Similar Songs/Songs that sound like other songs

Here's one! Wonderwall and Jumper.

Every song by AC/DC, every post-grunge band, Kings of Leon, Eagles, Chuck Berry, Van Halen, Dragonforce, and Coldplay all sound the same.

To say that about Chuck Berry and AC/DC is probably missing the point. Chuck Berry made music in a time where rock and roll music was first developing and every song by nearly every artist in the genre sounded the same. He was one of the first major players in the genre, though, so to deny him credit for that really ignores a huge figure in rock and roll history.

As for AC/DC, I'd argue that their music isn't exactly meant to be taken seriously.

what does the "seriousness" of the music have to do with whether a band's songs all sound the same or not? i mean, unless the gag is that all the songs are interchangable, i don't understand how that refutes the point

Look, Angus Young himself has said that AC/DC really only have five songs in their catalogue. Complaining about that particular issue at this point is almost absurd. Now, if you were to say the same of two or more songs by a band whose back catalogue is known for its heterogeneity...

Speaking of which, here are two very different Legendary Pink Dots songs with extremely similar verse melodies. Compare and contrast: "I Am the Way, the Truth, the Light" (1987) versus "Pain Bubbles" (2000).

Granted, I think that the connection is intentional here (in the vein of Wire's reworking of "Ally in Exile" as "I Don't Understand"), but I have yet to confirm this.

Well, maybe not the seriousness per se, but the artists themselves hold no bones about those songs all being bastions of originality. It's like if someone were to say that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" kinda sounds like "More Than a Feeling", which, yeah, it does, since Kurt admitted that he more or less swiped the riff from that song.

And, of course, both songs got the guitar riff from Louie Louie.

Which itself has a very common I-IV-V chord progression.

Isn't analyzing pop music fun? :D

might be a controversial opinion, but I'm going to say a good half of the songs on Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain

I don't think that's particularly controversial. I like JAMC, but it's hard to deny that their songs are a bit samey, at least at certain points in their career.

I know there's several artists I listen to whose music I love but I can't distinguish even one piece of music from the next.

Face the Facts by the Little Ones, Message in a Bottle by the Police, and Sets on Fire by Kings of Leon. I can't for the life of me tell those three songs apart.

Or these bands:

• Depeche Mode and Social Distortion
• Godsmack and Pearl Jam
• Radiohead and Head Automatica
• Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains
• Poison and the Beatles
• Madonna and Eurythmics

My mom is completely tone-deaf and wouldn't recognize most songs even if she heard the whole thing. She also completely fails to remember lyrics. ("I heard this great song a couple hours ago… but I can't remember any of the words from it. Or whether it was a guy, girl, or group. But it was really good.")

Those are...well, bizarre, to say the least. How is it exactly that Poison sounds like the Beatles and Madonna like the Eurythmics?

For that matter, how can Depeche Mode sound like Social Distortion? I think he's just messing with us.

I can almost see this happening if the only Depeche Mode song one has ever heard is "Personal Jesus". And even then, no.

thomwim might be having us on, i think

He has to be; anyone with any knowledge of those bands knows that at least some of those comparisons are complete politics.

I'll try to bring this thread back to reality: The main riff of Blondie's Call Me sounds like a non-metal version of the main riff of Black Sabbath's Children of the Grave.

Something that occurred to me while at work today: The main riff of Green Day's "Stay the Night" sounds a LOT like the solo in The Killers' "Mr. Brightside".

I've found that 'Sexy Back' sounds a bit like 'If Not For You', at least, the George Harrison version.

Y'all must be kidding.

I find Russian Red's The Memory Is Cruel kinda reminds me of Breakdown by Guns N' Roses, at parts.

Also, the horn part in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKhXfIKTqsM Mafia]] by the Asteroid Galaxy Tour vaguely reminds me of Smiles and Tears from the Earth Bound soundtrack.

These similarities may be entirely in my head.

Two very different songs may share the same key and rhythm, or perhaps similar melodies and tempi, even identical mixes and equalisation.

For example, the cycling electronics on HEALTH's eerie noise-dance track "Glitter Pills" remind me a lot of Jah Wobble's bass-line on Public Image Limited's post-punk dub jam "Albatross". Additionally, the key signatures are are in the same neighbourhood and both share the same sort of production aesthetics.

edited 1st Mar '13 8:11:50 PM by JHM

I heard Puddle Of Mudd's "She Hates Me" on the radio today, and I suddenly recalled how the verses have always reminded me of "Summer Nights" from Grease in a bizarre sort of way.

edited 14th Mar '13 6:35:14 PM by MikeK