Coldplay's 'new' direction...

It's like they WANT me to come around and beat them up as well as whatever idiot wrote this phrase.

"it sounded really nice. it was done in a good spirit. it is giving us energy feedback (sic)like DJs from japan or detroit people from the underground scene"

will champion said the band have been driven "to the point of nervous breakdown."

well i'm excited so sod yers.

i can't recall who else on here actually really liked them since the start (The Blue Room E.P.) was it just me?

Yoko alert. Doomed for disaster.

What is the fallacy of Radiohead?

and all of this (70s eno/bowie, kraftwerk, and wu-tang stylings) are only making me SALIVATE in anticipation of this thing's release.

I don't think I want to hear Chris Martin doing his version of Joe The Lion.

yeah, but think about it Eisbar, this is COLDPLAY emulating berlin-era bowie, and the Wu.

i KNOW! that's exactly WHY i wanna hear it ... and NOT in a snarky way.

post of the year

NO KRAFTWERK FOR ANY NEW COLDPLAY DAMNIT!!!!! I CAN'T BEAR IT. OUCH.

HA HA HAHAH AHA!

-former Radiohead fan

Seriously though, I do think a book should be written entitled The Fallacy of Radiohead.

To be fair though, I suppose he should use headphones regardless of what he's playing :)

Fabulous.

"Must we expose the youth of Britain to this shit?", said Peter Tatchell of gay rights movement Outrage! "Sorry, new album? What new album?"

Does anyone on ILM actually like Coldplay? I'm growing more and more sick of them.

"More recently, Coldplay began dropping a series of fascinating reference points - electronica, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk - none of which seemed to fit in with their reputation as purveyors of elegiac, mid-tempo, stadium-friendly ballads. At the very least, an intriguing listen was on the cards."

that blinding light you can see on the horizon is 1978.

"The Fir Trees" is also the least fascinating pseudonym you could get in 2005.

are they anything like DMB fans?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/03/uk_t_in_the_park/img/7.jpg

Chris said: “We shouldn’t restrict our options. To me, the most bizarre things at the moment are the most exciting. I’d even be up for making a didgeridoo album in Alice Springs.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005470078,00.html

LOL @ "Viva la Vida" being used as a pro-life anthem (get it?) at rally in Spain.

(watch video)

oh god

The lyrics to their new single are just... wow.

"make sweet love to me gwynnie, let your golden locks caress my taint."

Of all the bands that should not be teasing a new single by releasing the lyrics first, it's this one.

I WORK 4 U

I TURN THE MUSIC UP, I GOT MY RECORDS ON
I SHUT THE WORLD OUTSIDE UNTIL THE LIGHTS COME ON
MAYBE THE STREETS ALIGHT, MAYBE THE TREES ARE GONE
I FEEL MY HEART START BEATING TO MY FAVOURITE SONG

AND ALL THE KIDS THEY DANCE, ALL THE KIDS ALL NIGHT
UNTIL MONDAY MORNING FEELS ANOTHER LIFE
I TURN THE MUSIC UP
I'M ON A ROLL THIS TIME
AND HEAVEN IS IN SIGHT

I TURN THE MUSIC UP, I GOT MY RECORDS ON
FROM UNDERNEATH THE RUBBLE SING A REBEL SONG
DON'T WANT TO SEE ANOTHER GENERATION DROP
I'D RATHER BE A COMMA THAN A FULL STOP

MAYBE I'M IN THE BLACK, MAYBE I'M ON MY KNEES
MAYBE I'M IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO TRAPEZES
BUT MY HEART IS BEATING AND MY PULSES START
CATHEDRALS IN MY HEART

AND WE SAW OH THIS LIGHT I SWEAR YOU, EMERGE BLINKING INTO
TO TELL ME IT'S ALRIGHT
AS WE SOAR WALLS, EVERY SIREN IS A SYMPHONY
AND EVERY TEAR'S A WATERFALL
IS A WATERFALL
OH
IS A WATERFALL
OH OH OH
IS A IS A WATERFALL
EVERY TEAR
IS A WATERFALL
OH OH OH

SO YOU CAN HURT, HURT ME BAD
BUT STILL I'LL RAISE THE FLAG

OH
IT WAS A WA WA WA WA WA-ATERFALL
A WA WA WA WA WA-ATERFALL

EVERY TEAR
EVERY TEAR
EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL

EVERY TEAR
EVERY TEAR
EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL

jesus

http://i55.tinypic.com/afjx9h.jpg

Love how each "wa" syllable of "waterfall" is spelled out. These lyrics are BA-BA-BA-BA-BAD.

"In a variation on Radiohead's 'pay what you want' scheme, Coldplay has set up a 'donate' button for those interested in paying them not release this single now."

(I kid, I like Coldplay fine, lyrics aside.)

MAYBE THE STREETS ALIGHT

Really clunky to my ear

Jesus, those lyrics are real?????

I like Coldplay fine, but hooo leeeeee fuck.

Guys, newsflash, you probably have never seen any of the other lyrics printed out like this, but this is in no way worse than their other terrible lyrics.

It's an amazing imitation of Richard Ashcroft.

I thought I'd never want a tattoo, but now I'm not so certain anymore:

IT WAS A WA WA WA WA WA-ATERFALL
A WA WA WA WA WA-ATERFALL

IT WAS A WATERFALL
IT WAS A WATERFALL
IT WAS A GODDAM MUTHAFUCKIN'
WATERFALL

It reads like the first search-engine optimised stadium rock lyric. Kids dancing? Check. Waterfall? Check. Music turned up? Check. Flag-waving (for the festival audience)? Check. Symphony. Yep. Cathedral? You bet.

They have to be made up.

I'd rather be a semi-colon.

The "rebel song" reference makes me queasy.

Maybe this is their "political" album.

I FEEL MY HEART START BEATING TO "CLOCKS"

Sleeve art is a graffitoed wall so who knows? I'm a protest-song guy, obviously, but Chris Martin isn't the lyricist for the job.

I think if you transcribed 98% of the lyrics from Viva La Vida in ALL CAPS and made sure to type out every vocal tic, they would look just as awful. Not being cap'n save a lite FM band here, but this isn't like some huge shock that Chris Martin writes awful lyrics.

This band's existence is an aesthetic mistake and liking them on any level is inexcusable. kthxbai.

I'D RATHER BE A COMMA THAN A FULL STOP

http://101tees.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/commachameleon2.gif

and remember: don't go chasing waterfalls.

xposts. Not a shock, just didn't think Chris Martin could possibly top his past efforts. Proper laugh out loud stuff innit. But ya know, it might sound alright.

Yeah, really. I'm sure the single will be a fine enough weird tease for the future album. Lyrics from 90% of acts would look stupid in isolation, tbh. Though most bands aren't huge giant asking-for-it targets, either.

this whole thing of being able to read lyrics of a new single before you can hear the song is the worst, same thing happened with "Born This Way." i wonder if they're being released to the public in any official capacity or if it's a matter of someone having access to the recording and wanting to leak some kind of info about it but not being able to leak the song itself.

every teardrop is of chola descent

They should leak the instrumental version and leave us guessing as to the lyrics.

MAYBE I'M IN THE BLACK, MAYBE I'M ON MY KNEES(es)
MAYBE I'M IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO TRAPEZES

^ all time

OK, this tuneless new song is pretty weak. Nay, it's the weakest lead single the band has ever released. Sounds like Cranberries or some shit. (Actually, it sounds like Doves's "There Goes the Fear," but minus the melody.)

I remember when "Rubberband Girl" and "The Red Shoes" was announced, it was promoted with a CD of some woman (not Kate Bush) presenting a press release and then reading out the lyrics to that one song.

i fuck w/ this song, but then i liked pretty much all of Viva La Vida so grain of salt

I like VLV, too, but this song blows. Compared to Violet Hill or whatever as a lead track it's just so ... wan. Everything everyone accuses Coldplay of being but worse.

At 9 p.m., the guests went out to a pair of long tables on the terrace. Diaz, A-Rod, and Batali sat near Chris Martin, who had arrived looking cranky. (A publicist warned, “He doesn’t want to talk.”)

Yeah, I read that New Yorker article too.

(A publicist warned, “He doesn’t want to talk.”)

Considering the lyrics posted above, this is proof of the existence of some sort of deity.

I consider this to be a great, catchy pop song. That said, admittedly the lyrics are not their best....

(Even being from a group that usually haven't cared all that much about lyrics)

So even Geir is bringing the beatdown, relatively speaking.

I don't care about Coldplay

That being said, this song sounds like an ignorable prelude to a song that would hopefully have a tune

It should be noted that Coldplay have never been particularly good at picking first singles from albums. The first single release from their albums has, with the possible exception of "Speed Of Sound", never quite been the most popular or acclaimed track on the album.

to some extent i think that's been a deliberate strategy, as they've gotten bigger, and it kind of a common one for really successful acts -- the first single is going to do well regardless and serves mainly to announce the album, whereas the 2nd or 3rd single will be what stays on the radio for months and moves units

Sure, but the first single from each album has in the past at least been, you know, good (relatively speaking). This would be a bad, boring, tuneless song in any context. The first single from an album is supposed to drum up excitement, not dread.

eh, i was never big on "Speed of Sound" or "In My Place," so i'll take this over those. didn't like "Violet Hill" at first but it grew on me.

Huh. I really like "Speed of Sound" and "In My Place," and "Violet Hill" was different enough that it did a good job setting the stage for Coldplay's coming out with Brian Eno.

Anyway, forget this new song. What the world needs to know is: did the band get new uniforms?!

"violet hill" is great, much better than "viva la vifa"

From the notes on YouTube:

The song contains compositional elements of "I Go To Rio" by Peter Allen (1976), written by Peter Allen and Adrienne Anderson.

MAYBE I'M IN THE BLACK, MAYBE I'M ON MY KNEES
MAYBE I'M IN THE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO TRAPEZES

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahttp://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/317/3/b/lol_gif_by_smileyface102-d32rxgr.gifhttp://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/317/3/b/lol_gif_by_smileyface102-d32rxgr.gif

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/317/3/b/lol_gif_by_smileyface102-d32rxgr.gif

sorry

Unnecessary evil clown. Two minutes, penalty box.

