Wouldn’t it follow logically that Yusuf Islam – a.k.a. Cat Stevens – should be pursuing legal action against Joe Satriani as 1) Satriani claims Coldplay ripped off his melody and chord progression which finds its roots in Yusuf’s song and 2) Satriani’s song was written before Coldplay’s? He *should* pursue a tea party with Coldplay to apologize for his lapse in judgment – it’s only logical that if anybody was to be sued, it would be Satriani… People sometimes, I tell you.

Wouldn’t it follow logically that Yusuf Islam – a.k.a. Cat Stevens – should be pursuing legal action against Joe Satriani as 1) Satriani claims Coldplay ripped off his melody and chord progression which finds its roots in Yusuf’s song and 2) Satriani’s song was written before Coldplay’s? He *should* pursue a tea party with Coldplay to apologize for his lapse in judgment – it’s only logical that if anybody was to be sued, it would be Satriani… Do people have no common sense and concept of a linear timeline?

Well said Adam. I’ve been pondering the same exact thing ever since Cat first came out with this. Had to have been publicity for ‘Roadsinger’

Why sue Satriani? Nobody ever heard his song. There won’t be any royalties in that.

Satch and Yusuf are fooling themselves with these accusations and lawsuit. The songs do not sound even sound similar to Viva la Vida.

I’ve heard them all and it’s definitely a rip off of Satriani and Yusuf. Coldplay should lose millions over this, those no talent hacks!

Septimius, you’re an idiot

You haven’t heard shit Septimius, you’re an idiot

Yes, “Huh?”, you make a very valid point – instead of filing a lawsuit with merit, Yusuf moved forward to sue the party that he would benefit financially from, regardless of logic – proving the original lawsuit was a calculated effort to both extract money from Coldplay and garner publicity for a new studio LP.

His advisors have likely pressured him to scrap the lawsuit.

Furthermore, everyone knows that with a musical landscape that relies on a 3-chord progression, although there are endless musical possibilities, there is also a high number of similarities.

That’s what happens when a song gets huge and you feel like you deserve a piece of the pie. Do you think they’d care at all if it wasn’t a hit? They’d never even know about it.
Same with “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” You know Rolling Stones wouldn’t have done a thing if that song didn’t end up being one of the best damn songs ever written (far greater than the Rolling Stones original it borrows from)

Coldplay asked permission to use the Kraftwerk ‘Computer Love’ riff and they are more obscure than Joe Satriani! If they did intend to steal, why would they do it with a song that is somewhat new and with an artist that is widely known? And why on such a tiny little piece of his song?

Bitter Sweet Symphony BLOWS…once of the most annoying songs to ever hit the radio..

He’s gonna wait to see how Satriani makes out. What a fake. He want money, the greedy bastard and his peace train

Coldplay rips off Radiohead and U2 with every song they make, so who is surprised by all this? Coldplay is a huge novelty act and they even suck at doing that. Oh and Chris Martin is a huge pussy.

John, if you think that song blows, I shudder to think of what DOESN’T blow in your grand opinion.

Who the hell listens to Joe Satriani besides 50 year old white men with mullets? That tiny melody line is similar to the one in the Satriani ’song’ but considering that about a million songs use that chord progression (Em, C, D,G) chances are that it was entirely coincidental. That line isn’t what sells the song anyways; it’s the instrumentation, melody, lyrics and arrangement. Go suck a dick Satriani.

I love it when you get these Joe Satriani/Yngwie Malmsteen mullet heads talking about how they still kick ass. Look dudes, these guys are crap (not because they’re not skilled) but because their music is unlistenable. (Ooooh, Satriani broke out the 5-necked guitar. Wow. Sweet dude. ) Satriani’s song doesn’t sound much like Coldplay to me. (And early comments are right. Who the heck listens to him?) However, Coldplay’s song exactly like Cat Stevens’.(Like Stevens says — in all likelihood it was unintentional.) I would feel worse for Stevens if he didn’t sound like he is basically and old prick.

Hey David – if Yusuf is an old prick, what is a band that copies and rips off an old prick?

oh my god…thats what rock bands do!!! they dont necesarily rip off other peoples songs, its like an unspoken agreement. they use an old song or wtv the age and make it their own. for example listen to most punk rock songs, u can always find similarities. baaahh!!! like joe satriani’s even gonna win his case, what a fukin loser. so hes this amazing guitar player, sorry but not my kind of guitar player. i dont see him on rollingstones best albums or songs list. u never hear news about joe satriani,except now when hes trying to make some cash and yusuf, he probably feels like an idiot now.

Ummm…Kevin, you think that Kraftwerk is more obscure than Joe Satriani.

Maybe in your town, but I think if you look all over the world and then consider their contribution to electronica from the 70s onward you might need to re-assess.

If you dont like Satriani or Yngwie fine no one forces you to listen and no i dont have a mullet. If you appreciate the guitar see them live and then say you cant listen to them. Name calling the people who appreciate certain kinds of music is for children

good for cat stevens. it makes him seem like a good person for not pursuing legal actions.

‘…an old prick’… Roadsinger blows all of the competition away with it’s quiet majesty!
Viva La Vida sounds exactly like both songs, but I don’t think it was intentional.Then again…we’ll never know!

I’m an old Cat Stevens fan and even did a couple college projects about him. During his no-performing period, Yusuf donated all proceeds from his secular music to charities. I wonder if he is still doing that or if he did that with the Flaming Lips settlement he received?
(Glad he’s making music again!)

Coldplay should only be played in elevators.

Now if only Satriani would quit being a doucher and come to HIS senses.

Satriani = doucher. Adam has it right. Good boy!

Luckily Yusuf has stopped accusing Coldplay. He´s a great musician and so he really doesn´t need to attract the media´s attention through lawsuits. He has some understanding for the fact that similarities can happen very easily. The way he talks about accidental copies of his own songs is very human and sincere. I also don´t believe that Coldplay wanted to rip off his ideas intentionally.

Popular music doesn´t have endless possibilities concerning the harmonic structures. Most of the songs consist of just a few chord changes and I can imagine that it must be very difficult to find something totally new every time. So it´s inevitable that similar or even identical ideas can happen unconsciously. It´s not just the harmonic structure that makes music great. Every song can be unique if essential things like production, arrangements and moods are special enough to set them apart from other songs.

Glad Usuf does not want to kill Salman Rushdie anymore. Climb on the Peace train.

I understand why Joe Satriani and Cat Stevens are suing. Nobody buys Joe Satriani records and I’m guessing that Cat Stevens has run out of money. Cat Stevens hasn’t done anything successful since the seventies and the 80s novelty of ‘look how many notes I can hit on the guitar in 10 seconds’ has worn off so he’s not making money either. The bit from “If I Could Fly” is not what sells “Viva La Vida”. It’s the melody, arrangement, rhythm, and lyrics that do. The snippit isn’t worth what Satriani thinks it is. People can trash Coldplay all they want; I’m not here to change anybody’s minds. But the fact that they are famous for their music (like it or not) and have been for almost a decade demands respect. In today’s popular culture fame usually has nothing to do with talent. The Jonas Brothers? Taylor Swift? I’ll take a band that writes songs that last (like em or not they DO last) over the novelty pop act of the day.

Adam took the words right out of my mouth. However, if Coldplay was inspired by anyone it would be Cat Stevens, considering Yusuf Islam/Cat Stevens is a legend and has received several number one hits and a Triple Platinum. I really never had the desire to listen to Joe Satriani and as far as I know he has never received any awards.