Why is it okay for the band to rip off Soul Asylum but not others?

Originally Posted by Lampinen

Yes, and it was the flat Jon was living in at the time And he used the phrase "was written", not "where we wrote it". Didn't know about the replacement thingie, tho'.

Originally Posted by Supersonic

Aloha !



I'm not quite sure why it's so hard to understand for you. The nineties and eighties had them borrowing, as opposed to copying, styles and influences from other artists.

There's nothing about Because We Can that screams Bon Jovi, while everything from the early eighties to mid nineties has Bon Jovi written all over it. They've always lifted various style elements from different artists, but very rarely complete chord progressions or chorusses, which is why Soul Asylum's Runaway Train is a completely different thing to Because We Can sounding like the band Fun.

Even Never Say Goodbye, which has plenty of stuff borrowing from Southside Johnny's Heart Of Stone, still becomes a song of its own. Because We Can and various other songs released in the last 15 years or so just don't. They're solely written with the idea that if it sounds like song x, it'll maybe become as succesful as song x. In the nineties they took various production elements to influence their own style while nowadays they seem to take everything that's popular right now and then add a little bit of Bon Jovi to it. And with that, their own identity is completely gone.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

This is the exact type of reasoning I was looking for, thanks. Some good points I didn't consider. I definitely agree that while they used to borrow from others mixed in with Bon Jovi it feels like the other way around and I guess that's the difference between the two eras.

Originally Posted by rolo_tomachi

God Gave Me Everything - 2001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUk_Dqiow0A

I can imagine how Jon was influenced by this song.

Hook Me Up - 2002
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY7lhB7eOMQ

Originally Posted by Captain_jovi

To me Hook Me Up was more taken from The Cult.

Originally Posted by DestinationJovi

How has Jon never been sued?

Originally Posted by Iceman

He has been. But he's won every time. But he hasn't ripped anyone off, these are just coincidences, or Bon Jovi trying to sound like someone else. It's not like they've borrowed pieces of other peoples songs, like he Verve did with Bittersweet Symphony. You can use the same chords as someone else, or similar melody, it's not a crime. Nor is aiming for a similar sound. But if you use the same chords AND the same melody, then you're in trouble.

Ice

Originally Posted by DestinationJovi

But aren't Beautiful World and the Matchbox 20 song How Far We've Come the same chords and melody?