Is that their new album cover

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lekhljTagN1qd35ofo1_500.png

the new Foo Fighters video features Dave Grohl sitting in traffic and scowling at cars with Justin Bieber, George Bush and Coldplay bumper stickers

kelpolaris bringing the heat as always

I heard this track twice on a friend's satellite radio station last night :(

Coldplay's nude erection
― Hari A$hur$t (Toaster), Monday, February 7, 2005 1:30 PM (6 years ago) Bookmark

i would love to see an extremely literal music video for this

surprised to see indie saddoes hating on a new Coldplay joint

In the wise words of a friend, "To be honest, at this point it just feels cruel to mock them."

What's a saddoes?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=saddo

I don't think society has reached a consensus on what exactly it means either. It's a bit underwhelming.

What's an indie saddo, then? A saddo that listens to "indie" music?

...

a saddo who hasn't quite made it yet

saddo is stupido

i figured it was the same thing as 'sadsack' or pretty much any other pejorative with 'sad' as the root word

yeah it's not exackly a tough one to work out

I just wasn't sure if said saddoes were sad because they listened to indie, because they liked sad indie, or because they liked Coldplay (who may be considered indie in the UK, for all I know).

I actually kind of like the song, not like I consider it to be among their best, but I kinda find it OK.

And I think partly it is because, as a Coldplay fan, I am relived because they still don't change their style too much. Like, I do like the input from Eno on them, and it may have a positive effect on them (sure did on the previous album), but only until a certain level. It is important that the songwriting style is being kept intact, that the songs are still built up in roughly the same "classic" way, but Eno may still have a lot of great input on the arrangements, which may surely benefit from more details, more "air" and more fantasy.

The new single is a sign that Coldplay still sound like Coldplay, that is important to me. Then, hopefully, like last time around, there will be many better songs on the album.

(Two bands that are natural to compare to Coldplay are Keane and Travis, and they have changed their style a bit too much lately, so that is also why I worry about too much of a new direction)

What's great here is that you can pretty much just change the dates in the URL and recycle it every couple of years:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/06/coldplay-reject-plagiarism-claims-single

kinda different deals, though...Satriani accused them of plagiarizing him with "Viva," but the band disagreed and his court case was dismissed. with "Teardrop" the band deliberately acknowledged that they drew on someone else's composition and shared songwriting credit before the song was released or anyone noted a similarity.

Which one was the Kraftwerk one? "Talk"?

Satriani accused them of plagiarizing him with "Viva," but the band disagreed and his court case was dismissed.

didn't they settle out of court?

the stuff i've read about it is a little confusing -- the case was dismissed BUT there was a settlement? does 'settlement' always mean money changed hands or is it also an agree to disagree thing?

"Talk" was pretty much the same deal as the new song, deliberate homage and they obtained Kraftwerk's permission before releasing it. the internet loves to scream 'plagiarism' before reading liner notes, basically.

That kind of sampling started in the mid 80s already. However, it seems a bit weird when a more traditional song oriented pop band does it (I am fully aware Lightning Seeds and OMD have done similar things before though)

hilariously incoherent passage from the band's wiki:

One of the goals for making the band's next album was to write tracks with greater use of experimenting with acoustic instruments, manipulation, and electronics by having or not having to revisit the style from Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. With Chris Martin deciding to not release a solo album, it was rumoured the fifth album would be their last, but Martin later denied this fact. Upon re-entering "The Bakery," the time to write and record songs were thought outside the box by the band to be more ambivalent than what they wanted.

When the album was still in the production stages, a person referred to as "Roadie #42" noticed the album is not finalized, though it's to be finished in the "skin and bones phase" (the same person noted Coldplay completed some of the "killer tunes").

oh my god, it just keeps getting better

The new matierial were eventually gabbered by postponing dates, as the band released only one single in 2010; "Christmas Lights" debuted in December of that year, but neithertheless the music video was briefly removed from Youtube due to breach of copyright claims from the IFPI.

neithertheless

The new matierial were eventually gabbered

wd be an improvement lol

Gabbered? Hopefully they haven't done gabba? :)

and we all hope they have!

I will say, for a top rock band, it's weird for Coldplay to more than once explicitly base a song around a previously existing song, credit or no. And that's not even including the Satch coincidence. Like, there's that Stones/kd lang song, and the REM/Leonard Cohen song, but after that I draw a blank and can only think of litigated examples (such as Elastica).

More to the point, at least "Talk" is a good song. This new one is a turd.

Strawberry Swing is their best.

yeah that song is great

Two crappy singles out, and the NYTimes puff piece that has Chris Martin claiming he did a lot of listening to Springsteen, Dylan and the Beatles - or specifically, "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Blonde on Blonde" and "Sgt. Pepper's" - , plus news that Eno did not produce, makes me dread the new one even more. I thought "Viva la Vida" won over a lot of weary critics, but this one seems to be their resigned to their fate record.

the NYTimes puff piece that has Chris Martin claiming he did a lot of listening to Springsteen, Dylan and the Beatles

Fucking dullards. Living down to every expectation I ever had of them, once again.

it took the Boys to uncork the fizz in "Viva La Vida."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y8JyDbwmRg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y8JyDbwmRg

'42' off the last album was bloody brilliant.

Fucking dullards. Living down to every expectation I ever had of them, once again.

Its always amazing to see what exactly pushes Ned's aggro button, since it so rarely ever happens!

the NYTimes puff piece that has Chris Martin claiming he did a lot of listening to Springsteen, Dylan and the Beatles

_________________________________________

Fucking dullards. Living down to every expectation I ever had of them, once again.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, October 13, 2011

(a) lol
(b) not sure why ned says this makes coldplay "fucking dullards," and i do love acoustic springsteen, but i'll agree that this is a terrible set of "influences" for this boring band.

Not just the Beatles, "Sgt. Pepper's!!!!"

ugh, that is even worse.

i really enjoy all of viva la vida

the singles on this new one are pretty unfortunate though

i should check out the beatles

'42' off the last album was bloody brilliant.

i like that song. also "death and all of his friends," which i think is really beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_wcRxGbqdU

pet shop boys are heroes

And think of the unabashed audacity of listing three formidable masterpieces (or in the case of "Sgt. Pepper's," "masterpieces") from such massive acts as your primary influences. It's the total opposite of Radiohead, who lists more esoteric electronic or experimental influences, or even Wilco, which name-drops all sorts of surprising stuff. It's Chris Martin listing Bob Dylan, Springsteen, and the Fucking Beatles. That's like saying you're influenced by bread, water and air, only not as poetic. Which would be fitting.

I hate the risk of taking on the Captain Save-A-Coldplay here, but, ffs, its not like Chris Martin is the first musician to ever specifically cite those influences.

Yes, but it's not something you want to boast, as if you've discovered Cathay.

It's the specificity of the influences that I find so weird. Like, Springsteen, Dylan and the Beatles should all be pretty implicit in many act's vocabulary.

And actually, it's pretty rare to find artists these days who will just outright be all "I drew a lot of inspiration from Bob Dylan and the Beatles." And even Springsteen you mostly got during the big wave of indie appreciation. Anyway, just odd, pointless things to mention, because we all know the new Coldplay will sound nothing like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen or the Beatles

If Coldplay's creative force were anybody but Chris Martin I'd accept the guilelessness with which he no doubt made the admission; but Chris Martin is the type of person who drops these influences to journalists whose publications would applaud the mention of the Beatles and Springsteen as a sign that the eternal verities still hold true for The Next Generation of rock stars.

In other words, they're U2 in 1988.

Fair enough, I guess I didn't read/hear the interview in question, so I didn't realize he was "boasting".

It's innately boastful. "So, who influenced our new album? Only three of the most popular and important bands of all time, that's all! I will be sure to put Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and the Beatles on the guest list the next time we play the O2, so they can see how much they've taught us!"

Wow, you really get worked up by this. Have you never read an interview ever with a musician about their recent album?

Fair enough, I guess I didn't read/hear the interview in question, so I didn't realize he was "boasting".

When is he not. And since you wonder about my aggro buttons, fuck a world that makes this Chris Martin famous when the Chris Martin in Kinski up in Seattle deserves it far more.

I mean, every band ever (you get my point) does this thing of listing influences when they are hyping a new album. Is it really any more boastful because the references are quote-unquote canon, more so than if it was pandering to critics with like Eno and Can references?

(xpost)

And Ned, fair play to that!

Like I 100%

Like I 100% expect boring, bland Coldplay dude to list off safe references like that.

I'm not exactly worked up. Just a bit embarrassed for them. I've never had a real problem with Coldplay, and have always found a lot to like. But usually musicians talking about their new albums don't feel it necessary to bring up Bruce, the Beatles and Bob Dylan, let alone bring it up unprompted. Again, it's just so oddly conspicuous.

Plus, those two singles do suck. And I've always liked the first couple singles from each album.

In re his utter boringness -- maybe it's down to my relative age but I burned out on the necessity of classic rock genuflection a long time ago and I have no truck with it anymore. His clinging to it is just horrific.

And actually, I never would have expected Chris Martin to name those three influences, because again, whatever Coldplay sounds like, it doesn't sound like Springsteen or Dylan. Maybe he thought U2 and Radiohead was just too obvious?

because again, whatever Coldplay sounds like, it doesn't sound like Springsteen or Dylan.

Maybe thats his point, though! Maybe he's saying we used to sound like these boring bands, now we sound like these other boring bands.

(please note I'm using "boring" here wrt to Springsteen and Dylan being "boring" acts to list as influences, no judgment on their music intended)

No, those two singles sound like Coldplay, but more boring.

Nah, he's not going for cred. He'll happily admit that he didn't know anything about music till he was 19 and that all his favourite songs are obvious classics. You can say that's the whole problem but he's not exactly going "Hey check out who I've just discovered." This is a guy who aspires to write a song as enduring as Somewhere Over the Rainbow - he has no embarrassment about stuff like that.

kinski rocks!

And yet this is a guy that wrote a hit by interpolating Kraftwerk? He's no naif.

he seems like kind of butthole though

xp Proves my point. He listens to Kraftwerk and borrows one of their most famous riffs. He has probably the least coolhunting tastes of anybody around.

He is a butthole. My point was just that its weird to me that people are suddenly aghast that a mainstream, popular musician would cite Sgt. Peppers and Bruce Springsteen as influences.

I'm not aghast, I'm more 'man, talk about reconfirming every stereotype I could imagine in terms of your limited sense of range.'

Obliquely this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes in pop music ever -- Rikki Rocket from Poison, from some late eighties interview, saying, as quoted later by Chuck Eddy, "We don't make art, we make hamburgers." I have no problem with that attitude, but forgive me if some hamburgers turn out to be tough from having sat under the heat lamps for far too long.

um ned that was JOHNNY rockets

wake me when chris martin lists xray-eyeballs as an influence on a forthcoming album.

x-post - A protean quote!

