10 Bands Who Used Songs To 'One-Up' Rival Artists

10. Simon And Garfunkel "Stole" Dylan's Sound On ' Simple Desultory Philippic'

When the folk rock movement of the 60's was reaching its cultural peak, Simon and Garfunkel were the duo who outshone most of their competition. The band had knocked out a sonic touchstone with "The Sound of Silence" and built off that momentum with a great mix of originals and covers of traditional folk ballads. That being said, they were still listening to those around them.

Midway through the band's beautiful 3rd effort, "A Simple Desultory Philippic" comes on with a more rootsy edge to its sound. From the outset, you realize this is a different vibe for the duo thanks to Paul Simon's more rapid fire delivery and clever wordplay. When composing the song, Simon said that he had been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan's work and had wanted to try something in the Dylan mold to break out of the duo's more innocent sound.

Throughout the song, Simon uses more extravagant puns that sound like they have meaning on the surface but are actually just complete nonsense when looked at up close, along with ending the song with a quote from "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35." This may not have surpassed the immortal writings of Dylan, but it's still an interesting peak into the cross-pollination of folk rock during the Summer of Love.