ALICE IN CHAINS’ “YOUR DECISION” VS. NIRVANA’S “POLLY”

Reader CB Mather e-mailed me over the weekend to assert that Alice in Chains’ new song, “Your Decision,” is “an obvious rip-off” of Nirvana’s “Polly.” Now, since I absolutely loved AIC’s new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, and really, really dig the song “Your Decision,” I immediately decided to investigate…

…and there are some undeniable similarities between the songs. The vocal lines are different and the choruses are not really similar at all, but the chord progression during the verse is… well… it’s not identical, but I can see a relationship there. I don’t know if I’d call it “an obvious rip-off,” but only the most die-hard AIC fan who can’t live with the thought of anyone saying anything even mildly insulting to the band would deny the similitude of the two songs.

Here they are side-by-side. I tend to think this is just one of those times when a song kinda-sorta sounds like another song, but the fact that they’re both Seattle bands from the same era makes the connection that much more relevant.

NIRVANA PERFORMING “POLLY” ON UNPLUGGED

ALICE IN CHAINS PERFORMING “YOUR DECISION” ON JIMMY KIMMEL

So? What does everyone else think?

-AR