Joe Satriani suing Coldplay for plagiarism

Guitar virtuoso/noodler extraordinaire Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming the band's song "Viva la Vida," title tack from their latest opus, lifts a riff from his 2004 track "If I Could Fly." I can't be the only one who finds this utterly bizarre. Admittedly, my knowledge of both Satriani's guitar...

By Cory Casciato

December 5, 2008

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Guitar virtuoso/noodler extraordinaire Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay, claiming the band's song "Viva la Vida," title tack from their latest opus, lifts a riff from his 2004 track "If I Could Fly." I can't be the only one who finds this utterly bizarre. Admittedly, my knowledge of both Satriani's guitar histrionics and Coldplay's epic mopiness is fairly limited, but it seems pretty hard to believe that Coldplay is ripping him off. Bends-era Radiohead, yes, obviously. But Satriani? Really? Seems more like a ploy by Satriani to get some attention, since I likewise can't be the only person that didn't even realize the man was still alive, much less still putting out records. On the other hand, I do try to give folks the benefit of the doubt, and palm my work off on others, so if someone wants to download both songs, do a side-by-side comparison and weigh in with a verdict in the comments, I will totally buy them a beer next time I see them out and about. -- Cory Casciato

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