#7. Green Day
Depending on who you ask, Green Day is either one of the last great punk bands to walk the earth or a total slap in the face to everything punk music stands for.
Either way, there's one fact about this polarizing band that nobody can dispute -- they love to steal. In fact, their last three proper studio albums have all prominently featured songs that sound suspiciously similar to other musicians' work.
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.
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.
#6. Oasis
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
#5. Radiohead
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":
Before you cry foul and claim that you don't hear the similarities, understand this -- the Hollies sued Radiohead and won. Take a look at the "writers" section in the sidebar of the Wikipedia page for the song "Creep." Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are listed. That's because they wrote "The Air That I Breathe." Radiohead was forced to share writing credit with the duo after the lawsuit came to its inevitable conclusion.
#4. The Beatles
If you're in the mood for a comprehensive list, you can find a rundown of everything the Beatles are accused of stealing right here. If you'd just like us to give you a few examples instead, first let us commend you on your unyielding laziness. You're a reader after our own hearts.
As for those examples, check out the striking similarities between the main riff of Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step" and the Beatles' "I Feel Fine":
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 confessed in an interview 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.
#3 The Strokes
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.
Many critics noticed that the Strokes' "Razorblade" bears a striking resemblance to "Mandy" by freaking Barry Manilow.
#2. John Williams
He composed the ridiculously iconic Star Wars theme. And you know what? When you're working in a medium like classical music, borrowing from other artists isn't all that unheard of. Hans Zimmer, the man behind several recent scores for Hollywood blockbusters, does it all the time. He even admitted to sampling a Gustav Holst piece on his score for Gladiator.
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. 9:
#1. Madonna
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 as you can see from this list, 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."
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. Chavez sued also 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 crap load of people. In fact, anywhere you look, whether it be album covers or even her eccentric style, Madonna seems to be continuously in some kind of plagiarism scandal, with a ridiculous 15 plagiarism lawsuits to her credit so far.
FULL ARTICLE WITH VIDEOS: 7 Famous Musicians Who Stole Some of Their Biggest Hits | Cracked.com
http://www.cracked.com/article_19848...#ixzz1wIPzNRnO
Of course you would post it
Gaga doesn't steal.