General Music Chat

Just read kind of an interesting bit of info in a Corky Laing interview. He said he was a huge fan of The Band, and Levon Helm's drumming, and that the groove he played on Mississippi Queen was basically him consciously copying the beat from The Band's "Up On Cripple Creek". Seemed unlikely to me since the tunes are so different, but I gave them a listen, and yep...pretty similar feel.

Similarities abound everywhere in the musical realm. From Manfred Mann's Earth Band's version of "Blinded By the Light" being based on the chords to "Chopsticks", to the drums at the beginning of Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" being based on a Harley Davidson. That's why I love it.

One of the funnier comments I heard on the subject of similarities came from the often accused of stealing Jimmy Page. I'm paraphrasing, but some dozy interviewer thinking she must have had a real scoop says "do you realize that the chord pattern to the Stairway to Heaven solo is suspiciously similar to All Along The Watchtower"? And he says "and here I was thinking I was copying Hit The Road Jack"

That reminds me of the story of U2 doing a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for the problem of starving children all over the world. Bono walks out on the stage and starts slowly clapping his hands together. He does this for about a minute and then says, "Each time I clap my hands together, a child dies from starvation somewhere in the world." Then a voice from the crowd shouts back, "Well then, quit fookin' doin' it, mate!"

LOL..