Coldplay sued by Satch

@BenJS1000 5824 wrote:

Here are Satriani’s thoughts on the matter 🙂 :

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/joe-satriani-speaks-about-coldplay-lawsuit-185914

Hey Ben, 🙂

Thanks for that link man! WOW! Stach isn’t on the fence about this at all! He is CONVINCED that they plaigerized, isn’t he?!? I dunno? Who knows? :confused:

BTW, now there’s another song (actually a few!) that various peole are citing as being released BEFORE Satriani’s “If I Could Fly,” that they claimSatch must’ve ripped-off!!! This whole thing is getting silly…:rolleyes:

I checked out the song “Hearts” (1981 release!) by Marty Balin (ex-Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship,) and while the melodic motion shows some similarity, it really is a bit different harmonically and subsequently melodically as well. Below is a brief breakdown and “quick-analysis” of each song’s key (Even though I DO NOT believe that Key or tempo information is legally a factor in these case – NOT sure though?!?):

Song Title & Artist: “If I Could Fly” by: Joe Satriani

Relative Progression: __iim___V_____I_____vim___

Actual Progression: ||: Emin | Amaj | Dmaj | Bmin :||

Key: “D” Major

Song Title & Artist: “La Vida Viva” by: Coldplay

Relative Progression: ___IV_____V______I______vim___

Actual Progression: ||: Dbmaj | Ebmaj | Abmaj | Fmin :||

Key: “Ab” Major

Song Title & Artist: “Hearts” – by: Marty Balin

Relative Progression: _bVImaj_Vdom7__Imin__IVmin__

Actual Progression: ||: Abmaj | Gdom7 | Cmin | Fmin :||

Key: “C” Harmonic Minor

As far as the Coldplay vs. Satriani case goes, I DO think it’s interesting to note in the analysis that the keys of each respective song (“Ab” and “D”) are the furthest intervallic distance any two Roots can be from one another – (TRI-TONE = 6 semitones,) because any larger (like perfect 5th = 7 semitones) actually puts you closer to the next octave up (if you think about it a bit!) So therefore, if Coldplay was intentionally trying to “borrow” the idea, it “just so-happened” that they chose to record the idea in the furthest discernible key/root away from the borrowee (Satriani) in question!

Hmmmmm……

Oh well…..I’m just stirring the pot a bit! It’ll be interesting to see how it gets ruled!

~Bill Meehan~ 😀

@Rick Graham 5839 wrote:

Colplay respond to JS

http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=242

Hello Everyone, 🙂

Ya know what? I think I believe Coldplay! As I said in a much earlier reply to this thread, I really think that these similarities stem more from the seemingly finite (“FiniteGuitar??? – lol!) melodic landsape provided by these extremely hackneyed progressions. (Of course there’s a “chicken-and-egg-syndrome” argument associated with this in regard to the genesis of the actual melody. IE: Was the melody conceieved before or after the harmonic accompaniment?) Regardless of this argument though, the bottom line is that we’ve all heard this musical “territory” before, and I honestly think that thses coincidences (asssuming they are just that,) are inevitable! :rolleyes:

Has anyone ever noticed that these cases seemingly always involve either these simple “pop” – diatonic major key (or relative mode) type melodies (like the aforementioned “Viva La Vida” vs. “If I Could Fly” or the 1970’s famed case of “George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” vs The Motown classic “She’s So Fine”) OR extremely simple “riff” ostenato’s (a la “Under Pressure” – by Queen/Bowie vs. Vanilla Ice’s nonsense, or Huey Lewis and The News’ “I Want a New Drug” vs “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. ) My point being that the more “typical” the initial idea is, the more likely that idea will be re-tread upon? See what I mean? In other words, how come no one ever gets sued for sounding like “My Name is Mud” by Primus!!! (or ANYTHING by Primus for that matter (lol!) Ya know why? Because Primus’ material is so unique, (mind you, I can’t stand Primus, but I respect their uniqueness!) that if anyone was stupid enough to try copying Primus, they’s end up sounding/seeming like idiots because it would be SO obvoius what was happening! Whereas with the diatonic pop stuff, we accept that these coincidences could happen?!? OK? See what I mean? Here’s one more example: Which of the following two artists is more likely to be the victim of such copyright infringement: Green Day or Frank Zappa?!? I rest my case!!! 😉

