Song Parallels

Adele has sold more records than anyone over the past couple of years, and her singles have been darn near inescapable; over the next couple of decades, we won't be surprised to hear a long list of young artists claiming her music as an influence. But judging from the chorus of one of Bruno Mars' biggest hits, Adele's success might already be exerting a major impact on her fellow songwriters. Read

Aside from their New York roots, you wouldn't think Barry Manilow and the Strokes had much in common -- after all, Manilow is a Brill Building-inspired pop songwriter famous for his many hit ballads, while the Strokes' garage-fueled power chords brought them widespread critical acclaim as one of the most important young rock bands of the 21st century. But as it turns out, the band may have absorbe

Generally speaking, there isn't a rock band on the planet that doesn't owe some sort of debt to the Beatles -- even an act as willfully experimental as Radiohead, who stopped tinkering with unorthodox song structures long enough to borrow from one of the Fab Four's best-known recordings in 1997.

It's always been easy to detect an enthusiasm for classic new wave, punk and power pop in Weezer's music -- heck, they've been covering songs by the Clash, the Cars, Gary Numan, and the Psychedelic Furs for years. But when they sat down to record the 'Raditude' track '(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To,' did they accidentally let their influences show a little too much?

As one of the most classic rock-friendly bands to spring from the grunge revolution, Pearl Jam have always been clearly indebted to Led Zeppelin -- but that inspiration soared to painfully obvious new heights with 'Given to Fly,' a single from Pearl Jam's 1998 album 'Yield.'

They're both alternative rock legends who have suffered through internal band turmoil and extended periods of inactivity, but that isn't all Pixies and Weezer have in common. For proof, just listen to Pixies' 1989 song 'I Bleed' side-by-side with Weezer's early hit 'Undone - The Sweater Song.'

Most pop songs utilize a bass line, and quite a few of them also contain piano. But when you have two songs that use nearly identical bass and piano, you run into allegations of plagiarism -- as Delta Goodrem discovered after releasing her latest single, 'Sitting on Top of the World.'

With its distinctive galloping beat and instantly memorable chord progression, Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life' has popped up repeatedly in commercials and movie soundtracks over the years -- and perhaps also in the strains of Jet's 2003 hit 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl.'

They're separated by an ocean and several generations, but rock legends the Rolling Stones and Portland electropop duo YACHT have something in common: They both seem to enjoy the melody to the Stones' 1978 hit 'Miss You.'

The song that launched one of the most storied careers in rock music, Tom Petty's 'American Girl,' boasts an immediately recognizable chord progression that's been a mainstay on AOR stations for 35 years and counting -- and apparently a favorite for Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, too.