Play the two YouTube videos at the same time. See what happens. Thank you, Brendan O’Brien, for making Bruce sound like a corporate goon.
Incidentally, Tommy Heath has no plans on suing.
[RELATED: The "My Sweet Lord"/"He's So Fine" plagiarism suit.]
The Call by Yannick Murphy: The always interesting author of Here They Come and Signed, Mata Hari returns with a novel that whips up a worldview from a rather quirky set of limitations: namely, the call logs that a veterinarian maintains as his son is unexpectedly put into a coma and an unforgiving economy denies him work. What emerges is a surprisingly optimistic, often funny, and very moving account on how one family uses acceptance and forgiveness as a way to atone for hard knocks. (Bat Segundo interview with Murphy)
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber: Forget Franzen and Eugenides. If you're looking for a social novel that counts, Diana Abu-Jaber is the author you're looking for. Building from the free-form exploration of consciousness and identity in Crescent and the gripping procedural structure of Origin, Abu-Jaber's latest novel is her finest, equally fluent with gutterpunk culture and smarmy real estate men. It has been suggested by The Washington Post's Ron Charles that you will likely gain some pounds while reading this novel. This is certainly true. Abu-Jaber's description of food is so precise that it often made me want to do more cooking. But I very much admired the way in which Abu-Jaber presents all her characters as unwitting victims of rough capitalism, which permits them some dignity even as they perform terrible acts.
The Last of the Live Nude Girls by Sheila McClear: This memoir isn't so much about the decline of the Times Square peepshow, as it is about one young woman's efforts to pull herself up by by her bootstraps when presented with few economic options. Filled with self-introspective candor and a quiet dignity, McClear's story is one that might befall any of us in these volatile times. While McClear does get back on her feet, her book leads one contemplating the terrible fates of other young women now moving to New York and falling into deadlier vocations. (Bat Segundo interview with McClear)
Oh please.Slightly sounds alike.If you listen to enough music almost everything sounds like something else.Early Dylan especially.
Damn, that’s almost as eerie as playing “Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wizard of Oz” concurrently..
Don’t go hating on Bruce.
Dude, if you could copyright an arpeggiated chord sequence…
See, what George did was lift (subconsciously?) a large chunk of the *melody* of “He’s So Fine”, which is a monumental diff, legally, ethically and aesthetically.
Bruce is cleared of all charges.
(Now let’s compare 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Going On?” to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and I’ll see you in court)
Similar, but not close enough for anything other than “And Tommy Tutone got it from…”
I could write a song with that same progression in that same key.
But if I did, Ed, copyright infringement would not be what you’d be outraged about. Or anyone else who heard it, for that matter. Fortunately, for the world, there will never be a Jim Winter song that sounds like “867-5309″
My great aunt in Akron (who had that phone # in 1983) would roll over in her grave if I did that.
Hey, in Western music, only twelve notes in the scale, only so many ways to arrange them that’ll get on the radio. Good for Tommy Heath for being cool about it. But I’m the wrong guy to ask; I didn’t think Wayne Coyne needed to pay Yusuf Islam damages for “Fight Test”/”Father and Son” similarities either.
What the h***????? Tommy Heath didn’t even write Jenny. What is it exactly he’s being “cool” about Brian?
Any connection between The Boss and Tommy Tutone (aka Tommy Heath) is completely in the mind of Tommy Heath. It’s his only connection to any kind of “fame” these days.
I read in digg that he has two reports of child abuse filed against him. Is that true? Anybody know? Gives a whole new meaning to his fine, fine work on “Hit Me Baby One More Time”. Doncha think?
Oh. Yeah. Bruce Springsteen has to rip off Tommy Tutone to make a song. Right.
What planet did you say you were from?
Not only is it not considered plagiarism to ‘steal’ a chord progression, these progressions aren’t even identical. The first chord in ‘Jenny’ is F# major, while Bruce’s counterchord is F# minor. For those of you who don’t know music theory, this is actually a big difference. (Try playing both chords at the same time if you don’t believe me – it would be very dissonant.) Also, the last chords of the riff are very different: B and E (only one common note between the two).
One song that ACTUALLY uses Tommy’s F#-D-A-B progression would be ‘All Downhill From Here’ by New Found Glory (among others).
Go call THEM plagiarists now, why doncha.
– Reverend ‘Why Do They Let 14-Year-Olds On The Internet?’ Flash