Joe Satriani sues Cold Play

Quote :

There's only so many tracks you can write in the key of "E", it's inevitable that somebody, somewhere has come up with the same riff either by accident or subconsciously remembering it from something else.

This is true...it's very difficult to be truly original.

But, in the case of Coldplay/Satriani, if it is truly an accident/coincidence, then it's one of the most uncanny similarities I've ever heard...even MORE so than the Rolling Stones/KD Lang incident.

Speaking of this, my wife was watching VH1 this weekend (the countdown). We watched the video for "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback (good hook, dumb video) and commented on how good the chorus was. A couple minutes later, they played a Taylor Swift video (the song is called "Love Story", I think). As I was watching it I started involuntarily singing the chorus to the Nickelback song OVER the chorus of the Taylor Swift song...same chord progression, same key, same tempo...perfect fit. I pointed it out to my wife and the next time the chorus came up, I sang the Nickelback chorus over it and my wife was shocked...it fit perfectly...she was like "Can't you get sued for that kind of stuff?", LOL! I told her it was what's loosely referred to as "formula writing"...certain notes/chords just work well together and in certain sequences...as long as the vocals are not the same (which they weren't) and the production techniques are different (which they were), most people don't really notice.

Sounds like Satch got paid!

Quote :

NME.com reports that guitarist Joe Satriani's lawsuit against COLDPLAY, based on his accusation that Chris Marin and co plagiarized his 2004 song "If I Could Fly" for their 2008 single "Viva La Vida", has been dismissed from court.

Satriani sued the band last December, seeking a jury trial to award him monetary compensation.

Now, according to News.justia.com, the case was dismissed yesterday (September 14) in California Central District Court "upon stipulation," suggesting that an out-of-court settlement may have been reached.

Judge Dean Pregerson decreed that both the parties bear their own trial costs as the case was closed.

Good for Joe.

Those 2 songs, whether the Coldplay guy did it on purpose or subconscienciously, were just too close to be a "coincidence".