Meantime I see they maximize any opportunity, don't they.

Just had a concert before work. Norah Jones and Coldplay rocked the memorial for Steve Jobs.

i listened to this album until i got bored of it; it was ok.

and yes that's the kind of nuanced descriptive prose that got me a career in music journalism

Fits in a Twitter post, you're gold.

can't believe no one else grabbed this from the NYT piece, about where the album name came from:

“Music comes from a place we don’t know,” he said. “It sort of comes through the fingers and toes. So we came up with the idea of, what if you had musical digits, like xylo toes.” He shook his head, irritated that he gave up the secret so easily.

And what about “Mylo”?

“It’s just a great name,” he said. “For anything.”

I listened to the new album this morning. Most of it sounds like an awful Coldplay remix album, especially the song with Rihanna on it. There was one other song that sounded like the most blatant possible attempt to rip off Achtung Baby. All in all, I was disappointed. And I liked their last album.

Nothing wrong about The Beatles except Coldplay have never sounded like them and I doubt they will ever be unable to sound like them. Unless, that is, the rest of the band members do a lot of vocal training and start singing harmony.

(Used to all the Coldplay-bashing - I am sure this album will be just as brilliant as the rest of them - and those who hate them will keep on hating them because they write anthemic melody-verse-chorus based songs and - even this side of Y2K - are more popular than most acts who don't)

Used to all the Coldplay-bashing - I am sure this album will be just as brilliant as the rest of them

This is undoubtedly true!

“Music comes from a place we don’t know,” he said. “It sort of comes through the fingers and toes. So we came up with the idea of, what if you had musical digits, like xylo toes.”

You, sir, are no Gorky's Zygotic Mynci.
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5598/gorkysfingersxylo.jpg

Also obv "xylo toes" would just be wooden toes. Here is an ancient Egyptian prosthetic wooden toe, beating Chris Martin to an idea by 3000 years:
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9533/woodentoes.jpg

Sorry, as you were...

apparently, this album's pretty sweet!

(Rolling Stone) -- In the three years since Coldplay's last album, the world's problems have gotten a little more urgent.

A cratering economy, riots from Tahrir to Tottenham, the prolonged ubiquity of the Kardashians -- these are things that can't be solved with a lullaby, even from the biggest band to emerge in the 21st century. Chris Martin knows this. But Coldplay's fifth album -- and most ambitious yet -- suggests Martin cares too much not to at least try to help.

Coldplay recently entered their second decade together -- the same point Springsteen made "Born in the U.S.A." and U2 made "Achtung Baby" -- so it comes as no surprise they'd want a zeitgeist-y, big-statement album of their own. On "Mylo Xyloto," the choruses are bigger, the textures grander, the optimism more optimistic. It's a bear-hug record for a bear-market world.

Aided again by Brian Eno, Coldplay are still dabbling in the kind of cool-weird artiness they truly went for on 2008's "Viva La Vida." But where that album sometimes seemed like a self-conscious attempt to diversify their sound, with a world-music vibe and U2-style sound effects, this time Coldplay have integrated the "Enoxification" (as they call it) into their own down-the-middle core: Check out the cascading choral vocals that augment Martin's soaring refrain on "Paradise." Prominent elements prop up the sonic cathedrals: Jonny Buckland's guitar, which is riffier and more muscular than ever, and Euro-house synths that wouldn't sound out of place at a nightclub in Ibiza.

Martin says "Mylo Xyloto" was inspired by 1970s New York graffiti and the Nazi--resistance movement known as the White Rose -- it's probably no coincidence both were about young people embracing art in times of turmoil. Here, Coldplay rage in their own lovably goofy way. On the rave-tinged "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," Martin imagines a revolution powered by dancing kids. "Hurts Like Heaven" might be the first Coldplay tune to which you can bust something resembling a move. The lyrics seem to be about fighting the Man -- "Don't let 'em take control!" -- but Martin sounds ebullient over a sproingy New Wave beat.

Explicit political statements aren't really Martin's thing; he's in the uplift business. "Mylo Xyloto" suggests he's fully embraced his role as a not-terribly-cool guy who's good at preaching perseverance, in a voice that's warm and milky like afternoon tea. By the time he croons, "Don't let it break your heart!" over "Where the Streets Have No Name"-style guitar sparkle near the album's end, you can't help but think he's an inspiration peddler who believes what he's belting.

Oddly enough, the best moments are darker ones. "Princess of China" is a ballad about loss and regret, co-starring Rihanna. It's a partnership that probably came together over champagne brunch at Jay-Z's, but its synth-fuzz groove is offhandedly seductive. It's followed by "Up in Flames," a minimalist slow jam. Martin sings nakedly about how breakups can feel like the end of the world, or maybe it's about the actual end of the world. Either way, as end-times lullabies go, it's pretty sweet.

It's a bear-hug record for a bear-market world.

srsly I will support the continued existence of Guatanomo if I can send the writer there for giggling archly to himself as he typed this.

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9fsuba7M51qbps8yo1_500.jpg

Martin sings nakedly

worst slash fic ever

sonic cathedrals

No. Not even ironically.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2011/10/why-dont-i-like-coldplay-an-investigation.html

i LOL'd a few times.

1. Chris Martin, Writer. +14
He can write a catchy melody. See “Paradise,” an immensely stupid song with an elegant and confident verse and chorus line, slightly reminiscent of a prime Noel Gallagher moment.

This is why I love Coldplay. Period. The rest of his argument is uninteresting. This is the only thing that counts to me. He is a genius. Period.

I also notice that everything about his arguments that is actually about the music is positive. I wish people would stop judging anything else but the music. In music, the music itself is the only thing that counts. Screw image, screw lyrics, screw fan demographics, screw ANYTHING but the music!

I'm not screwing my mom, Geir

I'm not screwing Dick Cheney's vag.

the visual motif for this new album is just fucking horrid

geirbot is getting a little agitated.

Fuck off Geir.

Geir, I've liked all the Coldplay albums so far. I don't really reach for them, but I wouldn't tell someone to turn them off, either. However, the two singes from this so far have sucked, or at the very least have been sub-par. Frankly, I'm shocked that someone with such a rarified ear would give them a pass. What would Tony Banks say?

Singles, that is. The singles fail to singe.

S F-J, in for the kill:

Seven out of ten times, Coldplay sound almost exactly like U2—the U2 that exists now

Double zing.

the follow-up line is the zinger, though: "This is inefficient."

the weird thing is that coldplay seems to owe 75% of what they are to U2, including the appallingly vague-yet-grandiose lyrics. but chris martin somehow manages to be Even Worse of a Lyricist than bono, which is a cardinal achievement.

Yeah, that's the kicker to me. The guy is one of the worse lyricists, which I'm sure even Geir would concede. Like, Lenny Kravitz is Martin's "Thank God for Mississippi."

Worst, gah. I've got Chris Martin fingers; despite the best intentions, everything just comes out wrong.

lenny kravitz, whoo boy. that guy is bad in a very different way. he doesn't usually strain for significance, and her rarely bothers to be obscure, but his lyrics are like 5th-grader-writing-their-first-condolence-card insipid.

i think the fact that geir can so successfully ignore chris martin's lyrics is proof, if we needed any, of his autism.

haha i kid. that's cruel. but seriously geir is an autistic racist. :hugs:

Every step that you take
Could be your biggest mistake
It can bend and it can break
But that's the risk that you take

And a motherfucker.

Every step that you take
Could be your biggest mistake
It can bend and it can break
But that's the risk that you take

this is a perfect example. what does "it" refer to? does martin know? care?

In the three years since Coldplay's last album, the world's problems have gotten a little more urgent.

this is as far as i could get into that review.

Every step that you take
Could be your biggest mistake
It can bend and it can break
But that's the risk that you take

this is a perfect example. what does "it" refer to? does martin know? care?

it's about him boning gwyneth

Surely this one takes the cake, though?

You cut me down a tree and brought it back to me
And that's what made me see where I was going wrong
You put me on a shelf and kept me for yourself
I can only blame myself, you can only blame me

And I could write a song a hundred miles long
Well, that's where I belong and you belong to me
And I could write it down or spread it all around
Get lost and then get found, or swallowed in the sea

You put me on a line and hung me out to dry
And darling that's when I decided to go to sea
You cut me down to size and opened up my eyes
Made me realise what I could not see

And I could write a book, the one they'll say that shook the world
And then it took, it took it back from me

and so on and so forth...

I thought the lyrics on the third record were the early nadir. Let me scan for a good (bad) one...

I thought the lyrics on the third record were the early nadir. Let me scan for a good (bad) one...

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, October 21, 2011 9:43 PM (7 seconds ago) Bookmark

Oh yeah, definitely. The lyrics on 'X&Y' are absolutely loaded with stinkers - most of them feel completely underwritten, which of course is completely at odds with the 'grandiosity' of the music, which in itself is an over-glossy, over-slick brew of worn U2 cliches, and calculated attempts to push the buttons of middle aged mothers.

OK, see, "Speed of Sound" is a good song, but check it out:

How long before I get in?
Before it starts, before I begin?
How long before you decide?
Before I know what it feels like?
Where To, where do I go?
If you never try, then you'll never know.
How long do I have to climb,
Up on the side of this mountain of mine?

Look up, I look up at night,
Planets are moving at the speed of light.
Climb up, up in the trees,
every chance that you get,
is a chance you seize.
How long am I gonna stand,
with my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop,
before I see things the right way up.

And so on:

Ideas that you'll never find,
All the inventors could never design.
The buildings that you put up,
Japan and China all lit up.
The sign that I couldn't read,
or a light that I couldn't see,
some things you have to believe,
but others are puzzles, puzzling me.

Etc.

the weird thing is that coldplay seems to owe 75% of what they are to U2

U2, to me, haven't the same melodic qualities that Coldplay do. U2's songs are often build around The Edge's guitar riffs, while the Coldplay are all about the choruses. That is the main difference between the two of them. Surely, there are musical similarities, but Coldplay are melodically stronger and more anthemic.

How long am I gonna stand,
with my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop,
before I see things the right way up.

http://www.politablog.com/wp-content/uploads/Nobel_medal_dsc06171.jpg

And I just don't care about lyrics, that's all. A good lyric is nice and can add something. But a bad lyric doesn't matter to me if it is on top of a great tune. A great tune is great regardless of the lyrics being whatever gibberish they want to be.

