# what bands/singers so you mistake for others? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432 "2009-06-11T09:46:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/1 "2009-06-11T09:46:09Z")
What bands or singers do you often or have you mistaken for others? 1. I consider Snow Patrol, Coldplay, and The Fray to be essentially the same band. 2. Before I knew who Billy Joel was I thought his songs were from some classic 1950s rock n roll band. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/2 "2009-06-11T11:22:02Z")
I frequently mistake local band Seether for Nickelback, which would irritate the fuck out of them because the lead singer prefers to think he’s the reincarnation of Kurt Cobain or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/3 "2009-06-11T12:31:18Z")
For a long time I thought Aimee by Pure Prairie League was by the Eagles. On my Windows Media Player I confuse Sherwood and Forever the Sickest Kids with each other when it’s playing random songs in the background (can’t even tell which is which sometimes.) Same thing with Alkaline Trio and Hotwater Music, although they are not completely similar, they are more similar than any other two bands I own songs by, and HWM covered AT’s “Radio”, so when a random song comes on I just think “that’s the ‘Radio’ band” and just roll with it. Jack: do you also mistake Snow Patrol for Keane or Jimmy Eat World? I’m not familiar enough with Coldplay or The Fray but Snow Patrol is indelibly linked in my mind with Keane because of their general sound , although I don’t mistake the two, and their singing is close enough to Jimmy Eat World that I did wonder upon first hearing SP on the radio if it were actually JEW. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/4 "2009-06-11T12:35:49Z")
MrDibble: again, I don’t confuse the two, but every time The Black Maria comes on my Windows Media Player I think “gee, that’s not too bad for a Nickelback-sounding song.” [hijack]The Black Maria are one of the examples of Bands That Sound Exactly Like I Thought They Would. I noticed them in a used CD store and gave them a free sample run at the stores CD player (one of the reasons I still go there sometimes instead of digitally shopping,) just because of the name. I was wondering if they were named not only for the hearse but also for the line from My Chemical Romance’s album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. Well, they sort of sound like a mixture between TC4SW-era MCR and Nickelback so I congratulated myself on a nice catch. Then when I found out that The Black Maria is Canadian like Nickelback, it jumped into a Totally Appropriately Sounding Band[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/5 "2009-06-11T13:20:49Z")
In the mid to late 90s there was a glut of crappy but radio-friendly “alternative” bands with numbers in their name, which are all essentially the same band to me: Blink 182 Sum 41 Eve 6 Matchbox 20 Maroon 5 Third Eye Blind Seven Mary Three Three Days Grace 3 Doors Down ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/6 "2009-06-11T14:04:13Z")
The first time I heard Mark Knopfler singing “Sultans of Swing” with Dire Straits, I thought it was Bob Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/7 "2009-06-11T14:32:36Z")
When I first heard “Gemini Dream”, by the Moody Blues, I thought it was Electric Light Orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/8 "2009-06-11T14:36:48Z")
I can’t tell Korn from Tool from Disturbed. Also, in the early 2000s there were a bunch of teenybop-boy band-punk acts that all sounded exactly alike. And I can’t remember a single one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/9 "2009-06-11T15:09:56Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > I can’t tell Korn from Tool from Disturbed. As a Tool fan, that hurts. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/10 "2009-06-11T15:38:51Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > In the mid to late 90s there was a glut of crappy but radio-friendly “alternative” bands with numbers in their name, which are all essentially the same band to me: > > Blink 182 > Sum 41 > Eve 6 > Matchbox 20 > Maroon 5 > Third Eye Blind > Seven Mary Three > Three Days Grace > 3 Doors Down I wouldn’t call them crappy and they don’t have numbers, but can I add The Wallflowers and The Gin Blossoms to your excellent list? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/11 "2009-06-11T16:54:36Z")
Foreigner, Journey, and REO Speedwagon (and to a lesser extent, Kansas) might as well be the same band. I listen to classic rock stations, and all three have songs that regularly pop up in my daily soundscape, but I could not tell you who sings what songs or what the differences are. For a long time, I honestly didn’t even know that Foreigner and Journey _were_ different bands. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/12 "2009-06-11T17:03:18Z")
