The Hives sued over "Tick Tick Boom" riff

Popular Swedish garage punk act the Hives have been hit with a plagiarism suit. Don Bolles, guitarist for glam-pop group Celebrity Skin filed the lawsuit, claiming that the main riff from the Hives "Tick Tick Boom" is a little too similar to one from his song "Why You?," recorded in 1997 with his band the Roofies and again in 2002 with Three Way. "Tick Tick Boom" was the lead single from the Hives' 2007 album The Black and White Album.

Shapiro commented to the LA Times "I absolutely love The Hives and don't feel great about suing a band I love, but I also feel credit is due where it is due if you borrow a riff." The musician claims that the songs were analyzed by a musicologist for similarities.

You can stream the Roofies track "Why You?" here and compare with "Tick Tick Boom" here.