# Songs that "sound" like covers of another band or group, but aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 17, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982 "2020-04-17T15:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/21 "2020-04-18T13:39:25Z")
The intro and instrumental “bridge” in the Shirelles “Everybody Loves a Lover” (1962) are identical to those in Barbara George’s “I Know” released a few months earlier. Compare the intros; then skip ahead to about 1:05. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AbuZjikkg ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/22 "2020-04-18T15:51:47Z")
There’s a whole subgenre of songs that try to sound like Elvis: “It’s Only Make Believe” by Conway Twitty, “Suspicion” by Terry Stafford, etc. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rTBPSPevC4) was so convincing supposedly even Elvis’ mom believed it was her son. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/23 "2020-04-18T16:11:12Z")
Just What I Needed by the Cars, especially the chorus, always reminds me of the Police, I guess due to the melody of the title phrase, and the mostly-downbeat lyrics sung in an ennui-filled voice paired with New Wave music. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/24 "2020-04-18T19:08:39Z")
With “Melt With You,” Modern English is cursed to forever be confused for The Cure. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/25 "2020-04-18T19:16:08Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > With “Melt With You,” Modern English is cursed to forever be confused for The Cure. Possibly for no good reason, but Pet Shop Boys always jumps into my head first when I hear that song. For me, at least lately, it’s been Greta Van Fleet. The first few times I heard something I couldn’t believe there it was possible for there to be a Led Zeppelin song I didn’t know. [Listen to this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJg4OJxp-co) and tell me it doesn’t sound like Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/26 "2020-04-18T20:05:45Z")
The singing definitely does. I don’t think the guitar _sounds_ particularly like Jimmy Page in the tone and focus on virtuousity, but the writing style is similar enough that if I just heard it in the background I’d wonder if that was a Robert Plant cover of a Zeppelin song. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/27 "2020-04-18T20:36:38Z")
Tinseltown in the Rain by The Blue Nile is a Bowie cover, and damn you all who tell me it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/28 "2020-04-18T20:38:31Z")
Spanish Stroll by [del]Lou Reed[/del] Mink DeVille. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/29 "2020-04-18T20:41:48Z")
[Almost everything Airbourne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2IyX5LXGyg) [has ever done](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVVIZw_7nE) [sounds like they](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ2rv5w4S6E) [were raised on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13z_9WBpE4A) [a steady diet of AC/DC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WiSDK0hdp0), [mostly because they were.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DHHv5OuEzY) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/30 "2020-04-18T20:46:49Z")
[Orchid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZD88i15j8&t=111s) sounds like lost Black Sabbath recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/31 "2020-04-18T21:17:54Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > The singing definitely does. I don’t think the guitar _sounds_ particularly like Jimmy Page in the tone and focus on virtuousity, but the writing style is similar enough that if I just heard it in the background I’d wonder if that was a Robert Plant cover of a Zeppelin song. I should clarify, I’m not saying he’s as good as Jimmy Page, it’s more that the guitar sounds like it was mixed similarly. The sound of the guitar is similar enough to add to the confusion when you’re not sure if it’s Zeppelin or not. It also seems like it’s arranged similarly to how a Zeppelin song would be. However, if you ignore the ‘sound’ of the guitar, maybe his playing is closer to Angus Young. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/32 "2020-04-18T22:10:52Z")
There are a lot of people who STILL think Badfinger was the Beatles gone incognito. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/33 "2020-04-18T22:20:31Z")
There’s the entire _Walk Hard_ soundtrack. Granted, the songs were all intentionally written parodies of the music from different eras/genres, but the quality of the music is actually impressively high. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/34 "2020-04-19T01:26:50Z")
“Sub Rosa Subway” by Klaatu sounds much like the Beatles, so much so that there was hype they were the Fab Four incognito. “Death Cab for Cutie” by the Bonzo Dog Band was an Elvis pastiche. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/35 "2020-04-19T03:26:05Z")
“[After Dark](https://youtu.be/_05lRKSdJBM)” by Tito & Tarantula (1997) sounds _a lot_ like “[Over My Head](https://youtu.be/-4vyCsdnCoQ)” by Pere Ubu (1978). Not only does the music sound very similar, the lyrics of the later song parallel those of the earlier song without directly copying. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/36 "2020-04-19T03:31:32Z")
The first time I heard Spoon’s “[The Underdog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1hZVDLkJDc)” I assumed it was a Billy Joel cover. It’s not, but I’m [not the only one to think so](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&ei=rMWbXrfZJPiqytMPpZKO4Ak&q=Billy+Joel+%22the+underdog%22&oq=Billy+Joel+%22the+underdog%22&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzoHCAAQgwEQQzoECAAQQzoCCAA6BQgAEJECOgUIABCDAToGCAAQFhAeOggIABAWEAoQHjoFCAAQzQJQ34QBWMGmAWDmqAFoAXAAeACAAViIAYEJkgECMTWYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwi335OoxvPoAhV4lXIEHSWJA5wQ4dUDCAs&uact=5) apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/37 "2020-04-19T04:16:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [Orchid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXZD88i15j8&t=111s) sounds like lost Black Sabbath recordings. They need the vocalist from sHeavy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/W2lU-lyyqT8/hqdefault.jpg "Sheavy - Virtual Machine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lU-lyyqT8) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/38 "2020-04-19T14:34:20Z")
The word for what the thread OP is about is _[pastiche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche)_. Pastiche isn’t quite the same as parody, nor is it exactly hommage. It falls short of plagiarism. What is it? It’s just… finding stuff and using it, to do something familiar and yet different. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/39 "2020-04-19T14:43:27Z")
They said to Johannes Brahms that the finale of his 1st symphony sounded _a lot_ like the finale of Beethoven’s 9th symphony. Brahms retorted: “_Jeder Esel gleich hört_ (Any ass can hear that).” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982/40 "2020-04-19T16:31:28Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The word for what the thread OP is about is _[pastiche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche)_. Except, doesn’t pastiche have to be intentional? I’m not sure that’s true of all the examples in this thread, including the OP’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-sound-like-covers-of-another-band-or-group-but-arent/851982.md?page=3)