It appears that Coldplay doesn’t plan to make nice with Joe Satriani by settling his infringement claim quietly; therefore, the matter will likely be decided in court. I’ve noted some armchair analysis of this matter has already occurred in the comments on this site, so I thought I’d provide a very brief legal framework for infringement suits regarding the copying of songs.
Coldplay has responded to Joe Satriani’s copyright-infringement lawsuit with some frosty words on their blog:
What would the world’s lovers of tasteful rock think of Coldplay and Brian Eno if they found out that they plagiarized the good bits of “Viva La Vida” from guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, of all people? Well, we’ll find out if a lawsuit that Satriani filed in Los Angeles yesterday goes his way. Satriani is claiming that the Brit band incorporated “substantial original portions” of his 2004 song “If I Could Fly” into their iTunes-shilling track, and the YouTube above puts Satriani’s hypothesis to the test. The songs do sound kind of similar! But then again, when I heard “Viva” for the first time, there was something very familiar about it, and I haven’t purchased any Satriani albums recently, so maybe they both ripped off someone else? (I’m getting a vibe that this all traces back to the the Beverly Hills, 90210 theme, I swear. There’s one lick in the Satriani bit…) Anyway, for those of you who want to practice your forensic musicology, the two full tracks are after the jump.
Chickenfoot is go! The supergroup, led by Sammy Hagar, will also bring together fellow former Van Haleneer Michael Anthony, wank wizard Joe Satriani, and Red Hot Chili Pepper Chad Smith for an album, and Hagar could not be more pumped. “When people hear the music, it’s Led Zeppelin. It’s as good as that. I know that’s a mighty bold statement…We could rival Zep.” Dude, I love Led Zeppelin! This is great news! I was totally telling someone the other day that we needed a new Led Zeppelin, and here comes Sammy Hagar with a bottle of tequila, saying that he’s got one. I haven’t been this stoked since Walking To Clarksdale.
