I was listening to Supercollider by Fountains of Wayne a while back. As I was listening, I found myself thinking “Y’know this sounds a bit like Oasis”. A quick visit to Wikipedia, and yup, it turns out that’s deliberate – the band were fans and wanted to write a song in that style. This hasn’t affected my enjoyment of the song a bit – I like Oasis, plus the song is a very Midwestern take on the Gallagher brothers, if that makes sense. They add something.
That got me thinking about other examples of an artist recording something in the style of someone else, for whatever motive. Fans of the Coen brothers will remember the fictional group Autobahn in The Big Lebowski. On the soundtrack, their long time collaborator Carter Burwell provides one of their songs (“Techno Pop”), which is a pretty good pastiche of Dusseldorf’s finest.
Sometimes it can stretch to an entire album. The Cult’s “Electric” is obviously the result of producer Rick Rubin trying a thought experiment to see to what would have happened if Jim Morrison had replaced Bon Scott in AC/DC after the latter had died (I know there were some logistical issues in that actually happening, but let’s not limit our creativity here. There are some Post-it notes in the corner). Whatever the motive, it’s the best AC/DC album since Back in Black.
Any others?
I’ve always thought the same of Elevator Up from Out-of-State Plates. B-side to Stacy’s Mom so also from the WIM era.
Yup, that’s good. That one’s not on my CD. I have the first album, plus WIM and Utopia Parkway. Really good band.
Fabulous band. They did a good tribute to Ray Davies too
And Tim O’Brien has this on the same album
And here’s Otway performing I Will Survive in the style of His Bobness
…and Stacy’s Mom (at least in parts) nods heavily at the Cars – the video has a pastiche Cars reference.
And on the number plate on Mom’s car. Not that I’ve studied the video of course.
The Dukes Of Stratosphere, XTC’s homage of 1960s psychedelic pop is an entire couple of albums worth of pastiche. It’s all fantastic, both albums should be in any collection, but perhaps the most obvious “in the style of” tune has to be Pale And Precious, a beautiful Beach Boys drenched classic.
I have a playlist called ‘Tonight, Matthew’ which is all acts paying tribute/pastiching Brian Wilson and Co. Here’s The Raspberries:
That’s great! You can hear how Teenage Fanclub might have taken some influence from there as well.
Blindingly obvious but a proper group too.
I was playing the Rutles and someone much younger and I was with thought it was the Beatles but didn’t know the songs had his flabber well and truly gasted when I explained about them.
1) The Rutles are a great shout when you fancy listening to The Beatles but are a bit jaded by overplay…
2) I will die on the hill that “Let’s Be Natural” is a better song than putative inspiration “Dear Prudence”…
Disagree, almost nothing is better than Dear Prudence
Yup, I agree. Hold on, you’re talking about the Siouxsie and the Banshees version, right?
Nope
I think Get Up and Go is better than Get Back.
Get away
Cheese and Onions found its way onto a bootleg in the US claiming to be newly discovered Beatles/ Lennon demos.
Get Up And Go was left off the original album as it was felt “too close to get away with”
Another Day is Martha My Dear with better lyrics: “A glass of wine with Gertrude Stein I know I’ll never share/ But I don’t mind that’s just the kind of cross each man must bear.”
This is Pet Shop Boys’ Oasis song.
Kraftwerk – Radioactivity
OMD – Electricity
Hadn’t noticed that before, you’re absolutely right.
The Raspberries Starting Over LP is full of different pastiches.
Here they are doing …..hey, it will only take a few bars to spot it…
Apologies – I missed that this had already been posted!
Talking of the Fountains and pastiches:-
I guess any pastiche post needs to include the hugely popular festival band, the Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican, who play folkified versions of popular hits of the day. Or, more often, of yesterday. I don’t get them myself, but many do. (having said, the re-written lyrics are capable of raising a smile.)
So, popular AW mop-tops:
and something newer in wave:
and, is it Lady Di’s favourite:
When I first heard it, I was convinced Horse With No Name was CSNY (or maybe just Y on his own)
Paul does his old friend John
The Boss does his impression of Ian McNobb and chums.
Really? I thought it was more of a Beach Boys or Burt Bacharach “tribute”
It’s brilliant, whatever it is
I agree, the best thing he’d done for ages, and possibly the last thing I bought.
The Icicle Works hardly sounded unique, more like a mid-80s take on CSNY. See also McNobb’s later dalliance with Crazy Horse. And this, where Ian goes the full Shakey:
Bob Dylan’s pastiche/pisstake of The Beatles.
Possibly more of a pastiche of The Beatles (Lennon) when they were trying to be like Dylan, I’m a Loser, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away, Norwegian Wood (especially)
The Dame parodies his great frenemy…
Morrissey has a go at Bowie (5 Years similar), a “tribute” that was reciprocated
Queen Bitch tributes The Velvet Underground
Suzanne Vega with her Dylan pastiche- tribute. Chambermaid.
Senor Coconut’s electro-latino cover versions are always a treat.
Time for a visit to Venice Beach for some blue-eyed soul nostalgia with the Conchords…
My favourite is their Visage/ Blitz Kids/ Electroclash tribute: “You think fashion’s a friend/ My friend fashion is danger”
That is wonderful. @Pessoa. YT then suggested this song,
Even without costumes, props etc, they were hilarious.
The whole show was excellent….
