# "Under Pressure" vs. "Ice, Icy Baby" and other similar beginnings to songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201 "2012-03-08T21:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/1 "2012-03-08T21:54:12Z")
Whenever I hear the opening of Queen’s “Under Pressure,” I inevitably think I’m about to hear Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby.” It used to be that I was always disappointed when the song turned out to be “Under Pressure” (I blame this on being a child of the late 80s with little to no musical guidance). I was driving around today and “Under Pressure” came on, and for the first time I was glad that it was Queen and not Nilla. 🆒 Any other songs that do that to you? It’s the same thing with James Brown’s “SuperFreak” and MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.” (Both examples feature muscial sampling, natch.) ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/2 "2012-03-08T22:07:11Z")
I’m usually pretty good at “I can name that tune in one note” but somewhere along the way I got the opening notes of “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger stirred up with “Sweet Melissa” by the Allman Brothers. I’m not sure if it’s the right sort of example since those songs aren’t cross-pollinated like the ones in the OP, it’s just my brain screwing it up… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/3 "2012-03-08T22:10:28Z")
Moved to Cafe Society from IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/4 "2012-03-08T22:10:56Z")
> [@smaje1](#): > > ames Brown’s “SuperFreak” You mean Rick James’ “Super Freak.” ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/5 "2012-03-08T22:12:37Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > You mean Rick James’ “Super Freak.” Lordy, but I did. Thank you, sir or madam. Examples don’t have to be cross-pollinated, as questioned above. Anything similar-sounding counts! ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/6 "2012-03-08T22:17:19Z")
The guitar riff at the beginning of The Strokes’ “Last Night” is stolen directly from Tom Petty’s “American Girl.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/7 "2012-03-08T22:39:37Z")
Free’s “All Right Now” intro was nicked by the Steve Miller Band for “Rock’n Me.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/8 "2012-03-08T23:06:54Z")
[Heart Shaped Box](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0SitRwy8) [I Typed For Miles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlmnZ7CWe4M) Less pronounced, but enough to throw me as one or the other begins [Shoots and Ladders](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU2k-U2Ze0o&ob=av2n) [She Cries Your Name](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFZc4ax4tJs&ob=av2e) ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/9 "2012-03-08T23:16:56Z")
Okay, what’s the first song you think of when you hear the first 8 notes of this: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKowToLRZ2E) ? I don’t know how to do a spoiler box so I’ll write real small and lighten it: Steely Dan - Ricky Don’t Lose That Number ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/10 "2012-03-08T23:17:54Z")
[I Want a New Drug](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6uEMOeDZsA&ob=av3n) [Ghostbusters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQf_Us0aPjE&feature=related) ---
**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:** [March 8, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/11 "2012-03-08T23:18:43Z")
There is exactly one Lenny Kravitz song that I like “Are you gonna go my way” whatever idiot took that riff from the opening and turning it to some teeny bopper song needs to be strangled. Ahh, [here it is](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi1L_JHxZUE). Every time I hear this I think “Hey, I love this riff…waitaminute what’s that sound coming in…dammit it’s that other song” ---
**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:** [March 8, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/12 "2012-03-08T23:20:33Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Okay, what’s the first song you think of when you hear the first 8 notes of this: > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKowToLRZ2E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKowToLRZ2E) ? > > I don’t know how to do a spoiler box so I’ll write real small and lighten it: > > Steely Dan - Ricky Don’t Lose That Number It was really hard not to hear the other song. Minor nitpick though, and I didn’t notice this until I really started listening to the lyrics when I was in college…_Rikki_ is a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/13 "2012-03-08T23:30:41Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > It was really hard not to hear the other song. Minor nitpick though, and I didn’t notice this until I really started listening to the lyrics when I was in college…_Rikki_ is a girl. :smack: Heard it a million times but never _read_ it. (or paid much attention to the song I guess) Thanks for the education. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/14 "2012-03-08T23:33:14Z")
> [@smaje1](#): > > Whenever I hear the opening of Queen’s “Under Pressure,” I inevitably think I’m about to hear Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby.” It used to be that I was always disappointed when the song turned out to be “Under Pressure” (I blame this on being a child of the late 80s with little to no musical guidance). No, you don’t understand. Those bass lines are _totally_ different. Under Pressure’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ da da da dada da da” and Ice Ice Baby’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ DA da da da dada da da” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![smaje1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@smaje1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smaje1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/15 "2012-03-08T23:48:21Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > No, you don’t understand. Those bass lines are _totally_ different. Under Pressure’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ da da da dada da da” and Ice Ice Baby’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ DA da da da dada da da” 😉 Bwah hah! Link to V. Ice “arguing” the differences: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0hEi8zhmg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s0hEi8zhmg) ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/16 "2012-03-08T23:50:37Z")
> [@MilTan](#): > > No, you don’t understand. Those bass lines are _totally_ different. Under Pressure’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ da da da dada da da” and Ice Ice Baby’s goes: “da da da dada da da \ DA da da da dada da da” 😉 I love the expression on his face when he’s saying that. It’s so obvious that he doesn’t buy it either, but his lawyer told him to say it. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/17 "2012-03-08T23:53:23Z")
The Rutles’s “[Piggy in the Middle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1y9BIjTSVk),” though that was a parody of the original. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/18 "2012-03-09T00:22:33Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > I love the expression on his face when he’s saying that. It’s so obvious that he doesn’t buy it either, but his lawyer told him to say it. Yeah, gotta love Robert Van Winkle. “It doesn’t sound _anything_ like ‘Under Pressure.’ Only part that sounds like ‘Under Pressure’ is the hook.” I still can’t tell whether he was just trolling with that or didn’t realize the idiocy of what he just said. I really can’t. Not sure if this should count, since the obvious influence is in the title, but there’s: [Herbie Hancock’s "Cantaloupe Island](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPVuLS-HXJo&feature=related) and: [US3’s “Cantaloop”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzIY7J-FKHc) As far as artists borrowing from themselves, I usually can’t tell which of Chuck Berry’s hits is about to start when I hear the openings from: [School Days](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPVuLS-HXJo&feature=related) and [No Particular Place To Go](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6OS_ItMGpc). Those are pretty darned close to being the exact same song with just different lyrics. One features “stops” that the other doesn’t, but that’s about as far as the really obvious musical differences go. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/19 "2012-03-09T00:42:44Z")
Garbage’s _Stupid Girl_ samples the opening drum part from The Clash’s _Train in Vain_. Any time I hear either I have to wait about 5 seconds to know which song it is. Popping guitar = Clash; descending synth line = Garbage. Once when the car radio was turned down really low, I reached over and cranked up what I thought was Cheap Trick’s _She’s Tight_ only for it to be _Talk Dirty To Me_ by Poison. They don’t sound that much alike at regular volume. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201/20 "2012-03-09T00:50:41Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > They don’t sound that much alike at regular volume. When the radio is turned down or it’s just a car out in the parking lot it’s amazing how many songs have very similar bass lines when that’s all you can hear. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/under-pressure-vs-ice-icy-baby-and-other-similar-beginnings-to-songs/615201.md?page=2)