Ever notice a song whose melody sounds remarkably similar to some other song? I seem to be afflicted by a birth defect that makes me notice these songs all the time. So I’ve compiled this list of songs that sound like other songs. In compiling this list, my goal is to present excerpts of the songs in question and leave any other determinations up to you, the listener. I make no claims that anyone here ripped off anyone else, because I (as a songwriter myself) have borrowed ideas and techniques from other artists many times. Those interested in the legal issues surrounding music copyright infringement and music plagiarism should visit Columbia Law School's excellent site on the subject. For some of these songs I’ve been able to find audio excerpts, others I haven’t yet found or gotten around to editing. I'm always looking for suggestions, as well (see the contact section at left). With each excerpt, I have attempted to present the part of the song that sounds like the other song, plus enough extra to present the song in the author’s context. Please note that I present these excerpts for study and research purposes only. I quote these excerpts the same way a book reviewer might quote a small section of a book for a review; this sort of use is within the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law. SIMILAR-SOUNDING SONGS NEW July 6, 2007: I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend by Lush vs. Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne I've been incredibly busy over the last couple of years with law school (and now studying for the bar exam) so I haven't had time to update with the many wonderful suggestions I've received. But I just had to update with this pair as it features one of my favorite bands, Lush, and one of today's biggest pop stars, Avril Lavigne. Here's the deal: Years ago the late-'70s/early-'80s powerpopsters the Rubinoos wrote and recorded a song called "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend." In 1996, a version by Lush appeared on their album Topolino, which was a compilation of b-sides and out-takes from the sessions that produced their Lovelife album. Incidentally, Topolino was only released in Japan and Canada (home of Ms. Lavigne). Now the Rubinoos have launched a copyright infringement lawsuit. The Rubinoos web site has a link to a sample of their own version, but I wanted to include the Lush version, in part because it changes the word "Boyfriend" to "Girlfriend" and in part just because I love Lush. NEW August 30, 2005: Inbetweener by Sleeper vs. Superman by Five For Fighting This is my new favorite pair. Sleeper was a Britpop act from about ten years ago; I don't know much about Five For Fighting other than when I heard their song, I had to go home and listen to Sleeper. NEW August 30, 2005: Different Kind of Tension by The Buzzcocks vs. Bruise Violet by Babes in Toyland Everyone should be influenced by the Buzzcocks, so I'll assume this is a little tip of the musical hat to Messrs. Shelley and Diggle. NEW August 30, 2005: Tra La La by The Banana Splits vs. Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley You can't blame Bob Marley for quoting the Banana Splits on this for two reasons: one, it shows how an artist can take something out of context and make something wholly unique and beautiful, and two, if you're going to borrow you might as well borrow from the best––Tra La La is one of the greatest songs in the history of mankind. No joke. NEW August 30, 2005: Do Ya by Electric Light Orchestra vs. It's Too Late by Bob Mould If Jeff Lynne added a capo and dropped the string section, it might sound something like Bob Mould. Who would have guessed? NEW August 30, 2005: Watch Your Step by Elvis Costello vs. (Keep Feeling) Fascination by The Human League This one is all in the bass. Admittedly they aren't exactly the same notes, but every time I hear Watch Your Step I want to get all Phil Oakey and start singing "And so the conversation turned..." NEW August 27, 2005: John, I'm Only Dancing by David Bowie vs. Sacrilege by The Mission I've been trying to track down this pair for about fifteen years. I was a big Mission fan when I once heard a Bowie song with a guitar feedback outro that sounded just like the Mish's Sacrilege. Problem is, no one in the room could identify the name of the Bowie song. Fortunately, I finally heard it again. The difficulty may have been that there are three (at least) versions of "John, I'm Only Dancing" and not all of 'em have the same feedback at the end. At last I've tracked down this pair. Note that the songs don't sound much alike, but they end on the EXACT same feedback tone. Listen carefully. NEW August 27, 2005: Suffragette City by David Bowie vs. Loose Translation by The New Pornographers Here's another pair featuring a Bowie song. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the New Pornographers were paying tribute to Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson with the guitar tone on the intro to Loose Translation. NEW August 27, 2005: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison vs. Melissa by The Allman Brothers These two share a guitar pattern that starts with an E major and then moves up the neck with a few subtle variations along the way. Nice chords, those. Another great Liverpudlian, Marty Willson-Piper, uses the first two chords of this progression for his beautiful song "To Where I Am Now." NEW August 27, 2005: Let Me Down Easy by Chris Isaak vs. Take Me Home by The Tuesdays Say "please." Now say it with the same melody line in two different songs. Then take me home and let me down easy. Or was it the other way around? NEW August 27, 2005: In Between Days by The Cure vs. Pot Kettle Black by Wilco This pair has been suggested by many people. Getting out the old Cure CD to capture the audio, I was reminded how truly great this song is. The song is so perfect that it was difficult to bring myself to edit it; I did not want to mess with perfection. NEW August 27, 2005: Out of the Blue (Into the Fire) by The The vs. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven by Love and Rockets This pair isn't exactly the same, but it would make for a good mash-up. I'd do it myself but I spend enough time on this ridiculous web site as it is. NEW August 18, 2005: Blood Money by The Church vs. Isabella by This Ascension Reine Steel found this remarkable pair, and writes, "I noticed the guitar melodies in these two songs sound very similar. They came out around the same time so its probably just a coincidence." Way to go, Reine! Not only have you suggested a great pair, but one of 'em is a Church song, and I rank the Church at the top of my musical list. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll by Ian Dury vs. Last Child by Aerosmith Rob Butler sends in this terrific riff comparison. He writes, "I think the Aerosmith track was 1976 and Ian Dury track about 1977 (during the punk thing). I doubt if Ian Dury listened to Aerosmith, so it could be "great minds think alike" - but who knows?" Rob also made my job easier by sending me samples (hint, hint). Battlestar Gallactica Theme by Stu Phillips vs. Beastmaster: The Legend of Dar by Lee Holdridge I love it when other people do all the work for me. Dia Westerteicher writes from Germany, "Let's say Holdridge was young and needed the money." I love this one––but check out Dia's other submission below, too. Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho Theme by Bernard Herrmann vs. Re-Animator's Main Title by Richard Band Dia comes through with a second great pair. He writes, "The Prelude to Hichcock's classic (here in a version conducted by Hermann himself) ist still one of my alltime favourite pieces of film music. And also it's great in the updated version of Re-Animator's Main Title (by Richard Band). Mister Band called it a "hommage" after some journalists finally found out where they had heared it before. Well if a Hommage is a NOTE by NOTE ripoff with added computer generated basses he's probably right. In the 70ies we called things like this a disco-version" Thank you, Dia, for putting it so eloquently. Sloop John B by The Beach Boys vs. Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell No less an authority than Courtney Nore suggested this one and (no surprise) she's right. Notice the vocal line from "Rhinestone Cowboy" follows that of "Sloop John B" very closely. "Sloop John B" is itself an old traditional folk song from the Bahamas (via the Kingston Trio's version), so "Rhinestone Cowboy" author Larry Weiss probably had no fear of being taken to court over it if anyone noticed. American Girl by Tom Petty vs. Last Night by The Strokes I received emails from two people on this, Andrew Manning and Dan Jenkins. It's an interesting one because they aren't explicitly identical in any one way, but rather somewhat similar in a number of ways. Note the way the bass comes in, playing high on the fretboard. This also reminds me of something that the great Amoree Lovell once said: "Why is it that Tom Petty doesn't suck, but everything that sounds like Tom Petty does?" A Personal Favorite: For Love by Lush vs. Big Bang Baby by Stone Temple Pilots Right in the middle of an otherwise gritty rock song, STP suddenly goes into a bit that sounds remarkably similar to Lush’s For Love. Factory Girl by the Rolling Stones vs. Whip the Blankets by Neko Case The first time I heard Neko’s song, I said to myself, "Hey, her guitar player is paying homage to the vocal line from Factory Girl! How cool!" But then I asked Neko this when I saw her play live, and she denied any knowledge of it. Listen for yourself... Volumes by The Church vs. Ballad of a Comeback Kid by the New Pornographers Nineteen years separate these two songs, which aren't terribly similar throughout except for a few seconds when they briefly visit the same two chords. Then they become nearly identical (note the similar vocals). Rather small excerpts, I'll