Coldplay, Satriani, and...Gunther?
Correction: "He's So Fine" was by The Chiffons, not The Supremes as I originally wrote.
(Credit:
Gunthernet)
I hate audio plagiarism lawsuits--there are only 12 notes, and only so many ways to combine them--but the law has come down time and time again on the side of the plaintiffs. George Harrison was forced to pay damages for "unintentionally" ripping off "He's So Fine" by The Chiffons. Ironically, Harrison's manager at that time, Allen Klein, later sued The Verve when "Bittersweet Symphony" oversampled an orchestral arrangement of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time." (Although it wasn't just the sample--Verve singer Richard Ashcroft also lifted the vocal melody more or less directly from that arrangement, as you can hear on this YouTube video. Weirdly, the orchestral arrangement resembles the original song.)
The latest round was fired by Joe Satriani, who's accusing Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" of ripping off his guitar instrumental "If I Could Fly." Again, YouTube has the evidence, and it doesn't sound too good for Coldplay.
But wait? Is it possible that both Satriani and Coldplay got their inspiration from a third source? Ooh la la!
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The song by Günther does have the same chord sequence, but that is where the similarities end. The melody is quite different, and it never gives the sensation of being the same song. There are many songs with the same chord sequence, and it has never been considered plagiarism.
The parallelisms between Satriani's song and Coldplay, however, is quite different. It is very close to the case between the Stones and The Verve.
I get it, Matt.
thanks for sharing.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uUXda-RTE_c#t=3m18s
That seems a lot closer.
There are a bunch of other examples as well.
Plus, what most people are ignoring is that video showing Satriani matched up with Coldplay has *both* songs adjusted to match up. Neither one is as originally played. Whoever put that video together changed the tempo/keys of both songs to match them up. In reality, they're not nearly as close.
Joe Satriani [2004] vs Los Enanitos Verdes [2002]:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KLt_Hu8bHFc
<a href="http://theopenend.com/2009/01/31/coldplay-vs-joe-satriani-who-owns-the-descending-melody/">Coldplay vs. Joe Satriani:: Who Owns the Descending Melody?</a>
- by jonrobertquinn June 12, 2009 2:12 PM PDT
- Actually, the song Satriani is going after Coldplay for was actually written in 1995. The song has a strong meaning for Satriani as it was written for the passing of a family member. When I first heard the song, I couldn't believe Coldplay would use the melody so freely. If it was your song that has your blood, sweat and tears in, you would think differently.
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