Tom Petty Responds To Red Hot Chili Controversy
Does "Dani California" sound too much like "Mary Jane's Last Dance"? Tom Petty tells Rolling Stone he doesn't give a shit.
"I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took 'American Girl' [for their song 'Last Nite'], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you' ... If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe [I'd sue]. But I don't believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous law suits in this country without people fighting over pop songs."Aw, Tom Petty's awesome. I like how Mocean Worker is in his Top 8 too.
Posted at 12:42 PM
Tags: Red Hot Chili Peppers
tom petty is the man. he was my first concert ever, back in grade school.
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Wow. Maybe HE should play Jeff Buckley,
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Yeah, because he was so great in the Postman.
Milli Vanilli was my first concert. I was in the third grade. It was awesome, Young MC opened.
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I wish Tom wrote an all lower case blog discussing how sad it made him... turns our our little folkster is tougher than expected!
Donny Iris rocked my young world, and set the standards for my concert expectations.
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I never thought I'd see MoWo mentioned here. I'm sure you made him blush.
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My friends ran into Tom Petty and his guitarist last night at Chicago Music Exchange. He was trying out a guitar and played Free Fallin! He also gave his approval to the bass that my friend was buying.
The bass is now named "Petty".
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I don't think "Dani California" sounds like "Last Dance With Mary Jane".
I do, however, think it sounds like every single other bland, mid-tempo RHCP single. Can somebody get these guys a new idea?
P.S. Can Beck sue them for nicking the video from "New Pollution"?
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Good for Tom. The RHCP are embarrassed by everyone knowing that they ripped him off, but he says they're not worthy of his bothering to be upset about it.
Thumbs up on that response.
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he got to the point, i wonder if he'll hit another joint
i still think his video with the alice in wonderland theme was the raddest ever
i can't remember that song tho...he wore the big mad hatter hat...and come to think of it, the one time i saw the chili peppers at an hfstival, kiedis was wearing one, too...maybe subconsicously tom petty is antoine keidis' muse?????
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...don't come around here no more...
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OH, thank you so much, Mr. Great man Petty. Thanks for coming off your high horse and not being upset that the peasant chili peppers stole your song. Oh thank you Mr. Petty...because we were about to list all the song you ripped off.
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Arto... I think you missed the point of his comments. He wasnt saying that they werent worth the effort, he was saying that the whole thing was being blown out of proportion. RHCP is a great band, and Petty has the self confidence to allow people to use his ideas without getting all butt hurt about it.
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It's probably a good thing Petty thinks this way, as he spent the early portion of his career ripping of Roger (nee Jim) McGuinn and the Byrds.
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i saw that tom's playing at austin city limits, and i think it was vh1 that was doing a contest to win tickets if anyone's interested. i think it was on vh1's home page at the bottom.
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Like any other artist who has stood the test of time (and i don't mean America), Tom Petty has some great songs and some not so great ones. I think Mary Jane's Last Dance falls into the latter category and there is no way the Chili Peppers stole it on purpose, besides i still think it sounds more like Sweet Home Alabama.A tribute perhaps?http://www.ultimateuploads.com/audio/audio/85ad7bb0f20da2892b4c90b8045d5a20/Dani%20Alabama.mp3
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tom petty still rocks my world...
well, so long as he stays away from jeff freakin' lynne. i have grave fears for the new album.
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for pete's sake people, "dani" and "mary jane" have only one chord progression in common (and one of them within that progression doesn't even match - Petty uses D major, while RHCP uses D Minor.
The Chilis do the damn A minor/G major/D minor/A Minor progression on "Dani CA" further down the guitar neck/frets than Petty/Mike Campbell do. The latter guitarists pull off an open G string (pardon the pun) and B string THEN hit A minor/G major/D MAJOR/A minor to start "Mary Jane," by the way. (Any seasoned guitarist with a good ear could pick that up easily)
And people are in an uproar over that?
Tom Petty knows the songs main verses sound too close for comfort, but as that Rolling Stone musicologist pointed out in a previous Stereogum item, you can't drop lawsuits on musicians for (similar) chord progressions. Petty knows that.
