Coldplagiarism?

[Paul2]

Coldplagiarism? Say It Ain\'t So, Joe!
Posted Fri Dec 5, 2008 3:40pm PST by Lyndsey Parker in Video Ga Ga

Back in June, Coldplay were accused of plagiarism by Brooklyn indie-rockers Creaky Boards, who claimed that the title track to Coldplay\'s Viva La Vida album bore an uncanny similarity to one of their own songs--a song ironically titled "The Songs I Didn\'t Write." Creaky Boards even went so far as to allege--in a somewhat whiny, self-released viral video--that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin got the idea for "Viva La Vida" when he attended one of their shows at the 2007 CMJ Music Festival:

While there was admittedly some resemblance between the two tunes, nothing came of this. Coldplay went about their lives, racking up Grammy nominations and selling millions of records, and Creaky Boards simply creaked back into obscurity. But now a more prominent artist, guitar virtusoso Joe Satriani, is lobbying the same sort of charges at the Britrockers. Satriani has just filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Coldplay in Los Angeles federal court, and he may have a better case than Creaky Boards did.

Before you continue reading, check out this other video comparing and contrasting "Viva" with Satriani\'s 2004 instrumental, "If I Could Fly":

Now, first of all, there\'s no denying the similarity--it\'s a lot stronger than the one between "Viva" and the Creaky Boards song (that mashup at the end of this video makes a particularly convincing point). The songs in fact sound so much alike, if we\'d wandered into a Satriani concert and heard him noodling away during "If I Could Fly" onstage, we\'d admittedly mistake it for a guitar-wanky "Viva La Vida" cover.

Of course, the similarity could be a coincidence--and therefore the sonic resemblance isn\'t enough for Satriani to collect the "any and all profits" he is seeking in a jury trial against Coldplay. Another crucial aspect of his case is whether or not Coldplay had the opportunity to steal the song.

In the case of Coldplay vs. Creaky Boards, it was kind of difficult to believe Chris Martin would randomly pop up at some unknown band\'s CMJ showcase (Chris publicly denied he attended the gig in question). So it was almost impossible for Creaky Boards to prove that Coldplay had had ample opportunity to hear (and subsequently plagiarize) "The Songs I Didn\'t Write." But the Satriani album on which "If I Could Fly" originally appeared, Is There Love In Space?, came out four years ago on Epic, a major label...so it is more feasible that the members of Coldplay did have some chance to be exposed to it.

Although, of course, it\'s also kind of hard to imagine that Chris Martin lounges around his London mansion with Gwyneth, Apple, and Moses, attentively listening to Joe Satriani jams with notepad in hand. But hey, you never know.

Anyway, whether or not Coldplay are guilty as charged, they certainly were aware of Satriani\'s accusation before the lawsuit was officially filed this week. Just wait for the 3:30 mark in the video below for Chris Martin\'s sly mention of a mystery man whose name rhymes with "Moe Batriani"...along with his impassioned insistence that "Viva La Vida"\'s resemblance to any song, by any artist living or dead, is purely coincidental:

Link

here is a video clip of it:

[Viper_Fujax]

you could find a bunch of songs that sound like other songs

i mean, off the top of my head, metallica\'s vocals in unforgiven 3 have the same exact sound as stone temple pilot\'s creep. it just happens in music

[Jumpman]

Coldplay sucks regardless. They\'ll never be Radiohead, no matter how hard they try.

It\'s not just a matter of one song "sounding" like another.  When it\'s the same melody and chord progression, and they didn\'t even bother to change the key, then it\'s called copyright infringement.  

We have very old laws to protect songwriters from this, and Satriani will win easily.  I see a big settlement in his future.

[Paul2]

If you check the link, it also had another video clip of another band claiming that coldplay had plagiarized on.  Interesting thing is the name of the song is "The Song I Didn\'t Write."  The lead singer does bear a striking resemblance to the lead singer of Coldplay.  So was the lower register voice both uses for the song.  I thought it was Coldplay singer the first time I saw it, but it\'s not.


