Duke Of Web

April Fools, again.

Every time I hear Shadow Of The Day by Stinkin Park, a blatant rip-off of With Or Without You by U2, I want to violently and swiftly rip the ears from my head and shove pencils in the bloody holes. After years of abusing alternative rock radio with their whiny brand of formulaic pseudo-rap-metal, they decided to venture into new melodic territory with Shadow Of The Day. Unfortunately for them, U2 preceded them by 20 years and already wrote the song. Except they did it much better, and Bono didn’t look like Kevin Cronin got in a fight with a bottle of peroxide.

They single-handedly started a movement. A bowel movement. Spreading like a fart in a hurricane, their spawns can be found loitering in front of convenience stores across the country, identified by the obligatory Serg Tankian goatee, gas station attendant inspired wardrobe, forearm tattoos, and no discernible job skills. Separately, none of these attributes are inherently bad, but combine them together and you have the prototypical 21st-century douche. And it’s not just the clothes or the braided goatee. Ay, lest we forget the horrible music! The Stinkin Park formula is about as predictable as Kirk Douglas crapping his diaper.

1. Guitar riff of doom.
2. Windbag, screechy, crybaby chorus.
3. Mexican dude rapping badly, randomly interjected throughout song.
4. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Musicians have been ripping each other off for years. There are only so many ways one can arrange the same 12 notes, so some plagiarism is unavoidable. But these guys take the cake. Then copy it, make another cake, and sell it as their own. Tools.

U2, The Original Pimps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfSnjL0pd8

Linkin Park Ripoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_eEE12R8Gw