But Geir, those new songs have no tunes! It's true!

a tune does not a song make, geirbot.

xpost

A tune does a song make, yes. If it has a lyric, regardless of what the lyric is about.

As long as the lyrics aren't welsh.

A tune does a song make, yes. If it has a lyric, regardless of what the lyric is about.

― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Friday, October 21, 2011 4:53 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

i can't even parse this, dude. a tune makes a song, but only with a lyric?

As long as the lyric isn't welsh.

Geir, have you heard much Billy Joel? He's kind of like Coldplay without all the falsetto delay-drenched guitar. You'd like him! Very melodic.

every time i start "arguing" w/ geir i have to remember that this is the dude who says that africans didn't have music until the white man showed up.

and who thinks a bunch of simpering early-80s power pop that nobody else gives a shit about is the pinnacle of western culture.

this dissection of coldplay's lyrics has been really fruitful and interesting to read and i now have a better understanding of what the band is about

Can't believe Coldplay are raping Gorky's Zygotic Mynci's memory.

this dissection of coldplay's lyrics has been really fruitful and interesting to read and i now have a better understanding of what the band is about

― J0rdan S., Friday, October 21, 2011 5:04 PM (17 seconds ago) Bookmark

what's actually behind the sarcasm here? you don't think their lyrics are stupid?

yeah, but i don't think matters one bit

Not one bit? Not even a little bit? I think it does, especially when they parse poorly compared to Bono. That's notable.

Certainly if they were good they would matter. So if they're not good, they must matter, too.

I find the obsequious vagueness of their lyrics offensive.

i think it would be equally bizarre to be all OMG COLDPLAY'S LYRICS ARE AWWWWWESOME, as i'm sure some ppl out there believe. it's really, really missing the point either way.

yeah, but i don't think matters one bit

― J0rdan S., Friday, October 21, 2011 5:05 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

isn't this more a question of -- does it matter to YOU? if it doesn't matter to you, and to geir, well then right on. it obviously matters to other folks.

i do think it's kind of odd to think of lyrics as being irrelevant, but i've had this argument w/ ned many times and it usually ends with my banging my head against my desk.

So what IS the point?

well yeah, in the end pretty much anything matters only as much it matters to YOU

It'd be different if they were sung and emphasised differently, if they were just a vehicle for a melody, a texture, but Martin talks up song "meanings", and the lyrics are usually so lacking in specificity and character as to be completely without meaning.

tuomas have you heard the piano on "clocks"? that is the point

i'm glad you have this all figured out.

yeah i mean it's pretty nice to hear a coldplay song and not go home & read chris martin's lyrics to see if there's adequate character development

Bad lyrics, inane, pointless, rhyming-dictionary bollocks lyrics, piss me off. I've no issue with vague poetics but at least try harder.

character development

dude we're not talking about character development. we're talking about hysterically vague lyrics where the object keeps shifting around, where there are inversions and repetitions that build to absolutely nothing. doggerel, in other words. if you can get past that, then -- seriously -- good on you, but it really shouldn't surprise you that it rubs other folks the wrong way. this is particular true since coldplay's "ethos" has a lot to do w/ marketing their records as nebulous "concepts" freighted with "meaning" that never actually seems to mean.

"sorry" "for" "putting" "so" "many" "words" "in" "quotes"

Precisely. Character in the lyricist, not characters in the songs.

It'd be different if they were sung and emphasised differently, if they were just a vehicle for a melody, a texture, but Martin talks up song "meanings", and the lyrics are usually so lacking in specificity and character as to be completely without meaning.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, October 21, 2011 10:10 PM (57 seconds ago) Bookmark

I agree with this completely. The music that Coldplay make isn't like, say, the music of My Bloody Valentine where the lyrics are intentionally cryptic/can't be heard/used as just another 'instrument'. Usually with 'anthemic', 'stadium' music, the sheer weight of the music (as a 'call to arms') usually suggests that there's some kind of rousing, 'we're all in this together' message that goes along with it, or at least something like say, Alice Cooper's "School's Out", which is just a rousing anthem, with a very clear lyric and message. Coldplay's lyrics are mainly just nonsense strung together to give the 'impression' that they're in some way 'universal' or speak to everyone, and they really really don't. Coldplay's lyrical content is completely at odds with the music that they make, IMO. When you couple such empty sentiments with big, 'stadium' music, it just comes across as lacking substance and full of empty calories.

See, I can understand people looking past poor lyrics, but egregiously poor lyrics call attention to themselves. Though I can't argue that one able to overlook something so glaring would find little to criticize about this band (which I generally like!). Like, if the low bar of the lyrics are totally inoffensive, then how could anyone honestly find fault with the perfectly inoffensive shimmering guitars or soaring choruses?

See, I can understand people looking past poor lyrics, but egregiously poor lyrics call attention to themselves.

Not to mention they call attention to themselves when coupled with music that suggest that the songs have a 'message' to begin with?

martin is also very very careful to e.nun.ci.ate so that you don't miss a thing he's saying, which makes them even harder to ignore.

this is particular true since coldplay's "ethos" has a lot to do w/ marketing their records as nebulous "concepts" freighted with "meaning" that never actually seems to mean.

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Friday, October 21, 2011 6:16 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

i'm not sure if this is right. i think their lyrics simply articulate general feelings that p much all humans have, and they're blank enough to appeal to ppl, at least when they're attached to coldplay's music. this is in no way an actual defense of chris martin's incredibly facile writing based on artistic merit, but i think you're reading their intentions -- and that of their marketing ppl, i supposed -- incorrectly

Ultimately though, the main problem that I have with Coldplay is that I just find them so fucking unconvincing. Like when 'In My Place' was released, I just remember hearing Chris Martin singing "I was lost, I was lost, crossed lines I shouldn't have crossed, and I was lost, oh yeah", and I just thought to myself "you know what, Chris, I don't believe you". That was the precise moment I realised that Coldplay were such a calculated band, deliberately 'crafting' music that was designed to push 'universal' buttons, but ultimately ended up signifying nothing other than to swell their bank balances. 'X&Y' subsequently set this opinion in stone.

i take it that you don't listen to rap

i'm not reading intentions so much as inferring typical "reading" strategies for coldplay lyrics based on the way the band is presented in the media. but you may be right. in any event, i can't get past their lyrics.

i don't think "facile" is the right word. lenny kravitz's lyrics are facile. chris martin's are doggerel.

Ha, I pretty much don't listen to rap, no. Totally agree about not believing Martin. 100%.

But even so, if you're going to lie, make the lie interesting. Be Munchhausen.

I get no sense that Chris Martin is a real person who has had real thoughts or feelings which feed into his songs.

Also get no sense that he has any degree if imagination at all.

I get no sense that Chris Martin is a real person who has had real thoughts or feelings which feed into his songs.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Friday, October 21, 2011 10:37 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

Exactly. A lot of it comes across as deliberate, and that alone makes it difficult to invest emotionally in their music. If all of their songs were instrumental, it may be a completely different story.

i don't really give a shit if the lyrics are "real" or if chris martin is "real" or whatever... he's a total blank to me. the lyrics are prima facie terrible.

I think the dude is really insecure, tbh, which explains all the maniacal overcompensation. But he sure is poor as fuck as expressing it.

he should be insecure! he's a terrible lyricst!

j/k

I think the dude is really insecure, tbh, which explains all the maniacal overcompensation. But he sure is poor as fuck as expressing it.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, October 21, 2011 11:21 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

It's very noticeable!

Geir, have you heard much Billy Joel? He's kind of like Coldplay without all the falsetto delay-drenched guitar. You'd like him! Very melodic.

Coldplay write much better songs than Billy Joel.

Exactly. A lot of it comes across as deliberate, and that alone makes it difficult to invest emotionally in their music. If all of their songs were instrumental, it may be a completely different story.

I like my music without too many emotions. Skills over emotions is always an advantage.

can we ban this dude after eight years of posting in circles?

ah, our first "can we PLEASE fucking ban geir hongro??" of the post-server meltdown era

I'm actually kinda with Geir on this one. I don't pay any attention to Coldplay's lyrics. Couldn't recite a single line from one of their songs with a gun to my head. I like the melodies and their general instrumental palette. That said, this new album is a letdown because the band has borrowed a whole bunch of bad sonic ideas from Martin's collaborations with Jay-Z and Kanye West - not just the roping in of Rihanna for a totally pointless duet, but the shitty synths-and-strings arrangements and huge overbearing beats on multiple tracks. The best lyrics in the world couldn't salvage these tracks.

I think Martin's a very unsophisticated songwriter and melodicist.

I dunno, he is the first leader of an arena pop-rock band to watch The Wire and be inspired to write a song about taking crack in the inner-city ("Charlie Brown").

Anyways, I like this album a lot, but I'm treating it as anthemic, silly pop-rock. Better than the last Radiohead record I reckon.

That said, there's a couple of duds, and it's not as strong as Viva La Vida.

http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/59938

The thing with Coldplay is, they have developed stylistically. Actually they have broken new musical and stylistic ground with each album.

However, while they are changing their style, there is one element they are not willing to get rid of and that is the anthemic choruses. Which of course means people who are against the entire idea of anthemic choruses to begin with will always blame them of being conservative. Because they don't want to get rid of that one element that those critics hate and Coldplay's fans love.

You've nailed it there, Geir. Our antipathy is entirely down to their anthemic choruses.

Somedays I think Geir is Herman Cain

Actually they have broken new musical and stylistic ground with each album.

pretty dull

Coldplay write much better songs than Billy Joel.

look i hate bill joel as a person as much as anyone but this is a ridiculous statement since everything that guy wrote up until about 1987 was pretty great pop rock songwriting.

and every song on the last three coldplay albums sounds like the same song.

billy joel should impregnate gwyneth paltrow

I like the new album, think its probably the strongest set of songs they've done yet. The lyrics are still fairly awful, nothing but easy rhymes and platitudes, but sonically I think it sounds pretty interesting. Ian Cohen's Pitchfork review does a pretty good job of hinting at what is good about it.

Ian Cohen's Pitchfork review

whoa – I almost coughed out my oatmeal.

The new album is def something new, in that they can no longer be called a "guitar band". They have changed their sound considerably with every album since their debut.

And the songs? No, they don't sound the same, but they still have anthemic choruses. Which is good because that is why those of us who love them love them. The world needs songs with anthemic choruses that can go into the cultural heritage of being sung as football chants and in classrooms all over the Western world.

