Updates on the Feud Between One Direction and The Who

Rivalries between musical acts is nothing new. Between Pac and Biggie, Sting and the Police, and Metallica and Megadeth, few things seem to capture the attention of the general public in the same way a musical rivalry does. However, these rivalries are typically from bands in the same genre, or at least groups whose peaks were during the same time frame. However, the newest musical antagonism is between two groups so different, it’s surprising this is even news at all.

It turns out that popular boy band One Direction released a song titled “Greatest Song Ever” that sounds suspiciously like The Who’s classic song “Baba O’Riley.” Like most musical beefs, unfounded rumors quickly began circulating over what would be done in response to this. Some said The Who were going to sue for copyright infringement. Others foresaw plagiarism charges on the horizon for One Direction. Regardless, a subset of One Directions took the situation to heart, filling the internet with slander and hatred directed at the most evil of humans, Peter Townshend.

Of course, the situation diffused rather quickly when Townshend not only stated that they would not currently be pursuing charges and that he is actually a supporter of One Direction. He also stated that both “Greatest Song Ever” and “Baba O’Riley” use the same three chord pattern found in a huge number of other pop songs. Turns out, when you write songs that are both simple and catchy, it can be hard to think of chord structures that have not been used before. Who would of thought?