Taking Sides: "Baby Come Back" by the Equals vs. "Life Goes On" by the Damned vs. "Eighties" by Killing Joke vs. "Come as You Are" by Nirvana vs. "Never Change" by Puddle of Mud

"Baby Come Back", obviously.

Indeed

You realize that future generations will substitute the 90s or the 00s or whatever...

by the comparison to the other bands, i'm thinking it's not :(

...sounds nothing like any of the others, so is not admissable.

'm gonna say the Equals too, mostly because I need an excuse to vent that their stuff's impossible to find in the States.

I found it.

(Also that I lived in the '80s and the fewer songs I hear reminding me of what that shit was like specifically, the better)

There was more interesting music in the 80's than in the 90's, I'd suggest.

No, No and thrice verily no. I always thought "Baby Come Back" (the Player version) was a dead ringer for Hall & Oates' "She's Gone".

"the holy hour" and "come as you are" have the same riff

No, because those decades fucking ruled, man!

(Actually there were some things about growing up in the 1980s that were singularly weird, like the fact that every single cartoon on TV was an advertisement for something and the fact that Garbage Pail Kids were immensely popular.)

those with ears to hear know it's true--the fire is warm but its glare sometimes is blinding and its roar deafening

(Disclaimer: don't know Puddle of Mud tune.)

The sequence of notes is completely off. I'll admit that it has a similar atmosphere, but it has no place in this particular comparison. Moreover, I'd suggest it's entirely coincidental (no Cure fan, Kurt. Courtney, maybe, but not Kurt).

Killing Joke have admitted to lifting the riff from the Equals (though staunchly deny any knowledge of the Damned `choon). Nirvana were famously sued for lifting it from the `Joke (though Kurt ventilated his head before legal proceedings could really catch their stride) and Puddle of Mud are simply fawning Nirvana fans.

I'm going with the Equals, too, although I can't get the hilarious comedy toasting out of my head from whoever did the 90s version (was it Pato Banton?)

I live for the argument, man.

You're completely wrong about this, and if you aren't willing to admit it than prove it by providing us with tablature, the riff written in standard music notation or at least the chord progression and riff described as individual notes.

You don't need tablature. All you need is a pair of ears. They're similar, yes, but there entire sequences of notes missing. They're not nearly as alike as "Life Goes On" and "Eighties" are. That's the point.

And: those with ears to hear know it's true--the fire is warm but its glare sometimes is blinding and its roar deafening was his response, not mine.

I'm gonna plead ignorance about this thread in general because I don't think I've even heard the Equals before. Must seek it out! It amuses me to learn that Killing Joke copped to borrowing it from them, because I thought they might have borrowed it from the Damned. And I do very much love "Life Goes On". But then if I chose it over Eighties, that wouldn't be right either. So can't I just vote for a tie between the two until I hear the Equals? Or will I have to eat dirt? And if I have to eat dirt, can I at least add some water to it or something?

I'm joking, Alex. JOKE-ing. Don't forget it.

Life goes on and on and on
If you think it's all gone wrong
Go on and on and on

Life's a con a con a con
If you think you can't go on
Go on and on and on

But always remember
This is the happiest day of your life

Life goes on and on and on
If you think it's all gone wrong
Go on and on and on

Life's a con a con a con
If you think you can't go on
Go on and on and on

And as the years they move along
I see it now, there's something wrong
'Cos life is for always
Take your time
Who cares what fools say
I don't mind
'Cos this is my day
I'll live it my way
Today, there's just today

Life goes on and on and on
If you think it's all gone wrong
Go on and on and on

Life's a con a con a con
If you think you can't go on
Go on and on and on

http://freespace.virgin.net/jackie.askew/damned.JPG

Don't forget the theme song to Romancing the Stone!

Which was not a theme tune to anything, btw...

So "Eighties" by Killing Joke wins hands down. "Come As You Are" was never my favorite Nirvana song and the Damned WERE a joke.

but with The Equals, I just hear a pleasant Fall-ish tune.

There is a bit of "Hey, Lucianni" in there, isn't there!

Alex, I recall you seemed to be in a curious "anti-pop" mode recently. "you pop maggots" and such. I was trying to figure out what exactly you might have meant by that or rather, was there some piece of music or cultural artifact in particular that spurred you onto that sort of thinking? I'd be interested to know.

I'd also like to point out again that when I use arguably image-rich terminology like "pop maggots," there's a very great chance that I'm not being entirely serious. I don't sincerely think you're an awful, squirming larva because you chose to pay money for an album by, say, Usher. I'm just joking. I don't share your taste, thus I am mocking you for it, but I'm not trying to be mean-spirited about it.