Has anyone heard of the group Jet? (The newish Aussie band, not the young black kids from the 80’s)
This new song of theirs with little animate forest creatures killing each other is strange, but melodically, harmonically and structurally this song sounds like late Beatles stuff. Anyone know anything about this?
Check out the top video to see what I’m talking aobut.
Nope. No similarity at all. 
Incidentally, we’re not the only ones to notice (definition 3 on that last link). And as I believe all three links point out, the song that Jet broke into the popular eye with, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” blatantly rips off the riff from Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life.” Having only heard these two songs myself, I can’t comment further.
Apologies to the Mods and the Rules if four lines apiece from two songs are too much to quote.
I thought their first single sounded LOT like Iggy’s “Lust For Life,” their second single was definitely AC/DC-influenced (nothing wrong with sounding like your influences, really), and the third single with the piano sounded A LOT like post-Rubber Soul Beatles.
Granted, all three cites I gave have a certain vitriolic bias. But it doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Jet doesn’t just sound like their influences, they copy them. And they copy transparently. Isolate the guitar riff from “Lust For Life” and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference.
Bottom line, Jet’s riding the wave of “old is new” faux-garage rock that was legitimately done 30-40 years ago, and relying on their audience being too young or having too short an attention span to recognize Iggy, ACDC, the Who, the Beatles, etc. (When “Lust For Life” appears in heavy rotation on a cruise ship commercial, it’s harder to ignore, but that’s another played-out rant)
I just remembered that when I was driving around yesterday another song that’s doing the same thing was actually observed by a caller and then further commented on by the DJs: Keane “Somewhere Only We Know” sounding just like a mix between early Wings McCartney and Queen. I can agree with that assessment.
I agree as well, although I do like that Keane song a lot.
I know the Strokes are another one of those trendy “garage rock revival” bands, but whose style are they emulating? I make no apologies for liking the Strokes, but I wouldn’t mind seeking out music by their influences as well. Same with the Raveonettes, who are my favorite band from that “scene.”
I’ll admit the Keane song (perhaps because it’s not simply screaming “this is our version of THIS EXACT Wings song”) is something I’ll listen to, even sing along with in the car. It’s good fun. I came off a bit harsh before, implying the entire trend is evil and no good music is coming of it.
I don’t know the Strokes nearly so well, but have heard relatively apt comparisons to Velvet Underground, and I’d definitely throw in a dash of Iggy again. Artistdirect gives me this list of “related” groups:
Some I agree with (already mentioned Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop, also Television and some of John Lennon’s solo stuff), some I just don’t see (Buddy Holly or Roy Orbison? Am I missing something from Is This It that never made the radio?)
My nephew informs me that Jet’s whole deal is to take old songs by classic rock bands, treat them like “found art” and make new songs based heavily on the style and/or content of them. It’s a less-blatant twist on the “sampling” craze of a few years back.
Oh, and the Jets–the 80s combo whose sole hit was “You Got It All Over Him”–weren’t black; they were Samoan.
Wow, that’s funky. The only connection I found between the Jets and Beatles was the middle part of “Look What You’ve Done”, that sounded really Beatle-ish to me, but heavily sprinkled with McCartney. I can see how thier other hit song could be taken as a take on “Lust For Life”, but it’s not uncommon for that rhythm in other songs. But I couldn’t compare the riffs in the two songs, only because I haven’t heard them that much.
I can’t seem them fooling anybody by bringing back older styles. Growing up most of my friends were all listening to older music. I can only assume that younger folk do the same today.
One day I hope to be able to write the word “rhythm” without looking it up.
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Thank you for the correction, I did not know that.
Ha! Twice now the DJs at my favourite indie rock radio station have mixed together songs that blatantly rip off chords from other songs so that they all run into one another and you can hear where they stole from the previous band. My favourite one was where they melded together Green Day, Oasis and Travis (Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wonderwall and I think Writing to Reach You). I heard them melding a Jet song into something the other day but I didn’t stick around to hear all the imitations.
You have a wicked sweet indy station there. Mine just makes snide comments about how songs are ripoffs while still playing them in heavy rotation.
(incidentally, I hear shades of Aimee Mann’s “Humpty Dumpty” in Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Only Mostly Missus, who is a Green Day fan but not so much for Aimee, says I’m nuts)
Your DJs didn’t do that. I have that mashup, and it’s by a DJ named Party Ben. I promise. I got it straight from his site.
KROQ, the big alternative in L.A. has been playing that, too.
Thanks. I just assumed it was them b/c I came into it in the middle and they’ve been running at least two different ones. They must have credited the source beforehand. It just seemed like something they would do. I tend to zone out DJ chatter, anyway.
I will say that everytime Blvd. of Broken Dreams comes on I perk up for Wonderwall (a highschool song) but no, it’s Green Day.
The station in question is WPGU in Champaign-Urbana, btw.
Be thankful you all don’t live in Australia cos they’re well and truly past saturation point here… and, yeah, they don’t have a lot of originality to what they’re doing.
An Aussie band names Tripod did a pretty good mix up of Oasis songs proving that they do, in fact, all sound the same.
Yeh we’re so motherfucking sick of Jet. Well at least I am. Some people are like “JET YEH HARDCORE. REAL ROCK.” :rolleyes:
Jet? I thought that the Major was a lady suffragette!