I was listening to Maniac Monday (knowing full well the Purple Yoda wrote the song) and thought to myself, hmmm, this sounds like 1999 a bit? Anyone agree? Disagree?

Yep, it's a pretty common observance, kudos.

the melody of the verses is virtually identical to 1999. lavaux sounds like it borrows from life can be so nice (as well as pointer sisters automatic and phil collins sussudio).

robertgeorgeakabob said:

the melody of the verses is virtually identical to 1999. lavaux sounds like it borrows from life can be so nice (as well as pointer sisters automatic and phil collins sussudio).

Then it comes full circle because Sussudio is based on 1999

spot on - Phil Collins stepped across the line of plagiarism with that track !

The Pointer Sister's "Automatic" was also heavily influenced by the "Prince / MPLS sound" at the time, in the first place.

Davitt Sigerson’s April 24, 1986 review of Prince’s Parade album from Rolling Stone…

Excerpt
.....

‘When Doves Cry’ and Purple Rain, the blockbuster it introduced, weren’t even Prince’s best work. That had been achieved one record before — on 1999. A febrile double album of extended dance pieces, it featured his best song, ‘Little Red Corvette,’ and an example of his musical wit, ‘1999.’ A lover of ‘60s pop, he built ‘1999’ around the central riff of the Mamas and the Papas’ ‘Monday, Monday.’ To complete this tribute-by-triangulation,Prince has now written for the Bangles ‘Manic Monday’, which bears a melody almost identical to ‘1999’ but omits the founding riff that would link it to its original source.

.....

[Edited 4/19/11 7:21am]

NouveauDance said:

robertgeorgeakabob said:

the melody of the verses is virtually identical to 1999. lavaux sounds like it borrows from life can be so nice (as well as pointer sisters automatic and phil collins sussudio).

Then it comes full circle because Sussudio is based on 1999

jeez phil collins and prince in the same zen diagram!!

I never noticed that, and it's interesting, but lots of writers use similar melodies in different songs. Just goes to show you it doesn't matter so much when the songs are not much alike.

Lennon was big on the Three Blind Mice melody

personally i don't hear the similiarities...

SomewhereHereOnEarth said:

personally i don't hear the similiarities...

Six o clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream

I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray

It's the same melody. Sing both those lines back to back.

I had never noticed it before but now I do.

lol

I always thought that Fury was quite similair to 1999.

Certainly the main synth/horn line of Fury is very similar to 1999 ! It was also used/tweaked for Lovesexy !!

Some musician performed an acoustic mash-up on a certain video website.

Lisa has said it's the same song. That's good enough for me.

Genesia said:

Lisa has said it's the same song. That's good enough for me.

Of course...

Dancing In THe Sheets by Shalamar is the most blatant rip of 1999 ever - they even hired Micki Free to be the pretty boy guitarist to give the video image a Prince vibe (no one looked like that back then but Prince - everyone started to copy it if they wanted to be cool).

purplenuts said:

Genesia said:

Lisa has said it's the same song. That's good enough for me.

Of course...

What the fuck does "Of course... " mean? She was there. She'd know.

Genesia said:

purplenuts said:

Of course...

What the fuck does "Of course... " mean? She was there. She'd know.

Can you provide a link to the source please?

Could it be that they sound simiiar because Prince tends to record or write a great deal of his work in a 4/4 rythmn?

Its part of his 60 tribute triumverate. He took The Mamas And The Papas 'Monday Monday" melody, flipped it for 1999, and went back root with Manic (Monday) Monday with the seemingly 60's girl group pop of The Bangles.

.

[Edited 4/21/11 15:08pm]

muirdo said:

Could it be that they sound simiiar because Prince tends to record or write a great deal of his work in a 4/4 rythmn?

I don't think so. It's not so much the rhythm. It's just a similar melody at the beginning; it's not even exactly the same. The songs on the whole are totally different--the chorus, the bridge, the arrangement & the feel.

But the melody is simple, it's not surprising Prince would repeat himself here & there when he's working with simple parts like that. Not to mention they came from the same mind. Which of us has not repeated themselves to a different audience and a different context?

