Tame Impala Plagiarism Accusers Say They Were Joking, But Singer They Allegedly Ripped Off Is Considering Legal Action

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Photo by Tonje Thilesen

On Monday, Tame Impala were accused of plagiarizing their song "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" from Argentinian singer Pablo Ruiz's "Océano". Now, the Chilean news site Rata, who made the original allegation, say they were just joking. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the site's editors, Raúl Álvarez and Patricio Pérez, said they had no idea the charges would take off.

"It was a joke," they said. "We were at a party and had that idea. Curiously, it was viralized pretty fast. We never thought we'd had this impact, and we're very surprised about it."

As it turns out, Ruiz didn't find it so funny. Rolling Stone points out that in an interview with ESPN Radio Argentina, Ruiz said that he was consulting with his lawyers about the possibility of a lawsuit.

Álvarez and Pérez said, "Of course we think it's funny, but we hope there are no charges against Tame Impala. We actually like them a lot."

Reached for comment, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker told Rolling Stone, "This is a joke, right?"

Listen to the comparison of both songs:

Watch a studio performance of "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" via Pitchfork.tv:

[url=http://pitchfork.com/news/56399-tame-impala-plagiarism-accusers-say-they-were-joking-but-singer-they-allegedly-ripped-off-is-considering-legal-action/]View the full article[/url]