progressions and avoiding minor sevenths so as to not get branded a heretic.
Whichever music appreciation teacher told you that, consider most of what he/she said untrustworthy. Bach routinely used minor 7ths, for starters. And he was not the most adventurous harmonist of his era, others like Quanz and even Vivaldi were bolder.
And also, Bach routinely employed dance forms that *are* based on 3 or 4 chords. His second violin suite is a great example of that. It's all I IV V I, over and over again. He still gets pages of arresting material out of that.
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