Views: Hey, isn't that ...?

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I was watching TLC the other night. I usually make it a point to not watch “The Learning Channel,” mostly because I’m not interested in “learning” about how eight little Gosselins cope with a TV crew in their mansion.

But there’s this show called “Ultimate Cake Off” and the contestants were decorating towering cakes for Legoland’s birthday. Surely I could put up with spots for “18 Kids and Counting” in the name of Legos and monstrous desserts.

So I’m watching three chefs making Lego dudes out of sugar and generally “caking off,” when I hear a familiar tune.

A revved-up jangle. A jumpy beat. It sounds like “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend. I was surprised – with all the money going to Jon & Kate’s cubic zirconia earrings and Picasso haircuts – that TLC has any cash left for soundtrack royalties.

And then I listened closer. The chords were just a bit different. The rhythm was just a little off. This wasn’t “A-Punk,” and it sure wasn’t Vampire Weekend. No, it was a carefully crafted sound-alike. Whoever recorded this even got some guy to do the staccato “hey-hey-hey” part.

Seems like a lot of work to go to, just to create a song that’s not quite another song.

Then again “Ultimate Cake Off” is not quite the more interesting, more exciting “Food Network Challenge.”

Now that I think of it, another food-related show has featured a couple of sound-alikes. For a few seasons, Bravo’s “Top Chef” included rip-offs of Spoon’s funky “I Turn My Camera On” and Okkervil River’s soaring “Unless It’s Kicks.”

Of course, sound-alikes aren’t limited to cooking competition shows. Plenty of TV series that come out on DVD are forced to alter their soundtracks, due to outdated song licensing deals. For every “Freaks and Geeks” set that includes all the original songs, there is a “WKRP in Cincinnati” that contains sound-alike tunes to help make the DVD set more affordable.

It’s a shame, especially with “WKRP” because of that whole taking place in a radio station thing. Of course, if the producers were able to secure the rights to the original Led Zeppelin hits played by Dr. Johnny Fever, season one might have cost $200. The lucrative music rights for ’60s bands are the reason seasons of “The Wonder Years” have yet to arrive on DVD.

Other series have even had their theme songs altered on DVD. Most of the “Married ... With Children” sets have the sitcom’s Frank Sinatra lead-in replaced by a sound-alike. And it’s not even Michael Bublé.

If TLC can’t meet Vampire Weekend’s price, it’s no wonder no one can afford Ol’ Blue Eyes.