Compare and Contrast: songs that sound like other songs

It can’t be any coincidence that all young songwriters, when first learning how to play guitar and put together songs, come up with some insane melody or chord progression that blows your socks off. But after listening to one full bar it all sounds eerily familiar, as in it might possibly be the refrain from that one song by that one band that you wish you could remember because it sounds a lot like it. Sound familiar songwriters?

Well, this little experience seems to be shared by a lot more than your friends and their attempts at song writing. It seems to happen quite a lot in modern music and more often than not somebody is able to notice it. Sometimes a really good song is reminiscent of another good song and other times these similarities can come off as ridiculously abusive. Here are some great songs that sound like other great songs as well as a few that are guilty of blatant plagiarism. We could call this post “rip off artists" or "copy cats" or something else like that but the Content will just leave the verdict up to you guys. Enjoy comparing and contrasting, we await your swift judgments in the comments section.

- The Good -

[mp3] The Little Ones – Lovers Who Uncover
[mp3] The Spinto Band – Oh, Mandy
Both of these songs have been played to endless numbers on my iPod and even though there are hints at the other, I still love both of them.

[mp3] The Ronettes – Be My Baby
[mp3] The Pipettes – Sex
That drum beat and a manufactured girl pop band, how can it get any closer than that?

[mp3] Neutral Milk Hotel – Oh, Comely
[mp3] The Decemberists – Leslie Anne Levine
My favorite NMH song paired with the first song I ever heard by the Decemberists. No wonder I agreed with those kids making the NMH/Decemberist comparisons.

[mp3] Jens Lekman – A Sweet Summer’s Night On Hammer Hill
[mp3] The Ronettes – Do I Love You
Those little poppy intros on both of these songs are wonderful. I am not saying that this is a rip off but I sure did take a double (and maybe quadruple) listen to both of these lovelies.

- The Bad -

[mp3] Radiohead - Lucky
[mp3] The Din Pedals – Aliens
Just wait for that bridge in “Aliens,” its down right wrong that somebody thinks they can get away with ripping off the breakdown from the anthem of our generation. No wonder the Din Pedals got brushed under the rug long before anyone had even heard of them.

- The Ugly -

[mp3] Cat Stevens – Father and Son
[mp3] The Flaming Lips – Fight Test
Now I know that this is old news and that the Lips have begged for forgiveness in a way that only legitimate artists could (with royalties) but it is still crazy listening to this even if its not your first time.