On Satriani verses Coldplay I’ve missed the whole bandwagon on the “Satriani vs Coldplay” contraversy and news spreads like wildfire around the blogosphere, so I won’t bother linking the Youtube (you can find it fast enough by searching). I will say though, it’s a significant issue for songwriters. From what I’ve read, many feel that it’s just too uncanny and that Coldplay must have purposefully ripped them off.
I doubt it, mainly because they would’ve known the consequences. It seems to me that there are just thousands and thousands of pop songs using reasonably simple or common harmonies/chord sequences – and the one used in this controversy is not uncommon. A lot of fairly simple stuff, with simple melodies, can just be really effective in the pop world, when delivered right with the right nuances, performance, arrangement and mix.
It’s probably one of the biggest fears of the successful songwriter -coming up with a great song (or melody) only to find someone else has written it. And it’s all the more likely when you’ve been subliminally influenced by hordes of good pop songs over the years. Sometimes you’ve just got to hope for the best, or write unique, quirky music with bizarre chord sequences that no one could conceive of. But don’t expect that to be a hit (but don’t rule out that it could be -it may just hit the right note with people)
Struggling Muso 