Popular band who've ripped off U2

[powerhour24]

Well coldplay could be mentioned yes i mean take a line from Violet Hill:

"When the bank became cathedrals"

Now rewind to 1996,1997 from a certain album called POP, song playboy mansion:

"The banks they're like cathedrals"

Mmm...

But seriously im sure a lot of bands are looking at U2.

Not to mention the line comes from Lemon first: "A man builds a city,
With banks and cathedrals "

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Not to mention the line comes from Lemon first: "A man builds a city,
With banks and cathedrals "

...wouldn't that mean that Bono is ripping himself off?

 

[The Sad Punk]

God, I nearly forgot that U2 invented banks and cathedrals!

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

they should a assemble a crack team of lawyers (a la Mr Burns) to go after all usage of the words banks and or cathedrals in any song...

 

[MandyMarie]

I've had three people ask me if that was Bono singing "Viva la Vida"

 

[Galeongirl]

I've had three people ask me if that was Bono singing "Viva la Vida"

Shoot them

 

[schnumi]

they should a assemble a crack team of lawyers (a la Mr Burns) to go after all usage of the words banks and or cathedrals in any song...

Yep i bet they are working on it right now...

 

[financeguy]

'High and Dry' was a rewrite of 'With or Without You', well, so what if it was?

'Where the Streets Have No Name' was a rewrite of the Doors' 'Break on Through', Bono has openly acknowledged that.

Many of my favourite songs are probably rewrites.

If you're going to rip something off then pick something that's good in the first place. It doesn't affect my enjoyment of songs like High and Dry or Streets to know that they were influenced by some other songs.

If Radiohead have been heavily influenced by people that came before them then that accusation can be levelled at U2 also.

 

[financeguy]

Passengers is way more creative than U2 will ever be. Radiohead could learn something from them.

I always thought that Passengers singer ripped off Bono's singing style.

 

[powerhour24]

God, I nearly forgot that U2 invented banks and cathedrals!

 

[GibsonGirl]

If Radiohead have been heavily influenced by people that came before them then that accusation can be levelled at U2 also.

I agree with that, but it's just going to fall on deaf ears...especially here in EYKIW.

The logic of rabid U2 defenders: Chris Martin is not allowed to use "banks" and "cathedrals" in the same sentence (it's not a coincidence at all, because U2 obviously invented that particular combination, right?) but it's a-okay and totally coincidental when Bono follows the "all that you etc" pattern of Pink Floyd's "Eclipse" in "Walk On."

 

[UberBeaver]

Why isn't Television on that list?!

You like Television? Like Marquee Moon and all that? Personally, I think they kick all kinds of ass.

 

[phillyfan26]

You like Television? Like Marquee Moon and all that? Personally, I think they kick all kinds of ass.

Marquee Moon is fucking fantastic. Especially the title track.

 

[GibsonGirl]

You like Television? Like Marquee Moon and all that? Personally, I think they kick all kinds of ass.

I want Tom Verlaine to father all of my babies.

Friction.

 

[UberBeaver]

Marquee Moon is fucking fantastic. Especially the title track.

The title track is great, but it's just so goddamn long. Venus is my favorite, I think. Elevation is great. Friction. I love that album.

 

[LMP]

I read that Radiohead's Kid A and on phase was inspired a little bit by Zooropa and the Passengers album. I hear a little bit of it, but not too much.

 

[LemonMelon]

I

I SEE

I SEE NO

EVIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL

 

[LMP]

Marquee Moon is fucking fantastic. Especially the title track.

Yeppers.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I read that Radiohead's Kid A and on phase was inspired a little bit by Zooropa and the Passengers album. I hear a little bit of it, but not too much.

I've also seen that mentioned somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me at all, as Zooropa and Passengers both fall under the general electronic music umbrella that Radiohead would have drawn on for inspiration.

I really disagree with the idea that Radiohead pretend to be U2, though. I think the author of that article is just trying to be provocative. Radiohead, as a band, are about as far-removed from U2 as possible. Influence and aspiration are very different things.

 

[LMP]

I've also seen that mentioned somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me at all, as Zooropa and Passengers both fall under the general electronic music umbrella that Radiohead would have drawn on for inspiration.

I really disagree with the idea that Radiohead pretend to be U2, though. I think the author of that article is just trying to be provocative. Radiohead, as a band, are about as far-removed from U2 as possible. Influence and aspiration are very different things.

Yeah, I definitely agree. Any artist is going to borrow a few things from their influences, I mean, why wouldn't you? You'd always want to make music or films to be something that would interest you, too, right?

Like you said, influence and aspiration are two different things, but people usually find a way to confuse the two in some way.

 

[DrTeeth]

I think a-ha should be on that list for stealing that Beautiful Day part and using it in The Sun Always Shines on TV.

Oh wait...

 

[Popmartijn]

The title track is great, but it's just so goddamn long. Venus is my favorite, I think. Elevation is great. Friction. I love that album.

Talk about a huge influence on U2. You can really hear where Edge got his playing style (minus the delay) from.
And hey... didn't U2 also have a track called Elevation?

 

[u2popmofo]

And hey... didn't U2 also have a track called Elevation?

I know! I've always hated how Television stole that idea from them. Time traveling bastards.

 

[corianderstem]

I

I SEE

I SEE NO

EVIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLL

I think a-ha should be on that list for stealing that Beautiful Day part and using it in The Sun Always Shines on TV.