Pete Wingfiled’s ’18 With A Bullet’ was written as a pastiche of doo-wop. Total choon.
Talking Heads had never heard Joy Division but they listened to Eno’s description and seen the album covers.
Did Talking Heads, at the time of Remain In Light, sound like King Crimson or was it the other way round?
Remain in Light was released a few months before Discipline, and Adrian Belew is on both. However there is a lot of crossover between the two bands and they moved in the same circle.
This might be the spark that lit both flames…
I have played Remain in Light 100s of times. I have played that track about twice
Pity. It’s a perfect conclusion to an album that starts fast, gets slower with each track, until it grinds to a halt and collapses into itself.
In and of itself, I find The Overload deeply unsettling.
Just can’t do it
I read that when David Byrne eventually did hear Joy Division he was disappointed they didn’t sound like how they were described. Weren’t we all, duckie?
Pitch perfect Brian tribute from John Cale
The chorus has merit, but too much hoot in the verses.
Best Wilson pastiches/tributes were the songs of the Wondermints and of Jeffrey Foskett, so much so that members of the former were used by Brian to be his post BB band, and Foskett became a Beach Boy.
And then there is this, Henry Gross:
Swedish 90s band Brainpool did this rather brilliant Beatles pastiche, which is also a dig at the music biz, called “Free Ride”…
Do stick around for the long outro!
Another Beach Boys pastiche and it’s pretty good.
Don’t think we’ve had this yet. The late, great Karl W’s tribute, wrapped up in a Gulf War protest:
A wonderful tribute/pastiche/piss-take…
And another…this is gorgeous.
The holy trinity of Beatles, Beach Boys and Stones could prolly easily fill such a thread
To whit, The Stones = Dandy Warhols Bohemian Like You,
The Beatles = Tears for Fears’ Sowing The Seeds of Love.
I think this is one absolutely peerless Beach Boys homage, crammed with ear catching well meaning references and a deft way with harmony / melody:
First Class – Beach Baby
French horn interlude nicked from Sibelius Fifth Symphony. Later nicked again by Strawberry Switchblade on Since Yesterday – and he gets a writing credit on neither.
See, this is what I’ve been talking about…
Well, if they don’t own up…it was only because it was a question at a pub trivia quiz that I discovered the origins of Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself”
Dandy Warhols Bohemain Like You may be the best song The Stones never wrote …
see also Black Crowes – Jealous Again, or Primal Scream – Movin On Up.
Special mention for Ver Scream’s Country Girl (but Bobby Gillespie maintains this was in their Faces “phase”
I’ve seen Primal Scream live, and I thought it was the worst Black Crowes tribute band I’d ever seen.
Dexys – This Is What She’s Like is “influenced by” The Beach Boys. One of Those Things, from the same album, *is* Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London.
The cheeky scamps.
WZ and/or his people sued KR and won.
Kev fessed up on the DSMD Director’s Cur sleeve notes and WZ and Waddy Wachtel now receive co-writing credits
Yes. What amazes me is that Dexys spent years in studios with dozens of engineers and producers, and nobody said “hang about, isn’t that a bit WoL?”
Ironic, too, that the chorus of OoTT is “It all sounded the same”
see also Hit The Ground Running by Doves
What a thoroughly enjoyable thread. Many gems I’ve never heard..
Can I broaden the question out a little and ask about pastiches, tributes and rip offs in other musical genres?
Classical music, jazz, world music, electronica……
Any ideas @fitterstoke @pencilsqueezer.
I stumbled across this and it got me thinking.
https://www.wqxr.org/story/top-five-musical-pastiches/
It seems to me that VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY… is at the heart of classical music. Not to mention folk music.
A very obvious example but it is so gorgeous…..
No mention yet of Zappa and his Ruben and the Jets album?
This track is from FREAK OUT
Where do that magnificent covers band, Postmodern Jukebox, fit in?
Some of their covers improve on the original.
I could listen to them all day.
You might like this take on The Specials debut single then.
That is excellent @Zanti Misfit,
Of course i wanted to know more about the band.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Louisville_Sluggers
They were a swing combo from Sydney who were active in 1990s and look like they were a lot of fun.
What a joy to discover a cult swing band from Australia.
Lovely stuff. Big Daddy are fun too!
Yes indeed @Zanti-misfit. They are wonderfully witty.
I found this page about them on the tvtropes site
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/BigDaddyBand
That led to this side project they had. Big Daddy recorded an EP as “The Benzedrine Monks of Santo Domonica,” which reworked several contemporary rock songs (like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”) as Gregorian chants.
That tv tropes LIST mentions all manner of comedy bands
‘
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ComedyMusic
I suddenly remembered this gem…
And the Goldie Lookin’ Chain
Good stuff @kaisfatdad
Proto-Rutles?
Ween ape Motörhead
Some more Zappa.
.
Thanks a lot,@Mike-H. Enjoyable to see that Frank kept his joy in doing a wacky cover version or parody.
Status Quid – Boring Song
Probably not in the spirit of the post but it does have one of the worst puns I’ve heard.
A corny Pastiche Jack the Lad.
Is there a hint of Dylan on this?
Probably possibly all three; Pastiches, Tributes and Rip-Offs. I may have had a hand in this.
“Train Of Love” by Neil Young from the Sleeps With Angels album is musically identical to “Western Hero”, which is, er, by Neil Young from the Sleeps With Angels album.