Did Tracy Chapman "sample" John Mellencamp's song for her big hit, "Fast Car"?
@ 47 secs. - 55 secs. = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04CH9YZcpI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIOAlaACuv4
Very similar IMO.
Tracy Chapman & John Mellencamp
by BoogerMan 6 Replies latest social entertainment
-
-
slimboyfat
There’s a slight similarity for a few seconds and the it changes direction. Is somebody making an issue out of this?
I prefer Talkin’ ‘bout a Revolution and Mountains O’ Things anyway
-
Simon
I find these things ridiculous. They are little flourishes, it's not the entire song or the key identifying part of the song (like the base line in "Another One Bites the Dust" for instance).
The most egregious abuse of music copyright for me is The Verve's Unfinished Symphony:
Equally ridiculous was the idea that Weird Al should pay anything for "Amish Paradise" parody to Coolio for "Gangsta's Paradise" ... it was itself an identical copy of a Stevie Wonder song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPO76Jlnz6c
-
NotFormer
Sometimes these claims have merit. As an old Beach Boys fan, I was shocked when I first heard Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen. And it's hard to argue against the similarity between My Sweet Lord and He's So Fine. I'm not as convinced on Ghostbusters and I Need A New Drug, but a judge was persuaded.
But a bar or two of a song being similar to another song? Some people have too much time on their hands 😔.
-
JeffT
There's a guy on You Tube named Rick Beato that does some really interesting analysis of songs and what makes a good song, and why some songs are great. He's tackled this issue a couple of times, always much the same conclusion: all pop music sounds the same because it is. There are only so many notes, and the record producers all want the sounds that will sell, they don't care if its good or bad; or done before.
Here's a sample.
-
markweatherill
Another example is the Hollies' 'The Air that I Breathe', a recognisable chord progression of which turned up as part of Radiohead's 'Creep', followed by Lana del Rey's 'Get Free' which contains pretty much a recognisable everything from 'Creep'. There were quite different attitudes to the accusations of plagiarism by each of the alleged copiers!
-
NotFormer
I just remembered a striking similarity from the early 70s. Compare Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky with Alvin Stardust's My Coo Ca Choo. I'm surprised no ambulance chasing lawyers went after that one.