Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Plagiarism, Flattery, etc.

Since someone from Bosnia found this benighted little blog using the search terms "Bloc Party Chameleons," and since my ability to concentrate on anything longer than two paragraphs has deserted me this week, I'll go back to an old hobbyhorse.

I've often banged on about how certain practitioners of the new-wave revivalist thingy have borrowed from Manchester '80s and '00s band The Chameleons. A brief musical demonstration:

mp3: Bloc Party--"Helicopter" (from Silent Alarm)
mp3: The Chameleons--"In Shreds" (from What Does Anything Mean? Basically)

The metrical guitar lines and general energy level. For the BP track, stir in an extra dollop of Public Image Limited.

mp3: Editors--"Fingers In The Factories" (from The Back Room)
mp3: The Chameleons--"Seriocity" (from Strange Times)

The harmonic landscape and vocal cadences, not to mention the vocal timbres when Mr. Editors guy's in the upper range in the chorus.

mp3: The Killers--"Mr. Brightside" (from Hot Fuss)
mp3: The Chameleons--"One Flesh" (from What Does Anything Mean? Basically)

The royalty check is in the post.

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