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Joe Satriani speaks about Coldplay lawsuit
A MusicRadar exclusive interview
Joe Bosso, Sun 7 Dec 2008, 9:58 pm UTC
As previously reported on MusicRadar, Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming the UK band's Grammy-nominated song Viva La Vida uses one of his melodies.
In court papers filed on 4 December 2008, Satriani's legal team alleges Viva La Vida, the title track of Coldplay's current album, copies "substantial original portions" of his song If I Could Fly.
Satriani's song was included on his 2004 album Is There Love In Space?
Speaking exclusively to MusicRadar on 6 December, Joe Satriani recalls the exact emotion he felt when he first heard Coldplay's Viva La Vida.
"The second I heard, I knew..."
"I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much," Satriani says. "The second I heard it, I knew it was [my own] If I Could Fly."
As it turned out, Satriani wasn't the only one who noticed the similarity between If I Could Fly and Viva La Vida.
"Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.' I mean, I couldn't tell you how many e-mails I received.
"Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious." Joe Satriani
"Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious. It's as simple as that - when you listen to a song and you say, 'Wow, that's a real rip-off.'"
What makes the situation especially painful for Satriani is that If I Could Fly isn't just any song. It's a composition he'd been laboring over for well over 10 years before he recorded it.
"I started writing it on the Flying In A Blue Dream tour back in 1990. But because of the way I write, sometimes songs take a while, as this one did. In 2003 I started demoing it in earnest. I played it on the acoustic guitar on a demo so I could sing the melody, then I demoed it on electric to get the sound. And the performance turned out to be so spontaneous, so right and so emotional, that it wound up being a keeper."
Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, alleging Viva La Vida uses his melody from If I Could Fly
Satriani feels "really hurt"
Since If I Could Fly came out in 2004, Satriani has been gratified by the reaction it's received from his fans, many of whom have called it one of his most captivating songs.
"That was the intent all along," he says. "It was a love letter to my wife, Rubina – a simple, direct expression of feeling.
"That's what really hurts about this whole thing. That I spent so long writing the song, thinking about it, loving it, nursing it, and then finally recording it and standing on stages the world over playing it - and then somebody comes along and plays the exact same song and calls it their own."
"Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away." Joe Satriani
Since it was announced on 4 December 2008 that Satriani is suing Coldplay for alleged plagiarism, seeking a jury trial and "any and all profits" connected to Viva La Vida, his life has been turned upside down.
"This has been the weirdest thing I've ever been involved in," he says. "The media attention has been bizarre and surreal. I really can't explain how I've felt over the past day or two."
User comments (107)
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Well, it's certainly easy to distinguish the cheerleaders from the objective observers. The attacks on the artists are silly. It reminds me that everyone seemed to have their favorite Beatle and felt compelled to take sides when John and Paul had disputes about matters that had nothing to do with us. There's actually no reason to think that both sides aren't good and well-intentioned people. In any event, Capitol and the Coldplay members will file their answers by April 6; then the fun begins. Satriani will have to give a deposition and explain why he thinks the musical phrase at issue was his original work. And Martin will have to give a deposition and explain how he wrote Viva la Vida without any influence from Satriani. Hope we get all the details somehow.
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Oh hellboialex, just to clarify:
When I spoke of "Beck", I meant JEFF Beck, not that idiot dude who sang that "I'm a loser baby" tune.
You also probably have no clue who SRV is, either. -
hellboialex:
Very, very intelligent post. I guess you think Rhianna and Katy Perry are talented too, right???
Moron... -
what some of you don't get is that it's not about the vocals or the violins or whatever. It's the main melody of the song that is the same. The chords are exactly the same except one chord but it's in key and it gets the same "feeling from it". the only thing coldplay did was change that one chord, change the key to f major and change instrument. That is a total rip off!
Also I've got the backing track for If i could fly, it's the song without the lead guitar and you can even hear the exact melody there. -
coldplay is a billion times better
even if they did steal the song, which they didn't, they recreated it better than the original
yousuckksjffsidkofl'ad; -
First things first: It's very likely that most of those posters defending Coldplay are under 30 years of age. Furthermore, they've probably had very little or no opportunity to appreciate ALL forms of music...allow me to explain. Also, let me state that I am not a musician; I wish I was, but I can't read a music note sheet worth a lick, but just plain enjoying good music.
Way back in my high school days ('78-'81), I took a course in Music Appreciation; I had to take an elective my senior year, and it seemed like a good idea. Being a person who enjoyed what's now considered "classic" rock, my thinking was "hey-I can listen to rock all class and get credit for it." Well, surprise-that was the furthest thing to we listened to! Let's see...classical, baroque, chamber music, early blues, Broadway musicals, big band, jazz, doo-wop, early R & B, punk, and yes, a little bit of rock 'n' roll, amongst most other music genres.