Oh wait...

That criticism always bugged me. Is a two-word phrase really stealing in music, even if it's sung on the same two notes?

And Bono snippeting the a-ha song doesn't mean he deliberately set out to cop two notes and two words from them, either.

I mean come on! It's two words!

Sorry. That's always bugged me.

 

[u2popmofo]

Agreed. The "all that you ....." ending to 'Walk On' in comparison to Pink Floyd's 'Eclipse' has always seemed like much more of a "hmmmmm, that's a little too close" moment to me. And even that is hard to say if it's a tribute or completely unintentional.

 

[GibsonGirl]

The "all that you ....." ending to 'Walk On' in comparison to Pink Floyd's 'Eclipse' has always seemed like much more of a "hmmmmm, that's a little too close" moment to me. And even that is hard to say if it's a tribute or completely unintentional.

Yeah. Whatever the case is...tribute or coincidence...the similarities are remarkable. It is therefore pretty lame and hypocritical when some fans here absolutely lambast other bands for writing lyrics that just so happen to have appeared in earlier U2 songs.

Take Coldplay, for instance. "When the banks became cathedrals" vs. "The banks, they're like cathedrals." Yeah, the lines are similar...but come on, people! That's nothing compared to the similarities between Eclipse and Walk On. Observe:

"All you feel" vs "All that you feel."
"All that you see" vs "All that you see."
"All you create / All you destroy" vs "All you create / All that you wreck."
"All that you hate" vs "All that you hate."
"All that you buy, beg, borrow or steal" vs "All that you steal" (live versions of Walk On.)

So that's five cases where U2's lyrics have closely mirrored that of another band's IN ONE SONG. And yet, some of you get your panties in a knot because Coldplay used "banks" and "cathedrals" in the same line? I don't understand it.

 

[65980]

I have nothing against Coldplay and I enjoy some of their songs but I do think they sound a lot like U2. My girlfriend -- not the world's most knowledgable music fan, let it be said -- was listening to my Mp3s the other day and I played a Coldplay song. She said, "Oh, I know this song. What, that's not U2?" Then I played another Coldplay song. She said, "Oh, that's not U2?"

But to join in the larger discussion, I agree that every band's super-fans are bound to accuse other bands of ripping them off. Right now, Radiohead fans feel Coldplay sound like them; before that U2 fans thought Radiohead sounded like U2; before that Who fans thought U2 sounded like them, etc.

It is kind of pointless to discuss bands that "ripped off" U2. Obviously U2 have done their fair share of ripping off as well. The point is that there's not really such a thing as "ripping off" in music. If all you had to do to make millions and be successful was to sound like U2, then why don't more groups do it? Seems like it should be easy.

I will say one thing in praise of U2 -- I do think they worked hard to carve out their own space, musically. Once they found themselves going down the road of 'The Heirs To The Who' after War, they changed gears and forced themselves to grow and move forward. This is something that not enough bands do nowadays, partly out of corporate pressure to sell millions and not alienate audiences with strange "new directions."

So, I think U2's overall sound is somewhat unique. We should keep in mind, with bands that emerged in the 90s and 2000s, that as time goes by it gets harder and harder for guitar-based 4 or 5-piece bands to sound unique. There are only so many sounds you can get with a 6-string and a rhythm section. In the 60s, when George Harrison bought a 12-string electric guitar on the Beatles' first U2-tour, there were only two such instruments in existence on earth. So, when Roger McGuinn bought one and started The Byrds, he sounded totally different. Not so easy nowadays.

 

[rihannsu]

Yeah. Whatever the case is...tribute or coincidence...the similarities are remarkable. It is therefore pretty lame and hypocritical when some fans here absolutely lambast other bands for writing lyrics that just so happen to have appeared in earlier U2 songs.

Take Coldplay, for instance. "When the banks became cathedrals" vs. "The banks, they're like cathedrals." Yeah, the lines are similar...but come on, people! That's nothing compared to the similarities between Eclipse and Walk On. Observe:

"All you feel" vs "All that you feel."
"All that you see" vs "All that you see."
"All you create / All you destroy" vs "All you create / All that you wreck."
"All that you hate" vs "All that you hate."
"All that you buy, beg, borrow or steal" vs "All that you steal" (live versions of Walk On.)

So that's five cases where U2's lyrics have closely mirrored that of another band's IN ONE SONG. And yet, some of you get your panties in a knot because Coldplay used "banks" and "cathedrals" in the same line? I don't understand it.

Well, I agree with you. But I think one of the reasons that Coldplay and Chris Martin get slammed so hard for it is that Martin keeps talking about following U2's formula for success and thinking of all their albums in comparison to U2 albums. When he talks like that in interviews and then you have those kinds of similarity in lyrics it just opens him up to getting slammed for it. I personally don't think they sound that much like U2 because try as I might I can't seem to get a Coldplay song to stick in my head but I can't not get the U2 songs to stick. I can't for the life of me right now remember what Clocks sound like and when I do hear it on radio the song is almost over before I realise that's the Coldplay song.

Dana

 

[digitize]

Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief.

 

[DoctorMacPhisto]

Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief.

Beat me to the punch

Let's face it, music is a constant recycling bin, the good parts get passed on into new products, and the bad stuff gets left in the dump. If people rip off U2 its a sign they're still a part of the good stuff