The Song They Didn't Write?

When i first saw that iTunes/Coldplay ad I was instantly annoyed. The first thing that came to mind was what a terrible job they were doing trying to rip off one of my favorite bands, Arcade Fire. Perhaps i was being overly protective and reading a little too far into it. i know i know, Arcade Fire doesnt own the rights to playing that shoulder strap Revolutionary War style drum. And they are not the only band to harmonize in that choir-like way. But both are certainly signatures of their style. The fact that i specifically remember reading that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin called AF "one of the best bands in the world today" or something like that. It really makes me wonder if it was a conscious effort or not. 

This morning i was watching currentTV and they aired a "pod" about the BK based indie-pop band Creaky Boards. They are claiming that they were ripped off by Coldplay. This argument holds more water considering that its based on an actual song and not just a "style". The melody of the Coldplay song is almost exactly the same. In a truly ironic twist, the title of the original Creaky Boards song is "The Songs I Didnt Write". The band uploaded this video on youtube comparing both songs. It gets a little sour-grapey and desperate when they beg that their song is more fitting for the commercial. This is a great publicity stunt in any case. And they do make a valid point concerning the melody. It is strikingly similar! They also claim that they saw Chris Martin at one of their shows. Who knows how true that is?

When Coldplay released their first album, i actually liked a couple of songs. But since then, they contracted what i like to call "Jack Johnson Syndrome". For the record, Jack Johnson is lame but JJ Casuals are awesome. Anyway, JJS is a condition in which every song sounds almost identical to the last one. And Coldplay has got it bad. 

To get back to the point, perhaps Coldplay was simply inspired by these two bands.  In both cases the similarities seem to me to be more like "copycat" than "inspired by". And after watching the TERRIBLE live performance of the song on a recent award show, i was even more turned off. His voice sounded horrible, his stage presence was awkward (just stay seated behind the piano please), and the song as a whole sounded drab, empty, and boring. 

With all that said, if 10% of celebrities were concerned about and donated to social and political organizations as much as Chris Martin, the world would be in better shape.