Cracked Music Notes Queen
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A lot of people accuse hip-hop artists of stealing their best music. You can't get through a rap song nowadays without hearing bits and snippets of other popular songs that have been 'sampled' in. On one hand, it sucks, because now your favorite song is ruined. But on the other hand, at least you have something to complain about now. What most people don't understand, however, is that those original artists probably 'sampled' their songs from someone else who had also sampled in their music, and on and on in an eternal circle of 'legitimate' theft. Artists like. ( Cracked is all original, which is why we made a mini-series.).
Read Next Many of you will remember (and potentially resent) the song 'American Idiot' as being the catalyst for the great Green Day comeback of the early 2000s. As a band, Green Day was nearly dead before that record was released. But then the title track hit the airwaves and a whole new generation of fans fell in love. We're guessing not a lot of those new fans were familiar with a relatively unknown punk band called Dillinger Four, because if they were, they would have been irate. Take a listen to the opening riff of Dillinger Four's awesomely titled 'Doublewhiskeycokenoice': And now, check out the opening (and pretty much only) riff of 'American Idiot'.
Right, pretty goddamn similar. And the shenanigans (hello,!) don't end there. On Warning, the far less beloved album that preceded the American Idiot triumph, the band basically added different lyrics to an old Kinks song and released it as the title track and first single: Not wanting to break their streak of albums featuring hit singles stolen from other bands, Green Day's most recent album, 21st Century Breakdown, included one of their biggest singles ever, the super-duper depressing '21 Guns.' Several attentive listeners noted that the song bore a striking resemblance to an ELO song called 'Telephone Line.' Check it out. You remember Oasis, right? For a year or two in the mid-'90s, they were one of the biggest bands in the world.
After that, they had to settle for just being the biggest band in England, selling out Wembley Stadium on consecutive nights at a time when most Americans assumed the notoriously surly Gallagher brothers had dropped out of music to pursue a career of snatching old ladies' purses and beating up kids for their lunch money. Honestly, Oasis kind of deserved their massive fall from grace with the stateside audience, because they're quite possibly the most prolific song stealers of all time. The band literally came out of the gate stealing, as evidenced by the similarities between their breakthrough hit 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' and the T. Rex classic 'Get It On (Bang a Gong)': In their defense, Prince totally copied the same T.
Rex song for his massive hit single 'Cream.' We'd love to show you video evidence of that, but even if we could find the video, Prince would sue us into oblivion for posting it (and probably you for watching it). But we digress, let's get back to Oasis.
Not only is the band prolific in their thievery, but they're incredibly diverse as well, not content to just steal from bands similar to them. That's not to say they don't steal from bands similar to them. They're basically a less talented version of the Beatles, after all.
We're just saying they like to branch out a bit when it comes to who they steal from. For example, Stevie Wonder apparently noticed that the track 'Step Out' sounded suspiciously like a classic song of his called 'Uptight': We don't know what action Wonder took, but we know 'Step Out' was, but was mysteriously pulled at the last minute, and when the song finally surfaced, they were sure to list Stevie Wonder as one of the songwriters. Seriously, how did they think they'd get that by him? Stevie Wonder is blind, so he undoubtedly has superhuman hearing. But if stealing from Stevie Wonder seems like a stretch, give a listen to the melody of this Oasis song and see if it sounds like something you might have heard before.
5Radiohead Getty OK, hipsters, we'll give the fact that Radiohead is on this list a second to sink in. We know you're probably already putting on your best commenting shoes so you can call us ignorant jackasses. But please, let us state our case. In keeping with a recurring theme so far on this list, Radiohead kicked off their career by making their breakthrough single a gigantic theft of another band. In this case, the victim was the Hollies. Check out Radiohead's 'Creep' compared to the Hollies' 'The Air That I Breathe'. 'Yeah, but that was early Radiohead, man.
Everyone knows that first album was garbage.' Fine, music scholar, that's a great point. Unfortunately, that point is completely negated when you consider that 'Karma Police,' a song that's been hailed as 'one of the cornerstones of one of the greatest albums of the '90s,' was also a rip-off. And this time, the musicians they stole from had a little bit higher of a profile. Take a listen to 'Karma Police' side by side with the Beatles' 'Sexy Sadie': Did you notice how seamlessly the two songs blend into each other?
