Something Fishy May Be Lurking In the Land of Cobra Starship

So as you can see, the most recent post (aside from this one) is about my loves Cobra Starship and their two new songs.

Because I am out of college for the summer and I have nothing better to do, I searched Cobra Starship in the tags on WordPress to see what other people were saying. I found something interesting, which lead me to something more shocking and mildly upsetting.

I am still not sure what to make of this so if anyone reads this and would like to talk it out with me comment on this and we can have chats.

One of the posts I happened upon had the title, “Did Cobra Starship Rip Off A Calvin Harris Track?” So I read it. In short (or long, however this comes out), Calvin Harris is claiming that the beat used most notably on the hook to “You Make Me Feel…” is actually a modified version of a beat he created for his song “I’m Not Alone.” Shortly after Cobra’s lyric video for “You Make Me Feel…” hit the airwaves, Harris tweeted, “And another one…” with a link to the video. This is not the first time Harris has claimed someone stole his beats. A few months ago Harris accused Chris Brown of using beats from the same song in his track “Yeah 3x.” (After listening to 2.5 seconds of this song, the beats do sound similar).

Shortly after the first tweet including the link to Corbra’s video, Harris tweeted again, saying, “I sort of wish i had just made a load of beats that sounded like I’m Not Alone myself, i’d be living in a gold plated castle right now.” He later followed these up with a tweet saying, “Please know i’m never 100% serious about this stuff…! It’s funny to me. I love music! I’m VERY happy so many people like that track!”

After reading the article, I immediately went to YouTube to listen to “I’m Not Alone.” Through the first 40 seconds I wasn’t sure how this song could ever sound like anything in “You Make Me Feel…”, but once the beat picked up it was obvious that there are some similarities. But, in the end I was willing to deal with that. Harris didn’t seem that upset, he was taking it in stride so why shouldn’t I do the same.

At this point I was ready to bury the hatchet and move on. I was interested in seeing what kind of music Harris makes so I looked at a few more videos. He does some really cool things. In one video he shows how to use a contraption he made, called the Humanthesizer. It’s really interesting. I suggest looking it up not only to witness what I am about to tell you, but to see this awesome creation in use. Near the end of the video there is a cut to a screen advertising more videos about the machine. The digital clock face font used on the titles of the videos is the same digital clock face font used in most of the lyric video for “You Make Me Feel…” I wikipediaed a song by Harris called “Acceptable In The 80s“, from 2007, same font used on the cover for that single. Cobra used the digital clock face font on the cover for this single, too.

This is where I am a little… upset…maybe that’s the word. I really don’t know.  I am a die hard Cobra fan. I have been for a really, really long time. I talk about them constantly, I have met them and they are pretty much the inspiration behind why I write about music at all. So seeing them do this is kind of a slap in the face. I would like to say it’s all just a coincidence, but I don’t think so.

I really would like to know what anyone else thinks about this situation so maybe I can come to terms with what is happening to my favorite band. Maybe it can still be worked out.

Cobra Starship~ “Don’t Blame the World, It’s the DJ’s Fault” & “You Make Me Feel…”

New Cobra Starship is out.  Well at least two songs are out now. “Don’t  Blame the World, It’s the DJ’s  Fault” was leaked a couple weeks ago and “You Make Me Feel…” was released as the first single from their new album.

I have high expectations of Cobra because every album they have released has been a new take on their sound. Their debut album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, was powered by the popularity of “Bring It” but was able to stand on its own. Their next release, Viva la Cobra!, was an upgrade in sound and lyrics. The songs are fun, dancy and everything Cobra Stands for. Hot Mess, their most recent release was everything I had hoped for and more. They took a more serious route but still kept the sound that made them.

When “Don’t Blame the World..” was leaked Cobra took it in stride and released the song via their record label’s Youtube. The video was accompanied by a challenge, watch the video and come up with what you think the title of the new album is. Whoever got it first would  receive  a call from them or something  like that. Although the context is over, go watch the video here and see if you can come up with it. (The answer will be later in this post).

The song is catchy and fun but not really anything new.  The song writing in “Don’t Blame the World…” is simple and repetitive. The song would  have more power if there were more lyrics and it felt like they put thought into writing  the song. It is a good listen if your in the mood for a beat.

Snippets of “You Make Me Feel…” circulated the web Sunday. Most were only 30 seconds and weren’t really meaty parts of the song. The song was officially released today on all major digital download sites and I snatched it up right away. It’s not what I expected from them but as the weeks have gone on it has burrowed a special place in my heart and I could even be caught dancing on my bed to it. Here is a link to the lyric video released by their record label, Fueled By Ramen.

I’m not sure what else to say. I hope the album, titled Nightshades, comes out and has better quality song writing on it than the samples we have been given. I am still hold out hope and even if it’s a bust, I will still count them as my first true musical love.