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What the fuck??

DID COLDPLAY RIP-OFF JOE SATRIANI?

 Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 1:00pm by

Joe Satriani is apparently suing yuppie popsters Coldplay because he believes their recent hit, “Viva La Vida,” is actually a rip-off of his song “If I Could Fly.”

Take it from Vince and myself: having someone – especially someone successful – steal your work sucks. It’s just really, really disheartening, depressing, and infuriating. And as hard as it is for me to imagine Coldplay having anything more than a passing awareness of Satch’s work, this clip shows that the two songs are eerily similar…

What do you all think?

-AR

[Via Blabbermouth. Thanks to David for the tip!]

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  • CJ

    you can’t copyright a chord progression.

  • chris

    Wow, that is spot on, taking into account the fact that satriani’s melody is more complicated (because hes got skills like that).

    I like both these songs though, I just wish Coldplay gave him credit, if it indeed was intentional.

  • Damotello

    Wow, that’s uncanny. Normally in these situations I would give whoever is being accused the benefit of the doubt and say it’s a coincidence. But here I really dunno.

  • http://citadelbloodbeard.blogspot.com/ Shanetera

    Of course they’re different songs, Joe Satriani’s has all that fucking rad shredding and Coldplay’s version is a bunch of faggy English dudes trying to be creative (like they were eight years ago).

  • AnusApache

    Well obviously their song is very influenced by Satch’s but if Vinilla Ice can get away for the most part with stealing Under Pressure I dont see how coldplay wont get away with this.

  • Eric

    To be honest, it’s a fairly conventional sounding bit of music right there, and it wouldn’t surprise me if both sides came up with it independently. Not to mention that Martin’s vocal notes don’t always follow the same notes that Satriani does. All music basically plagiarizes other music unless its EXTREMELY creative for the most part.

  • Master Splinter

    I don’t think coldplay would purposely rip of joe satriani. They probably don’t keep up with all his faggoty riffs when they write their faggoty songs. joe satriani is a dick.

  • http://myspace.com/biosyn teaches of peaches

    It’s a coincidence, because it’s a fucking awful derivative corny pop melody. Both artists should be ashamed of writing this bullshit.

  • http://www.cerebralmetalhead.com Etan Rosenbloom

    Eh, no big deal. Coldplay is well known for aping attributes of better bands (U2 most strikingly). They’ve even plagiarized themselves — “Moses” has the exact same chord progression and a similar guitar rhythm to “Clocks.” Czech it out:

    “Clocks:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9j_RZDqYc4
    “Moses:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieu6zu0pcJs

  • crapmcpoopin

    Dude everyone plagiarizes that is a music creator. They heard a sound, they emulated it, and then crafted their own stuff. I’m sure if you analyze all of metal, rock, or any music you can find plagiarized portions because nothing is wholly original. Its impossible for it to be. Coldplay still suck.

  • http://geocities.com/ravenscryfromheaven ravenscry

    HOLY SHIT! DEAD FUCKING ON… Thieves.

  • ihatebryankeough

    haha those little bitches..

    it was probably one of those situations where they heard it playing in their head and were like “wow this would be an awesome song…huh..yet it sounds eerily familiar >.> ” and never thought anything of it. and yeah. TOTALLY pissed at the whole iceicebaby-underpressure thing. NOT COOL.

  • ozzyzak

    It’s a fucking coincidence. I would bet my left nut that Coldplay doesn’t listen to Satriani for inspiration. Simply idiotic.

    I will stop short of bashing Satch, but seriously, this is pathetic.

  • Dr J

    They sound exactly the same except on is full of talent and emothion and the other one is over produced pop trash dressed up as “the rock and roll”. Which one am i talking about??

  • BlestTilDeth

    It sounds like Santana when the two songs are played together.

  • http://www.myspace.com/alexhaskett Alex Haskett

    well yeah it does sound very similar

    but yeah at the same time i wouldnt have thought coldplay would have any idea who satch is so it might just be a coinidence

    tho i hope satch wins his case cos i hate coldplay with passion

  • Sammy

    Similar does not equal the same. Copyright infringement in music is very hard to prove.

  • http://www.coreymitchell.com Corey Mitchell

    @ihatebryankeough: in re: Queen/Vanilla Ice – the copyight holders of “Under Pressure” threatened to sue Vanilla Ice for infringement so, instead, he settled out of court for an undisclosed sum of money.

  • fearo

    Are you fucking kidding me? Yes they do sound similar, but Coldplay, Satriani, and 25 gazillion other peole could have come up with that tune.

  • dthrasher

    Pretty sure I’ve heard that song by about a hundred other “artists” as well. Sounds similar, but yea, like others have said, not exactly original.

  • Malacoda

    This happens all the time, unfortunately. Rap/crap pop/alternative bands do this a lot, especially to metal. I just hate to see such a crappy band make so much money off such a good artist.

    On a similar note, apparently a rapper called Down came into being during Down’s hiatus. Songs are one thing, but a name? WTF?

  • Will

    I dunno if this one is a coincidence or not, but they blatantly stole from Kraftwerk in their song “Talk.”

    Kraftwerk’s Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEBPzD3MPWE

    Coldplay’s Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N9rH2x5KUw

  • palinaborted

    You know how I know you’re gay? You listen to Coldplay.

  • gd

    in that clip though, the keys of both songs have been changed so they match. while it is similar, it’s only really that bit that is the same, towards the end of if i could fly, it all totally changes. what’s next, metallica sue trivium? acdc sue airbourne? come on, music’s been around for so long that inevitably things like this will happen.
    oh and will: kraftwerk actually gave coldplay permission to sample the song. they’re credited in the liner notes.
    yes, i love metal, but i’m a (no longer) closet coldplay fan. so what?