There's a pretty clear reason for that. Radiohead just slightly sped up the same piano riff from 'Sexy Sadie' and added some Debbie Downer lyrics to it. The Beatles were a special breed of song thieves, though, in that they'd go out of their way to admit to their wrongdoing. George Harrison that he stole that guitar riff from Bobby Parker. Sorry, 'was influenced by' is the term he actually used.
The band also fessed up to ripping off the Isley Brothers for 'From Me to You.' Perhaps the most unabashed song thievery belongs to John Lennon, on the popular baby boomer anthem 'Come Together' he supposedly wrote. You know it from dozens of commercials and movies that have used it since. However, if you watch the below clip, you'll see Chuck Berry singing not only a familiar tune, but the same seemingly nonsensical lyrics about someone named 'flattop' that Lennon would 'write' decades later.
Again, there's nothing unintentional here. When they were sued by the people who owned the rights to Berry's recording, Lennon pointed out that he and McCartney had intentionally slowed down the rhythm and made the bass riff heavier which is known as 'trying to disguise your blatant thievery' when it's done by people who aren't the Beatles. They eventually settled out of court. The borrowing didn't stop when the Beatles broke up, either. 'My Sweet Lord,' the standout single from George Harrison's ridiculously epic solo debut All Things Must Pass, was pretty much a note for note copy of 'He's So Fine' by the Chiffons: That video is basically both songs being played at the same time.
Harrison was sued and found to have 'subconsciously' plagiarized the Chiffons song. Years later, Harrison bought the company that sued him and, by extension, the copyright for 'He's So Fine.' Problem solved! This spunky New York City band reinvented rock music much the same way Green Day did in the '90s. Translation: They played the same music that people before them had been playing for decades, but somehow convinced the public that what they were doing was fresh and new. Some people refer to it as 'The Nirvana Effect,' a term coined by us just now in this sentence. Much like Oasis before them, they kicked off their career by pilfering a stone cold classic.
This time, the victim was Tom Petty. Check out the Strokes' hit single 'Last Night': And now, have a listen to Tom Petty's 'American Girl'. If you hated listening to that Strokes song, you'll really hate us for not mentioning that you only needed to listen to the first 30 seconds or so. That's where most of the thievery takes place. That instantly recognizable opening riff from 'American Girl' was pretty much copied note for note by the Strokes. If for some reason you think ripping off Tom Petty is something only your dad would consider doing, wait until you hear who else the Strokes have turned to for 'inspiration.'
Many critics noticed that the Strokes' 'Razorblade'. Also, we sincerely apologize for the wall of text in that link, let 'Ctrl+F' be your guide if you're the fact-checking type. Or if reading isn't your thing, listen to the nearly identical choruses of each song. But the thing about John Williams is that he wins tons of awards for his thievery. To add a nice twist of irony, those awards often come in the 'Best Original Score' category. Take the Jaws theme, for example. He took home the Best Original Score Oscar for that famous 'Dun dun, dun dun' sound that we've all come to associate with impending danger (specifically, the danger of being eaten by a cartoonishly large shark).
Meanwhile, the classical musician who came up with it first is spinning in his grave. Check out John Williams' theme back to back with Dvorak's Symphony No. But what about that Star Wars theme? Surely he must have come up with that on his own, right?
The guy took home an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA award, a Grammy award and a Saturn award for that score. We're pretty sure he would've won an, too, if they were around back then.
There's no way such universal praise would be heaped on something that was clearly 'borrowed' from someone else. Well, in a perfect world, that would probably be the case. But the world isn't perfect, and the Star Wars theme was a straight-up jack move. Those iconic sounds first appeared way back in the black and white days on the theme from Kings Row. Behold the evidence: The prosecution rests.
And yes, we learned that phrase from watching Matlock also. Something funny happened on Madonna's way to being hailed as a music innovator. That funny thing being, of course, that the people who have bestowed that title upon her like to conveniently ignore the fact that she steals songs like a crackhead supporting her drug habit by recording hit songs. We'd love to give you a rundown of each and every song she's been accused of jacking, but, it would take us a minimum of three full articles to do that. The most obvious rip-off of Madonna's career also doubles as one of the most obvious rip-offs of all time.
Check out the similarities between Madonna's 'Justify My Love' and Public Enemy's 'Security of the First World': Stealing from Public Enemy back during their badass heyday was a pretty bold move. Almost as bold as, well, suing Madonna. That's exactly what Public Enemy did, taking the pop legend for everything that massive hit earned her, which was somewhere in the neighborhood of 'an undisclosed sum.' Getty And that's all the excuse we need to post a picture of Flavor Flav.