Otherwise, (for example) Neil Young could've been SUED by AEROSMITH for lifting the main riff of "LAST CHILD" for that Flight 93 tribute song "LET'S ROLL" Neil wrote a few years back.
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Anyone else feel that RHCP's "Torture Me" off that new album sounds like a bad copy of the Go Team's "Junior Kickstart"
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No one is in an uproar but it's rather disingenuous to try and 'prove' they songs aren't similar, because they clearly are.
The fact that both songs were produced by Rick Rubin doesn't help, either.
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Yeah the Rick Rubin connection is the only thing that worries me in this whole mess. But, as long as Petty himself isn't worried, why the damn argument?
http://www.musictimes.com.au
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Up until yesterday, we didn't know what Petty thought of it. But either way, I don't really see people up in arms about it. It's embarrassing for the RHCP and they don't have many fans here. That's about it.
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"Last Nite She Was An American Gurl"
Our live mashup of Petty & The Strokes.
Check it at http://myspace.com/covermebadd
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Whoever says rhcp is bland and terrible, check your ass for a major chronic infection cuz im listening to this tom petty song right now and only a couple of notes match. i for one dont like country music but dont go and bash it for no reason. what tom petty did is intelligent and i respect him for that but i like rhcp better no matter what.
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Hi Everybody!!!!!
OK...OK....I've heard it on internet radio...the comparison between Tom Petty's Mary Jane's Last Dance and Hot Chili's Dani California.They are really...REALLY similar...well the first few chords at least....Enough to at least ASK Tom Petty(A Classic SongWriter) permission to !!!SAMPLE!!! parts of this wonderfully written song...At least I hope they were inspired from the original song...Or maybe they're mocking the song....mmmm
I really like that Red Hot Chili Pepper's New Hit..
But now I wonder if they're just playing a big publicity scam or they just don't know what the F%#k they're doing!!!
I'm a songwriter myself...and if I would hear...ANYTHING that sounded like what I've done before....No Way...Songs you write are a personnal matter and they belong to you....and after some royalties(whatever's left after downloads..)
It's hard enough to write good music...So PLEASE have Respect for Music Writers....
Sincerly...BRUCE
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jesus christ
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that song sounds more like sgt pepper 2 me pettys right u cant trademark rythym or every artist might be in trouble
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While I do like the RHCP, I did see Stadium Arcadium as lots of hype (mainly by RHCP). Probably a big push for some money while they make an exit from the scene. But seriously, all bands have their influences, it would be stupid to think the influences didnt have an effect on the music produced (by definition I guess).
I enjoy the songs no less because of what has been said.
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Needless to say the early RHCP stuff is still unreal. Regardless of how the band has changed.
'Unreal' people.
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If the RHCP song rips anything off, it's Blur's Country House and the end guitar solo is Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile.
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I wanted the notes to dani california,s guitar solo!!!!!
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Similar chord progressions are no cause for any sort of uproar. There is no doubt the songs share similar chord progression; the question is, is it a downright steal? Are air lines sharing the same air space stealing from other airlines? What about singers who use the same words? A guitar is a guitar. You can't pound out chords for twenty years and never come close to anything that's been done. RHCP and Petty are both lyrically oriented sounds that often use simple chord progressions as a backdrop for their vocals. Lots of popular musicians use the G,A,C,D, and E chords excessivley, so this doesn't surprise me one bit. Look at guns n' roses. They based their ENTIRE sound on three chords: G, C, and D. It's just the way the industry works.
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you people have no idea what you're talking about!!!! if you were a real rhcp fan, you would know that they would NEVER copy someone else's song/vid. they aren't like that. yeah they sound similar, and it's just the chords..one of Am, one is A Major. so what?! people listen to both of them and automatically assume these things. rhcp ownsss every band out there, and according to to anthony they're "just getting started."
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tom petty is not country music asswipe44... not even close... and to everyone who thinks the chili peppers suck... go to hell... i prolly dont like some of your music but im not going to insult it... we just have different tastes.... my first concert was bone thugs n harmony... i was in 7th grade... it was killer.... i went to ween a few months ago and that was nuts too... never heard of them? you should check em out... awesomeness at its best... peace out internet homies....
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