The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Did the Red Hot Chili Peppers rip off Tom Petty on the song "Danni California"? You be the judge:

http://www.jared-morris.com/blog/petty.mp3

Seriously?

I don't even have to listen to the mp3 to know what you're talking about. The first time that song was on the radio, I started singing "Oh my my, oh hell yes, somethingerother PARTY DRESS" and then Anthony Kiedis was all up in there and I was like WHAT TEH and then I was sad

i never noticed that, because i never really paid attention to the california song. but, there was some other new-ish chilli pepper song i heard recently, that completely was a rip-off of "the zephyr song". (i realize this is completely useless since i can't remember what the other song is called).

A couple things I noticed:

1) It sounds like the Petty song is sped up a little, to match the tempo of the RHCP example. If so, it's an untrue comparison.

2) The Petty song's progression sounds like Am - G - D - Am. The RHCP song sounds like Am - G - Dm - Am.

If I'd heard the RHCP song before hearing this example, I would probably have thought it was quite similar to the Tom Petty tune as soon as I heard it. But there's enough of a difference, I guess*.


*My expectations of uniqueness on the radio are pretty low anyway.

I plan to use the "It can't be plagiarism, my song is slower" defense when I get hauled into court.

The comments on the blog at the root of Niv's link (it leads here: http://myversionofit.blog-city.com/) are good.

This is just another case of a smalltime radio show producer attempting to use others' fame to further his own career

I think it's funny how no one's commenting on the solo at the end of Danni California, which sounds much more like Purple Haze than the rest of the song sounds like Tom Petty. Which is to say passingly, at best.

erik wrote:I plan to use the "It can't be plagiarism, my song is slower" defense when I get hauled into court.

In this case, a better defense would be "the melodies are nothing alike."

Seriously: If RHCP plagiarized Petty, then Petty's a thief too for stealing that chords-on-the-off-beat-for-emphasis thing from Lynyrd Skynyrd .. Or whoever the hell they stole it from.

And come on, Am-G-D??? Everyone knows Zeppelin invented that chord progression for Tangerine.

deshead wrote:Purple Haze

THANK YOU! the first time i heard that song, i remember thinking, "ok john we know you adore hendrix, don't beat us over the head with it." and then it just keeps going, more and more blatantly ripping off purple haze. it's kind of sad.

deshead wrote:...the solo at the end of Dani California, which sounds much more like Purple Haze...

What's-his-face from RHCP acknowledged this in an interview, I believe.

But, my goodness, I noticed this crap all on my own when my friend drove up with it playing in his car. I could've sworn it was Mary Jane's Last Dance.

I later "Googled" it, and sure enough there were a quite few "mashups" out there playing this out. I'd like to note that there are some pretty similar lyrics on top of all this.

erik wrote:I plan to use the "It can't be plagiarism, my song is slower" defense when I get hauled into court.

What I mean is, if you're trying to look at the similarity of two things, and one of them has been adjusted to make it more similar, then it's an unfair comparison.

Admittedly, the defense you suggest is not real solid. But it's one of several differences between the two songs, and I think it was not accurately represented, is all.

There are lists of these similarities:
http://www.thomasirvin.com/sss.html
http://www.atom6.com/songs.html

Why don't Coldplay and Sum 41 just cancel each other out?
http://sarongpartyfrens.com/wp-content/coldsum.mp3

And, can Nickelback sue themselves? Or just fucking die already?
http://www.thewebshite.net/nickelback.htm

That Nickelback thing is funny. Especially how the songs build up and fade out at the same times. It just blows my mind that they can do that and still make it in the industry, but I guess if you have a formula that works, why not use it over and over, even if it means sounding cheap and overused? That's how most bands are making it now anyways.

I have always thought the Nickelback one was hilarious. I wonder if they used that again on their new album?

hey people -- asya is really digging the raconteurs nowadays (because of being obsessed with jack white). but she got really pissed when i told her that their "steady as she goes" song was basically the same as that "wings of a butterfly" song. i don't have access to either one, and i'm too lazy to try to search for mp3s. does anybody out there have a copy of both and want to stick them together to prove my point for me? thanks.

[edit... nevermind, turns out her cousin had the "butterfly" song on a cd he was making us listen to this weekend, and i was able to adequately point out the similarity then. thanks anyway! (my next project involves that stupid blue october song.)]