With melodies, you work with a shape, and the shapes of different melodies are bound to occasionally be similar because certain melodic shapes are more pleasing and we will gravitate toward them (no coincidence these two songs were both big hits). Like the shape of a woman. Same parts, different whole.

xlr8r said:

Its part of his 60 tribute triumverate. He too The mmas And The Paps 'Monday Monday" melody, flipped it for 1999, and went back root with Manic (Monday) Monday with the seemingly 60's girl group pop of The Bangles.

I'll tell you I just listened to Monday Monday and I'm shocked that Prince has never been done for plagiarism.

It's blatant.

Men At Work were done for less lol.

muirdo said:

Genesia said:

What the fuck does "Of course... " mean? She was there. She'd know.

Can you provide a link to the source please?

Org thread from Dec. 2009: Scroll down to Reply #23

http://prince.org/msg/7/325634?&pg=1

[Edited 4/21/11 8:19am]

afro75 said:

muirdo said:

Can you provide a link to the source please?

Org thread from Dec. 2009: Scroll down to Reply #23

http://prince.org/msg/7/325634?&pg=1

Thanks.

Genesia said:

afro75 said:

Org thread from Dec. 2009: Scroll down to Reply #23

http://prince.org/msg/7/325634?&pg=1

Thanks.

Hey no prob! Also the Rolling Stone critic who reviewed "Parade" mentioned the Monday, Monday-1999-Manic Monday similarities in praise of Prince:

http://princetext.tripod.com/r_parade.html

From Rolling Stone:(RS 472) April 24, 1986:

"When Doves Cry" and Purple Rain, the blockbuster it introduced, weren't even Prince's best work. That had been achieved one record before -- on 1999. A febrile double album of extended dance pieces, it featured his best song, "Little Red Corvette," and an example of his musical wit, "1999." A lover of sixties pop, he built "1999" around the central riff of the Mamas and the Papas' "Monday, Monday." To complete this tribute-by-triangulation, Prince has now written for the Bangles "Manic Monday," which bears a melody almost identical to "1999" but omits the founding riff that would link it to its original source."

Just try to sing the lyrics from "1999" over the melody of "Manic Monday". They're quite different. I'd say only the first line is similar. Maybe you could say "Manic Monday" is a "modulated" version of "1999", but even that's stretching it.

novabrkr said:

Just try to sing the lyrics from "1999" over the melody of "Manic Monday". They're quite different. I'd say only the first line is similar. Maybe you could say "Manic Monday" is a "modulated" version of "1999", but even that's stretching it.

yes, and I am not hearing Monday Monday in either tune!

afro75 said:

muirdo said:

Can you provide a link to the source please?

Org thread from Dec. 2009: Scroll down to Reply #23

http://prince.org/msg/7/325634?&pg=1

[Edited 4/21/11 8:19am]

Nice one...cheers for that.

muirdo said:

afro75 said:

Org thread from Dec. 2009: Scroll down to Reply #23

http://prince.org/msg/7/325634?&pg=1

[Edited 4/21/11 8:19am]

Nice one...cheers for that.

Bloody hell I replied to that thread.......

"I once saw an interview with The Bangles where the interviewer asked them what it was like to get a song written by Prince.The bassist Michael said that Prince didnt actually write it and that they did.
I have searched youtube high and low for that video again but I cant find it.
At the time I was put into doubt about Prince's involvement with the track because lets face it we know how Prince can be with other people music that he likes.But then I was reminded of my copy of The Work Vol 1 disc 4 with Manic Monday on it and apart from Susannah Hoffs vocals I dont hear much difference between the 2 tracks.
I wonder why Michael would have said that?I wonder if years of being asked Prince questions just finally pissed her off...who knows?"

NDRU said:

novabrkr said:

Just try to sing the lyrics from "1999" over the melody of "Manic Monday". They're quite different. I'd say only the first line is similar. Maybe you could say "Manic Monday" is a "modulated" version of "1999", but even that's stretching it.

yes, and I am not hearing Monday Monday in either tune!

the whole verse is virtually identical, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines fluctuate slightly but still retain the same melody.