My only beef with the new album is that the production/mixing/mastering is a bit too loud. This is nothing new regarding Coldplay (X&Y was also too loud/too heavily compressed), but I thought Brian Eno would know better.

http://www.innovationedge08.co.uk/img/speakers/bob-geldof.jpg

The world needs songs with anthemic choruses that can go into the cultural heritage of being sung as football chants and in classrooms all over the Western world.

Any football fans attempting to adapt Coldplay songs for the terraces would be laughed out of the stadium, Geir.

Norwich fans are missing a trick

NB Just because I like the new album a bit doesn't mean I'm on Geir's crazy train there.

Classrooms all over the Western world full of children singing anthemic songs is a pretty amazing image tbh.

In 2009 they were pledging allegiance to Obama.

xpost Brian Eno did not produce the new record.

Right, he just provided "Enoxification", per the liner notes.

He enosulfied the tracks.

It was his idea to hire Rihanna.

I think Brian Eno should produce Rihanna.

And then he should produce Katy Perry. Get Dr. Luke and Max Martin on the next Coldplay and U2.

Eno's not averse to loud records anyway. He's a sound manipulator, not an audiophile. He's got little interest in pure fidelity, his music just tends to sound interesting.

I'd love to spend just, like, a single day in Geirworld. It must be fascinating to be that insane.

You know how you do that thing where you look at WAV files in Audacity before deciding if you want to listen to a record? I'd imagine it's a bit like that.

Ha, you know I actually only do that once in a blue moon, right?

Yeah sorry, you kind of left the goal open for that one.

Classrooms all over the Western world full of children singing anthemic songs is a pretty amazing image tbh.

― antiautodefenestrationism (ledge), Wednesday, October 26, 2011 1:37 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

"Schoooooooooooool's out.. for... SUM-MAH!"

Last time I did it was with Mylo Xlyoto! It doesn't actually look all that bad, and I thought it sounded OK too.

Ha, you know I actually only do that once in a blue full moon, right?

I finally got around to listening to Mylo Xyloto in full yesterday. Putting aside my feelings towards the bands lead singer/lyricist for one moment, I found that the production of the record, as skilled as it is, saps the energy from tracks like 'Hurts Like Heaven' and 'Charlie Brown'. When I watched them play these songs live on the Glastonbury coverage, they seemed to have far more of an urgency to them than what is displayed on the record. Also, if they were going for a pop album this time around, and the big singles that go with such a thing: they've failed miserably. 'Paradise' and 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' are both terrible songs and don't hold a candle to ANY single that Coldplay have released prior to this album. There's a lot of talk about "anthemic choruses" in this thread, but over the course of the album I didn't hear very many.

Bar the opening salvo of 'Mylo Xyloto/Hurts Like Heaven', which admittedly begins the album quite well, the track sequencing of this album is all over the place and doesn't seem to make any sense to me at all, and even though there are 'interlude' tracks on this album in the form of instrumentals (obviously placed there to give the album flow and continuity), it still feels like a mixed bag of tracks just thrown at the wall rather than a whole piece. The fact that I can't discern exactly what the 'concept' of this album is meant to be without referring to interviews with the band speaks volumes - the record should stand alone and succeed without explanation. This album doesn't.

I came away from the 'Mylo Xyloto' experience feeling like I'd listened to a whole slick load of nothing. Emptiness masquerading as something far more substantial, all surface and no depth - and I struggled to find a keeper on this record: the 'Yellow'/'Clocks'/'Fix You'/'Viva La Vida' of this record just ain't there.

Thanks for writing that. That's why I haven't listened to this yet, despite being a relative fan. Those first two singles were stinkers, which to me was a big red flag.

I suppose of all the tracks, 'Hurts Like Heaven' seems like the most obvious "single", but while it opens the album well, even that seems to pale in comparison to some of Coldplay's most well-known and popular singles! 'Charlie Brown' has the trademark 'custom built for stadiums' ringing guitar lick, but I'm not convinced it's in any way a good song.

If they release the Rihanna duet ('Princess Of China') as a single, it won't surprise me at all.

They already have!

They already have!

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Wednesday, October 26, 2011 4:20 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

Oh, so they have!! That figures, then! They've had their 'Radiohead moment', then their 'U2 moment', and now they're having their 'hooking in the pop kids moment'. I suppose entire essays on Coldplay's "populist" and "careerist" tendencies have already been written in abundance - but if we were to overlook that, the big problem with their attempts to 'hook in the pop kids' is that, perversely, they don't seem to have written many, if any, good pop songs this time around.

Very good, nuanced Pitchfork review. Much harder for a critic to praise them than to kick them.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/15953-mylo-xyloto/

Read an interview with Martin in EW that claimed initial sessions with Eno went in a more subtle, acoustic direction, until they were all, fuck it, we like being rich and famous and stadium filling. Too bad. Maybe we would have gotten their "Laid" (the album) moment.

Re: THAT pitchfork review.

While Coldplay will always be more enjoyable than groundbreaking and their artistic advances seen as smart troubleshooting than divine intervention, Mylo Xyloto works because the band once again manages to sound like Coldplay without sounding like any of their previous LPs, maintaining their stadium-spanning grandeur while subtly challenging preconceptions.

I'll readily admit that the album doesn't sound like any other Coldplay album, even if it does sound like a Coldplay record. But to say that's the primary reason why an album 'works' is just bizarre as far as I'm concerned, not to mention looking at the album in a very simplistic way. Is the material any good? Does the song sequencing work?

When you're at Coldplay's level, pop acts are your competition and Mylo places itself in a lineage of ultra-mainstream rock records spanning from Born in the U.S.A. to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix-- swaddled in synths and gilded by state-of-the-art production, but never too off-putting if you still insist that "real music" is played by men with guitars.

Yes, a fair point in a way. But is the material as good as that of 'Born In The USA'? Will it resonate like that album? Will it be seen as a 'classic' years down the line in the same way as 'Born In The USA'? I mean, I'm not extremely hopeful on either count, but y'know, these are the questions that immediately come to mind when I read something like this...

They don't want to completely do away with Coldplay qua Coldplay-- they're still four normal-looking guys who introduced themselves with frail post-The Bends Britrock like "Yellow" and "Trouble". But they continually ask, why limit themselves to that?

Of course. Why limit themselves to that. Is the material any good? Have they written enough great 'pop' songs to justify making a shiny 'pop' album?

While there's no shortage of venomous carping at Coldplay's expense, I've never heard anyone complain about Jon Buckland's guitar tone or the rhythm section not being up to snuff. All sonic tinkering aside, Martin is still a full-time target serving as the perfect avatar for Coldplay, undeniably well-meaning, painfully earnest, and lord, does he try. When Martin tells you that Mylo Xyloto is a conceptual love story inspired by the White Rose movement and The Wire, don't you at least believe that he believes it?

The reason Martin is still a full-time target is because he's undoubtedly the personality and the focal point of the band? Of course I believe that he believes it. The problem is that I don't. He fails to convince ME.

the innocence lost on the Muse-like stargazer "Charlie Brown"

Christ, no. People can say what they like about Muse (and they undoubtedly have), but I couldn't ever see Matt Bellamy singing a lyric like "took a car downtown where the lost boys meet", which is so Springsteen-like it hurts, and is so unconvincing coming from an upper-middle class son of an accountant from Devon.

"coming from an upper-middle class son of an accountant from Devon."

Can we stop doing this? Especially when you invoke Springsteen, you have to allow songwriters to inhabit characters from time to time.

Not that I want to defend Martin's lyrics at all, but, I hate when people do this.

you have to allow songwriters to inhabit characters from time to time.

True. But I don't feel this particular songwriter is any good at it!

His dad's not an accountant. And Martin has never inhabited a character.

And Martin has never inhabited a character.

You're 100% certain that ALL of his lyrics are meant to be presented from Chris Martin's sole perspective?

His dad's not an accountant.

Okay, "former accountant" then...

From Wikipedia:

"Chris Martin was born in Exeter, Devon, England and is the eldest of five children. His father, Anthony Martin, is a retired accountant, and his mother, Alison Martin, is a music teacher.[1][2]"

Unless you meant that Matt Bellamy's dad isn't an accountant, and of course he wasn't/isn't.

xp Right, Turrican so your main argument is you don't think the songs are good enough? I don't think that merits a line-by-line takedown of Ian Cohen's review. There's a difference between "I do/don't like this" and thoughtful music criticism, and I think Cohen's done a great job of the latter in this case.

DL otm, thats a really well written review.

Right, Turrican so your main argument is you don't think the songs are good enough? I don't think that merits a line-by-line takedown of Ian Cohen's review. There's a difference between "I do/don't like this" and thoughtful music criticism, and I think Cohen's done a great job of the latter in this case.

Well, basically when it comes down to it I don't think the songs are good enough and I don't think the album holds together very well, yeah, not to mention the usual problem I have with being unable to connect to Coldplay on lyrical level.

I don't think that Ian Cohen's proclamations that "an album works because it's different yet the same" (which I feel is an over-simplistic way of looking at things, not to mention not quite right), and "hey! this album is okay if you tune out Chris Martin!" warranted 7 paragraphs, but horses for courses...

Unless you meant that Matt Bellamy's dad isn't an accountant, and of course he wasn't/isn't.

My dad worked for Anthony Martin. He's a businessman, not an accountant. He owns a caravan shop thing.

/And Martin has never inhabited a character./

You're 100% certain that ALL of his lyrics are meant to be presented from Chris Martin's sole perspective?

He may have written in character, but he's never inhabited one.

xp Right, Turrican so your main argument is you don't think the songs are good enough? I don't think that merits a line-by-line takedown of Ian Cohen's review. There's a difference between "I do/don't like this" and thoughtful music criticism, and I think Cohen's done a great job of the latter in this case.

It is a good, thoughtful piece.

He may have written in character, but he's never inhabited one.

― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, October 26, 2011 7:13 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

Yeah, this pretty much hits the nail on the head!

They all have exactly the same lyrical voice, for a start.

Well, yeah, he's far too bland to make me actually believe in them, but its pretty clear that from time to time his intention is to write from the POV of another character.

Then we agree!

Yeah, I was misreading your initial post.

I like Ian's writing, and I appreciate his take on the album, but again, from my vantage, those two singles are bad, especially by Coldplay singles standards. Ergo, I have trouble buying that the album is any good when the best foot forward, as such, is a stumble. Or at least, I have a hard time believing that those two singles are the only two clunkers on the album, though stranger things have happened.

I'm not a huge fan of "Paradise", but I think "Every Teardrop" (lyrical clunker aside) was fine as far as Coldplay singles go. Just as stadium-aimed as any other.