  • Kev

    Its similar. I don’t know about being stolen though.
    Frankly I don’t care because every band has stole a riff/melody from another band. There are fucking lots of bands, shit happens. Get over it.
    Also, Coldplay are good. Actually LISTEN. I know thats foreign to most of you, but instead of hearing, listen. Coldplay have a lot more to their music than most metal bands. As hard as that is to say.
    That being said, I’m not a coldplay fan, I just give credit where credit is due.

  • lern2swim

    @ Kev

    I’d have to disagree(at least in regard to the metal I enjoy). Coldplay is incredibly derivative and NOT deep at all. They are basically U2 filtered through Michael Bolton. I enjoy other types of music besides metal so it has nothing to do with the fact that they are not heavy(I actually feel that the pursuit of “heavy” at all times is a bad thing, in general)

  • http://www.hibernum.net hibernum

    Hah, that’s funny. Yup, same melody and same harmony. And yes, you can copyright those things. And yes, you can prove that in court. Don’t you remember this:
    http://www.snackfeed.com/videos/detail/77436dc0-d881-102b-a525-00304897c9c6

    That’s right children, before you spout off like some sort of expert in music or copyright law, maybe you should graduate from high school.

  • yanky

    love the remix :-)

  • Mike Malice

    This just in…hardcore music sues itself for all being the same, and then Axl Rose sues hardcore music for getting the idea to sue from him.

    Lars proceeds to sue them all.

    None of them proceed to produce good music.

  • Sammy

    @Hibernum: The copyright lawsuit that results in a judgment (with respect to music) is pretty rare. And yes, I did graduate from high school…and then college.

  • dahveed

    The first thing I noticed was that the Satch song had to be dropped in key for the YouTube clip to mesh together at the end. In relative chord changes, it’s roughly the same. Of course, the Coldplay song has way less bitchin’ solos.

    Other than the Vanilla Ice/Queen thing, my gold standard for this kind of thing used to be The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine” riff biting “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones. I used to sometimes think the way Vedder sang the phrase “Even Flow” sounded too much like the descending three chords to Black Crowes’ “Remedy.”

    I wonder if AC/DC thought of suing Metallica because bells start both “Hells Bells” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls”? AC/DC probably has more grounds to sue Airbourne for everything they own. While we’re at it, Vince Neil could probably go after the Black Tide singer for doing a Too Fast/Shout-era Neil impression.

    @hibernum: never thought I’d see the Shoyu Weenie clip unearthed. Nicely done.

    @palinaborted: you macramed yourself a pair of jeanshorts.

  • Cronenberg’s brain

    Honestly,who gives a fuck?. Satriani’s an asshole anyway.

  • Johnny Death

    there are many instances were the same riffs are going to be played by a different band or group. I remember hearing Hatebreed’s song “puritan” for the first time and that a knew of another song by a lesser known band Piecemeal that has the exact same guitar riffs, drums, and vocal pattern.
    Also, I always thought Soulfly’s “pain” and Stuck Mojo’s “hatebreed” have a very familiar feel, and both came out in the same year.
    History is bound to repeat itself, so won’t artist’s that have used up all thier creativity.

  • DeafMetal

    Lamb of God stole riffs from Meshuggah. Just listen to Meshuggah’s Future Breed Machine then listen to Lamb of God’s “Black Label.” That’s just one example and Meshuggah didn’t sue them. Why hasn’t Weird Al been sued yet? I’d love to see Coldplay get sued and Joe Satriani to win. But, it’s just not gonna happen.

  • Adam

    By 1:01, we hear what a collaboration by coldplay and satch would sound like.

    I think we can all agree that’s rip-your-own-eyes out terrible.

  • joethecabdriver

    Catchy little melody, ain’t it? Similar, downright identical in places, but not exactly a total copy. This occurs in music all the time, the only difference being Coldplay have gagillions of dollars and Satch wants his cut because they obviously were humming that melody at some point. How Italian. Both songs are saccarine elevator music.

  • randayn

    anyone who thinks that copyright infringement is hard to prove in music or Satch is just being a dick or MAYBE coldplay (with their teams of lawyers and giant record label behind them) never heard that song, should get their heads out of their asses. copyright is there to protect ARTISTS.

    how would you like it if someone walked up to your desk at work and started handing in your work AND taking your paycheck and then go to your house and sleep in your bed with your girlfriend and eat your food. if you are ok with that lets chat.

  • bloodjunkie
  • bloodjunkie
  • Adam

    oh, and one more thing:

    Who does give a fuck about joe satch? The guy writes glorified sportscenter background music.

  • http://www.zazzle.com/coldplagiarism_viva_la_fraude_t_shirt-235701356821717844?gl=monkeyclown&rf=238266558925436073 Coldplagiarism

    No doubt Coldplagiarism happened here. Coldplay’s arrogance will bite them in the ass. Get the shirt!!

    http://www.zazzle.com/coldplagiarism_viva_la_fraude_t_shirt-235701356821717844?gl=monkeyclown&rf=238266558925436073

  • Jonas lindgrun

    Musicians should just sue coldplay on the grounds of being SHIT! They give a bad name / rep to musicians in general.

  • Donald

    Oi you fucken homo’s that diss satch. understand who you are dissing first

    He is original
    Coldplay copied
    Satch is original and i don’t see him plagarizing
    He has alot of respect for other musicians and his style is like no other. unique
    Awesome guitarist that can actually improvise