grant you, but this is the sort of thing that keeps me up at night and creating this web page has helped me to work through these issues and made me a better man. A Personal Favorite: Natural Grace by Ride vs. Led By Beauty by The Millions The Millions, from the USA, toured Europe in the fall of '94, when Ride was recording their album Carnival of Light. Could Ride have heard "Led By Beauty" and stolen the riff? Rather far-fetched, I think, but wow! What similarity! Never is a Promise by Fiona Apple vs. Oh Father by Madonna Fiona Apple's 1996 debut featured this lovely song that sounds like it could have been inspired by Madonna's "Oh Father" (which is even more lovely, in my opinion––but don't get me wrong, I like 'em both). The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin vs. Being Simple by the Judybats There’s a story that goes with this. A friend of mine asked me what I thought of the Judybats. One of the things I told her was that I thought their song Being Simple sounded a lot like The Rain Song by Led Zeppelin. Turns out she’s friends with a guy from the band, who sends me an email stating in no uncertain terms that the Judybats would NEVER steal something from Led Zeppelin, and furthermore, he didn’t know the Zeppelin song in question. Well, that’s just fine. I never said they ripped off Zeppelin, I just said the two sound similar. Hear for yourself. A Personal Favorite: Moonlight Lady by Iggy Pop vs. Lucky One by Amy Grant Maybe this is my favorite one here, I can't decide. I was at work one day, when a coworker played this song. I couldn’t believe it; it sounded just like an Iggy song! (Albeit a rather laid-back Iggy song.) Wild Hearted Son by The Cult vs. Lady Godiva And Me by Grant Lee Buffalo I kinda lost track of the Cult after they got all self-consciously rocking with their Sonic Temple album, but then about ten years later when I finally heard their '91 followup featuring the song "Wild Hearted Son" I noticed that it sounded like Grant Lee Buffalo's "Lady Godiva And Me" (from '94)––well, at least the middle part. "Lady Godiva And Me" is one of those odd little acoustic numbers that suddenly breaks into a big rockin' electric bit mid-way. Pay particular attention to the lead guitar parts in these two songs... Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 by Bob Dylan vs. They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Ha! by Napoleon XIV There's just no explaining this one, other than to say that Napoleon XIV is a one-hit novelty act who never did anything else, while Bob Dylan is, well, Bob Dylan. Both excerpts are from their respective songs' intros. If you ever have a chance, play both of these songs in their entirety at the same time. Funny as all-get-out. Somebody should do a mashup of these. Made A Fool Of You by 999 vs. Other Voices by the Cure Two bands I grew up on, and I only discovered this connection in the Spring of '03. Anyway, "Made A Fool Of You" is a B-side from the Greatest Prize In Sport era of 999's career, for those that haven't heard it before. Oh, and while we're on the subject, when I was a kid, lots of people thought 999 must be satanic because their name, turned upside down, was the dreaded 666. Just to set the record straight for all the daft Americans, 999 is Britain's emergency telephone number, like the USA's 911. Got it? Millions by XTC vs. Clam Caravan by Spinal Tap Okay, I'll admit that these two songs don't have a lot in common, but I hear some similarities in the fretless bass. That and the guitar solo that doesn't really go anywhere, which in the case of Nigel Tufnel is probably intentional and in the case of Andy Partridge probably isn't. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin vs. 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago Credit for this pair goes to Rich Claussen, who has a new gig playing the little blasts of prerecorded music at Cornhusker football games, so he ought to know something about musical excerpts. I think he's dead-on with this one. Making Plans for Nigel by XTC vs. American Gigolo by Weezer Here's one I just discovered: my co-worker Nate was playing this Weezer song and I immediately thought that some band was doing a cover of XTC's classic 1979 song "Making Plans For Nigel." Fortunately I've got my old vinyl copy of Drums and Wires here with me at work, so I captured the intro to "Nigel" for your listening pleasure. I think Pat Wilson (Weezer's drummer) is doing a little XTC homage here. Hot Legs by Rod Stewart vs. Lit Up by Buckcherry Rod sings "I love ya honey" and Buckcherry's vocalist sings "I love the cocaine", but it's the melody that really qualifies these two for submission. For another excerpt from "Hot Legs" that shows the melodic comparison even better, click here. Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen vs. Simone & Perry by Grant McLennan Ashley noticed this one when we were enjoying Grant's fantastic '94 album Horsebreaker Star. She said, "Hey, you know what that sounds like? That one song from Dirty Dancing!" Turns out she's right, as she usually is. Notice this one also features similar lyrics––"I've been meaning to tell you..." vs. "Simone rings and tells me..." Got a pair of songs that you think sound alike? Tell me about them and if I use them I'll give you full credit. (See contact info at left.) A few people have written me with suggestions, such as Will Rees, who notes the similarity between Jefferson Starship's "Jane" and Aldo Nova's "Fantasy." Will says, "It was unbelievable when it finally hit me. Even down to the keyboard parts." A fellow called Andrew Vause writes, "I've got a song in my head and I think the similarities between another song are remarkable, however I cannot find anything on the web to back this up. The two songs in question are "Drinking in L..A." by Bran Van 3000 and "Stole" by Kelly Rowland." Andrew also mentions that most of his emails lately go unreplied; that's probably because I get a bounced message every time I try to reply. Andrew! Fix your email! Brett Hansen writes with this very exhaustive list: Are You Gunna Be My Girl - Jet / Lust For Life - Iggy Pop Cemetary - Silverchair / Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins web in front - Archers of Loaf / jerks of attention - Jebediah she hates me - Puddle of Mudd / I saw your mommy - Suicidal Tendencies Start Me Up - Rolling Stones / Bohemian Like You - Dandy Warhols what I got - Sublime / Lady Madonna - The Beatles Come In Alone - My Bloody Valentine / Rocket - Smashing Pumpkins Cochise - Audioslave / I'm Broken - Pantera This is the new shit - Marilyn Manson / Hey Man Nice Shot - Filter nothing up my sleeve - Wilco / heavy heart - You am I Mobscene - Marilyn Manson / Be Aggressive - Faith no more We're In This Together - Nine Inch Nails / We Should Be Together Now - Powderfinger Bloodclot - Rancid / Can't Explain - The Who Father and son - Cat Stevens / Fight test - Flaming Lips Why dont you get a job - The Offspring / Obla di obla da - The Beatles Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears for Fears / God gave rock'n'roll to you - Kiss Someone named DT writes, "Here's a good one- Hear'say completely ripped off All Around The World by Oasis. Also, Oasis ripped of Shine-A-Light by The Rolling Stones for Live Forever." Thanks, DT. The great Amoree Lovell writes to tell me that "Shine Like A New Pin" by Camera Obscura sounds like "Take the Skinheads Bowling" by Camper Van Bethoven. Thanks, Amoree. Tate Mitchell writes, "My Bloody Valentine - that cool part after the first song on Loveless sounds EXACTLY the same as the slow part on Orion on Metallica's Master of Puppets. Like they were on the same lonely stretch of beach in Ireland and had their recorders on at the same time... in the misty rain." Eric Maly of Jakamahaka.com suggests “Knocks Me Off My Feet” by Stevie Wonder sounds like “Adia” by Sarah McLachlan. He says, "Listen to the choruses and you’ll be surprised Ms. Sarah got away with it." A fellow by the name of John Doe writes to tell me that "Boxcar" by Jawbreaker and "She's a Rebel" by Green Day sound alike. I was mostly excited by the notion that THE John Doe (from X) might be writing; unfortunately he explained, "The name was given to me by verizonmail because, to Verizon, I guess we're all John Does." Jgrant writes to say that "Trying To Live My Life Without You" by Bob Seger and "The Long Run" by The Eagles are similar. Jamie Kass suggests the riffs from "Last" by Nine Inch Nails and "Timebomb" by Godsmack are similar. "I am convinced Godsmack relentlessly and mercilessly ripped this riff straight from poor Trent's finest e.p.," he writes. Marc Ferree found my site on a search for the Lush/Stone Temple Pilots connection listed above. He then suggested Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" and Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." Keith Collins Reagan, Sr. points to similar riffs in the Cars' "It's All I Can Do" and Third Eye Blind's "Never Let You Go." Here's one I would love to verify but haven't heard yet: Jonathan Kandell suggests The Fall's "Shoulder Pads" and the theme from BBC's "Are You Being Served?" Andreas Eibach writes from Germany that Madonna's "Holiday" sounds a lot like ABC's "The Look of Love" (not to be confused with Burt Bacharach's song of the same name). I thought Andreas was right about this one, but when I gathered the samples I found them different enough that they don't quite qualify. He also suggests that the verse of Madonna's "Material Girl" sounds like the chorus of "You Should Hear How She Talks" by Melissa Manchester. This extensive German site is an excellent resource, although it does not contain samples. Another very extensive site is Inspired Indian Film Songs, which looks at musical borrowing in Bollywood soundtracks. Also, have a look at this archived discussion thread, which names some other interesting pairs. 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