To make matters worse, that wasn't the only lawsuit that stemmed from this one song. A poet named Ingrid Chavez, after hearing 'Justify My Love,' couldn't help but notice something strange. Specifically, she noticed that she wrote the damn lyrics. So, we stand corrected, Public Enemy didn't get everything that Madonna earned for that song. And was awarded a writing credit and (we're assuming) a massive amount of royalties. Madonna didn't limit her plagiarism to just songs, either.
She's been accused of ripping off music videos from a. In fact, anywhere you look, whether it be or even her, Madonna seems to be continuously in some kind of plagiarism scandal, with a ridiculous 15 plagiarism lawsuits to her credit so far. Getty 'Thanks, assholes!' Who knew being one of the biggest pop stars ever could be so easy? And who knew Cracked could make the since.whenever the last GOOD Star Wars movie came out. Mohammed Shariff is a freelance writer and can be followed and added.
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Cracked Music Notes Queen
If you knew you had only months to live, what would you do? Purchase by Cracked writers, or because you want to make sure to get the good one before you crap out? Maybe you'd use the time to get your affairs in order and say goodbye to loved ones. Www.telegraph.co.uk Or maybe you'd do a pound of cocaine and tell your boss to drop dead. I don't know.
I've never met you. These are rhetorical questions. But if you were a talented singer-songwriter, you might release a goodbye song. Something to encompass all your final thoughts and feelings before you left.
(And then you'd probably buy all the Cracked books, because come on, that's some good stuff!) There are lots of songs about death and lots of tribute songs, but it's different when the singer sings the song while staring at death as it approaches. When the artist has time to reconcile his fate and leave fans and loved ones something tangible they can keep.
5'Keep Me in Your Heart' by Warren Zevon Warren Zevon was a singer-songwriter who had his biggest success in the '70s. You might know his song 'Werewolves of London,' which to make the truly craptastic 'All Summer Long.' Or you might know 'Excitable Boy'; 'Lawyers, Guns, and Money'; or 'Sentimental Hygiene.' Or you might not know any of those, and you might tell me so in the comments, because one sure way to sound cool is by telling the world all the things you don't know.
Anyway, he left his mark, as you can tell. The Approaching Death In 2002, Zevon was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which is a nasty disease associated with exposure to asbestos.
He decided he would use his For his final album, Zevon penned this song for his wife. It's simple, understated, and without a trace of the irony that he was known for. It's just a plaintive wish for his wife to remember him and take comfort in his memory. Haunting and heartbreaking in its simplicity. 4'The Show Must Go On' by Queen Not everyone loves Queen.
Also not everyone loves joy or incredibly powerful orgasms. Who can explain such creatures? But even if those who are not fans of this band's combination of hard rock, pop, and kitsch can't deny the vocal powerhouse that was Freddie Mercury. Blessed with tremendous vocal and stylistic range, Mercury could sing any kind of song, from straight driving rock like 'Tie Your Mother Down' to pop ballads like 'Someone to Love' to genre-defying songs like 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' The Approaching Death By 1991, Mercury, already diagnosed as HIV-positive, was in the final stages of AIDS. Queen knew Innuendo would likely be their last album with Mercury.
He was reportedly barely able to walk, and guitarist Brian May was afraid Mercury wouldn't be able to meet some of the song's vocal demands. With the Mercury turned in one of the most memorable vocals of his career in just one take. Saddest Lyrics I'll face it with a grin I'm never giving in On with the show I'll top the bill, I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on On with the On with the show The show must go on. Read Next In 1997 Cash was diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy associated with his diabetes.
American IV: The Man Comes Around was his final album. Shortly after, severe pneumonia damaged his lungs. His frailty in the video for 'Hurt' is unhidden. Almost shockingly exposed. Director Mark Romanek shot the video in the long-closed and neglected House of Cash museum in Nashville that had that mirrored Cash's health. Cash's wife, June (who would die months after the video herself and just months before Cash), is seen looking at her ill husband with tears in her eyes. It's a video that stares at decay and does not blink, and I can't imagine how brave someone would have to be to put themselves under that scrutiny.
