Songs that Sound like other Songs (part 1 of 300)

You ever hear a song on your iPod/Zune/Pandora/radio listening machines that, after listening, you say: "That sounds EXACTLY like that other song--holy crap!" (also, there are still radio stations? really? I'll take your word for it, I guess.)

This happens to me all the effing time. Mostly, it's during the beginning of the tune, when you think it's going to be one song, but ends up being something completely different. I get irrationally irritated when this happens. Just ask the Velogirl--her eyes may one day permanently get stuck looking upwards after one too many times rolling her eyes at me when I point these instances out. I can't NOT get riled up.

I'm not talking about R&B/Hip-Hop hooks. Rap artists and producers are guilty of musical incest--and there are simply too many examples of "HEY! that's from THAT SONG" in the genre to even begin to cite. Suffice to say, many of their beats are iron poor and suffer from hemophilia, as they have married their cousins too many times, so to speak. The royal sample disease and all that. Moving on...

Today I will feature an example of this annoying phenomenon (at least to me) in the rock genre. Both are from earlier eras, as am I. So go screw if you want a 2010 version. Rest assured, I will be rolling one out before you in later installments.

EXAMPLE 1 (Click on the Links to hear/watch the tunes):

1. Sublime--"What I Got" vs. Beatles "Lady Madonna".

The melody for the verses is the EXACT. FUCKING. SAME. I mean, how do you get away with that? Better yet, how does one of your band mates not come up to you and say, "You know, that sounds an AWFUL lot like Lady Madonna. Maybe we should change it up."

Tatooed, smacked-out Sublime guy is dead, I know, and it's poor form to speak ill of the dead. But... shame, sir. Shame. It's not like you ripped a tune that was obscure--It's the Beatles. People are gonna notice. Sigh...this irked me when the song first came out, it irks me now, and it irks me whenever EITHER song is played. Not that often, I'll grant you, but...you get the point. SHAME!

Sorry, that's been festering for a while. Enjoy your humpday.