Time for a 'Soundcheck'

I will be appearing on WNYC's always excellent excellent Soundcheck with John Schaefer on Monday 10/5 at 2 pm EDT. We'll be discussing recent cases of musical plagiarism and some technological advances that might help combat it. You can listen live or check out their amazing show archive (which includes everyone from Thurston Moore to Judy Collins) here:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck

Coldplay/Satriani Case Settled

Coldplay and Joe Satriani have reached an out of court settlement in Satriani's copyright infringement case over the song Vida La Vida. Given Vida La Vida's strong melodic similarities to Satriani's 2004 track If I Could Fly, Coldplay was well-advised not to let this case get in front of a jury.

The issue here was never whether Coldplay had knowingly copied Satriani's work, it was whether they had COULD have heard If I Could Fly (a slam-dunk) and whether the songs were close enough that Satriani's copyright had been infringed.

These out of court settlements typically include a gag order preventing either side from discussing the case but we can assume that Satch will receive a payoff while Coldplay will not have to admit any wrongdoing and will avoid the hassle of a court trial. Chris Martin was probably sincere in claiming that the similarities here were conicidnetal and not intentional.

So everyone's happy. Now the ball's in Cat Stevens' court.

Here's the Billboard article:

http://www.billboard.com/#/news/coldplay-satriani-copyright-lawsuit-dismissed-1004012280.story

Any Major Dude Will Tell You...

If there's a better music blog than Any Major Dude Dude, I sure haven't found it. They consistently feature great music along with informative stories on the artists who created it. That's why I'm proud that they just posted an extensive entry on the Beatles-related material in Sounds Like Teen Spirit. Once you've visited their site, I can guarantee that you'll be returning again and again. Check it out here:

http://halfhearteddude.wordpress.com/

And as a special tip of the hat, here's Wilco's excellent rendition of their namesake song:

Sounds Like Teen Spirit with Dennis Miller

I will be appearing on Dennis Miller's radio show tomorrow Wednesday, August 12th. Click here to find your local station that carries the show.

Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce: Too Close for Comfort

There is a lot of buzz today surrounding Kelly Clarkson's new song Already Gone and its musical similarities to Beyonce's hit Halo. Although she performed Already Gone on Good Morning America this morning, Clarkson is claiming that the song is being released against her will. She seems to be blaming Ryan Tedder, the One Republic frontman who is the songwriter of both songs. It appears that Tedder submitted the same backing track to both artists, accounting for their very strong musical similarities.

Read the New York Magazine story and listen to both songs here.

This case brings to mind the story of how Bon Jovi's breakthrough hit You Give Love a Bad Name began life as If You Were a Woman and I Was a Man (yes, that's really the title) by Bonnie Tyler. In that instance Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and songwriter Desmond Child reworked the song Child had earlier written for Tyler into You Give Love a Bad Name. While not a big U.S. hit, If You Were a Woman and I Was a Man topped the charts in several European countries in early 1986. It preceded You Give Love a Bad Name's release on Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet album by six months.

Here's the video for Tyler's song. See if it doesn't sound familiar:

Bob Dylan: Treat Her Right (Roy Head Cover)

For no particular reason, here's Bob Dylan covering Roy Head's Treat Her Right. This was taped during a rehearsal for Late Night with David Letterman in March 1984.

Words of wisdom, gentlemen!



And here's Roy Head's original from a Shindig appearance in 1965:

Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, sued for Plagiarism

Nelly Furtado and producer Timbaland are being sued for plagiarism over the song "Do it" on Furtado's 2006 album Loose. Finish composer Janne Suni claims "Do it" is a rip-off of his composition "Acidjazzed Evening." It might prove to be an interesting case because it focuses on the fuzzy line between sampling and good old fashioned copyright infringement.

Here' the You Tube video that's helped highlight the similarities in the songs since it was posted two years ago: