You're just not the girl for me!

I love that song.

Despite the obvious lift of a Cars riff (which is just fine, since the song they took it from stole a riff from a Beatles song).

(And does anyone else hear a similarity between the Spongetones song "Man With No Skin" and the Knack's "Lucinda"? Or the verse of the Badfinger song "Icicles" and the chorus of the Pleasers' "Change My Mind"? Or, as Frank Sisko once pointed out to me, the Joe Jackson song "Breaking Us In Two" sound exactly like the Badfinger song "Day After Day"? Or the Blondie song "Sunday Girl" sound just like Buddy Holly's "Every Day"?)

Only one I can speak to is Joe Jackson / Badfinger which I noted when it first came out.

Or Baby One More Time and Ooops I Did It Again...

That's different -- that's simply her label saying, "The last one sold great. Do another one just like it." Happens all the time in pop music. My favorite example being Olivia Newton-John's "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)", the follow-up to her song "Let Me Be There" sounds so much like its predecessor that I will often accidently sing the chorus of one to the verse of the other and vice versa.

No, I'm talking about songs like the Jackson 5's (and later Mariah Carey's) "I'll Be There" sounding identical to the Everly Brothers' "Let It Be Me"

Ok. I see what you mean now.


I read about a song in the mid 1980's called Ghostbuster. It was supposed to be a rip off of a Heuy Lewis song called I Want' A New Drug. Well, he sued according to what I've read, and he won. But guess what? I listened to the song by Huey and the song IWAND reminds me of an older song by Michael Jackson called Shake Your Body Down To The Ground from the 1970's...the horns in IWAND are the same as the bass line in SYBDTTG... maybe Michael should sue?

I'm not familiar with the Jackson tune -- I'll have to track that one down. I do know that part of the reason Huey Lewis won his suit was because he was originally approached to write a theme song for the movie Ghostbusters and refused. Lo and behold, the movie comes out and has a theme song that sounds identical to a Huey Lewis and the News tune...

First time I ever heard ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down", I thought it was someone covering the reprise version of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Well, until the vocals kicked in, of course.

I now have ELO's greatest hits. That's one of their best songs. As for Huey Lewis, that does sound suspicious. It seems like he deserved to win that lawsuit.

Supposedly, Ray Parker Jr. was told by the movie producers to come up with something along the lines of the Huey Lewis track. Don't know if that was true, but it's certainly possible.

Speaking of ELO, try comparing the riff on "Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle" to Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo."

Oh, yeah, definitely.

I was all prepared to get mad at Sugarloaf for ripping off the riff of "I Feel Fine" in the song "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" until they mentioned it in the lyrics.

Of course, Lennon admitted to copping the riff from the Bobby Parker song "Watch Your Step", but at the time I didn't know that.

Didn't Pearl Jam rip off Nirvana's entire catalogue?

No, they ripped off Motorhead's.

And then played it slower.

I've never heard of Moterhead. But I'm sure that Nickelback rip themselves off all the time. It's like they have one song and they rewrite it over and over and over again...

So did the Cars.

And REO Speedwagon.

Dunno if you'd like Motorhead. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4esUPN8SIs

Now imagine that being played at half speed and you pretty much have every Pearl Jam song ever.

I know of a couple of songs whose intros always fool me, but of course I can't think of a single one right now.

I love Fountains of Wayne. Adam Schlesinger is a killerriffic songwriter, and has written some seriously catchy movie music (like much of the music for That Thing You Do! and Music and Lyrics). A friend of mine dislikes the band because their songs usually rhyme, but that's okay with me. It doesn't have to be super edgy to be awesome. "Someone to Love" is one of my favorite songs of the last few years.

Edited to add that we met the band a few years ago when they were opening for matchbox twenty. My sister was on crutches after a sports injury, so we got into the civic center early, and ended up chatting with the band for a few minutes while they were killing time. They were all really nice guys and fun to chat with.

While we're on the subject of artists copying each other and/or themselves, I totally dig Adam's new band, Tinted Windows (with Taylor Hanson, James Iha and Bun E. Carlos), and the single "Kind Of A Girl" is really catchy. But musically, it's a rewrite of FOW's "Little Red Light."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlcMZJwZdEs[/youtube]

Great story, Lorie. Sorry that your sis was hurt. But it sounds like you had fun anyways.

Thanks. I don't think they're my cup of broccoli punch. But I get what you're saying. Eddie Vedder should be ashamed...

Vedder is not the Ace of Spades. He likes to think he is, though.

He's more like the Aaaaacccceee oooofffff Sssssspaaaaaaadeeesssss.

(Or the Jack of Offs...)