Bands doing really U2esque music (copping a sound)

[Flying FuManchu]

Alright, the new album is coming out and it'll be almost 4 years since last studio album. U2 has a back catalog that influences other bands from lyrics and sounds.

I ask you knowledgeable people this question. What bands out there in the mainstream, over the past couple of years have taken the U2 sound and run with it to make something that is derivative reminds you of U2. I'm not talking about lyrics. I'm talking about sonically, vocally, or if this is more specific "musically." It could be a few songs

People might mention Stapp with his cohorts Creed, but the only thing similar to this group with U2 is their lyrics and the whole earnest open arms/ showmanship stuff (early U2 mostly). I'm not looking at showmanship or lyrics. I'm talking about the music.

IMO, a band like Coldplay fits this description and they are heavily influenced by U2. You can hear it in the music. Same with early Third Eye Blind in the sense that you hear it in the guitar playing/ sound...

I recently heard The Music... huge U2 overtones with the music and the vocalist's style...

There are many others.... but I hope others can fill in the blank. Then I ask you this question after you think about it... Do you think the new album will be able to sound exciting enough and different enough from what's been put out there already?

 

[rythemwire]

let me see

Travis-awsome
Coldplay-awsome
The Walkmen-awsome
The Wallflowers-awsome


Creed-gross

 

[* MoFo *]

The Music aren't at all influenced by U2, they are more influenced by late 80's early 90's Manchester/Dance music.

Great band though, their first album is AMAZING.

 

[pepokiss]

Creed...



is that music?...





really?...




no, really !?!

 

[jick]

I ask you knowledgeable people this question. What bands out there in the mainstream, over the past couple of years have taken the U2 sound and run with it to make something that is derivative reminds you of U2. I'm not talking about lyrics. I'm talking about sonically, vocally, or if this is more specific "musically."

Many bands try to imitate U2 but fail miserable and end up being cheap imitations. It starts with Bono's voice which is very versatile - he can do stadium anthem shouts (Pride, Walk On), or eerie falsettos (Can't Help Falling In Love, Lemon), or bedroom-low crooning (Your Blue Room, Velvet Dress), or jazzy-lounge (Two Shots Of Happy, That's Life). Sure Bono may not have the vocal range of Michael Bolton or Mariah Carey but he makes it up by being one of the most versatile singers of all time. No other band can even come close to U2 vocally - although they try. Bono's vocal tone is also very distinct, unlike the Eddie Vedder growl which is easily copied (Stone Temple Pilots, Creed, Lifehouse, etc.) or the scratchy Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams style. So no band can copy U2 vocally.

Musically, many guitarists have tried to copy Edge's minimalist style but end up failing miserable because their fingers are just too playful. Edge in some songs can just stay in one fret and repeat his economical, echoey, ringing riff. This shows discipline, other guitarists will be driven crazy if they'll have to play a song that "easy" - their fingers are just too restless and undisciplined.

Sure, those bands just mentioned, especially Coldplay, Radiohead, Live, and even the Wallflowers are just U2 "knock-offs" --- kinda like a $9.99 Walmart knockoff of a $299.99 Versace or Ralph Lauren apparel.

So in my opinion, if you want U2-like sound to satisfy your wait for the next album - just listen to U2's back catalogue and don't bother with the U2-imitation bands. If you want to listen to plain music, then listen to music that doesn't borrow from U2 - music that is totally different from U2. I, for example, prefer to listen to Avril Lavigne, Rush, Psychedelic Furs, and Bon Jovi when I'm not listening to U2. I don't bother with cheapo U2 imitations because if I want sound similar to U2, I might as well just listen to the real thing.

Cheers,

J

 

[Pinball Wizard]

The Music aren't at all influenced by U2, they are more influenced by late 80's early 90's Manchester/Dance music.

Great band though, their first album is AMAZING.

Exactly my friend... their main influences are Nirvana and Jane's Addiction, as well as the Manchester/Leeds scene like you say.

It's more of a serendipitous coincidence that the sound is "similar"... if you've listened to the album at all you'd realize the huge distinction. The vocals are actually the furthest from commonality...

