Above: A handy video compares Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” with similar songs by Joe Satriani, Cat Stevens and Enanitos Verdes. Class action lawsuit, anyone?
Folk singer Cat Stevens (now calling himself Yusuf Islam, but everyone else still calls him Cat Stevens) is apparently considering jumping on the bandwagon and suing Coldplay over its song “Viva La Vida” and the supposed plagiarism of his 1973 song “Foreigner Suite.”
Now, we really don’t want to defend Coldplay’s blandly affable pop, but we don’t think Stevens has a case. And, if he does have a case, he should actually be suing guitarist Joe Satriani, since Satriani thinks Coldplay stole the song from his “If I Could Fly”—which means Satriani must’ve copied it from Stevens, right?
Frankly, we’re not sure why anyone would want to claim credit for this boring mess.
Oh wait, it involves a stack of cash as big as Gwyneth Paltrow’s ego, that’s why.
Maybe, the song’s chord progression is just so common and natural (and kinda boring) that it has already been played a million times before, so nobody can really claim ownership of it anymore-like a blues riff.
Long before Satriani’s case made headlines, Brooklyn’s bouncy pop act Creaky Boards (AKA Andrew Hoepfner) claimed that Coldplay had stolen the “Viva la Vida” melody from its song (fittingly titled “The Songs I Didn’t Write”) after seeing the band perform at the CMJ music festival in 2007. Hoepfner hasn’t filed charges, and we’re not really sure if this is a joke or not, but it’s still more convincing than the Satriani case.
After the jump: See the actually pretty convincing Coldplay vs. Brooklyn’s Creaky Boards comparison video.
Cecily Fisher says...
05.6.09 4:56 pm
The video comparison is interesting–I personally think there are far more extreme cases of plagiarism out there in the pop music world, and that this is often subconscious–how many REALLY new tunes are there left unwritten after all? If Beethoven and Mozart aren’t spinning round in their graves from the constant use of bits of their melodies in pop songs, TV ads, etc, why on earth should Creaky Boards be worried about something that will give them a bit of extra publicity? I’m more concerned about Karen’s snarkiness (a New Zealand word, maybe? Look it up..) about Coldplay. Boy, does she WANT to see them humbled!! Get a life, Karen!
Aron Gibson says...
05.6.09 4:56 pm
We here at AFG Must Rock! want to thank you for the ongoing coverage of the Coldplay (yawn) “saga.” We’ve added you to our blogroll.
Many thanks,
Aron
Grimon says...
05.10.09 2:31 am
Coldplay’s quite bland.
But this is all just stupid. Songs are bound to end up sounding like one another, everything sounds pretty much the same these days anyway.
And that Creaky Boards song is nowhere close. I know what the guy’s trying to point to- that one little hook/pivot at “made”…but that’s just generic BS really.
me says...
05.10.09 10:53 pm
Who cares?
Kurt says...
05.14.09 10:59 am
OK…
I like Satriani more than ColdPlay, but come on…
The chord progression appears quite common and ultimately one could easily see how you could “happen” upon the structure when writing in this key.
YOU CANNOT COPYWRITE CHORDS AND THEIR PROGRESSION.
Quite honestly I am a little upset that Joe is actually pursuing this… I say if he collects anything (money) at all - give to Cat Stevens.
Every musicians has in one way or another borrowed from another - whether they realize it or not - this is not like an obvious case such as “Vanilla Ice and Queen”
grow a pair Joe
Kurt
Evan says...
05.20.09 1:18 pm
Are you kidding me? Do you know how many rock songs have been written, across the world, over the past 40 years? If you dissected bits and pieces from each you are bound to find hundreds of similarities, intentional and unintentional. As a musician I realize the odds of writing a melody that someone has already done. It’s just bound to happen given the fact that there are only 8 notes in the musical scale. 8 notes! You’re telling me this was intentionally? I doubt it.
Most of the songs from the 1950s and early 1960s used the same 4 chords (C-am-F-G) that were based on Hoagy Carmichael’s “Heart and Soul”. The D-A-bm-G chord progression is hugely over used in rock. Here’s a list right here that use the D-A-bm-G chord progressions in the verses/choruses:
Wherever You May Go (verse) - The Calling
With or Without You (verse) - U2
Superman (verse) - 5 For Fighting
Girlfriend (chorus) - Abril Lavigne
I’d do Anything (chorus) - Simple Plan
Collide (verse) - Howie Day
These are just a few but I can go on and on. I never heard of any of these artists suing each other.
Evan says...
