Songs that sound awfully similar.

Mary Jane's Last Dance (Tom Petty) sounds a hell of a lot like Dani California (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Edit: Apparently there was even some controversy around this, with some people Red Hot Chili Peppers were guilty of plagarism.

edited 21st Apr '14 1:41:49 AM by Nintendork64

The chorus of Kraftwerk's Autobahn sounds a lot like the chorus from Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys.

Afterlife, by Switchfoot sounds almost like Busy Bein' Born, by Middle Class Rut.

Rainy Day Women #12 and 35 by Bob Dylan sounds just like The Rheumatism Blues by Gene Autry.

Overkill's Fear His Name seems to have a very similar main riff to Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls. While not a complete soundalike, there are very noticable similarities:

Metallica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg92QpjRcJk

Overkill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np5_A97I2BY

"The Only One" by Melissa Etheridge and "Black Velvet" by Alanah Myles start out sounding pretty similar (the latter came first). Not remotely a ripoff, because both are based around a pretty standard "blues rock" chord progression anyway, but it's sort of interesting to me that both also seem to be karaoke standards, especially for women with raspy voices. Whenever I see someone sing one or the other at karaoke, I can almost never tell which one it's going to be until they start singing.

Confessions sounds awfully similar to Bob Dylan's Ballad of a Thin Man (sorry for no link, I couldn't find a good quality version).

Here's one I wouldn't have thought of had it not been pointed out to me: the chorus of "Need You Now" Lady Antebellum sounds like the chorus of "Eye in the Sky" by The Alan Parsons Project.

Afrojack's "Can't Stop Me" resembles David Guetta's "Rest of My Life".

Also, Modest Mouse's "Dashboard" bears similarities to Shakira's "Can't Remember to Forget You".

Everyone says that One Direction's "Best Song Ever" sounds like "Baba O'Riley".

It really sounds more like Social Distortion's "Bad Luck"

When i first heard Busy P's Rainbow Man in a Google Play ad, I first thought, "Is this a remix of Lady Gaga's Do What U Want?"

Then I looked it up and it turns out Rainbow Man was released in 2007.

I'm having this problem a lot with recent music. Rixton's "Me And My Broken Heart" is Rob Thomas's "Lonely No More", Ed Sheeran's "Sing" is halfway between the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" and Gary Numan's "Cars", and even the verses of Enrique Iglesias's "Bailando" is the Offspring's "The Kids Aren't Alright" without the who-oas.

Didn't Rixton sample that song?

That's because, if I'm not mistaken, the opening is either a direct sample or interpolation of the keyboard line from "Baba O'Riley".

I know, but the chords make "Best Song Ever" and "Bad Luck" sound very similar, to me at least.

That, and only the intro really sounds like "Baba O'Riley".

edited 19th Jul '14 9:38:27 PM by WaxingName

The opening riff to New Feeling sounds like the riff to Have Love Will Travel.

• Fate - Chaka Khan
• Music Sounds Better With You - Stardust (samples the former)
• Love at First Sight - Kylie Minogue
• Dreams of an Absolution from Sonic '06
• Tik Tok - Kesha
• California Gurls Katy Perry
• Speed of Love - Owl City

Quite a progression, huh?

I don't hear it.

If not, listen to "Music Sounds Better", then "Love at First Sight", then "Tik Tok". Then go back to "Music Sounds Better", then "Dreams of an Absolution".

Slash's "World on Fire" and Bruno Mars' "Runaway Baby", particularly in the choruses.

If only I could learn how to use audio editing software, I think I could make a competent mashup.

It's probably cheating because both are by the same artist, but Listen to Me and Words of Love are almost exactly the same song. They both have Buddy Holly double-tracking his vocals, but more obviously, the two songs have the exact same instrumental riff.

Is it me, or do "Good Times Bad Times" and "Communication Breakdown" have a very similar structure? Both are in E major, both have the same chord progression during the chorus (A major to B major), and both have a "Intro-Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Solo-Chorus-Fade-out coda" structure; the only difference being that the former shifts up a tone in the second set of Verse-Chorus and even then, it returns to its original key once the solo starts, and also the fact that the latter is approximately double the tempo.

edited 24th Aug '14 12:17:24 AM by MrLavisherMoot

You know what else sounds like that song? Little Black Submarines by The Black Keys. On top of that, the latter also sounds a bit like Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

Undone (The Sweater Song) by Weezer sounds like All Star by Smash Mouth.

FFS this actually ruined the the blue album so now every Weezer album has like at least 1 crap song each.

It's not that similar, but the verses of "The Fame" by Lady Gaga make me think of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" by Yes - it's mainly in the guitar riff. If I can find an a capella of the former, maybe I'll attempt a mashup for fun.

edited 24th Aug '14 11:07:37 AM by MikeK