Van Halen In the Studio with Producer John Shanks January 25, 2011 – The new Van Halen album is on. The band is in the studio with producer John Shanks to record their first full album with original lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984, released the same year. MORE
The Day John Bonham Almost Kicked Sting's Ass January 25, 2011 – Jason Bonham has interesting memories of his dad going backstage and meeting Sting. When the younger Bonham was 13 he convinced his dad to meet the Police. He told Spinner.com, the whole thing happened at a show promoting the band's second album “Reggatta de Blanc” MORE
Don Henley Working On Country Covers Album January 24, 2011 – Don Henley is working on, only, his fourth solo album since 1982. The Eagles lead singer is in Nashville with producer/drummer Stan Lynch from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame. MORE
Elton John Frustrated with Slow Movement in Gay Rights January 24, 2011 – Elton John is not too happy with how gay rights is moving especially with California's gay marriage ban. The 63-year-old singer says, "In this country, we need more dialogue, We don't need any more stone throwing. We don't need any more vitriol. We need people to say, 'OK. I'm straight. You're gay. Let's get along. I'm Republican. You're Democratic. Let's work together.' I'm sick and tired of people being hateful to each other in this country." MORE
Aerosmith Working on New Album Despite American Idol January 23, 2011 – Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton just gave the world an update on the band's new album.
The guitarist claims that all members, it seems including Steven Tyler who is busy with American Idol, have some time right now to start working on their latest project. Here is what he told AeroForceOne MORE
Clint Eastwood Suffers Blow To The Head and Joins Forces with Beyonce January 22, 2011 – What the hell is Clint Eastwood thinking? The famous actor and director is trying to land the rights to “A Star is Born" and have Beyonce star as the lead. Expect lots of close-ups of the long-legged wonder. Is this the best Clint could do...really? MORE
Paul Simon Set to Release “So Beautiful or So What” In April January 22, 2011 – Paul Simon says he's gone back to recording music much like he did in the early seventies by just sitting down with a guitar and seeing what happens. The new project, due in April, “So Beautiful or So What” MORE
Despite Facelift American Idol Loses 13%+ of Its Viewers January 21, 2010 – American Idol is not the king it once was. Even though 26.1 million viewers watched Wednesday’s 10th season premiere it was still down 13% from last years opening show. Last night’s New Orleans episode was a bigger drop with the show losing 18% in the key demo 18-49. MORE
Robert Plant Reminds Us That Led Zeppelin is Dead January 21, 2011 – A Led Zeppelin reunion sounds like a great idea until you talk to Robert Plant. The singer told Rolling Stones magazine that the famous O2 show in London in 2007 was amazing but “The preparations for it were fraught and intense, but the last rehearsal was really, really good, for all that it represented and all that we were trying to capture,” says Plant. MORE
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Chris Martin Ups His Game Courtesy of Plagiarism Lawsuit May 26, 2009 – Chris Martin of Coldplay says that being sued by Joe Satriani has inspired him to become a better songwriter. So what’s he really saying here? Next time he’ll start with fresh ideas, like his own?
Martin said, "If everyone's trying to take away our best song, then we'd better write 25 better ones. You think, 'Right, if everyone's trying to take away our best song, then we'd better write 25 better ones'. And so just at the point where I was thinking about getting fat and becoming complacent, I've been finding more inspiration. Now we've got more to prove than ever before."
The online press has not been kind to Coldplay after Satriani pronounced via the lawsuit that their “Viva La Vida” tune was a direct rip-off of “If I Could Fly” which he wrote for his wife years earlier. More
Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay Continues With Possible YouTube Evidence May 20, 2009 – Three partners in a law firm are saying that the Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay case could be influenced by fans on the internet, especially YouTube.
The lawyers in the Intellectual Property Group at Kilpatrick Stockton LLP posted a story in the April 2009 issue of Entertainment Law & Finance said, "What makes this case unique is the lively debate that it has prompted, which will likely impact how this action and similar infringement cases will be prosecuted and defended going forward.”
Late last year Satriani Sued Coldplay claiming that their Grammy winning song “Viva La Vida” uses "substantial portions" of his song “If I Could Fly,” a tune he wrote as a love letter to his wife.
The Lawyers added, "Within days of the suit's initiation, YouTube was inundated with postings in which fans freely offered their opinions concerning the merits of Satriani's claims (or absence there-of). Some of these submissions were supported by surprisingly detailed analyses of the works."
One YouTube poster in particular could be used as a witness, AndrewWasson, a music teacher from Winnipeg Manitoba broke the song down piece by piece. Wasson felt the songs were very similar. Check out his video here. – by John Beaudin
Coldplay's Will Champion Doesn’t Get the Plagiarism Thing May 12, 2009 – Listening to Will Champion of Coldplay one would think that some wild conspiracy plot is aiming right for his chest. The drummer says the band, "Haven't done anything wrong,” concerning the whack of plagiarism accusations.