And Martin has never inhabited a character.
You're 100% certain that ALL of his lyrics are meant to be presented from Chris Martin's sole perspective?
― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Wednesday, October 26, 2011 1:15 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

Given that his lyrics are absolute doggerel and impossible to parse, I'm not even sure that we can say they _have_ a "perspective" or "point of view"

i mean look at the lyrics above, they sometimes use the first person but what they "describe" is so vague that you don't have the slightest sense of who the person might be or what they might be experiencing

this is not the be-all end-all of lyrics (surely impressionistic lyrics without a fixed POV can be excellent) but it's not like there are other compensations. evocative phrases? wordplay? richness of sound patterns? interesting structure? enjambment? yeah right.

Still feeling the Coldplay critics will only be content if Coldplay make a "Kid A". And - face it - Coldplay will never make a "Kid A". And we - their fans - are very happy for that. Because Radiohead lost us when they made "Kid A".

i hear a lot of suicide, los del río, and juice newton in the new coldplay disc.

geir, do you have your own radio show? b/c i think you would attract lots of geir-heads.

this is not the be-all end-all of lyrics (surely impressionistic lyrics without a fixed POV can be excellent) but it's not like there are other compensations. evocative phrases? wordplay? richness of sound patterns? interesting structure? enjambment? yeah right.

Has Coldplay recorded its own take on the "The Unforgettable Fire" (title track)? As a song it's drivel but what a "soundscape."

Having had a brief look around a few of the Coldplay forums, it's fair to say that the mixed reception isn't limited to the critics.

I would expect many Coldplay fans would be disappointed for the exact opposite reasons that the critics are. I have grown up with synthpop and I am OK with synths, but I can imagine many Coldplay fans feel the guitars are a bit too much in the background this time around.

Has Coldplay recorded its own take on the "The Unforgettable Fire" (title track)? As a song it's drivel but what a "soundscape."

― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, October 26, 2011 10:12 PM (58 seconds ago) Bookmark

That's easily my favourite thing about the track!

exactly!

On another note: the marvelous bit about the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Viva La Vida" is they had the brains to reconfigure the oh-oh-ohs as a soccer anthem, suitable for the distant fields of Glastonbury. They didn't hesitate to go for the large gesture. Coldplay are too timid, too conflicted to risk vulgarity.

I would expect many Coldplay fans would be disappointed for the exact opposite reasons that the critics are. I have grown up with synthpop and I am OK with synths, but I can imagine many Coldplay fans feel the guitars are a bit too much in the background this time around.

― Hongroe (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, October 26, 2011 10:15 PM (9 seconds ago) Bookmark

I honestly can't see that - I mean, there's guitar everywhere on the record, and a couple of the songs are acoustic-based(!) ... It's not like Coldplay haven't used keyboards or synths before... 'Viva La Vida' being a notable example, 'White Shadows' from 'X&Y'...

They are still more notable here. And the beats are also more notable, particularly on "Princess Of China" (which, after all, has a bit more of Rihanna on it than just her voice). This album definitely has more of recent mainstream pop to it and less of that "classic" Britpop sound. This is perfectly fine to me as long as the choruses and tunes are still in place and still very much Coldplay, but I know some of the more conservative fans of guitar bands tend to turn their backs towards them if they don't sound like guitar bands anymore.

And, the keyboard use on the previous couple of albums was a bit "The Joshua Tree" while the use of synths on this one is more "Zooropa" or "Pop", if you know what I mean.

I know some of the more conservative fans of guitar bands tend to turn their backs towards them if they don't sound like guitar bands anymore.

Geir Hongro, progressive music fan.

On another note: the marvelous bit about the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Viva La Vida" is they had the brains to reconfigure the oh-oh-ohs as a soccer anthem, suitable for the distant fields of Glastonbury. They didn't hesitate to go for the large gesture. Coldplay are too timid, too conflicted to risk vulgarity.

― lumber up, limbaugh down (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, October 26, 2011 10:17 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

Neil Tennant on 'Viva La Vida': "They've written a Pet Shop Boys song!"

I'm going to have to dig out 'Behaviour' tonight, the synth sounds and chord progressions on some of those songs are to die for...

X-Post: Well, to me, it is largely about tunes. I have no problems with electronics. Not even with beats unless they get too dominant and take the attention away from the tune completely (but ballads shouldn't have beats, it must be added)

tell us more

Neil Tennant on 'Viva La Vida': "They've written a Pet Shop Boys song!"

It's a typical PSB trope: delusions of grandeur.

xpost: LOL!

"it must be added"

Okay, Geir, so how do you actually feel about the TUNES on this record? Surely even you've got to admit that in comparison to previous work this lacks their usual quota of 'anthemic choruses' (as you put it), and there is nothing on here that comes close to a 'Yellow'/'Clocks'/'Fix You'/'Viva La Vida' type of song for them!? Surely!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/ParaParaParadise_2ndMIX.jpg

WHOA!

Still feeling the Coldplay critics will only be content if Coldplay make a "Kid A". And - face it - Coldplay will never make a "Kid A". And we - their fans - are very happy for that. Because Radiohead lost us when they made "Kid A".

It's sad, Radionead lost all their fans.

He means their real fans, the ones that know talent when they hear it.

The ones singing songs in classrooms all around the world.

Okay, Geir, so how do you actually feel about the TUNES on this record? Surely even you've got to admit that in comparison to previous work this lacks their usual quota of 'anthemic choruses' (as you put it), and there is nothing on here that comes close to a 'Yellow'/'Clocks'/'Fix You'/'Viva La Vida' type of song for them!? Surely!

Well, "Clocks" wasn't much of a song. Largely just a beat/riff.

It's sad, Radionead lost all their fans.

They got other fans. Not the ones who loved "The Bends" and "OK Computer" but others who are into IDM and krautrock.

http://streetbonersandtvcarnage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/VENN1.jpg

On another note: the marvelous bit about the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Viva La Vida" is they had the brains to reconfigure the oh-oh-ohs as a soccer anthem, suitable for the distant fields of Glastonbury. They didn't hesitate to go for the large gesture. Coldplay are too timid, too conflicted to risk vulgarity.

Alfred, did you see footage of Coldplay performing VLV at Glastonbury? They're not at all afraid of the soccer anthem effect - it's rather the point. PSBs' achievement was to pump up the beat and inhabit the lyrics more convincingly.

yep, a perfect venn diagram

http://marburyvmadisonave.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/coldplay.jpg?w=300&h=181

Given that his lyrics are absolute doggerel and impossible to parse, I'm not even sure that we can say they _have_ a "perspective" or "point of view"

I'd always assumed he just c/p's paragraphs from self-help books and runs them through Babelfish a few times.

Not saying anything about their quality, but if you look back to the lyrics of Shiver they are very clear, with the exception of who the 'sing it loud and clear' bit is directed at. Trouble is not far off. His lyrics haven't always been quite as nonsensical, though they've been that way since the second album and in some cases earlier.

I started writing something about Coldplay last night but couldn't be arsed to finish it. Shiver was my main crux; it's the only Coldplay song Emma's got any time for at all. It's about a definite feeling, dewscribes a definite sensation (albeit a confused one) and seems, sounds, and feels, genuinely agitated and uncomfortable. I've not heard anything else by them that pulls that trick.

Shiver is basically the only Coldplay I like as well. It is a pretty blatant Jeff Buckley rip though

Just heard "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam on the radio. It's basically a Coldplay song, except there's an actual narrative and emotional investment in the lyrics and it's delivered with a degree of subtlety despite its mawkishness.

All this overfixation on emotion again.

hah -- Geir is somewhat otm.

Geirbot.

Aspie robot.

Glad you find Asperger's syndrome funny, Nick.

Sorry Marcello, that was crass, offensive, and unnecessary of me.

Thanks, Nick; appreciated.

See, here's the crux of my thing with Coldplay. The lyrics are fucking awful, but I'm usually able to completely ignore those and focus on some of the actual interesting things they do sonically. Which isn't groundbreaking by any means, but about 5x more interesting than any other guitar-based band that gets regular play on mainstream radio. They usually are able to wrangle out some nifty guitar tones and some cool textures. I'm not making a case for them bein any sort of IMPORTANT band here, but I'd listen to them in a heartbeat over Nickelback, Maroon 5, or any other Top 40 guitar-based band you'd care to throw at me.

I know there's a few people that can't get beyond the incredibly dull lyrics and Martin's punchable face, but they aren't a completely uninteresting band, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I dunno, I like them but I also think they're pretty uninteresting. There are a lot of deadly boring bands that are better than Nickelback and Maroon 5.

Skills are more important than emotion, and Coldplay have a lot of skills.

They're not that good, dude. Really not.

Not sure that's aimed at me or Geir, but, like I said, not trying to paint them as anything more than what they are. I just personally find them more tolerable than a lot of you guys do. Just to be clear, just because I am defending them doesn't mean I'm praising them as something legit great or w/e. There is some middle ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6L64mFzmvg&feature=related

Coldplay wishes.

My comment was totally aimed at Geir. I don't hate Coldplay; just puzzled by them. I don't think they've got anywhere near the chops he's taking about though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlOyl8m5X00

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnOtmimxSVw

Broke this out again this week. It's pretty rare that something makes me literally sit up in my seat but every time I hear the chorus to "Paradise," I'm always really struck by it. Which is odd given that it's really little more than M83 meets Dennis Wilson's "River Song."

But honestly, that's about it for me. The songs are surprisingly lacking in real hooks. The production is dense as shit but lacks definition -- not helped by a mix that is harsh and loud.

Has anyone ever really determined what role Eno did end up playing in this?

Cashing their checks.

it seems Eno has more writing credits than production credits and wasn't physically in the studio a lot but would listen to the tracks and give notes and contribute ideas.

think this album is a pretty good-sounding lesser sequel to Viva La Vida (which was a surprisingly dope album) but the "Paradise" chorus is about the last thing i'd praise it for

the chorus that is one word? "para para paradise"?

well originally it was two words -- "tara tara tara reid"

I have no place for Coldplay in my life but I'll listen to every one of their new albums a couple times and say "OK it was a tall order and you guys did good work"

It's like checking in on Atlas, "how's the music industry holding up down there? pretty good? stand up job, you."

I have to say Paradise sounded great at the Paralympics closing ceremony - played twice, once with Jay-Z. They weren't crass enough to sing para-para-para-lympics but everyone was thinking it anyway.

But yeah, overall the album's a step down from Viva La Vida, which took some risks and had some gems: the title track, Yes, Lost!, Strawberry Swing. This one sounds very samey.