I think Kansas and Boston are the same band. ---
**Author:** ![mj\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mj\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mj_2)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/13 "2009-06-11T17:04:55Z")
All the yound dudes is by Mott the Hoople. For years I just assumed it was by David Bowie. He did pen the song so maybe that is why. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/14 "2009-06-11T17:53:38Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Foreigner, Journey, and REO Speedwagon (and to a lesser extent, Kansas) might as well be the same band. I listen to classic rock stations, and all three have songs that regularly pop up in my daily soundscape, but I could not tell you who sings what songs or what the differences are. For a long time, I honestly didn’t even know that Foreigner and Journey _were_ different bands. Wow, really? Their respective singers sound nothing like each other (Foreigner’s Lou Gramm: raspy-voiced, similar to Bob Seger; Journey’s Steve Perry: clear-voiced tenor crooner; REO’s Kevin Cronin: no rasp, extreme enunciation, somewhat nasal). The three bands had distinctly different styles as well (Foreigner was straight up hard rock, REO Speedwagon was guitar- & piano-driven party rock, and Journey was more jazz-influenced rock. Of course, MTV turned all three into power ballad bands (and thus ruined them all), so if all you’ve heard is their MTV-era stuff, I can sort of understand your confusion. My contributions: I thought Van Morrison’s _Brown-Eyed Girl_ was by the Rolling Stones. I still don’t know who sang _Eighteen_, but I also thought _that_ was the Rolling Stones. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/15 "2009-06-11T18:22:35Z")
[QUOTE=Mister Rik] I thought Van Morrison’s _Brown-Eyed Girl_ was by the Rolling Stones. [/QUOTE] Van Morrison sounds awfully like Mick Jagger in many of his early records. It was especially noticeable when he was the lead singer for Them. However, I don’t think it was so much Morrison trying to imitate Jagger as it was both Morrison and Jagger trying to imitate Howlin’ Wolf. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/16 "2009-06-11T18:33:34Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > In the mid to late 90s there was a glut of crappy but radio-friendly “alternative” bands with numbers in their name, which are all essentially the same band to me: > > Blink 182 > Sum 41 > Eve 6 > Matchbox 20 > Maroon 5 > Third Eye Blind > Seven Mary Three > Three Days Grace > 3 Doors Down Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say they confused Maroon 5 (basically a boy band that plays their own instruments) with Three Days Grace (a hard rock band that frequently screams their lyrics). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/17 "2009-06-11T19:20:23Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I think Kansas and Boston are the same band. For years, I thought of “Peace of Mind” by Boston as “that song by Kansas whose title momentarily escapes me.” Finally, I got around to Googling a snippet of the lyrics and found out whose song it is. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/18 "2009-06-11T20:09:25Z")
Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd are almost indistinguishable to me. I get Great White and Skid Row mixed up all the time, too. There was also an obscure one-hit-wonder in the 80s called Giuffria which I thought was Triumph. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/19 "2009-06-11T20:14:37Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > In the mid to late 90s there was a glut of crappy but radio-friendly “alternative” bands with numbers in their name, which are all essentially the same band to me: > > Blink 182 > Sum 41 > Eve 6 > Matchbox 20 > Maroon 5 > Third Eye Blind > Seven Mary Three > Three Days Grace > 3 Doors Down Can’t agree with this. Blink & Sum 41, perhaps. Shouty, three-chord power punk-pop. Eve 6, Matchbox 20, 3EB - a little emo-y, college/alt rocky with catchy lyrics. 7M3 - I think they’re a little grunge-y, when I first heard them I thought it was Pearl Jam. They might match better with Creed. 3DG - dunno about them. 3DD - might fit in the category with Eve 6 et al. Wallflowers and Gin Blossoms are similar, and it pains me to include a band that I absolutely hate in this number, but prolly also Counting Crows. But they are a little different than the bands listed here, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432/20 "2009-06-11T20:44:14Z")
To clarify, it isn’t the band’s styles that sound alike, although some of them do. It’s the fact that their names all have numbers in the title. I couldn’t keep them straight then and I still can’t now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bands-singers-so-you-mistake-for-others/499432.md?page=2)