10 Classic Songs You Didn't Know Were Ripped Off

Originality has always been a sort of unspoken rule in the realm of punk rock. Though most bands tend to follow common patterns and wear the same clothing, it almost feels like a cardinal sin to be completely derivative of someone else's work. When it comes to pop punk, things tend to be a little bit more lenient on that front.

As Green Day were going into the studio to make Insomniac, they had an axe to grind after being labelled as sellouts by their hardcore fanbase. Going in a far more aggressive direction, Brain Stew feels like the epitome of their frustration, as the push and pull of the power chords seem to be teetering just on the edge of explosion. As the descending bassline plods along though, the notes in question start to become a bit interesting.

Though the chord progression has been used countless times since the beginning of rock and roll, the way Billie Joe Armstrong accents every chord is pretty much a carbon copy of the AM radio hit 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago. To their credit though, there's a good chance that any Green Day fan around in the early '90s were probably not listening to the delightful sounds of pompous rock and roll with horns. In that respect, Green Day almost deserves kudos for taking something from a completely opposite genre and making it work in a punk context.