This should get interesting?!? 😎

~Bill Meehan~

@Sean Conklin 5845 wrote:

Really interested in how this pans out. I believe Coldplay and really doubt there were any intentions to copy Satch. (Could always be wrong though).

I hope everything can be settled civily between both parties.

Hey Sean, 🙂

I agree with you on both points. That is, I believe Coldplay’s claim of innocence, and I would like to see this handled civily between both parties. Wouldn’t that be nice to see! :rolleyes:

BTW, my “long-winded” (lol!) 😮 analysis of the songs in question was merely to show/prove to people my point about treading on “hackneyed” diatonic territory! No disrespect to either artist, (Satch or Coldplay) as I think it takes a “special” type of genius to write simple-pop melodies and still make them “unique” or “fresh,” but as this case shows (maybe?) the simpler the melodic & harmonic landscape is, the more likely there is chance for coincidental (or otherwise) duplication and subsquent copyright infringement! As I stated, (a bit extremely!) how come Primus or Frank Zappa aren’t the subjects/victims of such copyright infringement? 😮 I think we know the answer, correct?!? 😉

~BIll Meehan~ 😀

@Sealer 5862 wrote:

You don´t need to play atonal to have unique sound.

I think Satch took this one way too seriously. Then again, it´s not me that feels hurt.

Marcin, 🙂

I never said you have to play atonal to be unique. I was merely stating that when artists impose “diatonic limits” on their creativity, the sheer probability of melodic coincidences increases exponentially! That’s a fact! I mean obviously atonality is NOT the only answer to uniqueness in creativity, otherwise, every pop song newly released would be in copyright infringement! 😉 (lol!) However, I was just using extreme contrasts (Zappa & Primus!) in my examples to prove my point that the less restricted a composer is in their vocabulary, the less likely they are to intentionally OR unintentionally use someone else’s copywritten ideas! That’s all! 😎

Have a nice day! 😀

~Bill Meehan~

@Sealer 5874 wrote:

I know what you mean. That were indeed some extreme examples;) . Though I gotta say that sometimes I am guilty of writing stuff that “reminds” me of other people´s music (a strange feeling, really). It is hard to write stuff that is both catchy and unique at the same time (for me at least). Often I have ambivalent feelings about the piece I just wrote. Either I like it because it´s unique, but I sure as hell could use some more ear friendly melodies and modes, or it is quite catchy but I have a feeling I heard it before. Such is the life of the musician ;).

My few cents.

Marcin, 🙂

You read my mind man! (lol!) :p Seriously, I couldn’t agree with you MORE! 😉 I too have experienced such feelings AND occurences of music that reminds me of something! I agree too that it sure is a strange feeling! Catchy & Unique…..if we could only quantify and bottle that! WOW! 😮

There goes “a few more cents…” 😀

~Bill Meehan~ 😀

@Sealer 5874 wrote:

I know what you mean. That were indeed some extreme examples;) . Though I gotta say that sometimes I am guilty of writing stuff that “reminds” me of other people´s music (a strange feeling, really). It is hard to write stuff that is both catchy and unique at the same time (for me at least). Often I have ambivalent feelings about the piece I just wrote. Either I like it because it´s unique, but I sure as hell could use some more ear friendly melodies and modes, or it is quite catchy but I have a feeling I heard it before. Such is the life of the musician ;).

My few cents.

I agree, it happens to me too, when i come up with a really awesome melody , i have a horrible feeling that my ” subconcious” took it from someone elses work or something like that, its a horrible feeling 🙁