In 1979, The Rubinoos released "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," a sunshiney slab of power pop perfection with the harmony-rich chorus "Hey (hey) you (you) I wanna be your boyfriend." Earlier this year, angry young Canadian cherub Avril Lavigne gave us "Girlfriend," which is completely different, she'll have us know, because, despite an uncanny melodic similarity, the chorus goes "Hey (hey) you (you) I wanna be your girlfriend." And that's different, you see. Completely opposite genders.
Unpersuaded by the argument, the Rubes have gotten litigious on Avril's ass, filing suit in federal court in California for copyright infringement, in an action that could prove to be a bigger payday than the whole rest of their career combined. If you'd like to do your own comparison, you can hear the Rubinoos' song here, and you can sample the Lavigne tune by turning on a radio anywhere at any time.
1 comment:
Back on May 26th I posted on a semi-music related forum the authors are familiar with, that Avril was ripping off the Rubinoos.
I guess they must have seen that post and caught on.
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