After launching accusations that Coldplay plagiarized his band’s song, Creaky Boards frontman Andrew Hoepfner has now admitted that the allegations might be unfounded. While Coldplay has categorically denied the allegations, Hoepfner recently posted the following retraction at the end of his viral video:

“Well, it appears that Chris was actually recording in London during my October show and Coldplay demoed Viva La Vida in March 2007, before I taught my band “Songs” in June 2007. What’s most likely is that both Chris and I were inspired by The Legend of Zelda’s “Fairy Theme,” causing us to write similiar songs in 2006. What a coincidince! I guess Nintendo’s the big winner. But isn’t it weird how in 2008, an independent artist can make something in their bedroom that receives almost as much attention as EMI’s biggest marketing push of the year?”

In addition to bestowing a Biggest Douche of 2008 nomination, Christine Tarbet has discovered that an acquaintance of the Creaky Boards frontman is claiming the whole scandal is just an uncool publicity stunt.

MP3:
Legend of Zelda - “Fairy Theme”

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Pity the kids who find themselves going up against The Black Keys in laser tag. In the new clip for their single, “Strange Times” from Attack and Release (April 1st), Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney aren’t content with merely tagging - they attack…with real lasers! (”Mom! Call 9-1-1!!!”) If the new vid leaves you wanting to laser-kill some nerds, you can do it safely (aw, shucks) on the band’s website in a desktop version of the game.

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Ever wanted to play Tim Gunn with your favorite indie musician? Now’s your chance! Devendra Banhart has added a virtual paper doll version of himself to his website, which allows you to dress the singer up in a variety of freak folk fashion choices (including a rather frightening clown mask). Come to think of it - maybe Banhart is more Santino than Gunn. Either way - make it work.

MP3:
Devendra Banhart - “The Body Breaks”

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On a recent episode of Late Night, Conan O’Brien put together a video depicting how he’d spent the days waiting to return to the air since the onset of the Writer’s Guild strike. It turns out The Cone Zone has been doing more than just nurturing his strike beard - Consie has also been sharpening his axe skills and busting in on his staffers’ Rock Band sessions to play along with Radiohead’s “Creep,” and covering Beastie Boys’ “Sabatoge” in the voice of Edith Bunker.

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Don’t feel like dancin’? Maybe you would prefer playing a game of “Whack-A-Sister,” recently released online to help promote the Scissor Sisters forthcoming Hurrah - A Year of Ta Dah DVD. Don’t be misled by the title of the familiar game - you do not get to go Tony Soprano on Jake Shears.

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Because the release of Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii, (the first proper Mario adventure since 1996’s Super Mario 64 and very possibly the greatest game in the history recorded time) coincides with the ongoing writer’s strike, the Vulture Blog has assembled an ace list of the Ten Video Games That Should Be Movies (and the Directors Who Should Make Them)! The pitches for Wes Anderson’s Duck Hunt and The Coen Brothers’ Oregon Trail are spot-on, but sadly the list doesn’t include Peter Jackson’s Legend of Zelda (or Donkey Kong, Jackson loves big monkeys!) Any other ideas?

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Since I got my grubby hands on a Wii in November, I’ve loved how the system’s accessibility results in a more social gaming experience. (Anyone can play - even my grandparents!)

So, naturally I was thrilled when I discovered that MSNBC.com has made a deal with U.S. cinemas to replace those annoying pre-movie ads with a giant, participatory game. The game is Newsbreaker, a simple break-out style game that rewards you for clearing lines by dropping real-time RSS news headlines. It sounds dry, but the gameplay is cool - a motion sensor in the theater allows the entire audience to control the paddle by swaying in unison from side to side.

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