Top Ten Pop Rip Offs
Yesterday's music post got me stirred up, so I was thinking about this for while:

1. Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby". Victim: Queen, "Under Pressure"
2. Snoop Dogg, "What's My Name?". Victim: George Clinton "Atomic Dog"
3. Mariah Carey, "Fantasy". Victim: Tom Tom Club "Genius of Love"
4. Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Victim: Pixies "Debaser"
5. Jessica Simpson, "Sweet Kisses". Victim: John Mellancamp "Jack & Diane"
6. P. Diddy, "Been Around the World", Victims: Linda Ronstadt "Been Around the World", Grandmaster Flash & Furious Five "The Message"
7. P. Diddy, "I'll be Missing You", Victim: The Police "Every breath you Take"
8. Shaggy, "It Wasn't Me" Victims: Steve Miller "The Joker", Olivia Newton John "Angel of the Morning"
9. P. Diddy "Come wit me". Victim: Led Zeppelin "Kashmir"
10. John Forte "Flash the Message". Victim: Nena "99 Luft Balloons"

P. Diddy has to be the worst offender, although he does give credit on the albums. I'm not sure how much original content is on his debut, but it is pretty low, taking choruses from one artist and the music from others...Originally, I think the first big case where rappers really got in trouble for this was when De La Soul got nabbed for a Byrds Track...and then Biz Markie got in big trouble for "You Got What I Need".

Extra Points are scored for ripping off an artist and then pretending not to know anything about it: Vanilla Ice being the worst. "Queen's song is totally different!" Is it any wonder Suge Knight hung his ass off a 20 story building upside down for that?

Nirvana's only up there because they ripped off about 10 different people. ...Kurt admitted to doing so, however...They also borrowed from Killing Joke, Boston and a couple others..can't remember who now.

UPDATE: Mr. Kinsella offered these observations..

U2 stole the riff to Public Image from PIL. And the Pistols stole Holidays in the Sun from the Jam's In The City.Kinsella

Which is interesting because I thought for sure that with the Pistols releasing "Nevermind the.." in '77, and having performed since '76, that Holiday in the Sun would have been released earlier. I have to look into this a little closer. I actually have all the U2 albums (besides "All That You.." and a bunch of singles, etc, but I do not know anything about the "Public Image" song. Again: more research is required on my part.

Also: "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction has the guitar riff from Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away". It is tough to pick up, but it is the rhythm and chords from the hard electric riff on the G and A chords in "Over the Hills". I think there is a pretty clear progression of falsetto singers backed by heavy guitar driven rock after Zeppelin: AC/DC, Jane's Addiction and G'n'R..maybe The Darkness. All of these bands owe something to Paige and Plant....I think Jane's was probably the most upfront about zeppelin's influence.