I agree music is very subjective...but you can't argue with some things in music. Sure there is such a thing as different interpretations, but how can you say that "Life In Technicolor" isn't a rip of Streets/COBL?!?! Chord progressions, song structure, etc. cannot be argued based on interpretation...it is what it is...
Uh...no. Did you even bother to pick up an instrument before writing that? Aside from the fade-in, "Life In Technicolor" and "Where The Streets Have No Name" have virtually nothing in common. They're not even in the same key!
Let's compare intros, shall we? LIT fades in to a synthesiser riff. I have tabbed it out for guitar and included the notes below it:
Code:
e|-12------------------9-----------11-------|
b|-------12---10---------9-----12-----------|
g|----13----------11------------------------|
d|------------------------------------------|
a|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|
E G# B A F# C# G# B D#
That repeats a couple of times. Now, some people might argue that this is very similar to Streets, which also features a fade in, some synth, and a repetitive riff. Alas...U2 did not invent this musical idea. It has been around for quite some time. Check out some 70s prog bands, you'll have a blast! Anyway, here is the riff (guitar, not synthesiser) that is repeated in Streets:
Code:
e|-10-----------------------|
b|----10-------------10-----|
g|-------12-11-12p11--------|
d|--------------------------|
a|--------------------------|
E|--------------------------|
D A G F# G F# A
LIT also features a
second riff in its intro before it builds up into the full band section of the song. It goes something like this:
Code:
e|-----------0----------2-2-0-----|
b|---0---2----------0---------0---|
g|-2---2---2---2--2---2-----------|
d|--------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------|
e|-----------0----------4-4-0-----|
b|---0---2----------0-------------|
g|-2---2---2---2--2---2-----------|
d|--------------------------------|
a|--------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------|
Well, gosh, there's nothing like that in Streets!
Moving on to chord progressions...LIT is written in the key of A. An acoustic guitar starts playing during the second riff. The basic progression followed is this:
A D A
A D A
F#m D A
E A
The chords then change (during the vocal bit) to this progression:
F#m D C#m
F#m D C#m
F#m D A
E
The song then ends on A.
Streets, on the other hand, is written in the key of D. Four chords are played during each verse and chorus of the song:
D G Bm A
And that's it. Streets ends by going back into the intro riff - something that doesn't happen in LIT. There is also no change in progression midway through the song, like there is in LIT.
In summation: different song structures + different keys + different chord progressions = different songs. I don't know how you came up with the idea that LIT was a rip-off of Streets. I haven't compared the song to COBL, but I can guarantee you that I would reach the same conclusion if I did. You're basically grasping at straws here.
Want to see a
real musical rip-off?
Tom Petty vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers
