"Sound-alike" music -

[TopCat]

I've always found it amusing to hear songs that are created solely for the purpose of ripping a more popular song off, while at the same time allowing a production company to skate around paying royalties to the proper artist. Here are some of the songs I thought were quite clever in the way they reworked a popular tune just enough so that it's an entirely new one:

NOT Van Halen - Jump

A track Ford used in a 1989 video advertising their "Fiesta" range of cars. Ironically, a company as big as Ford could surely have paid Van the royalties to use the proper track?

NOT Survivor- Eye of the Tiger

A track I've seen shown up in a few Cinemassacre videos. Clearly James likes using it because he's a big Rocky fan, while,at the same time getting him out of paying for the proper music.

NOT the Star Wars theme

As seen on some pirate DVDs. Not sure where this could be used except possibly fan films?

What are your favourite sound-alike songs that you've heard?

 

[The Shadow]

 

[KhorneFlakes]

On TV in the UK we had a kids show about history that made parody songs about famous figures and honestly some were way too good

https://youtu.be/WYU-vSh7ORA

https://youtu.be/FA5abHKvUBQ

https://youtu.be/8qSkaAwKMD4

 

[Mal0]

What about Green Day's "American Idiot" and the Johnny Test Theme song?

As a kid I always wondered why a weird version of the Johnny Test theme song played in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It was only when I grew up I learned the difference.

Also, if I recall, didn't Green Day threaten to sue over the song?

Spoiler: A Neat Mix

 

[User names must be unique]

NOT the Star Wars theme

As seen on some pirate DVDs. Not sure where this could be used except possibly fan films?

Kings row theme from 1942

 

[oldTireWater]

Ironically, a company as big as Ford could surely have paid Van the royalties to use the proper track?

One likes to think that even advertising agents recognized the inhumanity of tying "Jump" to the Fiesta.

 

[Michael Jacks0n]

I don't have the link to it, but I watched some old school 90's VHS-era porn that was remastered for DVD, and the soundtracks sounded like bad cover versions of Nirvana and Pearl Jam songs with the notes reversed but with the same chord progressions (and no vocals of course). There's one scene in particular that sounded almost like they got some band to do a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit, but change it up a bit so it's not as obvious.

But a more concrete example is of course that episode of Beavis & Butthead when they clean Van Dreason's house, and you can hear Beavis playing an 8-track tape of I Can't Believe it's Not Iron Butterfly:

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

I always thought portions the theme for Zora's domain from Ocarina of Time sounded an awful lot like Stevie Wonder's "You are the Sunshine of my Life"

 

[Syaoran Li]

I wonder if we can include "sound-alike" songs that are actual literal covers of the songs or not?

There are companies like Drew's Entertainment and The Countdown Singers who specialize in doing covers of popular songs and having them sound as close to the original as they can. Supposedly, they get the licenses to a bunch of songs in bulk and then cover them for the explicit purpose of providing cheaper licenses for places like stores, school parties, and low-budget movie and TV productions.

A lot of these albums are sold on CD in places like Wal-Mart, Party City, Kmart (back when it was still a thing), and various dollar stores.

Generally, the CD's tend to have some kind of theme like holidays or certain decades but sometimes they're just compilations of songs that are often requested at parties or popular at certain events.

Nine times out of ten, if you have a CD from Wal-Mart or Dollar General with a generic title like "50's Favorites" or "Holiday Classics" and it's a bunch of popular songs from a bunch of artists all on one disc, you've got a sound-alike album.

"Now, That's What I Call Music!" is unique primarily because they go the extra mile to license the actual songs themselves instead of just paying for sound-alike covers.

Some examples of what I'm talking about...

 

[A Shi Piao Teapot]

All I got.

 

[TopCat]

I wonder if we can include "sound-alike" songs that are actual literal covers of the songs or not?

There are companies like Drew's Entertainment and The Countdown Singers who specialize in doing covers of popular songs and having them sound as close to the original as they can. Supposedly, they get the licenses to a bunch of songs in bulk and then cover them for the explicit purpose of providing cheaper licenses for places like stores, school parties, and low-budget movie and TV productions.

A lot of these albums are sold on CD in places like Wal-Mart, Party City, Kmart (back when it was still a thing), and various dollar stores.

Generally, the CD's tend to have some kind of theme like holidays or certain decades but sometimes they're just compilations of songs that are often requested at parties or popular at certain events.

Nine times out of ten, if you have a CD from Wal-Mart or Dollar General with a generic title like "50's Favorites" or "Holiday Classics" and it's a bunch of popular songs from a bunch of artists all on one disc, you've got a sound-alike album.

"Now, That's What I Call Music!" is unique primarily because they go the extra mile to license the actual songs themselves instead of just paying for sound-alike covers.

Some examples of what I'm talking about...

Reminds me of the Top of the Pops records series made by Pickwick Records back in the 1970s, which again were covers of popular songs at the time and were popular mainly because they were cheaper than buying the proper version. Probably not the best song to use these days (given the topic, for obvious reasons) but it's the only one I could find quickly.

 

[Syaoran Li]

Reminds me of the Top of the Pops records series made by Pickwick Records back in the 1970s, which again were covers of popular songs at the time and were popular mainly because they were cheaper than buying the proper version.

IIRC, wasn't "Now, That's What I Call Music!" originally meant to be the "new and improved" successor to the Top of Pops albums back in the 90's?

The "Now!" series started in the UK and Ireland in the early 90's with the draw being that it was like Top of Pops but with the actual real songs and it got popular both in terms of individual sales and places like bars and clubs buying them for jukeboxes. Then an American version popped up in the late 90's.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

And yes, isn't the typical AC/DC song, but sounds alike.

 

[Dizzydent]

What about Green Day's "American Idiot" and the Johnny Test Theme song?

As a kid I always wondered why a weird version of the Johnny Test theme song played in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It was only when I grew up I learned the difference.

Also, if I recall, didn't Green Day threaten to sue over the song?

Spoiler: A Neat Mix

But do you remember when green day ripped off Pachelbel?

 

[SloberrinJ]

The Cult Love Removal Machine opening riff sounds like the intro to The Stones' Start Me Up, but The Cult was on The Stones' Beggars Banquet label, so either not an accident or whatever. This song was on their fourth or fifth album.

edited to fix entering of media, sorry

 

[DiceindaMirror]

 

[Gensou Hadou]

Pitbull totally ripped off Scatman John.

Neat mix:

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Not Michael Jackson

 

[Knives Out]

Not Michael Jackson

That was way more catchier than it had any right to be.

 

[sasazuka]

Early South Park had a few memorable soundalike tracks from before they had the budget to license all that many songs.

Spoiler: South Park - I Can't Believe It's Not 'Believe' by Cher

Spoiler: South Park - I Can't Believe It's Not 'Orinoco Flow' by Enya

I always thought that the original Sailor Moon "In the Name of the Moon, I'll Punish You" speech music from the first season sounded suspiciously like the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics theme by David Foster.

Spoiler: Sailor Moon vs. David Foster