It was from this point in my life forward that I was TRULY able to appreciate ALL genres of music. How many 17-year-olds do you know who would go out and buy a dozen classical albums, and a handful of records by Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Stan Kenton, John Coltrane, Louie Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Glen Miller, amongst others? I wore out many a needle on my turntable (yes, turntable; remember, this was 1980-CDs didn't exist until 1985, and 8-tracks/cassettes sucked) listening to this incredible music.
I was also a huge Kinks fan; as such, I feel that they never got the recognition that the Big Four (Beatles/Who/Stones/Zeppelin) got, plus Dave Davies never got the mainstream credit for inventing the distorted, "crunchy" electric rock guitar sound we all know and love. Furthermore, Ray Davies was, and still is, the most insightful songwriter rock music has ever known.
Moving on to the heart of the debate, most of us will generally recognize that most mainstream music has similar foundations (bass/drum); it's what is laid on top of it that separates each tune. For example, your basic 12-bar blues has been around since the 1800s. That said, the Allman Brothers' "Statesboro Blues" is recognized as one of the greatest blues performances ever, even though the song has been recorded by many an artist. What separates it from the others is that unique quality known as VIRTUOSITY; the individual's stamp upon it. For example, the greatest electric blues musician of all time, Stevie Ray Vaughn, covered many a song in his time, but put his own signature on each and every one of them. Plus, SRV always acknowledged the original artists, and expressed his extreme admiration for them. Hell, listen to Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva"; it's nothing more than a heavily-modified blues song, but it's unique in and of itself.
Now, moving on to Satch, and his fellow virtuosos like Malmsteen, Vai, Beck, and many others. Joe's catalog spans the spectrum from beautful, haunting pieces like "I Believe" to pure rock like "Back to Shalla-Bal". Furthermore, most of the unwashed, uninformed masses don't realize that in addition to being an accomplished guitarist and songwriter, Joe is a guitar teacher and designer. Kirk Hammett, anyone? Because Joe is not a vocalist, and the vast majority of his songs are instrumentals, the pop fans don't "get" his music, nor do they appreciate (there's that word again!) the talent and skill. "If I Could Fly" is not a song to sing along to, or dance to; rather, close your eyes and go along for the sonic ride.
All that being said, after listening to Vida la Vida numerous times, the melody IS lifted note-for-note from If I Could Fly. Yes, the pacing is slower, but each note's pitch matches Joe's tune one after another. Any way you slice it, it's plagarism, period.
For those Coldplay fans who think Joe is suing for the money, guess again. Satch has been a successful artist and teacher for several DECADES now, and lives a simple life. Unlike other bands who tour incessantly, Joe and the boys will hit the road for a few months, then it's back home with the family. Plus, let's face it: Joe is never going to be beefcake material, nor does he want that. After meeting Joe briefly at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey a couple of years ago, Joe's just a regular guy who happens to be a damn good guitarist!
I watched that "puff" piece that 60 Minutes did a couple of weeks ago about Coldplay, and wanted to just vomit. Hey Chris Martin, let me ask you a question: you married Gwyneth Paltrow...you didn't have any girlfriends in the UK before you got popular? Joe married his high school sweetheart, and has been with her ever since. That, my friends, is an Average Joe, pun intended!
To close, Joe isn't doing this for the money; it's all about artist recognition, nothing else. -
Congrats to Satch on Coldplay's Grammy. They couldn't've done it without your creativity. He is a thousand times the musician that every member of Coldplay is, combined.
True fans of music know. -
I've met Joe on several occasions and he is as down to earth as they come. He's a very centered and peaceful person and I have to believe that doing this is extremely painful to him and his family. But the reality is if Coldplay wanted to use any of Joe's music or just a sample of a song all they had to do was ask him versus ignoring him. If they believed that they didn’t copy his song then talk about it but don't ignore him. If it happened to them and they felt the same about someone else would they have just sat back and said feel free to use any of our songs, doubtful. I've played both songs and have listened to "If I Could Fly" for years and as a long time musician all I can say its the same and I don't blame Joe for doing this and protecting his and his family’s life’s work.
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The comments from the lawyers and hired PR flacks in this thread are hilarious. DFTEsq describing the exact legal standard was a particularly humorous touch.
THE TWO SONGS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. It will take a jury 30 seconds to find Coldplay guilty. And guilty is the correct word here folks. -
I bought the Satriani song only because of the lawsuit publicity and was pleasantly suprised: it's a very nice song. I love to crank it up. It's just not reasonable, however, for Satriani to say that Viva La Vida is the "exact same song." There is a melodic element that appears in both works - more briefly in Satriani's - but the Satriani and Coldplay songs are very different works of art. Apparently, numerous other songs also contain that same melodic element. To win the case, Satriani has to prove that Coldplay appropriated an original work, and it doesn't appear that he can do that.
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DFTEsq
38 weeks ago.