05.20.09 3:02 pm
Forgot to add that there is also a big difference in perceived plagiarism, which is most likely the case here, and blatant plagiarism like in the case of Vanilla Ice and Queen. Viva La Vida sounds sort of like Joe’s song while Vanilla Ice clearly ripped off Queen.
Karen added...
Good point, Evan.
Actually, didn’t Vanilla Ice credit Queen for that riff?
It was really just cheesy, lazy sampling, but perhaps not really plagiarism…
Thanks for all the great examples, though.
05.20.09 3:06 pm
Si says...
06.7.09 3:30 pm
Evan, it really is not the whole argument to argue that the chord progression is being challenged here - otherwise AC/DC’s lawyer would be one very busy person! In the case of Satriani vs. Coldplay it is both the underpinning chords and the melody on top of it that, when combined, are pretty damned close, particularly when one thinks of the two different instruments in question here.
Karen added...
So you agree with Satriani?
Or do you think it was just a coincidence?
06.8.09 10:01 am
Risen From the Ashes Comes Not Sacrifice, But: “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” (2009) | Riddled Phantasms Magazine says...
06.23.09 12:26 pm
[...] for all their nice little tunes, they get more play off of one hit wonders or opening for bands accused of plagerisms. Yes Coldplay is being sued by Cat Stevens and Joe Satriani and maybe others, I haven’t [...]
Alejandro says...
09.20.09 3:14 pm
Coldplay´s “Talk” is very simmilar to Kraftwerk´s “Computer Liebe” Anyone noticed?
muzicmadderz says...
09.23.09 8:08 pm
What you failed to do is show the rest of the satriani song and the coldplay song, because that might be coincidental that the one part was similar but listen to the rest of If I Could Fly compared to Vida La Vida and it is unmistakable that they are way to similar. Not saying it was for sure intentional but i think Satriani had a pretty good reason to make the claim. The rest of them were similar but not as close, note for note, like the other two.
43 added...
That’s a good point that you bring up. That certain tune is used several times throughout the song, but, however, that can easily be thought of as mere inconclusive evidence due to the fact that about 90% of the song is purely 100% coldplay. I’m sure just about any song out there isn’t completely one’s own. It’s just difficult to draw the line between mere coincidences and clear, cut plagiarism. This is just a coincidence in my opinion.
09.26.09 11:44 am
IRonmikehamilton says...
10.21.09 7:35 pm
You know what- I like Colplay- I don’t care what anybody says. class action- shyeah right? did it work when queen went after vanilla ICe? no. How about when Jon fogerty got accused of ripping himself off and sued by the CCR label? nada. what next? Eddie van halan trying to sue tone loc for wild thing? that was totally ripped off from “janies cryin”. HMMM- how about sting going after puff daddy? not going to happen. The eddie vana halen thing- possibly- I’m sure he could probably use the money. then again- so could tone loc. where was I going with this? oh yea- THe Joe satriani thing- I would just say is a coincidence. I highly doubt the lads in coldplay even know who he is. And if they did- they would be like- Whoa- you know what? this song kind of sounds like that song that Joe satriani ripped off from cat stephens.
Oh no s—- yeah- youre right it kind of does, wow- we are officially veterin rockers. joe satriani! that guy is such a douchebag.
And to that- i would say that I have to agree!
anyway in regardsto joe satriani’s audacity to think that Chris martin even really know who the hell he is- is well-= regoddamn dickulous- then again- f— joe satriani.
whats the lamer than joe satriani- other than the douche opportunist that posted the lame ideo response. man I wish I had that kind of time.
Well actually- I do. as a matter of fact most of us do- right. i love you all!
IRonmikehamilton says...
10.21.09 7:37 pm
you know what- I really did a s—–y job typing that above response.
Rick Summer says...
11.13.09 8:39 pm
No Coldplay is just talentless and without ethics, Ms. Fisher commented on this board to the effect that it isnt that big of a deal to steal someone elses creation, well Dearie, if Mozart and Beethoven were still alive they would be exercising their rights of intellectual property. The way the law stands a work is copyrighted from the moment of creation, even if its not yet registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, if someone infringes on that creation it is unlawful and subject to judgement against them, if the original author has been dead for 50 years or more and his estate has not renewed his copyright then and only then may it become public domain as in the case of the Classical composers you mentioned while trying to justify your favorite bands theft.
Too many acts now could not write a lasting song to save their necks and either buy songs from other writers , do re-makes or out and out steal them in part or whole, the Beastie Boys relied heavily on ripping off samples of everything from Led Zeppelin to the Stones, (and other bands that actually did write their own Music and lyrics)..the artists of today need to put down the iPods, turn off the Playstation and get out in the real world and start living life and experiencing what really is going on, then they will have some life experiences from which to write about.