Maybe Coldplay kind of took Creaky Boards background music idea and made a little variation to it.  Then uses Joe Satriani notes for the first couple of lines for the first verse and sings in lower register tone?  Shrugs, who knows.

[Living-In-Clip]

If you check the link, it also had another video clip of another band claiming that coldplay had plagiarized on.  Interesting thing is the name of the song is "The Song I Didn\'t Write."  The lead singer does bear a striking resemblance to the lead singer of Coldplay.  So was the lower register voice both uses for the song.  I thought it was Coldplay singer the first time I saw it, but it\'s not.


Maybe Coldplay kind of took Creaky Boards background music idea and made a little variation to it.  Then uses Joe Satriani notes for the first couple of lines for the first verse and sings in lower register tone?  Shrugs, who knows.

ENGLISH MOTHERFUCKER.,
DO YOU SPEAK IT/>

[Paul2]

forgive my broken english. Its kind of all over the place.

WHOA.

WHOA.

You\'re trying to tell me that the new Coldplay album sounds uninspired and not very original? NO WAY.

Not that it\'s a bad record... I can think of much worse. It\'s just not as good as Parachutes or AROBTTH, just as X&Y wasn\'t.

[Paul2]

I Don\'t know.  I am just saying if that\'s where Coldplay got their inspiration from, at least mentions their names so at least they could get some recognition.

[GmanJoe]

Pachelbell.....the most plagiarized mother Effer in the WORLD!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM

[Living-In-Clip]

You dorks.
http://kotaku.com/5102689/chrono-trigger-composer-never-heard-of-rick-astley-robos-theme-completely-original

Yeah sorry, Coldplay...you\'re a little screwed on this one.  (though I do like the new album quite a bit!)

What quite possibly annoys me the most about Coldplay is that yes, as at least one poster has mentioned this thread, they are Radiohead worshippers.

Which, in itself, is not a sin. I worship Radiohead too. And to set the record straight, I do enjoy Coldplay a lot. Even X&Y and Viva La Vida, both solid albums in the grand scale of things.

But it annoys me that Coldplay is trying to make it seem like VLV is their Kid A. A stylistic change compared to the last record, more sonic experimentation, and more eccentric live presentation for Chris Martin... topped off by a crazy SNL performance. Just like Radiohead\'s legendary October 2000 performance on the NBC stage.

The problem is that Kid A was something like Radiohead\'s creative peak after years of continually building to the moment. Their 1st 3 records started with the grungy Nirvana-style rock-outs of Pablo Honey and ended with what I consider to be the greatest rock record of all time, OK Computer. They had shaky, conventional-sounding beginnings (just as The Beatles did) but quickly evolved into their era\'s leading force. (just as The Beatles did)

With Kid A as their unique stamp on the world of music. Where as, it is my opinion that Coldplay has gone the entirely opposite direction.

Parachutes: A tour de force in British pop rock.
AROBTTH: A more radio-friendly and "profound" Parachutes. Still great.
X&Y: A less exciting holding pattern from AROBTTH.
Viva La Vida: A fresh sound, but their least compelling record. Laughable lyrics, weak songs.

But still better than their fellow Top 40 brethren.

[Paul2]

after i posted this thread,  I realized there are quite a number of songs from different artists and songwriters that have a bit similar melodies whether its just a few notes or some notes here and there.

Like the song from backstreet boys - drowning, the beginning have the same melodies as OTown - All Or Nothing.  But its produced by the same company and producers i think, so they can use same melodies there.

LIC\'s link has the chrono trigger\'s robo theme the has a bit similar melodies as the beginning of rick roll song although i never play that game but i seen rick roll song on this forum occasionally.  lol.  i wonder if the CT songwriter kind of uses a bit of rick roll melodies though.

Another funny thing I found was Kirby\'s song kind of sync well with one of Snoop Dog\'s rap song.  Although I doubt neither copy each other ideas.  Its just a coincidence that they flow together well.