Posted by: Cor

This last weekend, while pursuing one of San Luis Obispo’s many fine specialty shops, a song came over the store speakers that I recognized instantly. I began singing the lyrics for the Scissor Sisters’ song ‘Harder You Get’, recently featured on this very blog.

But wait… this wasn’t Scissor Sisters. Nope, I actually knew this song from the soundtrack of GTA 4; it’s Skatt Brothers’ dark-disco anthem ‘Walk the Night’ from 1979. There’s no surprise I found myself singing the Scissor Sisters’ song, however. The two tracks are strikingly similar, with their simple four-on-the-floor beats, low menacing vocals, vaguely threatening (and totally gay) lyrics, descending chords on their respective bridges… all the way down to their chorus of “do-do-do’s” at the end. (There has to be a better way to say that, but you’ll know what I mean when you hear it.)

Well, this is a perfect opportunity to kick off a feature I’ve been wanting to start for a while, which I believe I’ll call “Hearing Double.” Here’s how it works: we present you with two songs that seem to us to be too musically close to be a coincidence, and you, dear readers, tell us if you think the latter artist was inspired by the former. Jay actually wrote a similar post a while back for his “I’m Not in Madagascar” mashup, so go back and check that out for another fine example.

I assume in most of these too-close-for-comfort cases, we won’t know whether or not the more recent artist actually meant to rip-off pay tribute to the preceding one. However, in this particular case Jake Shears, Scissor Sisters’ front man, has taken some of the fun out of it for us. His quote is below. (NOTE: Not that I think the Beatery has any underage readers, but the following is definitely for adult eyes only.)

I was at a sex party in Mannheim, I was on the dancefloor. It was six o’clock in the morning. I was wearing a little rubber wrestling singlet. I was having a great time. There was a cloud in the room, this cloud of man sweat, cigarettes, spilled booze, shit because people were getting fisted, and poppers. And piss! It was disgusting… The most vile place I’ve ever been. And I was dancing, and the DJs put on ‘Walk The Night’ by the Skatt Brothers. It’s one of my favorites. It was one of those revelatory moments for me when I realized what I wanted the album to sound like and how I wanted it to make me feel.

So there we have it. No mystery to this one, but it’s still fun to hear how one artist has been influenced by another. Have a listen yourself, and please, drop us a comment if you have other nominees for the series.

Skatt Bros - Walk the Night

Both tracks, back-to-back

And lastly, while we’re once again on the subject of the Scissor Sisters, I’ll remind you that they are coming to town in September! It’s a bit pricey, but this band ROCKS live. If you can swing it, come bring it. Information HERE.