Tom, Thanks For Not Suing The Chili Peppers!!
Posted by Jim Connelly in Copyright, Music on Jun 29, 2006
An Open Letter To Tom Petty,
Tom, you still don’t know me, but earlier this month I asked you to not sue the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their purported plagarism of your song “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”
And once again, you’ve provided another example of your ongoing menschdom (menschiosity? menschitude?) by telling Rolling Stone that suing is the furthest thing from your mind:
“If someone took my song note for note and stole it maliciously, then maybe. But I don’t believe in lawsuits much. I think there are enough frivolous lawsuits in this country without people fighting over pop songs.”
Not only that, nicking riffs is part of a great rock and roll tradition:
“And a lot of rock & roll songs sound alike. Ask Chuck Berry. The Strokes took ‘American Girl’ [for their song 'Last Nite'], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, ‘OK, good for you.’ It doesn’t bother me.”
See, that right there, that’s why I’m a fan of your: you get it, always have and always will. Which is why I didn’t join the other Replacements crazies in all getting worked up over that whole “Rebel without a clue” thing.
Besides, any proof of similarities about “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “Dani California” might have delved into the melodies of each song, and that in turn, would have hinged upon Anthony Kiedis’ ability to carry a tune. So the entire case would have probably fallen apart anyways.
Still looking forward to the new album,
Jim
May I say Mary Jane’s Last Dance is my favorite song. Ever.
Tom Petty does get it. Frivolous lawsuits have driven up the cost of health-care, living, banking, etc. all across the world, not just the U.S. We in other countries actually pay a price because of the problems up north.
THANK YOU TOM.