Musician's Thread

Nice - I hope you let us hear it! :smile:

I didn't know that Danny Elfman did the Midnight Run soundtrack but listening to it I can hear pure 80s Oingo Boingo throughout. There are some styles in it that I wouldn't normally associate with Danny Elfman (the lounge jazz at about 7 minutes in is something that sounds almost like 70s Paul Simon). But at about 3 minutes in - that is total Oingo Boingo territory - throughout the 10 minutes lots of it sounds like parts he had used for 1987's Boi-ngo and I think he recycled some of it for 1990s Dark at the End of the Tunnel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eLQfeAQCqM

Yeah, it's pretty much the same tune, isn't it.

There is a fun YouTube series on Riffs that sound the same. It's not necessarily accusing anyone of anything, but simply makes some fairly spot-on comparisons.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF-9US-FxGY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVAgnFJKPBA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Oj2ExdRWM

Brixmis said:

Yeah, it's pretty much the same tune, isn't it.

Yep - but it's cool cause Danny Elfman wrote both (he is the genius behind both Oingo Boingo - and many great movie soundtracks). Midnight Run was early in his career when he was trying to do both - so I am not surprised there is crossover between his soundtracks and his rock band. I am a huge Danny Elfman fan - so I was surprised I didn't know he did the Midnight Run soundtrack, but as soon as I heard it I was instantly impressed as his soundtrack work is usually more symphonic in nature - although you can hear traces of Oingo Boingo in everything he does (The Nightmare Before Christmas is almost like a lost Boingo album as he takes the singing voice of Jack Skellington).

Zenbane said:

There is a fun YouTube series on Riffs that sound the same. It's not necessarily accusing anyone of anything, but simply makes some fairly spot-on comparisons.

Yep - there are only so many pleasing combinations you can make in music (there are only 12 notes) - and when it comes to popular music you pretty much have to negate 75% of music as the more difficult arrangements tend to leave non-musicians feeling cold. You are pretty much left with 4/4 time signatures, sympathetic chord structures and melodies, and trying to find a good hook.

If there's one remark I hate when I've written a song, it's "Oh that sounds like XXXX" or "That's just XXXX with different words/bits added on".

First time it happened to me - I had come up with this cool riff, and I was showing it to the band. They were like - that's Hyacinth House by The Doors. I told them to eff off it was mine - and then I listened to the song... yeah I hate it too LOL

But lately I have begun to care less so much about stuff sounding like other stuff - because everything is going to sound like something.

I had a bandmate who was just obsessed with stealing riffs.

He would hear a new song one day and then come back to practice the next saying, "Hey guys check out what I wrote." And it was literally the same damn thing. It was hard for me not to say... "I can't pretend we all weren't just listening to that Riff from the original author the other day bro. No no."

He'd walk in proudly proclaiming, "I wrote a song, check it out!"

And then...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKUWvVCwvE

No doubt - that would annoy me beyond, especially 'cause I don't even like playing covers note for note.

I've never had to steal a riff directly with intent - I'd never approach songwriting in such a blatant manner - for me it is more that sometimes musical influence shows up and I am less inclined to throw something out if it reminds me of something else these days. I write in parts too - so I will end up with like 9 or 10 riffs or mini songs and then I will see what works together from that and end up with 2 or 3 full songs.

When I was in highschool, I wrote my own death metal song start to finish. And then one day I went and bought the Napalm Death album, Harmony Corruption.

I was devastated when I heard my song already existed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbQ51jjOgBs


It may sound like bullcrap, but from the first second up to the 1:14 mark... that was literally the song I wrote. The only deviation is that I had a different vocal pattern. But the guitar riffs and tempo were identical. I never believed I could ever become an actual "rock star" in life - and I never fathomed trying. Music has always been a fun hobby for me; so in the end I took this one moment where I accidentally wrote a Napalm Death song as a personal accomplishment.
:)

I know that feeling...seldom occurence for me but it happens.
Worst case was around 2 years ago, I had a great melody, a free weekend, a lot of booze and spent nearly 14 hours from friday evening till next saturday noon recording 12 guitar tracks, programming drums and starting on a rough orchestration...to then going to sleep, waking up completly destroyed 6 hours after...doing the household chores while listening to music on shuffle just to hear nearly the same melody in a Helloween song...that I hadn't listened to for years.

@Zenbane
Nice one, haven't listened to Harmony Corruption in years. Was a good start in the morning ;-)