The Lonely Goatherd Blog And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats - Matthew 25:32
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Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
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June 21, 2003
Flaming Lips hit for plagiarism From the official website of Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens:
13th June 2003
It was confirmed today that an agreement has been reached between Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Yusuf Islam) and EMI Music Publishing (Flaming Lips) over the single 'Fight Test' and its close resemblance to the Cat Stevens classic, 'Father and Son'. Royalties from the sale of 'Fight Test' will now be divided between both parties according to the agreed settlement.
In an interview for a German music website, Wayne Coyne, the band's lead singer, said of their single: "It actually sounds like a Cat Stevens song called Father And Son. Some guys, Boyzone, or a Boyzone band, had a hit with that. That song was not really a hit in America.
"I didn't really know the song as well, but I do see now that it definitely has got some resemblance with the Cat Stevens' song. It feels like a sort of re-edition of the sort of story-telling that he did."
I was not previously familiar with the Cat Stevens song. That's why G-d made P2P. Hearing them back to back, I could see the similarity. It was not quite the same, mostly just vaguely similar. I'd say there was substantially less similarity than, for example, the famous "My Sweet Lord" vs "He's So Fine" case. I don't know whether it was enough for them to be sued for, but it probably was their best bet to make a settlement.
However, I will say that the Flaming Lips did a lot more with their somewhat similar theme. The Cat Stevens song was a fairly mushy and indistinct and somewhat sappy singer-songwriter display of sensitivity. "Fight Club" came out with a considerably catchier and more tightly focused melody, better developed. It also has stronger rhythms and a tougher, more pleasing emotional tone.
