This may be old news to some, but I've only just become aware of it, and for some reason, it really winds me up. Apparently, a band called The Leisure Society were nominated for an Ivor Novello award earlier in the year, for their song 'The Last of the Melting Snow'. I heard this on a radio advert, promoting their latest tour.

Along with that snippet of info came an excerpt from the song. Sounded a little bit like 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' by Neil Young, I thought, so I did a bit of a Google, to see if anyone else had made the same comparison. "Hints of Neil Young", some reviews said. Go to their MySpace and see what you think: www.myspace.com/theleisuresociety

Now to me, that isn't "hints of Neil Young", that IS fucking Neil Young. They've ripped the main chord progression straight out of 'Only Love Can Break You Heart'.

I'll take this moment to say, if anyone from the band is reading and I've got the wrong end of the stick, I apologise. If this is supposed to be a tribute to the man or a variation on the original or anything else like that, and it was never meant to be misconstrued as an appropriation of his work, please ignore everything I've said here thus far and the few sentences I will follow this one with. But there is absolutely nothing to suggest that that's the case, not least that you've allowed the song to be nominated for a FUCKING songwriting award.

I'm not sure why this winds me up so much - whether it's the laziness, or the audacity, or the fact Neil Young hasn't sued yet. The fact that it's so bloody blatant in this instance has surely had some bearing. What matters, though, is that plagiarism is out of fucking order. Sure, some idiots might lap it up, as they clearly have done here, but do bands - do you, The Leisure Society, if you are reading - not have more integrity than this? Don't plagiarise, bands, please. Thanks.