Similar Songs - rip offs or inspiration

JBnaglfar

I am sure many of you are well aware of accusations of plagiarism, inspiration and plain ripping off of one song by another. The Joe Satriani v Colplay case is a fairly recent example, but not all are high profile, or go to the courts. Do you think that taking riffs from other bands can be a fitting tribute, a nod to acts that inspire, or just plain wrong? Of course, there may be a middle ground where outright copying is wrong, but a little reference to another song is fair game.

The reason I started this thread is my housemate came across this video and suggested that I check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXHuf5Oo3PY

Now that song was released in 1976. My immediate thoughts were 'holy sh1t, that riff sounds familiar' :pac: A classic Iron Maiden riff, 2 minutes to midnight in a song released 8 years earlier. Well, the two are fairly close anyway.

Here's another that I came across a few weeks ago whose main riff is in a very well known song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0SwXrajVHY

Recognise it?

Kansas - Carry on my Wayward Son

So where do you stand on a band using riffs from other bands' works? Thinking about it now, Led Zeppelin did a fair bit of this too. Anyone got any other interesting examples?

SirLemonhead

It's all just coincidence. That two minutes to midnight riff is everywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLxobHgcS2M

Power and the glory always sounded a little like it to me

And people always say this sounds like the wickerman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1kU63eHsMo

Wooden Jesus

Theres a rainbow song that sounds a lot like little wing. Cant think of the name of it though. I always think its a cover of little wing anytime i here it then get confused because of the different lyrics
Here it is - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZFKw3BhveI

JBnaglfar

SirLemonhead wrote: »

It's all just coincidence. That two minutes to midnight riff is everywhere.

I take your point, there is going to be plenty of coincidentally similar sounding riffs. But there is more to it than that in some cases. Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant in particular have pretty much made a career out of this (slight exaggeration). That kind of annoys me.

Then there are other cases where a band takes something from another song that is much more complex than a simple riff. Examples of this include the ending section Dream Theater's Goodnight Kiss which is extremely similar to the ending of The Wall by Kansas, or the intro to Benighted by Opeth which, as Mikael Akerfeldt jokes on Lamentations, is 'totally ripped off from a Camel song'. They could not be coincidence. It just seems more like these bands are letting listeners know who their influences are, and I enjoy finding that within their music.

MetalDog

http://www.cracked.com/article_18500_the-5-most-famous-musicians-who-are-thieving-bastards.html

Malice

One that always springs to mind is Zombie by The Cranberries and Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins. Both feature the same Em - C - G - F# chords in the main riff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQtLoJlQD6E

riffmongous

I love when you're at a concert and in the middle of a song the band throws in a little lick from a really well known song, that always gets me smiling, nothing wrong with a tribute

But when you get guys claiming someone else's music is their own and making loads of money off it, that sickens me. Just acknowledge it and give the credit where its due.

Motley Crue

A personal favourite of mine is the whole Metallica vs. Excel argument

Kirk Hammett told MTV in 1991 that he came up with the lick for 'Enter Sandman' one night in his house and called Lars Ulrich. He, or rather the band, maintain it's one of the oldest songs from those sessions. Judging by that logic (and the fact they released an album in 1988) it's safe to assume it would have to be 1989 or later that work began on Enter Sandman.

If this is the case, it's interesting that a Metallica manager was known to have visited a concert by Thrash band Excel, who in 1989 premièred their song 'Tapping into the Emotional Void' live in San Francisco (released that year on their album 'The Joke's On You' although the album did relatively poorly mainstream wise)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqMYZ3uqjqk

Dave Mustaine made reference to the fact that the song sounded relatively similar - alongside some other Thrash metal fans. I personally believe you'd have to be deaf not to hear a connection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2jfV1DzcuQ

120_Minutes

well we all know this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCaUDJ0hbBk

and hanger 18 is just ktulu sped up....both riffs by mustaine, and mechanix/four horsemen being the same song, different lyrics.

and speaking of tom petty, foo fighters last one "wheels" is very like learning to fly....and foos have a song called learn to fly!! eeeep!!

but you can also argue the same 4 chords are used in many songs..

Whiskeyjack

Sometimes I like to start playing and singing star star by the frames and switch in the vocals for Today by the smashing pumpkins to troll Frames fans.

Takemyscars72

Anyone else think the best of both worlds and living after midnight sound similair?(in the drum intro)

JBnaglfar

nah, the drums in Living after Midnight have an extra bass drum stroke per bar

Nolanger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpLLumawmQ

Metallitroll

whether its intentional or not as there's only so many musical avenues, some more common than others, and we all better get used to it now as nearly all possible avenues have been ventured down without meandering into meaninglessness, unless some sort of unbridled 'progressive' free jazz is your thing lol .. depends on the scope of exposure an individual has had, a vast musical vista will yield more similarities noticed

but i hear no greater examples than in adverts as the companies are faceless and as its not their profession are seemingly immune to such accusations, whether slight alterations to a melody but every sound replicated, or sometimes they just rework say a well known rock song as country or bluegrass or something or whatever, else you just get the feeling those artists have no morals. i try to avoid anything that could even potentially end up on TV, to save me the accusational stress

AhSureTisGrand

Two here from Radiohead... Don't care if this belongs in the Alt/Indie forum :pac:

The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies : Creep (the Hollies were credited as co-writers though)

Sexy Sadie - The Beatles : Karma Police



On a side note: The I-V-vi-IV progression (look up Four Chord Song on teh YouTubz) is ridiculously overused. It's in everything from Canon in D to Kids

Nolanger

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

Ash.J.Williams

I heard this song (white punks on dope - the tubes)

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

the verse really sounded familiar, and wrecked my head for a while!

it's damn similar to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW2AKkwJb_c

DoubleD

Here's the Doors, Kiss, Pearl Jam and Entombed all with basically the same solo beginning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HsT3iz__bY

Blue850

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyrdEa_-eMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yLVufAfby0

Numina

I always found this kind of curious and funny

Listen to the rhythm of the lyrics at 1:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRFJoUBP54o

And now listen to 4:26 in this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX_emYT4u-U

What makes this funny is the association that Manson and Reznor have with each other (for those who don't know, Reznor produced Mansons first album, which this song is from, and Antichrist Superstar). Reznor must have known when he was making Vessel that it sounded similar.

deman

riffmongous wrote: »

I love when you're at a concert and in the middle of a song the band throws in a little lick from a really well known song, that always gets me smiling, nothing wrong with a tribute

Dunno if it's always a tribute. Just a bit of fun. FNM do this quite a bit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho6pZqUNtko&feature=youtube_gdata_player