[Thor Joachim Haga]

FSM # 32: February 23, 2006

As I’ve said before, I don’t get why people always feel a need to point out similarities between a given score and another piece of music when a) the similarity is passing (at best) or b) it’s really just the person wanting to say “hey, look how clever I am…I found two similar pieces of music”. Most of the time, the parallell is WAY too far-fetched and obscure to have any credence. For example: “The last two minutes of the JURASSIC PARK theme is an obvious rip-off of Rupert Moonfacer’s Symphony for Monkey Smoothies.” Etcetera.

Of course, once in a while the critics ARE right. Horner’s ALIENS opening IS indeed the Gayaneh Ballet thing. But even the Horner bashers are seeing similarities where there are none, or where it is purely coincidental.

But why am I dragging up this old subject now? Well, I just listened to Alan Silvestri’s “Seeing is Believing” track from THE POLAR EXPRESS and thought I had heard something very similar before. And yes, suddenly I found it. It was the piano tune from the song “Lovers in the Wind” on the “In the Eye of the Storm” album by former Supertramp vocalist Roger Hodgson!!

So as a “proof” of how these things ARE coincidences more often than not, I give you examples from the two works:

Play “Seeing is Believing”

Play “Lovers in the Wind” (especially from 0:53)

[Nicolai P. Zwar]

The last two minutes of the JURASSIC PARK theme is an obvious rip-off of Rupert Moonfacer’s Symphony for Monkey Smoothies.

Gee, I’ll be darned, I had never noticed that before.

[GerateWohl]

I believe that more often than not this similarity thing is a coincidence and not a copy. But it can be a little annoying if you are unable to not hear it. Like I always hear Fiedel’s Terminator theme in John Williams’ trumpet intro of Born On The 4th Of July and you feel “No, that is wrong. The melody should continue differently”.

[Malte Müller]

Or at least an unconscious copy. Even though musicians often hear less music (since they are busy make their own, they surely heard a lot and sometimes you just replicate ideas you heard. Several times I hear something and thing “I know this from somewhere”.
Afterall there are only twelve tones and not endless combinations. Actually a wonder that we stil get so much different music.

Like I always hear Fiedel’s Terminator theme in John Williams’ trumpet intro of Born On The 4th Of July

Now that you say it I hear it as well 😉 Quite a typical fanfare like interval of course (is that a fifth actually like in Superman?)

[Thor Joachim Haga]

Quite a typical fanfare like interval of course (is that a fifth actually like in Superman?

I never got the TERMINATOR/BOT4OJ connection, but everytime I see/hear that sequence in THE MATRIX, when Trinity runs across the rooftops and Davis inserts that running string ostinato, I think it’s going to turn into the SUPERMAN theme any second (which would be kinda fitting, as she’s about to “fly off”).

[Malte Müller]

I get what you mean although I never made that connection ever!

[Thor Joachim Haga]

Yes, it’s just a weird little association that nobody but me seems to have. You can hear it at the end of this track, at about 3:30 (and of course it’s brass, not strings as previously mentioned):

[Malte Müller]

I hear the similar rhythm but the harmonics are totally different. Since I know he was inspired by Adams I just start to hear that especially when those brass chord figures start. Btw, this rhythm might have been a intended injoke.

[Thor Joachim Haga]

Could be an in-joke (again, because Trinity is running on the roof, about to jump/fly off), but most likely just a coincidence. Like so often is the case.

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