Saddest Lyrics I wear this crown of thorns Upon my liar's chair Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair Beneath the stains of time The feelings disappear. What have I become My sweetest friend Everyone I know goes away In the end And you could have it all My empire of dirt I know this is a bit controversial. Many people, including me, were pissed that Cash changed the 'crown of shit' lyrics to 'crown of thorns.' At first, I was like, 'Oh, man, does everything have to be Jesus all the time, Johnny?'
But the more I thought about it, the more brilliant the choice felt, especially when read in conjunction with the next lyric, 'upon my liar's chair.' He's lying about being holy. He's lying about being a messiah.
He's lying about being a country-music star. Because, in the end, we die. Our bodies fail. Our loved ones leave us, and all the trappings in the world and pretense of greatness will not save us.
In the face of death, Cash is honest and humble. 2'Stuck Inside a Cloud' by George Harrison Y'know, I recently wrote an article where I got comments from people bragging about not knowing 'Silly Love Songs' by Paul McCartney. Look, maybe music's not your thing, but if you think it's cool to act like it's weird that someone would be a aware of one of the biggest hit songs by the man who's written more hit songs than almost anyone, then I can't really help you. And I also can't help you if you don't know that George Harrison was the lead guitarist of The Beatles and had a half-dozen huge hits in his own right. But I can certainly forgive you if you've never heard of this song, because it was released posthumously on Harrison's not very well known Brainwashed album. Saddest Lyrics Never been so crazy But I've never felt so sure I wish I had the answer to give Don't even have the cure Harrison, as a convert to Hinduism, often took a balanced view towards death, never seeing it as particularly final, but part of a process.
Indeed, the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita is quoted on his final album: 'There never was a time when you or I did not exist. Nor will there be any future when we shall cease to be.'
But 'Stuck Inside a Cloud' is not philosophical. It is personal. It is real and unapologetic in its honesty. 1'I'm Not Gonna Miss You' by Glen Campbell I'll be honest: although he is a country-music legend, I never really knew much about Glen Campbell. I knew he sang 'Rhinestone Cowboy.' I knew he had a hokey music-time fun show back before I was born. But to me, Campbell was just some old-timey, square, Jesus-loving bore.
Now, I know this is the Internet and the Internet is a place where people brag about the shit they don't know and then discount it, but I recently learned a lot about Campbell, and the emotion I have is shame. I am ashamed of myself for being oblivious to such an important artist and talented man. Even though I had heard Campbell was a studio musician in the mid-'60s, I never appreciated the depth of his achievements. He played on Frank Sinatra's 'Strangers in the Night,' as well as Monkees recordings, and even replaced Brian Wilson for six months during a Beach Boys tour, playing bass and singing Wilson's falsetto parts. And what I really didn't know, was that Campbell could shred. Look at the completely gratuitous and awesome solo in the middle of or watch him trade licks with Jerry Reed on It's not surprising he was a hero to the likes of guitar legend Or think about how cool it is that, in 1969, this Arkansas boy used his popularity to beam a black man covering a Jew's hippie song into all the homes he reached throughout the nation - Campbell and Stevie Wonder doing Bob Dylan's The Approaching Death Although there had been signs for years, in 2011 Campbell was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He went on a final tour, aided by teleprompters and three of his children, who were part of his band.
Even with that aid, mistakes would happen as shown in this where Campbell starts to replay the song he just finished. Though the disease would progress to points where Campbell wouldn't even remember he had it, he also had moments of clarity. And in one of those moments, he co-wrote a song to his wife of 30 years. Saddest Lyrics You're the last person I will love You're the last face I will recall And best of all I'm not gonna miss you You're never gonna see it in my eyes It's not gonna hurt me when you cry I'm never gonna know what you go through All the things I say or do All the hurt and all the pain One thing selfishly remains I'm not gonna miss you Although no one would wish Alzheimer's on anyone, it is often said of the disease that it's hardest on the loved ones of the victim, because the victim is often oblivious to the condition. Here, Campbell acknowledges it as heartbreakingly as possible, while he still can, and it is one of the most painful and beautiful things I've ever seen. GLADSTONE'S NOTES FROM THE INTERNET APOCALYPSE IS ON SALE After experiencing the joy of purchasing Book 1 of the trilogy, be sure to follow Gladstone on. Also, you can get all your Internet Apocalypse news.
And WATCH A ABOUT THE NEW McDONALD'S McNAZI CHICKEN SANDWICH AND HELP GLADSTONE FUND MORE! And check out and.