Musicians rip each other off all the time. Steve Miller lifted the famous “pompatus of love” lyric from a song by The Medallions. The Flaming Lips pay royalties to Yusuf Islam for similarities between Father and Son and Fight Test.
But it’s weird when you find two songs with an identical riff that were released less than a year apart from one another.
Cardiff band Los Campesinos! first released You! Me! Dancing! as a demo in the summer of 2006. Their fellows in Manchester, The Answering Machine, released Silent Hotels in 2007. I guess it’s debatable who actually wrote the riff first, but it looks like Los Campesinos! are the likely originators.
It’s not a remarkably complex bit of music, so it’s fully possible that both groups, independent of one another, threw together the same few chords. All the same, I think The Answering Machine has some ’splaining to do.
And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. When I ran a Google search for “you me dancing” + “silent hotels” I found a supporter or two, including UK music magazine powerhouse NME.
Give it a listen yourself, what do you think?
Los Campesinos – You! Me! Dancing! (clip) [0:29]
The Answering Machine – Silent Hotels (clip) [0:20]
As is often the case, doing it first meant doing it best. While The Answering Machine is largely forgettable, Los Campesinos! have continued to deliver, culminating in the fantastic full length album Hold On Now, Youngster… which was officially released in North America this month.
Filed under: Music Musings | Tagged: culture, los campesinos, music, the answering machine
There are recordings of the answering machine playing ‘Silent Hotels’ live back in November 2005. So really, do some research. They also are recording a full length debut is LA with Tony Hoffer (Beck, Belle and Sebastian, Air) So again so some research.
After listening to the riffs, i see where you’re coming from on this. There is similarity there, but like you highlghted in your piece, there’s no saying who wrote it first. Considering both bands are contempories and are influenced by the same artists (c86 and indie pop), they no doubt wrote the songs without knowing one another (afterall, it is about 4 notes on a guitar).
I like both bands but i have to say, the answering machine so much more potential than los campesinos. afterall, los camp’s debut contains the infamous riff on practically every song, at which point a glock is introduced playing the same riff. they’re predictable. I say we wait for the answering machine’s debut before deeming them ‘forgettable’.
Thanks for the comments, Jon and cyberlegs.
Jon, I was pointing out that it’s pretty tough to figure out who wrote it first, and offering an opinion. And of course I’ll listen to their debut and reasess them then. Based on what’s available now, I’m not all that thrilled.
I think cyberlegs’ asessement of Hold On Now, Youngster… is a bit harsh, but time will certainly tell which band is better. My money is still on Los Campesinos.