I love Pachelbel’s Canon in D, it is a very calming, soothing song. It has just enough tempo to keep the lay listener interested, but not so much as to malign the classical ear.

According to Rob Paravonian the cello part is rather dull, 8 notes (D A B F# G D G A), repeated 54 times. He was a cellest, now he plays guitar and is a stand-up-comedian. Here’s his Pachelbel Rant:

I would sit back and listed to the violins get lovely melodies, the violas would get lovely melodies, the second violins would get lovely melodies, which should just not happen! And the cello, we got stuck with 8 crappy, lousy, stinking notes.

And I began to wonder why, why would Pachelbel do that to us, such a beautiful instrument. And my theory was that he once dated a cellist, and she dissed him really bad. And for the rest of his life he came up with the worst cello part you could ever think of.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t hear him every day. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “Rob, don’t listen to classical radio anymore.” It doesn’t matter. Pachelbel’s following me. It sounds paranoid, but he’s following you too. You hear him every day.

In his rant he lists several songs that all use the same theme as Pachelbel’s Canon, which got me thinking… How many songs out there have the same cords as Pachelbel’s Canon? What would they sound like back-to-back in a playlist?

So I’d like to enlist your help (Darby, Bryce, and all you music afficianados out there), help me put together a list of songs that use Pachelbel’s cords. Here’s are the songs from the Rant (as best as I could identify them, please comment with any corrections, additions, or deletions):

• Pachelbel, Canon in D
• Vitamin C, Graduation Song
• Aerosmith, Under My Skin Crying (hat tip to Nauti)
• The Original Caste, One Tin Soldier
• Blues Traveler, Runaround Hook (hat tip to Ellen)
• GreenDay, Basket Case
• Better than Ezra, Good
• Bush, Machinehead
• Matchbox 20, Push
• U2, With or Without You
• Natalie Imbruglia, Torn
• Avril Lavigne, Skater Boy
• Twisted Sister, We’re Not Gunna Take It
• Theme to Laverene and Shirley
• Bob Marley, No, Woman, No Cry
• The Beatles, Let it Be

(Also, I’d be interested in acquiring all of these songs, just FYI).

Put your thinking tukes on and comment with some more songs with the same cords!