 

[u2popmofo]

I love U2 as much as the next fan here, but I honestly think many of you think things sound like U2 out of nothing other than a lack of exposure to other bands/music (or possibly a lack of having ever listened to those who actually influenced U2).

Truthfully, lots of the sounds/styles that many seem to think U2 created were done by a variety of bands before them. To say that other bands are now 'ripping U2 off' is just uneccessary, especially since the same could be said about U2 in the first place. All bands are influenced by someone, and whether by coincidence or purposefully, music is often going to have similarities.

 

[gareth brown]

I'm just worried that if U2 not only have this amazing new 'Punk Rock on Venus' sound, they also have a couple of tracks in their amazing style that so many love and shamelessly imitate, people will say...

WHAT?! They are so BLATANTLY ripping off Coldplay...

to which YOU will say...

....you sad pathetic little man...

 

[alexvilagosh]

Radiohead ripped off U2?????

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

AC/DC.

They've got guitar, drums, bass and vocals.

Like U2.

rip offs.

 

[gareth brown]

Ha-ha-ha!

 

[VampiressDarie]

I think U2 can come up with something different, they've done it before, they can do it again.

 

[babyman]

surely coldplay, they're pretty good, but they really sound like u2, reeeeeeeally a lot!

 

[Numbology]

Yep.coldplay and travis---copycats

 

[Blacksword]

I don't know I'd call Cold Play a rip-off of Pablo-Honey Radiohead to a certain extent (mostly their first album - as a side note the number of Radiohead-esque bands that crop up in the UK is truly amazing) with U2 influences more noticable in the new stuff.

Though anyone who calls Radiohead a U2 ripoff is on crack. Especailly after Kid A and Amnesiac. Pablo Honey era Radiohead had some minimal U2 influences. The Bends only really on High and Dry which really doesn't sound like any other Radiohead song. And as much as Edge defined the chiming guitar sound he doesn't own it, and in terms of feel a song like Street Spirit has feel and a dense sound quite unlike U2. Radiohead's songs are a lot more layered and dense because they can have up to 3 guitars on one song by virtue of being a 5 person band. Getting to OK computer. Karma Police sounds more like a Beatles song (in the first half at least) than anything else. Structurally Thom's lyrics aren't anything like Bono's and the same goes for subject matter. Vocally Radiohead really pushes harmonies and lilting melodies more than U2 ever did. Radiohead prior to Kid A did songs which were either much more straight rock sounding or etherial than U2's material. Radiohead has always had a certain etherial sound that has been their own. There are certain points of influence, but come on U2 was influenced by plenty of bands and no one comes off calling them ripoffs. And really anyone who can call the material on Kid A or Amnesiac U2 rip offs has been eating paint chips.

 

[Michael Griffiths]

Exactly my friend... their main influences are Nirvana and Jane's Addiction, as well as the Manchester/Leeds scene like you say.

It's more of a serendipitous coincidence that the sound is "similar"... if you've listened to the album at all you'd realize the huge distinction. The vocals are actually the furthest from commonality...

But isn't The Music influenced by Led Zeppelin as well? U2 is also very much influenced by Led Zeppelin (especially evident in pre-ATYCLB U2...especially The Joshua Tree...), and this is where some might find a similarity.

 

[Michael Griffiths]

I don't know I'd call Cold Play a rip-off of Pablo-Honey Radiohead to a certain extent (mostly their first album - as a side note the number of Radiohead-esque bands that crop up in the UK is truly amazing) with U2 influences more noticable in the new stuff.

Though anyone who calls Radiohead a U2 ripoff is on crack. Especailly after Kid A and Amnesiac. Pablo Honey era Radiohead had some minimal U2 influences. The Bends only really on High and Dry which really doesn't sound like any other Radiohead song. And as much as Edge defined the chiming guitar sound he doesn't own it, and in terms of feel a song like Street Spirit has feel and a dense sound quite unlike U2. Radiohead's songs are a lot more layered and dense because they can have up to 3 guitars on one song by virtue of being a 5 person band. Getting to OK computer. Karma Police sounds more like a Beatles song (in the first half at least) than anything else. Structurally Thom's lyrics aren't anything like Bono's and the same goes for subject matter. Vocally Radiohead really pushes harmonies and lilting melodies more than U2 ever did. Radiohead prior to Kid A did songs which were either much more straight rock sounding or etherial than U2's material. Radiohead has always had a certain etherial sound that has been their own. There are certain points of influence, but come on U2 was influenced by plenty of bands and no one comes off calling them ripoffs. And really anyone who can call the material on Kid A or Amnesiac U2 rip offs has been eating paint chips.

