Simple Plan's "Perfect" vs. Hedley's "Trip"

In the music industry, it is no a rare occurrence when two songs sound similar. An example of this can be seen through the song “Perfect” by Simple Plan and “Trip” by Hedley, where both songs start with a similar guitar riff. Perfect was recorded by Simple Plan in 2001 and released in 2003. This punk song uses guitar drums and bass and deals with the topic of the insecurities of teenagers. The lead singer puts himself in the position of a teenager, desperate for the approval of his father. He talks about how he worked so hard to make him proud but still never lived up to his expectations (“And now I try hard to make it, I just want to make you proud, I'm never gonna be good enough for you”). Throughout the music video, teenagers are shown sitting alone in their rooms, visibly upset. This adds to the concept of teenagers being insecure as they have no one to talk to, not even their parents. The song shows that we all deal with issues with our parents but it’s important to remember that no one in perfect.
Trip was recorded and released by Hedley in 2005, two years after the release of Perfect. Even though these two songs have a very similar beginning, the two songs are about two very different subjects. Using guitar, drums and bass in the song, Trip follows the story of the lead singer’s relationship with a woman. The lyrics show that he’s in love with this woman, but yet he is struggling to stay in the relationship. In the music video, he is seen cheating on her, he realizes his mistake but feels he cannot be with her because he can’t get over what he’s done to her (“No matter how hard I tried to wash my hands, I could never get 'em clean”). He is being tortured because he loves the woman so much but can no longer be with her (“And the hardest part is knowing that I'll never follow through”). The song shows the importance of staying faithful to the person you love, because if you hurt that person, you might not have them anymore.