Spring Break
A look at Coldplay's Chris Martin
Front man, songwriter and melody thief?
Andrea Robertson
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: Opinion
Since iTunes released its newest commercial featuring Coldplay performing "Viva La Vida," I have fallen even more in love with the band. This song has been the band's most popular, rising to number one on the Billboard charts.
My love for Coldplay, however, nearly faltered when I heard a rumor of Chris Martin stealing the melody of "Viva La Vida" from Creaky Boards, an aspiring New York band.
According to Creaky Boards' lead singer, Andrew Hoepfner, his band performed their song "Songs I Didn't Write" before Coldplay released their song "Viva La Vida." Creaky Boards thought that they saw Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin, at a show where they preformed "Songs I Didn't Write" in October 2007.
Assuming that Chris Martin stole their melody, Creaky Boards found it to be very frustrating to see the praise and fame Coldplay was receiving for what they believed to be their song, so they moved forward with a claim that Coldplay stole their melody.
I couldn't fathom that a band that I believed to be so original had taken advantage of their fame and assumed that no one would even know that Andrew Hoepfner was the real creator of the song's melody, meaning that Coldplay felt it was all right to steal another band's music.
Luckily for Coldplay, this allegation of plagiarism was proven to be false. The night that Creaky Boards thought they saw Chris Martin, Martin was actually in London recording. Also, Coldplay began working on "Viva La Vida" months before Hoepfner taught his band "Songs I Didn't Write."
After gaining this knowledge, Creaky Boards dropped their claim, and Coldplay remains in my heart as one of the best and most creative bands to emerge from the 1990s.
Even though Coldplay was found to be innocent of plagiarism, many artists are getting away with plagiarism in the form of sampling. I don't know if it is due to lack of creativity or if it is flattery in the form of emulation, but the influx of songs containing the work of other bands is getting to be ridiculous.
I find it very hard to respect people as musicians and songwriters if they cannot create new and original music.
With that in mind, it is a shame that both Coldplay and Creaky Boards created a melody that was so similar. Andrew Hoepfner said in jest that Nintendo's Fairy Theme from Zelda, which was his inspiration for his melody, must have influenced both bands at the same time, making Nintendo the real winner.
Hopefully, neither band will lose fans due to this alleged, but false, plagiarism.
If anything, Creaky Boards will gain fans from this publicity; I know they have gained a fan in me!
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com
My love for Coldplay, however, nearly faltered when I heard a rumor of Chris Martin stealing the melody of "Viva La Vida" from Creaky Boards, an aspiring New York band.
According to Creaky Boards' lead singer, Andrew Hoepfner, his band performed their song "Songs I Didn't Write" before Coldplay released their song "Viva La Vida." Creaky Boards thought that they saw Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin, at a show where they preformed "Songs I Didn't Write" in October 2007.
Assuming that Chris Martin stole their melody, Creaky Boards found it to be very frustrating to see the praise and fame Coldplay was receiving for what they believed to be their song, so they moved forward with a claim that Coldplay stole their melody.
I couldn't fathom that a band that I believed to be so original had taken advantage of their fame and assumed that no one would even know that Andrew Hoepfner was the real creator of the song's melody, meaning that Coldplay felt it was all right to steal another band's music.
Luckily for Coldplay, this allegation of plagiarism was proven to be false. The night that Creaky Boards thought they saw Chris Martin, Martin was actually in London recording. Also, Coldplay began working on "Viva La Vida" months before Hoepfner taught his band "Songs I Didn't Write."
After gaining this knowledge, Creaky Boards dropped their claim, and Coldplay remains in my heart as one of the best and most creative bands to emerge from the 1990s.
Even though Coldplay was found to be innocent of plagiarism, many artists are getting away with plagiarism in the form of sampling. I don't know if it is due to lack of creativity or if it is flattery in the form of emulation, but the influx of songs containing the work of other bands is getting to be ridiculous.
I find it very hard to respect people as musicians and songwriters if they cannot create new and original music.
With that in mind, it is a shame that both Coldplay and Creaky Boards created a melody that was so similar. Andrew Hoepfner said in jest that Nintendo's Fairy Theme from Zelda, which was his inspiration for his melody, must have influenced both bands at the same time, making Nintendo the real winner.
Hopefully, neither band will lose fans due to this alleged, but false, plagiarism.
If anything, Creaky Boards will gain fans from this publicity; I know they have gained a fan in me!
This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Kat
posted 12/07/08 @ 3:33 AM EST
Why did Creaky Boards gain a fan from you? Because they accused others of stealing their stuff? I listened to that "song" and it's completely mediocre. (Continued…)
stephen
posted 12/07/08 @ 6:48 PM EST
Sampling is usually found in rap, not as much in rock. And when it does happen, people get sued. Ray Davies took Morrison and the crew to court when it was blatantly obvious that "Hello, I Love You" borrowed heavily from "All Day and All of the Night. (Continued…)
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