That’s not how Joe Satriani and Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) saw things. Both are saying the title song to ‘Viva la Vida,’ was taken from tunes that they wrote and Satriani is suing for copyright infringement.
Champion says, "There are only eight notes in an octave and no one owns them" He told Hampton Roads, "For some reason, God only knows why, the successful songs seem to be the ones that are accused of being stolen." Nothing could be further from the truth, we just don’t hear about the smaller cases since most songwriters aren’t that well known. The stuff just doesn’t make the news. More
Sammy Hagar Gives Props to Joe Satriani as “The Best Guitarist I've Ever Played With" May 5, 2009 – An ex-guitarist is like an inflamed appendix, they cause a lot of pain and suffering, but after it's removed you find you didn't need it in the first place! That seems to be the case for Sammy Hagar and his thoughts of ex-Van Halen partner, Eddie Van Halen.
Last week Hagar said, "I've made this statement a million times - some people don't like it, some people do - but Joe is the best guitarist I have ever played with,"
"That's a strong statement. I realize that," Hagar added. "You've got to give Eddie [Van Halen] a lot of love for his innovation of what he did as a stylist with the guitar. He broke a lot of ground. But Joe is a master. He can play anything and everything - folk, blues, jazz, hard rock, soft rock, fusion, you name it."
Sammy, who has also worked with Ronnie Montrose and Neal Schon of Journey said, "As a guitar technician, Joe is the best guy I've ever stood in the same room with on any instrument. And he's so soulful when he solos. He puts more feeling into a solo than any other player I've been with."
Bottom line is Hagar is loving his new band. All nine shows from their new tour in May have sold out and their European dates, slated for June and July are selling quick. – by John Beaudin
If Coldplay Hasn’t Plagiarized You Please Stand Up – Now Cat Stevens Crying Foul May 5, 2009 – The number of people pointing fingers at Coldplay for plagiarism is growing. Cat Stevens (now called Yusuf Islam) says the band’s tune ‘Viva La Vida’ is a rip-off of his song ‘Foreigner Suite’ but I thought it was taken from Joe Satriani? The latter lawsuit is still “in progress” but Islam is sure it was lifted from his 1973 18-minute track.
He told Reuters, "There's been this argument about Coldplay stealing this melody from Joe Satriani but, if you listen to it, it's mine!"
The singer said it wasn’t even him who noticed the similarity, "My son brought it to my attention and said: 'Doesn't that sound like 'Foreigner Suite?'" Islam points out that he’s not sure about any legal action adding, "It depends on how well Satriani does."More
Coldplay Will Not Be Served Papers at the Grammy’s Feb.6, 2009 – This Sunday’s Grammy Awards could have resembled an episode of Boston Legal with threats that Joe Satriani’s legal team would serve papers to the members of Coldplay for a plagiarism lawsuit. Could have been juicy! Now, Howard King, Satriani's attorney says, "All of that has been averted now." Turns out Coldplay has hired their own lawyers and have stopped ignoring Satriani in his claim that his song ‘If I Could Fly” was ripped off by Coldplay on the title song to their ‘Viva La Vida’ album.
King said, "We tried to have a conversation with Coldplay. Their British lawyers said there wasn't anything to discuss." So after threatening to serve the band in the most public place in the world on Sunday – The Grammy’s, all of sudden talks were back on track.
In our humble opinion the songs sound identical. If Coldplay didn’t mean to plagiarise Satriani then he must have been playing on the radio in the background when they wrote their tune. Can’t imagine the band not paying up. – Kari Graham
Coldplay Admits to Song Rip-Off Dec. 24, 2008 – Last week Coldplay’s Chris Martin admitted to ripping someone off. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Joe Satriani. While talking to Chris Moyles of BBC Radio 1, Martin said the Coldplay single ‘Shiver’ from 2000 was a rip-off of Jeff Buckley. Maybe Martin has some other thing’s he’d like to get off his chest? Satriani is suing Coldplay for allegedly stealing "substantial original portions" of his song ‘If I Could Fly’ on the title track of the album ‘Viva La Vida.’
As for the ‘Shiver’ Martin said, "It's a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt, not quite as good, that's what I think. We were 21 and he was very much a hero, and as with those things it tends to filter through."
The Coldplay front man said this about the Satriani lawsuit, "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him," the band says in a statement.”
"Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song 'Viva La Vida.' We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours."
Satriani said, "I did everything I could to avoid a court case with this situation, But Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away. Maybe they figured this little guitar player guy will leave them alone after a while, I don't know."
Watch out, this one could get ugly. – by John Beaudin
Joe Satriani Talks About Coldplay Lawsuit Dec. 11, 2008 – The Joe Satriani/Coldplay lawsuit could be one of the biggest plagiarism cases in music history. Satriani is suing Coldplay for allegedly stealing "substantial original portions" of his song ‘If I Could Fly’ on the title track of the album ‘Viva La Vida.’
