The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens has gone on the offensive, by preemptively launching a precision attack against Coldplay and killing them with…kindness?
Yusuf Islam recently accused Chris Martin and company of plagiarizing his song “Foreigner Suite” in their massively popular, Grammy-winning single “Viva La Vida”, but the Muslim convert insists that he holds no ill will towards the blue-eyed and fair skinned entertainers.
“I stand by what I said,” Islam told the United Kingdom’s Daily Express. “They did copy my song but I don’t think they did it on purpose.”
Islam went on to say that he himself had been culpable in the past and to suddenly point the finger of blame at his enemy would only prove to be hypocritical.
“I have even copied myself without even knowing I have done it,” he said. “I’ll write down what I think is a good melody and realize it’s the same as something I have already done.”
The levelheaded folk singer even extended an olive branch to Coldplay in the hopes of bringing an end to their generational conflict.
“I don’t want them to think I am angry with them,” Islam said. “I’d love to sit down and have a cup of tea with them and let them know it’s okay.”
Guitarist Joe Satriani on the other hand has been less forgiving in his ongoing lawsuit against Coldplay, and has even gone as far as to enlist the help of YouTube commentators to demonstrate the close resemblance of their song with his own “If I Could Fly”.
Why anyone would want to take responsibility for that human rights violation of a song continues to astound me.