When you have listened to rather a lot of music, it isn't hard to hear elements of a song in another song. Certain chord sequences sit together harmoniously, so they tend to get used often. Likewise, there are probably only a finite number of melodies in the world. Plus, none of us is a clean slate. Often, I am listening to things that have been influenced by other things that I have listened to. Sometimes my knee jerks upwards in an almost allergic reaction. (Bands that rip off Joy Division, for example.) Other times I just observe what's going on.
But: I can hear four other songs, very clearly, in this one song by Dum Dum Girls. I don't know what to do with that.
The song itself:
The constituent elements:
1. "Shivers", by The Boys Next Door. This is a song that means a lot to me. My first response upon hearing a close to note-for-note rendition of it at the start of this song was, I must admit, not positive.
2. "Listen To The Music", by The Doobie Brothers. Do you hear a slowed-down version of this song in the chorus? I do.
3. "Crimson & Clover", by Tommy James and The Shondells. This is in there, too: listen closely at the end of the chorus. And as the song fades out.
4. "Trees and Flowers", by Strawberry Switchblade. Another song that means a lot to me. There is no direct reference to it, admittedly, but I reckon it is the template on which the song is constructed.
Is the sum greater than the parts? That would be a pretty tough trick to pull off. I don't think it's ever going to work for me, given the baggage I am carrying in my own head. And that's a shame, because on its own terms it's actually a pretty darn good song.
