The Songs Coldplay Didn't Write?
from the simple-coincidences dept
The What Is Fair Use? blog points us to a fascinating story, suggesting that one of the popular songs from the new Coldplay album has a nearly identical melody to a song by another band. This was brought to the world's attention by that other band, who put together this great YouTube video cheekily comparing the two:Still, the good news is that this doesn't appear to be descending into legal threats or anything of that nature. Instead, the video concludes with a rather cheeky: "I wish Coldplay the best of luck. If they ever want to collaborate, I've got some microphones we could use in my bedroom." Coldplay, for its part, "totally refutes" the claims of the band, noting that the song was written well before the Creaky Boards performance in New York where the band thinks Coldplay's front man, Chris Martin, attended (the band also notes Martin was in London that night). It also notes the differences in the songs, and suggests that it's a "simple coincidence" that the songs sound similar.
Indeed, the guy from Creaky Boards later not only retracted his accusation, but suggested that perhaps both bands were actually "inspired" by the "Fairy Theme" in the Legends of Zelda. In a world of strict copyright, of course, that might make both songs "illegal," though I doubt anyone would think that would be the optimal outcome.
Of course, Martin also once admitted: "We're definitely good, but I don't think you can say we're that original. I regard us as being incredibly good plagiarists." The thing is, part of the point we keep trying to make around here is that, for the most part, that's true of just about everyone. It's the overly aggressive use of copyright law that prevents that sort of "goodness" from showing up. Oh, and it's also worth mentioning, that this little story has definitely increased the profile of The Creaky Boards -- proving one of the points we recently made about plagiarism. Even if the plagiarist is "bigger" than you, the original creator can use that to their advantage as well.
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Filed Under: coldplay, copyright, creaky boards, music, plagiarism, songs
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Wow.....
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fascinating
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Re: fascinating
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vaguely similar, that's all...
The fact is if any two song writers have listened to the same songs over time, it's entirely possible that they are going to come up with something similar. It makes you wonder how often a band comes up with a new song and then somebody walks in and says, "Hey, that sounds just like U2!". Then they change some notes here and there and the rhythm a little and a new song is made.
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More plagarism....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0rYO1GDyis
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Re: More plagarism....
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/martin%20sent%20kraftwerk%20b egging%20letter
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Re: Re: More plagarism....
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Re: More plagarism....
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I have found great music (not either of these groups) by seeing credits before on liner notes and certainly Coldplay's name is out there much more than Kraftwerk, it can only be a benefit like it is for this group.
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Re: More plagarism....
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Re: More plagarism....
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Copyright Induces Plagiarism
Without copyright, people can freely build upon each other's work, use the same or similar melodies, and credit each other with respect and honour.
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Lots of Songs Sound the Same
For example, the progression used by the famous Ave Maria aria are used tirelessly in pop music. I highly doubt Coldplay lifted anything from the Creaky Boards. If they did, that would be *quite* an honor.
Copyright has absolutely no place with melodies in this respect. Even great composers like Mozart and Beethoven "plagiarized" melodies. They mostly did this out of respect and admiration of the original composer.
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Re: Lots of Songs Sound the Same
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Coldplay
They seem to have duplicated one song enough times to fill an album.
Either that or the dude who copied the tracks to the master messed up and copied the same one over and over again.
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Re: Coldplay
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One of many examples:
http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/Zep/StairwayToHeaven.php
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We all stand on shoulders
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Misleading title
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Yea? So what are you goint to do about it?
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Re: Yea? So what are you goint to do about it?
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You want to see real similarity? Check out the song Death on Two Legs by Queen then listen to the song Funny Little Frog by Belle & Sebastian. I'm no expert, but Funny Little Frog sounds identical to the intro from Death on Two Legs.
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This has absolutely nothing to do with the article, I just like remembering my 4 year old son dancing as a turtle. Aren't kids great?!
Oh yeah, I've said this before, anyone that thinks they are original is full of crap. Billions of people have come before us and there is bound to be at least one of them that had the same idea as you.
You're not a snowflake, get over it.
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NOT Exclusively on ITunes...
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What puzzles me is what would attract any of them to this meolody to begin with.
Oh well, they know what they like, I guess.
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The Coldplay song sounds more like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I
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For one, the rhythm of the melody has the same basic foundation. They both begin with a pickup one beat before the measure - one eighth followed by two quarter notes. This alone wouldn't be too great a similarity, however the reason they ring so familiarly is because both melodies begin on the seventh degree of the scale.
More significantly, the chord progressions are nearly identical. In the verses, "Viva la Vida" follows a IV V Im7 vii pattern strictly. In "The Songs I Didn't Write," we see a similar foundation of ii V I vi pattern, with the occasional V/vii chord in place of a V chord during the chorus (resolves to V/iii, which resolves back to the ii again to begin the next verse).
However, the similarity of these songs doesn't mean that Coldplay is guilty of anything. Listen to "The Foreigner" by Cat Stevens and "If I could Fly" by Joe Satriani. Music repeats itself over and over and over again. Consequently, being an 'incredibly good plagiarist' is a pretty useful skill, don't you think?
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