If I Could Sue

Scott Hardie | December 11, 2008
This may be old news to you, especially if you've already heard the song in the iTunes commercial, but it's new to me.

Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming that their new hit "Viva la Vida" infringes on his own song "If I Could Fly." (article) Music experts say it's a somewhat common chord progression, but Satriani's lawyers mean business.

At first I was biased towards Satriani because, well, I'm a huge fan and I'm supposed to be biased. :-)   Then I actually listened to "Viva la Vida," and holy crap is that a great song (and video):



So then I wasn't sure whose side I was on. That's when I looked up the inevitable mashup of the two:



Yep. Sure sounds like infringement. Even if Coldplay never heard his song before this, Satriani has to protect his copyright.

But wait, what about Creaky Boards?



They made a big deal when the song first came out, producing the above video to make their case. But they eventually retracted it (article), saying that both bands probably ripped off The Legend of Zelda.



Now I'm just confused.

Amy Austin | December 11, 2008
I happen to love Coldplay and the tune in question, but even with that bias, I wouldn't have heard the similarities in *any* of the above without having them pointed out... and even then, it's brief in the Satriani song and even briefer (like... two notes) in the Creaky Boards song (which I like anyway, without even drawing any comparisons!) -- I would have to side with the "common chord progression" stance, to be sure. I mean, part of what makes "Viva la Vida" amazing is the entire arrangement with strings and all... not just the melody of the lyrics, which is the only thing that even remotely overlaps any of the others (and I think the Zelda one is just pushing it).

I mean, this definitely isn't a case of, “But see, mine goes dum-dum-dum-dumdumdumdum *pause*”, to be sure.

Lori Lancaster | December 11, 2008
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