Good stuff... I don't entirely agree with some of it, but good stuff nonetheless. U2's Passengers album came out before Kid A, and I would say songs such as U2's 'Corpse (These Chains are too Long)' are very much Kind A/Amnesiac in sound, even lyrically and vocally. Does this mean Radiohead was influenced by U2? It's possible, especially since Radiohead have always claimed to have been influenced by U2... but this mainly goes for The Unforgettable Fire era.

I think U2 have just as much an etherial sound as Radiohead. Again, The Unforgettable Fire with Lanois and Eno at the helm is one of the most etherial albums in history. The title track is what happens when pure ambience is wrapped around a structured song. It takes you somewhere definite, but lets you off in a thickness of sound that's ever changing. Radiohead borrowed heavily from this techniqe in The Bends and OK Computer.

I also think U2 songs (especially if Lanois and Eno produced) are very "muddy", with kind of a "wall of sound" made up of many layers. Radiohead's production is more compartmentalized, in that you can discern each and every layer separately. That's what Nigel Godrich brings to the table. This is the major difference I see in their sound.

Back to the point of the thread - Check out a band called Pilate. Their single 'Into Your Hideout' is a blatent U2/Radiohead/Coldplay spinoff to the extreme. Great riff, though.

 

[DaveC]

Yeah, Pilate kicks mad ass.

You wanna know a song that's a U2 ripoff (but a damn good one)? Take It Back by Pink Floyd. Trust me.

 

[Numbology]

Yeah,that's the same thing that was on my mind!
Take it Back has the beginning,chorus and pretty much the lyrics similar to the Streets or ISHFWILF.
BTW,Pink Floyd-my second fav band

 

[Numbology]

The Fly:?they say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by the moon?-that's from Pink Floyd's song called Eclipse.yes,i know it's not topic-related,but what the heck

 

[DaveC]

Well...sorta. The U2 version is "they say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by the moon" and the PF version is "but the sun is eclipsed by the moon". For further info (and cause I feel like it) here are the words to Eclipse by Pink Floyd:

ECLIPSE (Waters)

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel
And all that you love
And all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy
Beg, borrow or steal
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All you say
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

 

[Fuzzy Bird]

Remy Zero... good band (not excellent) and with a "U2esque" sound

 

[Michael Griffiths]

Well...sorta. The U2 version is "they say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by the moon" and the PF version is "but the sun is eclipsed by the moon". For further info (and cause I feel like it) here are the words to Eclipse by Pink Floyd:

ECLIPSE (Waters)

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel
And all that you love
And all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy
Beg, borrow or steal
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All you say
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

'Walk On' also heavily "borrows" from those lyrics.

"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a theif / all kill their inspiration and I'll sing about their grief"

"We're stealing from the thieves."

- Bono

 

[LetItGo]

I don't consider any band as riipping off anyone; music influences artists that develop after it is made.

I will say that when I first heard a Coldplay song I heard played in a music store, I would have sworn on a life that it was Bono and U2 for about 3 days until I was convinced by others that U2 didn't "sneak" a song out when I wasn't looking. Now that I know and like Coldplay a lot, I think Bono's voice is way superior to Chris'.

 

[U2girl]

Everyone borrows from others; and from bands out there today I think only Coldplay definitely borrows from U2 - Edge's sound.

 

[phommel]

Though anyone who calls Radiohead a U2 ripoff is on crack.

I totally agree!

 

[phommel]

Don't forget to mention Ryan Adams new album!!!! The guitar in 'So Alive' sounds like Edges guitarplay

 

[bayernfc]

I won't call it ripping off since U2 also sound amazing similar to other earlier bands...

but definitely Coldplay and the 2 canadian newcomers Pilates and whoever sang that "anger as beauty" song sound amazingly similar.