# What are some song intros that fake you out thinking it is another song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745 "2005-08-12T16:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/1 "2005-08-12T16:13:15Z")
When I hear the first few seconds of a song on the radio, I often mistake it for another song with a similar intro. It happens all the time athough I can only think of one pitiful example right now: Queen’s “Under Pressure” often gets played on classic rock stations and I almost always get faked out and think that it is going to be Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”. In a just world, I should be relieved that it is not but I actually like “Ice Ice Baby” better than “Under Pressure” so I am always disappointed. What songs do you get faked out by? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/2 "2005-08-12T16:18:03Z")
My old ska-punk band, Baker Act, used to have a song called “Shelley’s Got Friends,” which opened with the horns playing the guitar riff from the Violent Femmes’ “Blister In the Sun.” We used to fake everyone out when we played that song, making them think we were playing a ska cover of “Blister” until the lyrics started. Later on, we changed the riff so it wasn’t a straight swipe. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/3 "2005-08-12T16:20:23Z")
I’m not faked out, but The Steve Miller Band’s intro to “Jet Airliner” is a wimped out version of the intro to Free’s “All Right Now.” ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/4 "2005-08-12T16:21:08Z")
I was just listening to the new Nickel Creek CD and the song “Best of Luck” sounded like Hole’s “Celebrity Skin” to me. Then there’s the tease of Soho’s “Hippy Chick” that teases the listened of the song “How Soon is Now?” by the Smiths. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/5 "2005-08-12T16:24:13Z")
Along similar lines, whenever I start to hear “Beverly Hills” by Weezer, I always think it’s going to be “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band. You could just superimpose one song over the other. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/6 "2005-08-12T16:28:02Z")
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes are terrific at doing this intentionally with some of their cover songs. Two examples: Their cover of The Turtles’ _Elanor_ begins with the guitar riff and bass lines from The Clash’s _London Calling_. Their cover of The Beach Boys’ _Sloop John B_ starts out with drum beat from The Ramones’ _Teenage Lobotomy_…even down to chanting “Sloop John B” in the intro, rather than “Lobotomy”. A little more in tune with the OP, the intro to The Strokes’ _Last Night_ was a more than blatent ripoff of Tom Petty’s _American Girl_. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/7 "2005-08-12T16:31:08Z")
AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” and Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” are indistinguishable until after the second toll of the bell. If you hear a third toll without guitars, it’s AC/DC. > [@Hal Briston](#): > > A little more in tune with the OP, the intro to The Strokes’ _Last Night_ was a more than blatent ripoff of Tom Petty’s _American Girl_. When this was widely circulating, I listened to the two intros in succession and decided that, although they were kinda similar, you’d have to be not actually listening to think that they’re the same. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/8 "2005-08-12T16:33:07Z")
Ben Folds’ new single “Landed,” always makes me think that it’s something else, but I can’t remember what it is. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/9 "2005-08-12T16:33:09Z")
Okay, this is really stupid, but this is the stuff I listen to… I have a burned CD that I put together to listen to at work. “Eclectic” is a criminally deficient way of describing the song mix. Anyway, I have both “Blame Canada!” from the South Park movie and the title song from the Cole Porter show “Anything Goes” on there, and I swear their intros are exactly the same. Even the first line of lyrics is the same (though I CAN tell the difference between Sheila Broflovski and Patti LuPone. Honest, I can!) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/10 "2005-08-12T16:36:34Z")
Heart has a song intro, forget which one, that sounds just like the beginning of Judas Priest’s _You Got Another Thing Comming._ ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/11 "2005-08-12T16:37:52Z")
AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” and Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” are indistinguishable until after the second toll of the bell. If you hear a third toll without guitars, it’s AC/DC. > [@Hal Briston](#): > > A little more in tune with the OP, the intro to The Strokes’ _Last Night_ was a more than blatent ripoff of Tom Petty’s _American Girl_. When this was widely circulating, I listened to the two intros in succession and decided that, although they were kinda similar, you’d have to be not actually listening to think that they’re the same. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/12 "2005-08-12T16:42:32Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” and Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” are indistinguishable until after the second toll of the bell. If you hear a third toll without guitars, it’s AC/DC. > > When this was widely circulating, I listened to the two intros in succession and decided that, although they were kinda similar, you’d have to be not actually listening to think that they’re the same. Man… the intro to this post really, really reminds me of something… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/13 "2005-08-12T16:55:33Z")
Several KC & the Sunshine Band songs start the same, and virtually all the Ink Spots songs do, too. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/14 "2005-08-12T17:04:32Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > When I hear the first few seconds of a song on the radio, I often mistake it for another song with a similar intro. It happens all the time athough I can only think of one pitiful example right now: > > Queen’s “Under Pressure” often gets played on classic rock stations and I almost always get faked out and think that it is going to be Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”. In a just world, I should be relieved that it is not but I actually like “Ice Ice Baby” better than “Under Pressure” so I am always disappointed. > > What songs do you get faked out by? But Under Pressure predates Ice Ice. 😕😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/15 "2005-08-12T17:08:05Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > But Under Pressure predates Ice Ice. 😕😕😕 But Vanilla explained all that: “Under Pressure” goes duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. “Ice Ice Baby” goes duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-Chsh. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/16 "2005-08-12T17:08:38Z")
Are you sure you’re not thinking of SMB’s “Rockin’ Me”? That intro always reminded me of “All Right Now” – a band I was in once did a medley of the two of them. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’m not faked out, but The Steve Miller Band’s intro to “Jet Airliner” is a wimped out version of the intro to Free’s “All Right Now.” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/17 "2005-08-12T17:20:14Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > But Vanilla explained all that: > > “Under Pressure” goes duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh. > > “Ice Ice Baby” goes duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-Chsh. I always assumed that Vanilla Ice just sampled the riff from “Under Pressure”. Are they actually different? Or is he just blowing smoke? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/18 "2005-08-12T17:22:14Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I always assumed that Vanilla Ice just sampled the riff from “Under Pressure”. Are they actually different? Or is he just blowing smoke? He DID sample the riff. He just tried to justify it later by claiming that adding the “Chsh” at the end of it made it a different sound. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/19 "2005-08-12T17:48:49Z")
Heartbreaker, probably? Haven’t heard it in awhile so I’ve forgotten what song it was, but a ways back there was a song identical for the first 4 bars’ worth to Deep Purple’s _Smoke on the Water_. Dah dah domm, dah dah deh domm, dah dah domm deh dah dommm… then instead of repeating it did something different and became some other song. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745/20 "2005-08-12T17:48:50Z")
The other day I was listening to the radio and heard the opening of Rick James’ _Superfreak_. My mind actually supplied the vocal by MC Hammer (“Can’t Touch This”) just before the song continued with the rest of _Superfreak_. Isn’t it odd that the same bit is in both of the songs that are arguably the respective artists’ greatest hits? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-song-intros-that-fake-you-out-thinking-it-is-another-song/316745.md?page=2)