Surprised that Charlie Brown song did not get more play.

This is the album where Coldplay finally gave in to all the things detractors have been complaining about.

It's that time again.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/coldplay-announce-new-album-and-single-listen-news

from NME.com: The material shows a huge progression from the classic Coldplay sound, mixing their trademark anthems with ’70s electronica. David Bowie, Bob Dylan and Brian Eno are all influences, while ‘Talk’ features the riff from Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’.

― Stevem On X (blueski), Thursday, January 13, 2005 7:35 AM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

were these guys ahead of their time or what? is there a popular band that didn't make the "electro turn" at some point in the late 2000s? (don't be a wise guy and point out exceptions to the trend. i'm just using hyperbole to emphasize a trend that exists among bands)

There's really no "electro," let alone "70s electronica," element to Coldplay at all beyond borrowing the melody from that one Kraftwerk song on that one album. I say that as someone who will defend all their stuff up until "Mxyztplk" or whatever.

That "Magic" song sounds like U2 trying to do Frank Ocean. God, Chris Martin is the most crap songwriter. The banality of drivel.

Like, he's the definition of witless.

haha weird, "magic" sort of superficially reminds me of solomon grey's "gen v"

anyway i liked viva la vida a lot yet had zero time for any of the mylo xyloto singles, but i think this is pretty interesting, looking forward to it

delayed pianos in "magic" are real pretty

Mylo Xyloto was their most consistent album but it was a real drag "Paradise" ended up getting all the airplay over "Teardrop"

Most consistently safe and boring. I thought it was all the things people complained the other albums were.

idk I dig the nu-Coldplay production aesthetic and thought it did a better job of it than Viva la Vida, which was more like them testing out new waters. also while it was only on the short EP before the album "Moving to Mars" is amazing

Keith Harris said on Twitter earlier that Coldplay really do seem like the kind of band it's hard to imagine feelings about one way or another at this stage. I agreed and described them as the institutional linoleum of rock.

I feel like that's both a relatively recent development and by (their) design. It's like, I dunno, Maroon 5 realizing that they have more or bigger hits if they hire hit makers than if they do it themselves like a "real" band, justifying the change in direction by saying, hey, what's wrong with being popular? And why shouldn't we do whatever it takes to be and stay popular? Coldplay's last album was sort of their version of the same thing. We're not here to be difficult, we're not here to be weird or experimental. We're here to get the job done. Which is sort of the same turn U2 took in the '00s, except they had a good 25 year run or so first tacking this way and that before settling for total MOR.

Looks like they turned the producer role over to Jon Hopkins, who at least made appearances on the last two, credited on the last one with "light and magic."

The tricky thing for Coldplay is that they've chosen to exist as a pop entity rather than a rock one. There's no mystique or gravitas or experimental hinterland to entice listeners to follow them down a less commercial path so they need at least one killer single each time, like Paradise or Viva La Vida. Magic isn't on that level but they tend to save their strongest songs for the second single so maybe there's one coming.

I've only heard Midnight thus far, but it was tuneless, semi-ambient, entirely-without-dynamic dirge. The worst kind of 'experiment'.

And is the cover not a blatant amalgamation of the first two (ignoring Von) Sigur Roses albums?

tuneless, semi-ambient, entirely-without-dynamic

i'm all over this shit then

Emphasize the "without dynamic" part first; the "tuneless" and "semi-ambient" tags are bi-products of the lack of dynamics, like anything boring.

I'm fine with Coldplay going "pop" - even U2 "Pop" - but I wish they would fully commit to the mode. There's something cowardly about the way the band writes lately. Not a lack of confidence (obv.) but more a total lack of ambition. It's like all the band aspires to is to be "good enough," like they know they'll never change the world (like perpetual would-be world-changers U2) . Maybe that's what happens when a group gives up the dream that anyone will ever be able to name/recognize more than one out of four of its members. Again, I'm sure Maroon 5 can relate.

That said, if this album is good I'll take it all back.

New song is boring as fuck.

Keith Harris said on Twitter earlier that Coldplay really do seem like the kind of band it's hard to imagine feelings about one way or another at this stage. I agreed and described them as the institutional linoleum of rock.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, March 4, 2014 3:09 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm getting this general feeling from just merely browsing the internet and reading people's comments on the news of the upcoming album. The fans, of course, seem happy enough with news of a new album on the way, but I'm not really reading anything ecstatic as in "holy shit, I can't wait for this to come out"

Likewise, I'm not reading a lot in terms of out-and-out hatred. Not to the level I'm using to reading surrounding a new Coldplay release, anyway. It's like even their haters can't even summon up the energy to give a shit.

Of course, that might all change if they deliver a hit as big as a 'Yellow', a 'Clocks' or a 'Viva La Vida', though.

Took me a couple listens, but I like this track a lot. A lot of the little shifts seem quite nice, sonically, and it's just really mellow and pleasant.

listening to it now first time, it's purdy

New single sounds like Red Hot Chilli Peppers?

One of their quieter ones, obv.

Shopping cart escalator!

I think everyone by now has accepted this band for whatever it is. It's hard to get ANGRY about Coldplay, isn't it?

Disappointed, maybe.

Fair enough

Uhhhhhhhhhhh...

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/25/gwyneth-paltrow-chris-martin-to-separate

"conscious uncoupling"

Conscious uncoupling jokes on Twitter wore thin in record time.

Does this mean Martin needs to re-write all the lyrics on the new album?

"We are consciously uncoupling
Our love was just too troubling
Need to consider a couple things
Like how to save this couple-thing"

A Coldplay "break up" album... hmmmm...

Coldplay break up album:

"It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that," Martin said. "Not to say that there might not be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something."

Because everyone knows album number 7 is the best time to call it quits. Just look at all the other bands who stopped at album 7. It's like dying at age 27. Granted, everyone in Coldplay is too old for that now, but album number 7? Sure.

Chris Martin: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this, our final press conference. We'd like to open the floor to questions.
Reporter: So, why now?
CM: It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that. Not to say that there might not be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something.
Reporter: Completion of what, exactly?
CM: Our seventh album, naturally. Next question?
Reporter: Now that Coldplay is done making music, what do you plan to do next?
CM: We plan to tour behind the album for 4 years.
Reporter: And after that?
CM: We honestly don't know. I may take up knitting. The guy who plays guitar - Johnny? I think his name his Johnny. He has taken to in-line skating. He says it is a good way to keep fit. Who knows, maybe we all will take it up. We'll see how it goes with Johnny, first.
Reporter: How about music? Will there be more music?
CM: We can't say. But the music is in me, and it's just a matter of time before I have to let it out. It's a bit like gas in that sense, you know? (chuckles uneasily) I'm not saying Coldplay is like farts, though. Do not twist my words. I know you sort better than you think.
Reporter: It just seems remarkable that you could walk away from something so lucrative.
CM: It does, doesn't it? Well, it has been a remarkable run. (pause) Did you say lucrative?
Reporter: Well, yes. Coldplay has made hundreds of millions of dollars.
CM: Millions, you say? (looks over to manager, who nods) Well, erm, hmm. Did I say we were breaking up? I didn't say that, exactly, did I?
Reporter: You said this new album was "the completion of something."
CM: Yeah, a completion of a fuckin' album. And I said that before we even released it, so it wasn't even technically complete yet, which kind of negates everything I said. (pause) It is like Harry Potter though. (pause) It's magical.
Reporter: Are you saying Coldplay has magical powers?
CM: Well, all those people bought the records for a reason, didn't they? One more question.
Reporter: If you could be any animal, what kind of animal would you be.
CM: A llama. Thank you everybody for coming. We'll see you next time.
Reporter: Wait, you said there would not be a next time.
CM: Did I? Hmm. Anyway, that's it! See you all soon!

Well, if their next album is as easy to ignore as Ghost Stories was, then I see no reason why it shouldn't be their last. Aside from having the misfortune of hearing 'A Sky Full Of Stars' on a couple of occasions, the album just seems to have slipped through the cracks with nobody having much to say about it. As I mentioned months ago, it seems even the folks that out-and-out hate the band are finding it difficult to summon the energy or enthusiasm to be vocal about it, and the same goes for those that like it. Even all that bollocks about Chris & Gwyneth's "conscious uncoupling" seems to have not led to much discussion about the album.

At this stage, it just seems like people are incredibly weary/fed up of this band, whether they like them or hate them, and for possibly the first time ever it feels like their career as a band is on the slide. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they split up, and nor would I expect anyone giving a shit either way if they did.

Why are people so weary and fed up? Have they made a bunch of terrible records in a row or upset people in some other way?

Erlewine likes the album:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-stories-mw0002630894

the funny thing about Ghost Stories seeming not that big for a Coldplay album is it was the top-selling 2014 release before Taylor dropped. definitely feels like time for a Greatest Hits comp (which will be pretty solid) and an ill-received Chris Martin solo album that will make people happier to have the band back a few years later.

Coldplay are safe, boring, and predictable. In other words, the opposite of rock and roll. So when someone presents themselves as one thing but is evidently something else, it leaves one puzzled and speechless.

the funny thing about Ghost Stories seeming not that big for a Coldplay album is it was the top-selling 2014 release before Taylor dropped.

Indeed... but in 2014, who were the competitors? U2? Serious question, by the way!

Eric Church was the album Coldplay overtook as the top seller before Swift overtook them. i guess theoretically the U2 album would've sold at least as well as Ghost Stories without the whole Apple giveaway but we'll never know.

I mean, I can't speak for everyone else, but for an album which seems so incredibly easy to ignore to be one of the top sellers of the year blatantly says to me that there weren't enough great records released in 2014 that had a universal appeal and enough commercial clout in order to outsell it. I have no doubts that there were some great records released this year that don't necessarily have a universal appeal or the commercial clout to be stupendously mega-selling, but I'm not talking about those records. Basically what it boils down to is... Ghost Stories, well, it's hardly Thriller is it? As an "event" record, it was pretty uneventful. Maybe there just haven't been any great "event" records this year.

It's different for the U2 album, of course, that album was all event and not a lot of much else, the majority of the press focusing of course on the Apple giveaway rather than the music itself. It's possible that if it hadn't been for the Apple giveaway I probably would have found the U2 record as easy to ignore as the Coldplay one! Sitting here, I couldn't tell you how a single song from that album goes, which says it all really. At one point when U2 had a record out, it was pretty hard to escape it... although the last time I recall this happening in a big way was with 'Beautiful Day'. Even 'Get On Your Tits' was easy to escape from.

