Dec 062008
 

I hate to convene the court over the weekend but the Rock Nation turns its lonely eyes to us.

The Hall will now hear arguments after which a sidebar poll will determine the verdict.

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  20 Responses to “RTH Hears the Case of Satriani vs. Coldplay”

  1. they are very similar, but since the chord progression (IV-V-I-vii i think) and the melody are both fairly ordinary and simple, i don’t think it’s something worth getting worked up over. That being said, i think Coldplay’s song does more with the idea, and we get that massive hook in the “I hear Jerusalem’s bells a-ringin'” line that the other song doesn’t have.

    Also, I think Coldplay’s arrangement is more tasetful, though i think it would’ve been a nice touch if that guitar solo were sampled into the song. The real issue I think, is the quality of Viva La Vida’s lyrics. The Crusades are probably one of those magic subjects that should never have anything to do with ‘rock’ music.

  2. Mr. Moderator

    Satriani needs all the cred he can get. Coldplay gets more than most of us would like to see them get. Coldplay is GUILTY! The band will be sentenced to a cross-Atlantic flight seated next to a drunken Ygwie Malmstein (sp?).

  3. I’m gonna have to go with a “Hundredth Monkey” explanation for both sides.

  4. sammymaudlin

    The court has ruled that personal opinions of either or both defendant and plaintiff are relevant and can be considered in determining a judgment.

  5. Mmmm.

    Have Chris Martin and Joe Satriani ever been seen in the same room together?

    My theory is that you take off those dark sunglasses and put on a foppish wig and they are one and the same.

    Ms Paltrow. Would you care to comment?

    Oh. Guilty. Probably by Osmosis.

  6. Clearly guilty. Can the penalty be that both bands get wiped from existence? Please tell me that’s the penalty.

  7. hrrundivbakshi

    At first I was with Hissing Fauna. (And with a bunch of other snobs in thinking, “who cares? Both songs suck!”) Upon careful evaluation, though, the element that tipped the scales in Baldy’s favor was the fact that — somewhat buried in his tune — are rhythmic “chunka-chunkas” that mirror the Coldplay tune’s string chunka-chunkas pretty precisely.

    C’mon — Joe needs the money to paint his guitars a new shade of tastelessly lurid purple. And to get a head-wax. Coldplay is GUILTY!

    HVB

  8. sammymaudlin

    mwal et al: The court is open to hearing opinions on sentencing but of course nothing can be official until a verdict is reached.

  9. BigSteve

    What possible reason would Coldplay have to listen to Satriani’s wankery? It seems extremely unlikely to me on the face of it. Satriani’s fan base is a smallish niche that I would not expect to include posh U2philes with delusions of commercial and artistic grandeur.

  10. Sentencing:

    Call it a draw and make them listen to the other’s music continuously until the end of time.

    That should at least keep them from producing any more ‘music”.

    C.

  11. Mr. Moderator

    Doesn’t Satriani teach other professional musicians, even some bigtime guitarists? I think I read that somewhere. Someone must know. Wonder if he taught the Coldplay guitarist…

  12. alexmagic

    Who was the first person to come forward with this? To admit to listening closely to Coldplay and Joe Satriani? Kinda like calling the cops about a mugging you witnessed while working on the set of a snuff film.

  13. Like OJ, Coldplay deserves a longer sentence for crimes already committed.

  14. sammymaudlin

    Arguments may continue but the poll begins. Please perform the most sacred duty a Townsman can and enter your verdict in the sidebar poll.

  15. Who would win in a fight?

    A: Huey Lewis, Gordon Lightfoot and Joe Satriani

    B: Coldplay, Whitney Houston and Ray Parker Jr.

  16. 2000 Man

    Boy, they sound different enough, but when spliced together they’re a lot more convincing as the same song than My Sweet Lord and He’s So Fine were. I hope that we find out that some flunky trying to get Coldplay to record his songs just knew he could get them to bite on a stolen Joe Satriani song, and take all the credit for it. That would be some nice revenge. At the very least, it would be more interesting than anything these people have ever done.

  17. I’m with BigSteve here. The chance that Coldplay sit around and listen to Joe Satriani (especially something off one of his recent albums; I didn’t even know he was still recording) is infintesmally small, though I suppose it’s possible. More likely, this is just coincidence, though admittedly the two tracks are very similar.

  18. There’s only one way to settle this: an old fashioned Dance Off!
    http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/1EYghcPpchPze6crgBoR

  19. BigSteve

    NEW YORK (AP) — Coldplay is firing back against accusations they copied another artist’s work for their hit ”Viva La Vida.”

    In a statement released on Tuesday, the band responded to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by guitarist Joe Satriani last week. That lawsuit says the Grammy-nominated song contains ”substantial, original portions” of his 2004 song, ”If I Could Fly.”

    Says Coldplay: ”If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him.

    The statement goes on to say: ”Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”

  20. ”Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours.”

    Say what you will about Coldplay, but that is some highly impressive passive-aggressive PR language.

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