That Song Sounds Like » Update

CatrianiPlay: The Most Used Melody in Pop Music

Keith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:31:40 +0000

I now dub this “CatrianiPlay: The Most Used Melody in Pop Music“. Aside from “Pachelbel’s Canon” which is commonly referenced as one of the most re-used progressions in modern music the following songs all resemble a similar melodic structure. They are not necessarily note-for-note duplicates but they sound alike.

In my first post for this soundalike we saw Reuters reporting that Joe Satriani filed a copyright infringement suit against Coldplay claiming that the, “song ‘Viva La Vida’ incorporated ‘substantial original portions’ of his 2004 instrumental ‘If I Could Fly.’” Then just a few months later Cat Stevens publicly stated that “Viva La Vida” has some similarities to his epic 1973 track “Foreigner Suite” stating , ” [Viva La Vida] definitely sounds like it…It has such logical chords and the melody has to be what it is…” In addition Creaky Boards, a local Brooklyn band posted a clip on YouTube of their ironically titled track “The Songs I Didn’t Write” pointing out the similarities of “Viva La Vida” (apparently released long after Creaky Boards had been performing their song live).

Just when I thought I had all of the examples of this melody in modern pop music I was thrown two more by Paradojan followed by one more from Travis (who has recently submitted a whole slew of great songs). We can now add Mireille Mathieu & Patrick Duffy‘s “Together We’re Strong” (1983), Reamonn‘s “Tonight” (2006) AND Enanitos Verdes - “Frances Limon” (~~2004~~) (2002).

And now, in chronological order:

Cat Stevens - "Foreigner Suite" (1973)

Mireille Mathieu & Patrick Duffy - "Together We're Strong" (1983)

Survivor - "I Can't Hold Back" (1984)

Enanitos Verdes - "Frances Limon" (2002)

Joe Satriani - "If I Could Fly" (2004)

Reamonn - "Tonight" (2006)

Coldplay - "Viva la Vida" (2008)

Creaky Boards - "The Songs I Didn't Write" (2008)

I made a video too:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Corrections in video
“Frances Limon” was released in 2002, not 2004.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amores_lejanos

“Raemonn” is actually spelled “Reamonn

UPDATE: Young The Giant vs. Aztec Camera vs. Gwen Stefani vs. Weezer vs. Lita Ford

Keith — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:31:36 +0000

This is an update to Aztec Camera vs. Gwen Stefani vs. Weezer vs. Lita Ford

I heard “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant the other day and started thinking about the descending vocal melody heard in these other tracks. Enjoy.

Young Giant – “Cough Syrup” (2011)

Gwen Stefani – “What You Waiting For?” (2004)

Weezer – “Hash Pipe” (2001)

Lita Ford – “Kiss Me Deadly” (1988)

Aztec Camera “Somewhere In My Heart” (1987)

UPDATE: Radiohead vs. The Hollies vs. Reamonn

Keith — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:29:32 +0000

This is an update to Radiohead vs. The Hollies. Mirela points out Reamonn‘s “Only When You Sleep”. Wow. They are all quite similar.

The Hollies- “The Air That I Breathe” (1974)

Radiohead – “Creep” (1992)

Raemonn – “Only When You Sleep” (2001)

UPDATE: The Rasmus vs. Bon Jovi vs. The Decemberists vs. Tokio Hotel

Keith — Thu, 05 May 2011 19:55:30 +0000

This is an update to Bon Jovi vs. The Decemberists vs. Tokio Hotel

User “the zEBRA guy(dani_D_182)” commented

the tokio hotel song sounds like the intro of “not like the other girls by” – The Rasmus

Here’s The Rasmus song on top of these:

The Rasmus – “Not Like The Other Girls” (2003)

Tokio Hotel – “Don’t Jump” (2008)

Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” (1987)

The Decemberists – “Margaret in Captivity” (2009)

UPDATE: Huey Lewis & The News vs. Ray Parker Jr. vs. The Bar-Kays

Keith — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:36:51 +0000

Steve commented on Huey Lewis & The News vs. Ray Parker Jr and brings to our attention The Bar-Kays‘ 1967 track “Soul Finger”.

I took a listen and there is a definite similarity here. Even the kids singing “Soul Finger” reminds me of “Ghostbusters!”. Check out all three below.

The Bar-Kays - “Soul Finger” (1967)

Ray Parker Jr.- Ghostbusters Theme (1984)

Huey Lewis & The News – “I Want a New Drug” (1984)