10 Rock Bands That Ripped Off Their Own Songs
9. Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
As the neon glamour of the '80s started kicking into high gear, Dire Straits really began to stick out like a sore thumb for doing absolutely nothing. For all the flamboyant acts like Prince and Madonna putting on a spectacle onstage, these guys were just normal dudes looking to play their music for whoever would hear them, and somehow got the entire MTV generation to groove to it with Money For Nothing. They didn't get there by themselves though, and the rip off that they made wasn't even from anybody in the band.
Looking to have a different voice to compliment Mark Knopfler, the band had asked Sting to guest on the song, which was all about the superficiality of the MTV generation and how people were looking to strut their stuff rather than have any artistic statement. Sting didn't really have to struggle too much for his contribution though, lifting the exact same melody from The Police's Don't Stand So Close To Me and restructuring the lyrics to say "I Want My MTV."
This feels like it should be one of the single laziest guest features ever, but there's actually a bit more of a method behind the whole thing. Since Sting basically repackaged his own hit to get some exposure on MTV, he's pretty much playing into the narrative that Mark is talking about in the lyrics. The corporate world doesn't need anything original anymore, so why not just push the brand with something that you know will work?