Just like in the folk world, I seem to hear more and more pop songs on the radio the tunes of which are almost note for note earlier pop tunes. Accidental? Deliberate?

I must admit there are so many wonderful tunes already out there that whenever I write a song I already have an existing tune in mind. A recent CD by some friends contains mostly their own excellent material but most of the tunes are adaptations of existing tunes with just a note tweaked here and there. Call it laziness if you like, but I love the fact that I can recognise the tunes which are wonderful anyway.

I have every admiration for those who can come up with a completely original tune that works well with the lyrics. Even when I compose an original instrumental I find myself falling back on familiar phrases.