Coldplay have been called many things, but Joe Satriani wannabes? That’s a new one, and it’s apparently what the chrome-domed axe man himself is claiming in a new lawsuit. Satriani accuses Coldplay of ganking the riff from his 2004 instrumental "If I Could Fly" for their hit single "Viva La Vida." (A representative for the band hasn’t replied to our request for a comment.) Anyway, let’s go to the tapes….
I’m no intellectual property lawyer, and I don’t really believe in suing people over melodic similarities, but I’ll be damned if Satriani’s screamin’ riff starting around 00:50 in the first clip doesn’t sound extremely familiar. That said, this is a pretty elementary combination of notes. If anything, I think Coldplay’s members are most likely guilty of writing a boring major-chord tune in an attempt to make a hit. But you tell me — do you think Satriani has a point?
(Meanwhile, if this whole thing feels like déjà vu, you’re not crazy. As Wook recalled yesterday, Coldplay were previously accused of stealing the "Viva La Vida" tune from a random indie act called Creaky Boards back in June; Coldplay vehemently denied that charge at the time.)
More on Coldplay and suspiciously similar music:
Coldplay is one of EW’s 2008 Entertainers of the Year
They gave EW a sneak preview of Viva La Vida back in May
EW.com got an exclusive glimpse of one of bassist Guy Berryman’s sketches
2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head is one of EW’s New Music Classics
EW took a look at a few other soundalike songs in 2006
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It does sound mighty similar, no? And yet I agree that it’s basic enough that a direct lift was unlikely. It’ll be interesting to see what the legal system makes of this.
If they didn’t, Satriani would be about the only one they haven’t ripped off.
Just watched that Coldplay clip, is Chris Martin not the goofiest most awkward frontman in all of rock?
It may be a little similar, BUT…um….who actually listens to him? I didn’t even know he was still recording..
Ah this intellectual property stuff is getting ridiculous. Joe Satriani’s entire discography has “striking similarity” to Frank Zappa, Steve Vai and any other shredder in the past three decades. Come to think of, I think the estate of Johann Strauss and/or Beethoven has a case against Satriani.
My question is…How long has this Coldplay album been out ??? Satriani waits this long to do anything. Did he wait until they were nominated for 5 Grammy awards.
That is a simple chord progression. Every Coldplay song has one…..
Everyone steals from everyone. That said, Coldplay jacked him. Bigtime.
http://backorforth.blogspot.com
seriously the idea of ppl getting sued over using the same melody or the guitar riff is just retarded. everyone has taken pieces of something to put it together in music or anyhtign else. do actors and actresses get sued for copying each others mannerisms and tips in movies? do writers and directors get sued for using similar quotes or storylines? no becasue its ridiculous. unless an entire melody and/or lyrics was taken from someone and they are given no credit no one should be suing for anything.
You don’t have to be a musical genius to figure this out. There are only so many chords and so many musical melodies. I would eat my shoe if I had to agree that Coldplay ripped off Satriani. As far as fair use is concerned, this has enough artistic merit to exclude any negligence or copyright infringement. Coldplay has created something far more unique than Satriani could ever hope to pull off. Somebody tell him to get over himself. P.S. I thought Steve Vai played the devil. Satriani comes off as a washed up gargoyle.
I don’t know that it really qualifies as stealing…sounds like a fairly basic riff. All that being said, I’ll take the Satch man over over Coldplay any day.
Maybe “satchman” should hire a singer and see what happens to his tunes. Could his ego handle it?
In a chromatic music system (we’re not talking microtonality where a note rests somewhere between a C and a C#), there are only 12 notes that exist and there are millions of written and recorded compositions. Harmonic and melodic sequences are going to be repeated over the course of history.
And that has what to do with anything? Just curious.
I’m a music major at my college and a hardcore Coldplay fan, and I’m here to tell you that after three semesters of music theory, the chord progression found in “Viva La Vida” is a very common one. A lot of rock music is based on simple chord progressions (I-IV-V-I and so forth), so I think Satriani’s argument is a little unfounded. Everyone has musical influences; that’s part of what makes music exciting…the blending of different styles and genres to create new sounds. What Coldplay has done with their current album is unique and different for them, and I believe it shows real musical growth. And why the complaint now? The album has been out since July!
so, did Creaky Boards then rip off Satriana, or vice versa?
Satrini, sorry
oh, forget it. I can’t spell right now.
Rather than being sue happy, he should be honered that another band listened to his work and found it worthy enough to use. Lets face it if you play any instrument your gonna be playing a lick from something you hard before or lick that someone showed you. That being said if he does win the law suit he should donate all the money to music schools around the world so more kids can rip each other off and we can all be happy.
it sounds identical, but i cant imagine that the dweebs in coldplay ever listened to satriani
Only four notes are identical so it can hardly be called plagarism…
Besides, doesn’t Satriani’s music have a striking resemblance to, like, every major guitarist of the past four decades?
Satriani is one of the best guitar players ever. Give the guy a little more respect Coldplay marks.
Nathan, Coldplay isn’t rock.
There’s a similarity, but not a big enough one that he’s going to win an intellectual property lawsuit. That being said, when the riff in question is played by Satriani, it reminds me of the theme song from a daytime soap opera. Anyone?
By a coincidence, I was listening to George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” when I read the item about Satriani’s complaint.
I’ve always believed that Harrison got a raw deal in the ’70s, and it’s possible that Coldplay may be in store for a similar fate.
I’m not sure what to think. Both the Creeky Boards song and the Satriani song do sound strangely similar to Viva la Vida. With Creeky Boards its clearly the melody (with the lyrics being totally different) and then Satriani the riff. Does this fall squarely on the shoulders of Coldplay or also their team of people, particularly their prominent team of producers led by Brian Eno of U2 fame? Either way its hugely disappointing to me (as I am a Coldplay fan). Even more so that people are now saying this isn’t the first case of Coldplay ripping off another musical outlet. Begrudingly, I will still listen to their music b/c at the end of the day I like it.
Oh and before I forget:
Could the outcome of this legal squable be as bad for Coldplay (at least as far as the royalties go for this song and provided the outcome doesn’t go their way) as it was for The Verve when the Rolling Stones sued their pants off for copying the riff to “Bittersweet Symphony?”
Coldplay is one of the worst bands ever. I hate Chris Martin’s whining. Of course they would ripoff other artists since they can’t create anything worthwhile on their own.
I don’t think it can be proven without a shadow of a doubt that there has been plagiarizing. As a non-expert, listening to Satriani’s song without knowing that is the specific song he says was plagiarized, I wouldn’t have been able to notice. His only chance will be if Coldplay offers a settlement. If this goes to trial, he is not going to prevail.
Satriani music makes me queezy
Who cares they are both good songs