Lemonheads Sue GM Over Jingle That Sorta Resembles "It's A Shame About Ray"
Liv Tyler collaborator and head Lemon Evan Dando sued General Motors in federal court this past Thursday because he thinks they copied (and re-recorded) his 1992 hit for a 2008 commercial selling Chevrolets and Buicks. 2008. Strange that Dando waited until GM went bankrupt to make his move. He's seeking damages and a share of the money brought in from the campaign. So far, no word from GM, because they have no money. As far as Dando's claim? A bit of the chirpy TV spot's whistling does resemble the track, but it's a bit of a stretch to go to court for it. Take a listen and remember the Lemonheads' VARSHONS is out at the end of the month. Forget what I said earlier: Good timing, Evan.
You can hear "the original" at the Lemonheads' MySpace. Evan should also sue this guy.
Posted at 10:01 AM by brandon in Video
Tags: The Lemonheads
Wow. Way to kick GM when it's already down. Evan, it's not like GM made any money from using your song...
Score = 4
It is better to sue after the bankruptcy petition gets filed because any litigation going before the filing is subject to the automatic stay and has to stop until the bankruptcy is over (or the stay is lifted). However, a suit filed after the bankruptcy begins isn't subject to the say, I think, and can continue on. Also, that doesn't really sound that much like "IASAR" to me--I used to listen to that record ALOT and I really had to strain to hear it.
Score = 3
this is bullshit. everyone knows i invented the A-E-D chord progression. how do i intervene on this suit?
Score = 4
No, these songs are actually really similar. It doesn't make sense for the guitar harmonies AND the vocal melodies to follow the exact same patterns. THAT, my friends, is textbook plagiarizing.
Score = -2
These songs are actually very similar. It doesn't make sense for the guitar harmonies AND the vocal melodies to follow the exact same patterns. There's a million different ways to add harmony to a melody. Lameoids.
Score = -1
Did Evan have to emerge from Chapter 11 to file the lawsuit? It's a very large stretch, but so is putting out a successful album of covers.
Score = 0
If Coldplay won that case against Joe Satriani, which was one of the most blatant cases of plagiarism I've ever seen, then there is NO way that Evan stands a chance. It's not gonna happen, and it shouldn't! The songs aren't similar enough.
Score = 2
First off, Dando needs to clean the wax out of his ears. This jingle sounds like a Brit Pop tune more than "Shame About Ray."
Second: Nils, I dont' mean to be rude but you have NO idea what you are talking about. "Viva La Vida" sounds nothing Satriani's "If I Could Fly". Just because Chris Martin holds the beginning of his verse vocals for 5 eighth notes at a time like Satriani does twice with his guitar at the start of his song's 2 choruses doesn't mean he copied Satriani one bit! This is the only striking similarity between the two songs and if that's grounds for a lawsuit then my gawd, the rest of the music industry is in big trouble!
Please understand the difference between (brief) similarity and "blatant plagiarism." I could give you countless other examples of blatant plagiarism - ex. Neil Young's "Let's Roll" sounds too similar to Aerosmith's "Last Child," or Pearl Jam's "Alive" solo, the start of which Mike McCready admitted he "borrowed" from the solo on Kiss's song "She."
Back to Satch-Coldplay, there aren't any similar note patterns in each song, which Satch needs to show in order to prove "substantial" copyright infringement. There are no guitar chords, no bass guitar or drum lines that resemble each other either. Also, Satriani wrote his song in standard tuning while Coldplay down-tuned 1 half step to E Flat - point being is that this means matching up these songs note for note is that much more difficult since the songs are in different tunings.
Not even Satriani himself (and I'm still a huge fan of his despite this dumbfounding lawsuit) can name a single part of "Viva" that rips "Fly" off - just the song itself, which is weak, not to mention dead wrong.
I look forward to the day when he finally drops this frivolous lawsuit once and for all. Musical plagiarism disputes (unless it's samples-related) should NEVER be settled in court (because that could mean people who aren't musically trained get to possibly ruin the livelihood of artists).
Score = 2