Viva La Vida or Plagiarism?
On the eve of the U.S. release of Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay now finds themselves in the middle of a plagiarism controversy. According to Andrew Hoepfner, frontman of Brooklyn band Creaky Boards, the melody found in Coldplay’s song, “Vida La Vida”, is eerily similar to the one found on their song ironically entitled, “The Song I Didn’t Write”.
From the evidence presented in the below video, it sure seems like Hoepfner has a valid case.
Coldplay is dismissing the claim, citing the fact that their song was written in March of 2007 - some months before Chris Martin, as Hoepfner points out in the video, saw Creaky Boards live. A Coldplay spokesperson has since noted that Martin was in London during the time of the supposed appearance.
Of course, all this won’t stop the release of Coldplay’s new album tomorrow or the inclusion of the band’s songs in Guitar Hero III.
Or for that matter, even their upcoming world tour…
Coldplay 2008 Tour Dates:
06/16 - London, England @ Brixton Academy
06/17 - Barcelona, Spain @ Espacio Movistar
06/23 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
07/15 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
07/18 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion
07/19 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
07/23 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
07/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Center
07/27 - Pemberton, BC @ Pemberton Festival
07/29 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Center
07/30 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canda Centre
08/02 - Hartford, CT @ XL Center
08/03 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
08/04 - Boston, MA @ TD Banknorth Center
08/09 - Osaka, Japan @ Summer Sonic
08/10 - Tokyo, Japan @ Summer Sonic
09/01 - Strasbourg, Germany @ Zenith
09/02 - Mannheim, Germany @ SAP Arena
09/04 - Lyon, France @ Tony Garnier Hall
09/06 - Barcelona, Spain @ Palau St Jordi
09/07 - Madrid, Spain @ Palacio de Deportes
09/09 - Paris, France @ The Bercy
09/12 - Cologne, Germany @ Koln Arena
09/14 - Hamburg, Germany @ Colorline Arena
09/15 - Berlin, Germany @ O2 World
09/18 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Stockholm Globe Theatre
09/19 - Osio, Norway @ Spectrum
09/22 - Prague, Czech Republic @ O2 Arena
09/23 - Budapest, Hungary @ Budapest Arena
09/24 - Vienna, Austria @ Stadthalle
09/26 - Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
09/28 - Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion
09/29 - Bologna, Italy @ Palamagotti
09/30 - Milan, Italy @ Datchforum
10/02 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands @ The Ahoy
10/04 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpalais
10/20 - Ottawa, ON, @ Scotiabank Place
10/21 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
10/26 - East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center
11/03 - Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
11/07 - Orlando, FL @ Amway Arena
11/09 - Sunrise, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
11/11 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
11/13 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
11/14 - St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
11/16 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Ford Center
11/18 - Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
11/19 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
11/21 - Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center Arena
11/22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Energy Solutions Arena
11/26 - Phoenix, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena
12/01 - Brighton, England @ NIA
12/02 - Brighton, England @ NIA
12/05 - Glasgow, Scotland @ SECC
12/06 - Glasgow, Scotland @ SECC
12/07 - Sheffield, England @ Sheffield Arena
12/10 - Liverpool, England @ Echo Arena
12/11 - Manchester, England @ MEN Arena
12/12 - Manchester, England @ MEN Arena
12/14 - London, England @ O2 Arena
12/15 - London, England @ O2 Arena
Tickets are still available via ticketmaster.com.
Plagiarism
Cold play steals
i can’t belive it it sounds exactly alike
It’s pop music. There are only so many melodies to go around. Relax. Coldplay’s song is one of the most exquisite things I’ve heard in a while. Let it be.
eh, coldplay’s is a million times better. and coldplay is an amazing band.
the songs dont make me think of one another.
Excerpted from the AntiPop Music Blog:
“It’s difficult to discern whether remixing samples construes plagiarism of the original artists’ materials considering the context, style, and overall meaning of the material is often completely different than the original. Girl Talk explains that remixing the most minimal of samples isn’t any different than an artist hearing a guitar riff and playing it a little different in his or her own song which has been going on for ages. Picasso ripped off every major artist before him before creating his own style and he was far from the originator of hist most famous style cubism. Musicians like Santogold wouldn’t be famous singers without the jazz singers of the 60s, soul singers of the 70s, hip-hop artists of the 80s, and garage bands of the 90s.”
In this case Coldplay definitely has been influenced if not plagiarized the melody from Creaky Boards and as such should have at least attributed Creaky Boards in the album notes. In today’s mashup culture it’s common to use other artists’ works to create new music and in general I’m all for it, but Coldplay’s use of the melody doesn’t change the style, context, or meaning. I don’t think that Creaky Boards deserves millions, considering their music has received a lot of press simply due to the lawsuit already, but they deserve something.
Then again Creaky Boards’ own song, Brooklyn uses the famous riff from “Puttin on the Ritz” slightly stylized to fit their own song, but it’s unmistakable. I’m not sure whether it’s a case of the cat calling the kettle black, but Creaky Boards should watch their step.
it’s not plagirasm! there is very little similarities between the two songs! coldplay is the best ad this man whose name i dont even know is bogus
Dumb creaky boards are just trying to get their name out there.
Google for Coldplay Satriani.
NO MORE MAKING FEMALES MOIST WITH THEIR CHEESY RIFFS
COLDPLAY SUCKS
Coldplay died when X & Y was released, I’m not suprised Chris Martin couldn’t write anymore original material.
Uh? Can I re-state my arguement that Coldplay is not the biggest band in the world because Jay-Z says so thing from the other day yet? Chicken or Egg be damned, this is the same song and one or the other is phoney.
So does Coldplay…
Creaky boards should copy Coldplay. Cuz this song sucks.
insane, seriously insane
Plagiarism*
…don’t forget the Creaky Boards’ World Tour™ here:
http://www.myspace.com/creakyboards
Jun 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
[...] between the packing and the plagiarism controversy, Coldplay did find some time to recruit their support acts for the upcoming tour. Shearwater will [...]