The court papers were filed on December 4, 2008 and Satriani says, "The second I heard, I knew..."
"I felt like a dagger went right through my heart. It hurt so much," Satriani says. "The second I heard it, I knew it was [my own] If I Could Fly."
Satriani released ‘There Love In Space’ in 2004 and it’s a tune he’d been working on for over 10 years before it was recorded. "I started writing it on the Flying in a Blue Dream tour back in 1990. But because of the way I write, sometimes songs take a while, as this one did. In 2003 I started demoing it in earnest. I played it on the acoustic guitar on a demo so I could sing the melody, then I demoed it on electric to get the sound. And the performance turned out to be so spontaneous, so right and so emotional, that it wound up being a keeper."
"That's what really hurts about this whole thing. That I spent so long writing the song, thinking about it, loving it, nursing it, and then finally recording it and standing on stages the world over playing it - and then somebody comes along and plays the exact same song and calls it their own."
The guitarist also said he wasn’t the only person who notices how the two tunes sounded similar. "Almost immediately, from the minute their song came out, my e-mail box flooded with people going, 'Have you heard this song by Coldplay? They ripped you off man.' I mean, I couldn't tell you how many e-mails I received.”
"Everybody noticed the similarities between the songs. It's pretty obvious. It's as simple as that - when you listen to a song and you say, 'Wow, that's a real rip-off.'"
So far there has been no comment from the Coldplay camp, Satriani says, "Coldplay didn't want to talk about it. They just wanted this whole thing to go away."
Satriani says the song was a love letter for his wife, Rubina. He says, "This has been the weirdest thing I've ever been involved in. The media attention has been bizarre and surreal. I really can't explain how I've felt over the past day or two."
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Retro Review: Linda Ronstadt - The Very Best of -Sept. 24, 2002 - In high school my best buddy John Scott could never understand how I, a rocker, preferred Barbra Streisand over Linda Ronstadt.
Retro Review: Bruce Hornsby - Spirit Trail- Oct. 16, 1998 - No one could ever accuse Hornsby of not paying attention. Every lyric on 'Spirit Trail,' his sixth album, describes his unquenchable thirst to understand what were all doing here.
January 25, 2011 – The new Van Halen album is on. The band is in the studio with producer John Shanks to record their first full album with original lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984, released the same year. 
January 25, 2011 – Jason Bonham has interesting memories of his dad going backstage and meeting Sting. When the younger Bonham was 13 he convinced his dad to meet the Police. He told Spinner.com, the whole thing happened at a show promoting the band's second album “Reggatta de Blanc” 
January 24, 2011 – Don Henley is working on, only, his fourth solo album since 1982. The Eagles lead singer is in Nashville with producer/drummer Stan Lynch from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers fame. 
January 24, 2011 – Elton John is not too happy with how gay rights is moving especially with California's gay marriage ban. The 63-year-old singer says, "In this country, we need more dialogue, We don't need any more stone throwing. We don't need any more vitriol. We need people to say, 'OK. I'm straight. You're gay. Let's get along. I'm Republican. You're Democratic. Let's work together.' I'm sick and tired of people being hateful to each other in this country." 
January 23, 2011 – Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton just gave the world an update on the band's new album.
January 22, 2011 – What the hell is Clint Eastwood thinking? The famous actor and director is trying to land the rights to “A Star is Born" and have Beyonce star as the lead. Expect lots of close-ups of the long-legged wonder. Is this the best Clint could do...really? 
January 22, 2011 – Paul Simon says he's gone back to recording music much like he did in the early seventies by just sitting down with a guitar and seeing what happens. The new project, due in April, “So Beautiful or So What” 
January 21, 2010 – American Idol is not the king it once was. Even though 26.1 million viewers watched Wednesday’s 10th season premiere it was still down 13% from last years opening show. Last night’s New Orleans episode was a bigger drop with the show losing 18% in the key demo 18-49. 
January 21, 2011 – A Led Zeppelin reunion sounds like a great idea until you talk to Robert Plant. The singer told Rolling Stones magazine that the famous O2 show in London in 2007 was amazing but “The preparations for it were fraught and intense, but the last rehearsal was really, really good, for all that it represented and all that we were trying to capture,” says Plant. 
May 26, 2009 – Chris Martin of 
May 20, 2009 – Three partners in a law firm are saying that the Joe Satriani vs. Coldplay case could be influenced by fans on the internet, especially YouTube.
May 12, 2009 – Listening to Will Champion of 
May 5, 2009 – An ex-guitarist is like an inflamed appendix, they cause a lot of pain and suffering, but after it's removed you find you didn't need it in the first place! That seems to be the case for 
May 5, 2009 – The number of people pointing fingers at 
Feb.6, 2009 – This Sunday’s Grammy Awards could have resembled an episode of Boston Legal with threats that Joe Satriani’s legal team would serve papers to the members of 
Dec. 11, 2008 – The 
