GirlBrother said:

The Switched On Pop podcast sometimes spend the whole show discussing / analysing just one song. I'd recommend that too!

Thanks for this recommend - I shall enjoy a dive into these!

Lordy said:

jaawwnn said:

Musically, the piano part was lifted from Bo Diddley’s 'Say Man,' and the backup vocals from Brenda Lee's 'Sweet Nothings.'

Did someone tell Duane this or is it just something he hears himself?



Anyway, the smartest thing i've ever heard someone say about this song is while it's basically a rip-off of Helene Smith's You Got To Be a Man, he very cleverly removes all the musical bits that make her song distinctive and then, just as a musical injoke, adds back the bit she had removed herself when writing her James Brown rip off (i.e. the guitar riff). And he did it all while also writing one of the biggest songs of the decade.

I mean, none of that is based on documented fact but it's a fun way of looking at it.

[Edited 8/20/20 8:27am]

. Ha! So you listen to the "Chart Music" podcast too, eh? I believe that was Taylor Parkes who said that. Excellent podcast. Where a bunch of ex-Melody Maker writers discuss and dissect a past edition of Top of the Pops which make for very insightful, interesting and funny copy. Very British and very good.

I'm just glad I didn't try and take credit for Taylor's insight and get caught


Chart Music is in a lot of ways the opposite of Switched On Pop.

[Edited 8/26/20 8:53am]

ufoclub said:

steakfinger said:

Prince had nothing to do with Kiss other than sing on it and play a little guitar. I wonder if the Mazerati dudes where ripping Queen?

I would say Prince had a lot to do with it in the role of a producer. He changed up the sound of all their tracks, edited and remixed it, and then added the most prominent features of the song, the guitar riff anf his vocal delivery.

Nope. The Mazarati version is almost finished.
Prince just ditched as much reverb as he could.

The production and arrangements credits go entirely to David Z.
And the background vocals to Mazarati. Even substantial parts of the final lead.

As for the most prominent features of the song, let's be honest here:
The guitar riff is ripped off James Brown's "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag",
and the vocals owe quite a bit to Mick Jagger in "Emotional Rescue" by The Rolling Stones.

That doesn't diminish Prince's flair, au contraire.
But let's get the record straight.

[Edited 8/26/20 11:57am]

jaawwnn said:

Lordy said:

jaawwnn said: . Ha! So you listen to the "Chart Music" podcast too, eh? I believe that was Taylor Parkes who said that. Excellent podcast. Where a bunch of ex-Melody Maker writers discuss and dissect a past edition of Top of the Pops which make for very insightful, interesting and funny copy. Very British and very good.

I'm just glad I didn't try and take credit for Taylor's insight and get caught


Chart Music is in a lot of ways the opposite of Switched On Pop.

[Edited 8/26/20 8:53am]

Another podcast to check out - thank you, very much. That Simon Price is a lovely fella.

SimonCharles said: