Green Day vs. The Kinks

Submitted by Mike Has Green Day been sued for this? Check out Green Day‘s  2000 hit single “Warning” and The Kinks‘  1968 classic “Picture Book”.

Green Day - "Warning" (2000)
The Kinks - "Picture Book" (1968)
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18 Replies to “Green Day vs. The Kinks”

  1. dxman

    “Warning” sounds so much more like “On the Dark Side” by John Cafferty or “R.O.C.K. in the USA” by John Mellencamp than “Picture Book.”

    Reply
  2. Travis

    not the first time green day went back to the 60s….check out green days “waiting” and petula clark “downtown” you cant miss it even some of the lyric is the same

    Reply
  3. Travis

    also for these 2 theres 2 others as well..one was already mentioned “walkie talkie man” the other is big and rich “love train”

    Reply
  4. Moses

    This one is pretty cool! The feel is almost exactly the same, although the chords are slightly different.

    Chord progressions:
    The Kinks: I – IV – bVII – bIII
    Green Day: I – IV – bVII – IV

    This one, then, makes the Kinks progression more original and brings Green Day’s tune into the same group as Mellencamp’s R-O-C-K In The USA (as dxman pointed out), What I Like About You by The Romantics, etc.

    Reply
    1. Mark Adams

      Yes, but although the chord progressions are slightly different, the arrangement is much the same, like with Should I Stay or Should I Go and What Makes You Beautiful.

      Reply
      1. Mark Adams

        Yes, it is reminiscent of Manic Monday, but also of Green Day’s own Walking Contradiction (1995), which sounds like Do it Again by The Kinks.

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        1. Mark Adams

          And the riff from Last of the Steam Powered Trains by The Kinks (1968) sounds like that of Smokestack Lightning. I think the songs are on a similar theme too.

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        2. Mark Adams

          They really were Kinks fans, as demonstrated by this, Alligator, which sounds like You Really Got Me (1964) and Red Tide, which sounds like Tired of Waiting for You (1964), both off of Stop, Drop and Roll in 2008, when they were going by the name: Foxboro Hottubs. That album completely refutes the idea I had of the similarities often being accidental, with 27th Ave. Shuffle sounding like Run Run Run by The Who (I thought it was Baba O’Riley), Sally sounding like I’m Not Your Stepping Stone by The Monkees and Dark Side of Night sounding like Heart Full of Soul by The Yardbirds, it’s a real ’60s-fest.

          But I still think if you look hard enough you can find similarities which are accidental, because no one can rip off everyone (except maybe Girl Talk).

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        3. Mark Adams

          Sorry, I’m Not Your Stepping Stone was written by Boyce and Hart and released by Paul Revere and The Raiders in May ’66 before the Monkees released their version in Nov ’66.

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        4. Mark Adams

          And it was My Generation, which Green Day covered, which I thought 27th Ave. Shuffle sounded like, not Baba O’Riley.

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