hopelessly, i'll love you endlessly

oh teardrops...

I downloaded "endlessly" from Muse today.
 No particular reason, I just heard a clip of it and decided I loved it, so I got it...
 and guess what, I love it--absolutely.

But, they remind me so much of my favorite japanese-rock group, Larc~en~ciel :

similar moody tone, misunderstood love-struck rocker who cries so hard that mascara waterfalls stream from their cheeks, they sweat melancholy.
: I'm just going to come out and say, Muse is a Larc~en~ciel rip off.

I thought so when I first heard "our time is running out..." from their 2003 "Absolution" c.d.
(Ya, I'm not a MUSE fan, but I keep up-to-date on my songs and my music references. )

And I kinda remember hearing some of their things earlier than that (during my 'strokes' craze) and I always kinda thought, they sound like a j-rock group.

But, in listening to "Endlessly" which is also from the "Absolution" Cd, as well as their later hits, such as "Starlight", and even more recent, the "Uprising" I think they should give credit to the j-rock groups to whom which they *must have* sampled, or the very least "were inspired by..." (yes, yes, a bold statement, a judgment call, an accusation--if you will, but I think i'm right)

"starlight" in it's swaying vocals and chime-ful music sounds like it is straight from Japan, and even the hardrock /delicate piano sounds from the "united states of eurasia..." scream: hi, nihojins.

Now, I'm not saying Muse isn't worthy of their own talents, and that their lyrical abilities are shot. In fact, I'm not saying really anything about MUSE at all...
I think they're a fairly talented group, with catchy tunes...

I think this whole rant is boiling down to something much larger: what is the difference between being "inspired" and straight out "copying"?

I recently answered a facebook question that was dancing around the same issues in the context of the (visual) art world...and I couldn't come to a conclusion as well.

What if Larc-en-ciel was Muse's muse? lol
what if it wasn't a direct vicious malicious copy?
 what if they simply liked the sound and wanted to do something similar?

am I wrong for being somewhat perturbed that Larc` wasn't mentioned in any of the Muse booklets/interviews? Is it pure coincidence that they sound/look/ and dress the same?

Who holds the copyrights in something free (such as a "sound" or  a "style")

the same type of thing happened to my art work, where an idea was pretty much copied and was made famous by another washed up semi-mediocre artist. This same artist is now doing quite well, has been featured in multiple shows, and is also living seemingly happy in L.A (you know who you are...)

Am I wrong for being upset for not being credited with the original "rights" of the idea. Or, is that the true meaning of "free art" :it's free for the taking, and free to be copied/mass-produced/and occasionally *stolen* from the hands which hold it too tightly...

when I figure out my feelings about this, I'll write another blog titled "hopelessly, larc-en-ciel I'll love you, endlessly..."

until then, pray that I get my voice back. I'm tired of whisper talking.

**winnie.