‘Creep’ lawsuit looms for Lana Del Rey
After Radiohead released its breakthrough hit “Creep” in 1992, a pair of songwriters, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, noticed that it bore more than a few similarities to a song called “The Air That I Breathe” that they had composed for The Hollies two decades earlier. Hammond and Hazlewood sued, and Radiohead agreed to give them co-writing credits.
Fast forward to 2018 and, in a development dripping with irony, Radiohead is reportedly preparing a legal fight to protect its artistic and pecuniary interests in “Creep.” On Sunday, Lana Del Rey confirmed rumours published over the weekend in a British tabloid that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and the band’s other members were considering suing her for copyright infringement over the song “Get Free” from her most recent album.
“It’s true about the lawsuit,” the 32year-old singer-songwriter tweeted. “Although I know my song wasn’t inspired by Creep, Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing — I offered up to 40 over the last few months but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court.”
It’s not clear whether Radiohead’s attorneys had actually filed court papers or were still in talks with Del Rey’s legal team. Representatives for Radiohead and Del Rey didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning.
The thing that makes the similarities between the songs so distinct and particularly easy to point out is the last chord in the progression. It’s called a minor fourth, and it gives the tunes a somewhat darker, more anxious feel because it doesn’t technically fit the key of the piece. In music theory terms, this technique is called modal interchange. In plain terms, it means making a song sound different by playing notes that you’re not technically supposed to play.
Countless pop songs have used this technique over the years.