From your comments, it's hard to tell if you're criticizing the band based on your own reaction to the record or because it just seemed like it was an easy record for people to ignore.

Your original argument was that it made sense for them to break up based on some perception of the last album. And, again, I'm curious as to how long of a perceived negative career arc that's based on. Should the unpredictability of inspiration not trump your sense of foreboding?

Or, sorry, your original argument was that it MIGHT make sense for them to break up.

Actually, this is what I said...

I definitely wouldn't be surprised if they split up, and nor would I expect anyone giving a shit either way if they did.

― Welcome To (Turrican), Thursday, December 11, 2014 4:15 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

...and I honestly, truly believe that. In spite of Ghost Stories being one of the top sellers of the year (from the sounds of it, there was no competition), I truly believe that if the band were to split up right this very second then news of it would be greeted with nothing more than a huge shrug.
Whereas, if they'd split up during the X&Y period I could definitely have imagined people reacting, whether they liked the band or not.

And my god, this record has been so easy to ignore... Mylo Xyloto didn't exactly yield anything like a 'Yellow', a 'Clocks' or a 'Viva La Vida' (what was the closest it came? 'Hurts Like Heaven'? 'Charlie Brown'?), but it was quite heavily promoted. They played Glastonbury, and adverts and promo for it was everywhere, a lot of tracks got a lot of airplay, there was a lot of discussion about it prior to its release. So, it was very much an "event" release, even if the album did turn out to be a massive pile of arsewank that divided hardcore fans (not everyone liked the Rhianna collaboration) and got mixed reviews. Ghost Stories, by comparison, just dribbled out and oftentimes feels like it hasn't even been released, such was its "impact".

"Paradise" was the big one off Mylo Xyloto

Chris Martin says the new album might be the last one almost every time. I remember him saying it as far back as Rush of Blood. I would love to know what was going on in the band to produce a dud like Ghost Stories though. It was like a cry for help.

some dude wayy otm

"the album just seems to have slipped through the cracks with nobody having much to say about it"

yeah except 5 zillion people have bought the singles, the album, etc. "magic", "sky full of stars" have been well nigh inescapable

by the way, i've probably said this before but "magic" becomes immensely entertaining if you sing it in an exaggerated bob dylan voice

Regardless of whether "5 zillion people" bought the album, the album and its songs have been incredibly easy too ignore. Inescapable? I beg to differ. Seriously, I must have heard 'A Sky Full Of Stars' unintentionally less than a handful of times. As for 'Magic', I couldn't even tell you how it goes. How does it go again? This is almost 7 months after the album came out, too, and I ain't exactly living some kind of sheltered existence. Compare this with previous albums where it wasn't hard to become familiar with a few of the album's tracks whether one liked it or not, and it's glaringly obvious that, in spite of its sales, the album has become a bit of a damp squib and it's easy to forget that it even came out. And it's not hard to reach the conclusion that nobody has much to say about it, either; this album has probably generated the least amount of discussion of all of their albums.

"Paradise" was the big one off Mylo Xyloto

― some dude, Thursday, December 11, 2014 9:33 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ah yeah, I'd completely forgotten about that one. So no, not as memorable as a 'Yellow', a 'Clocks' or a 'Viva La Vida', then.

i like "magic" a lot, sort of a shame the new album turned out to be half-written garbage

but i sort of earnestly love viva la vida

I think what happened, maybe, at least in vibe, was that the band went from early U2 to '00 U2, but skipped the "Achtung Baby" stage. Like, "Viva La Vida" was their "Unforgettable Fire" (just in terms of chronology and general gist) but then Mylo Goes to College was their "All That You Can't Leave Behind." And "Ghost Stories" is their whatever the newest U2 album is called. Because I really have no problem with the first four Coldplay albums. I don't listen to them, but it has nothing to do with the band or its music. However, the last ones feel safe and triangulated even for a band that never seemed edgy and kinda aimed for the middle from the beginning. It's like they anxiously got preemptively even more middle before they needed to.

New U2 album >>>>>>>>> Ghost Stories. Even the songs that sound like Coldplay are much better Coldplay songs than Coldplay are coming up with right now.

but i sort of earnestly love viva la vida

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Thursday, December 11, 2014 7:47 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

meanwhile i listened to the prospekt's march ep for the first time today and jeez the b-sides for this record are incredible

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACifFO8Rxvw

Shuffle spat me "Viva la Vida" this morning, and not only was I reminded that it's a pretty good record but that I don't mind the first few Coldplay albums either. If I'm being honest. So looking backwards, it's been this really concerted effort at pop ubiquity that's really brought them down, like they bypassed U2's creative wanderlust and skipped straight to the triangulated nu model. Which does them no favors. Either that or Eno really did do the band a lot of favors.

I don't mind the first few Coldplay albums either. If I'm being honest.

And if I'm being honest, I love those records. Especially X+Y.

x&y sucks a lot

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsrpTrQ1x5Y

not bad!

it's like a dance mix of "Strawberry Swing"

not bad at all, probably the first thing I've heard of their tat I've not been repulsed by in a little while

The album, recorded in Malibu, Los Angeles and London, was produced by Norwegian duo Stargate together with the band's long-time collaborator Rik Simpson. It features more guests than any previous Coldplay album, with Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo and Merry Clayton among those appearing across its 11 tracks (12 in total when the hidden track "X Marks The Spot" is included).

are there other members of Coldplay

tracklisting is kinda saccharine

A Head Full Of Dreams
Birds
Hymn For The Weekend
Everglow
Adventure Of A Lifetime
Fun
Kaleidoscope
Army Of One
Amazing Day
Colour Spectrum
Up&Up

Ha, those song titles. Wasn't their last album a Skyful of Stars or something? And this one is A Head Full of Dreams? Which makes me think of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HufrsUMIBA

gah, why spoil this thread w/greatness

Maybe Chris Martin is lurking and will learn something.

I'm excited for this. New song sounds awesome.

**shamelessly wears Coldplay fan badge**

Coldplay is doing a bit of Daft Punk, never thought i would see the day.

Obvious stadium move. Inevitable.

Coldplay going stadium?

That reminds me of this review:

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Psonic Psunspot [Geffen, 1987]
If this is XTC's real psychedelic album, what the hell was Skylarking? So call it their real psychedelic parody--a concept album about acid damage, which I guess they read about somewhere. I was going to complain that the word "precious" isn't in their vocabulary and ought to be when I noticed that the last song is called "Pale and Precious." Then I realized that for all its kaleidoscopic byplay the parody is a little pale as well. But with every other hook intact, "Pale and Precious" is the only track you might miss without the credits. B+

Coldplay is doing a bit of Daft Punk, never thought i would see the day.

please explain.
heard the new track today on the radio and really do not get the connection.
as for the track :
it's ok.
nothing more, nothing less.
summary : mumford and sons vs a drum track.
and for the record, i am not a hater.

I'd be interested to know if the song is knowingly pseudo-tropical house or if that's just a happy coincidence.

After a few more listens, song is okay. Hopes for the new album are enh.

I'll still buy it though.

So, it would seem that, in spite of them playing at the Superbowl (which I've only really heard about because of the negative publicity) that Coldplay's new album is as easy to ignore as the last one. A quick internet search shows that the album has been out for two months and yet again I have managed to not hear a single cut from the record, unintentionally or otherwise. I also notice that the record got an incredibly mixed reception, and performed absolutely woefully on the album chart pretty much everywhere aside from Norway, so even though it would seem like Mr. Hongro is still buying their records in bulk, it looks like the writing is on the wall, chaps.

It's a pure pop record. Ghost Stories had some substance, but I file the new one next to Mylo Xyloto because it's just going for the stadiums with nothing really substantial in terms of songs. It's nice while it's playing, but nothing memorable whatsoever happens. I'd rate it probably their worst album.

And I say all that as a fan who has found something to be liked on all of their albums.

The problem with the new one is it doesn't have the sad/release dynamic of their best stuff.

I did know they had a new one out as I was sick at the weekend, which resulted in me watching bits of the Coldplay documentary on Sky Arts on a diet of Uniflu and hot whiskeys.

The Guns n Roses documentary (The Most Dangerous Band In The World) was on right before it on BBC Four, which made the Coldplay one seem incredibly low-stakes in comparison - I kept waiting for a riot to happen, or Chris Martin to admonish his colleagues onstage for being a bit too fond of 'Mr Brownstone'.

More like Mylo Zzziloto

just going for the stadiums

"Sky Full Of Stars" was a big top 10 hit only a year ago and this album's promo cycle isn't over yet, i wouldn't count them out as far as commercial relevance yet. but i do get the impression that what they're planning to do next is, like, a Greatest Hits album and a breakup/hiatus for a Chris solo album or something.

That's my impression too. A Greatest Hits might be the best Coldplay album.

It's a cracking album, the new one. It's not as easy as it looks, touching people's hearts at the same time as making tunes that are ballsy enough to fill a big venue. I think Coldplay are just about the best proper pop band going right now.

that lead single really sounds like foals.

xpost Bah. It's really easy to do that. It just takes a certain kind of robotic soullessness to aim for that all the time (see: KLF, "The Manual," plenty of arena country)

Idea of Coldplay being any sort of go-to stadium band makes me pine for the worst of late 80s Kerr and Bono

Yeah, it's like chain fast food. Do people really go because it tastes good, or just because it's fast, easy and a good value for a ton of calories?

Hating somebody because they're popular always sounds a bit bitter to me ;-)

I don't hate Coldplay! I think you'll find me upthread saying I like their first four albums, to degrees. But I really, really don't like the last three, because they are so shameless in their triangulation. They're the Clintons of Rock.

They're so inoffensive it becomes an easy target. I don't hate them but their fans are very strange, at least the one I've met. I don't know if they don't listen to that much music or everything they listen falls in the same line but they honestly believe they're such a cool, innovative band. Come on, they're pretty much playing dadrock.

I like dadrock! There's nothing wrong with dadrock. It's the unctuous inoffensiveness that gets under my skin. They're like Maroon 5 with a delay pedal.

I never said there was anything wrong with dadrock. But dadrock is not innovative, cool music. It takes once innovative cool music, digests it and makes it acceptable for everyone to enjoy in the background.

If there concerts are anything similar to what they did on the superbowl, though. The venue owner would do better selling lattes than beers.

Their*

The venue owners would do better selling balloon animals.

New album's cack. Where's the fuckin' PIANO?

they did a surprisingly great Radiohead impersonation on recent single All I Can Think About Is You:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnLNG0WnGsI