
Talking Heads vs. No Doubt – Song Parallels
We're obviously pretty excited about the new No Doubt record, 'Push and Shove,' but that doesn't mean we can't admit it when the band may have taken a page from one of its stronger influences. Take, for instance, their 2002 hit 'Hella Good.'
When 'Hella Good' hit the charts as a single from the band's 'Rock Steady' album, pop fans with long memories noticed that the song's bass line sounded mighty familiar, and for good reason: It bears a striking resemblance to the one that powers 'Making Flippy Floppy,' a track from Talking Heads' 1983 album 'Speaking in Tongues.'
Although 'Making Flippy Floppy' was never a single -- and 'Speaking in Tongues' never made it higher than Number 15 on the Billboard charts -- the album, and the band, exerted a strong influence on the dance-pop of the '80s, '90s and beyond. And while there isn't any proof that the band (or their co-writers and producers in the Neptunes) had Talking Heads in mind when they wrote 'Hella Good,' we're sure they wouldn't mind being lumped in with such highly regarded forebears. Have a listen to clips from the two songs below, and let us know what you think!
Listen to Talking Heads, 'Making Flippy Floppy'
Listen to No Doubt, 'Hella Good'