financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
Has anyone noticed the similarity of Breathe to several REM songs?
I like this one, might even get the album.
I like this one, might even get the album.
Breathe - REM influenced
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BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
I can see where the quick phrasing is REM like...
Niceman
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I've described the song as Stipe influenced...
OP
OP
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
BVS said:
Exactly, the very rapid vocals in the first few verses - almost 'scat singing' although not quite - are very reminiscent of REM's 'End of the World as We know it and I feel Fine'.
When I first listened to Breathe, I immediately was reminded of:-
(That's not a criticism, BTW.)
The second thing that reminds me of an REM song is the lyric:-
It puts me in mind of the lyric from REM's Daysleeper:-
It conjures up an image of a guy who is watching the markets a bit too often, which is something I must admit I can identify with.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Someone had raised the question in a thread back when the album was released. The rapid-fire verses reminds me a lot of "Departure" off New Adventures in Hi-Fi.
david
ONE love, blood, life
I felt it was more Dylan influenced.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
This, and it may have been me? Or I just REALLY agreed with the suggestion.
OP
OP
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
That's the one.
Iskra
War Child
dead on.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
I always think that, which is fine, sonically its quite unique from U2 or their influences, and the chorus is pure Bono/Edge melody, but those verses are delivered like Departure, and some of the lyrics are akin to Stipe.
last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
I've always felt Boots sounds a bit like End of the World.
solemole
War Child
I was thinking about Breathe the other day...
IMHO, Breathe seems to be the 00s Bullet the Blue Sky... the "speak"-rhyme in verse.
There's more I could say, but I'm tired.
In any case, I prefer BTBS.
IMHO, Breathe seems to be the 00s Bullet the Blue Sky... the "speak"-rhyme in verse.
There's more I could say, but I'm tired.
In any case, I prefer BTBS.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Thankfully, it's not completely throwaway album filler like that song, but yeah, I can hear that.
Marien
Refugee
The way of saying the verses reminds me of Bob Dylan somehow.
standrums
War Child
I can't stand BTBS - I hope they stop playing it on this tour. Time for something new.
Zooropean103
Refugee
It rather reminds me the way Jagger sings.
That, and something about the song delivery reminds me of John Lennon.
gman
New Yorker
Nah.........you all missing the REAL influence. I would say it is Thin Lizzy-esque
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
909 St. John divine?
I agree, I can hear it in the way he sings "runnin' down the road like loose electricity".
ImOuttaControl
Refugee
Yeah, I don't hear any REM in the song....it reminds me of Dylan and Lennon as others have said.
The cello is definitely very Beatles ala I Am The Walrus
The cello is definitely very Beatles ala I Am The Walrus
xtrmx
War Child
Breathe sounds like a HTDAAB B-side, a bad one.
ImOuttaControl
Refugee
How is that?
Breathe and Unknown Caller are the only songs on the album that IMO sound like nothing they've ever done...very fresh.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Yeah, I don't agree it sounds like a Bomb b-side, but I can't agree with rest of the statement.
I think Breathe has moments that do sound familiar(not that that's bad), but songs like MOS, Fez, Cedars, NLOTH and to an extent Crazy have something that U2 have never done before...
ImOuttaControl
Refugee
See, that's the great thing about the album, it really has a lot of fresh moments.
With soooo many songs in their catalogue, there is always that familiarity. For example, NLOTH sounds very fresh to me, but to me it's musically very reminiscent to The Fly. Not exactly the same, but both are in the key of E and have a very similar beat in the verses.
Yeah, if any song sounds the closest to the HTDAAB sound, it's easily Breathe. The final part of the song after the solo is HTDAABtastic. This is not a good thing.
If there is an REM influence, it's not strong to me - but then I only really listen to eighties REM.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Here's where I see the comparison between the REM song and Breathe - the style of the verses are very similar. Other than the verses, I find no similarities between the two.
I think there's a BIG similarity here, rather than just a vague "oh, it's like Dylan or End of the World As We Know It because it's fast."
YouTube - R.E.M Departure Antwerp 2005-02-07
I think there's a BIG similarity here, rather than just a vague "oh, it's like Dylan or End of the World As We Know It because it's fast."
YouTube - R.E.M Departure Antwerp 2005-02-07
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Yeah, it's in the same key and the strumming pattern is the same, but the rest of the song has a very fresh approach...
There's only so many chords, instruments, strumming patterns, etc... you will always find similar veins even the most "experimental" bands have this happen when they've been around for a long time.
Take Oasis for example, they've written several songs in the same structure and pattern, so much so that you can find a handful of parodies on youtube, but they can still write a good song...
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
I don't follow REM like I used to, who is the second guitarist? Crazy looking dude...
REM photos always cracked me up, because you had STIPE and then three(now two) dudes that looked like they just left a Star Trek convention.
I can hear the influence... I've always been amazed by Stipe's ability to write and sing rapid fire lyrics, it's not an easy thing to do.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
I'm pretty sure that's Scott McCaughey (sp?), who's been touring them for quite some time.
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