I come off as an elitist twat kind of in that post, I actually like a couple Coldplay songs:
"Sparks" (reminds me of Little Wings) & "Talk" ("Computer Love" is one of my fave songs and I like how they paid homage to it)
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 23 May 2019 05:14 (four years ago) link
Their best album by far. One of the best of the 00s? Don’t be a cretin.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 23 May 2019 05:57 (four years ago) link
Don't be a 'musical snob'.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 06:47 (four years ago) link
*digs out Scik's positive Keane review* ;)
― imago, Thursday, 23 May 2019 06:51 (four years ago) link
Yeahyeahyeahyeah, I can hear you being all like "what? no! fuck off!" but you're wrong!
a person who believes that their tastes in a particular area are superior to those of other people."a musical snob"
― nicky lo-fi, Thursday, 23 May 2019 10:26 (four years ago) link
Their best album by far. One of the best of the 00s? Don’t be a cretin.― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, May 23, 2019 5:57 AM(five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, May 23, 2019 5:57 AM(five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
^ See what I mean, re: the musical snobbery issue? I mean, god forbid that Coldplay made one of the best albums of the '00s! Which they did, and throwing around words like "cretin" doesn't change this.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:21 (four years ago) link
and there were a lot of great albums released in the '00s.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:22 (four years ago) link
I mean, this album is flawlessly written, impeccably produced, absolutely breezes by as a start-to-finish listen (it doesn't sag at all), remains sonically interesting throughout and has zero filler, so I mean it obviously is a great record. That it irritates people because Coldplay made it says more about what they're unable to do than what Coldplay have done.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:36 (four years ago) link
clodyalp
― nashwan, Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:42 (four years ago) link
Textbook self-clowning.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:44 (four years ago) link
Do you have anything to say about the record, Tom?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:50 (four years ago) link
Charlie Watts is great on it.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:51 (four years ago) link
Ah, I see - you haven't and you're only on this thread to troll. FP'd.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:54 (four years ago) link
Seriously though, I cannot stand Chris Martin's voice, which is somewhat of a drawback to appreciating Coldplay, who, otherwise, I don't have any great dislike of.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:54 (four years ago) link
(xp) LOL, you need to take a break from ILM, you're just making a fool of yourself.
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:55 (four years ago) link
Ah, okay, well that's fair enough - I feel pretty much the same way about Tom Waits.
(x-post)
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:55 (four years ago) link
Tom Waits, is he someone musical snobs like?
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:57 (four years ago) link
(I don't like him either btw!)
― Ned Caligari (Tom D.), Thursday, 23 May 2019 11:58 (four years ago) link
Am I musical snob if loved the first album, liked some songs of the second, then refused to listen to anything by them again after the first time I heard "Fix You"?
― enochroot, Thursday, 23 May 2019 17:08 (four years ago) link
fair reaction but it also makes me think you'd dig this record
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 23 May 2019 17:12 (four years ago) link
Yeah, I agree. Even at the time I thought that X&Y was gonna be the record that would finish them off.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 17:45 (four years ago) link
It's a bit OTT to call this record "impeccably written" but it is very well produced and arranged and performed, which more than makes up for the worst of Coldplay's inclinations (which manifested soon enough).
A mystery to me: the band worked very closely with Eno again on Zenyatta Xyloto or whatever, to the extent that he gets a "Additional composition by Brian Eno" credit. But ... he is not credited as a producer, and the album comes off as a boring pop response to the stuff they did on this album. Wonder what happened? Martin comes off pretty self-aware in this interview but also concedes he'd do anything Eno asked. Maybe Coldplay's pop direction, like 2000s U2, was Eno's doing!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 23 May 2019 18:59 (four years ago) link
(sad lol, I've been playing this album in the background and tbh it was all a bit much so I had to turn it off)
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 23 May 2019 19:03 (four years ago) link
It's a bit OTT to call this record "impeccably written"
Elaborate.
it was all a bit much so I had to turn it off
"a bit much" in what way?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 19:17 (four years ago) link
As I remembered the album there was I thought a bit more weirdness, but as I listened to it today however many years later it seemed pretty steeped in the usual "whoaoahoah" Coldplayisms. Given the relationship between Dravs and Eno I figured that was why he was involved, but I think they hooked up with Markus Dravs for a bit of that millennial whoop Arcade Fire stuff, like a lot of acts were doing at the time
As for how it's written, again, it was playing in the background, but a lot of the album sounded pretty (literally) sketchy to me, like a bunch of ideas and hooks and whatnot cobbled together - often in a cool way but not always as good start-to-finish songs so much as catchy mood pieces.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 23 May 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
But I won't die on that (violet) hill.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 23 May 2019 19:30 (four years ago) link
without relistening the only song I remember from this record is "Strawberry Swing" and it was nice so I voted for it.
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Thursday, 23 May 2019 19:35 (four years ago) link
It's really funny how a couple of people have mentioned 'Strawberry Swing' as a highlight, because I always remember that particular track generally being singled out at the time as being the one that wasn't as good as the others. I like it, of course.
The use of headphones is recommended to get the most out of this album.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 22:25 (four years ago) link
The only song I remember from this album is "Lovers in Japan." I prefer X&Y.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Thursday, 23 May 2019 22:34 (four years ago) link
Wait, neither of you remember 'Viva la Vida'!?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 22:36 (four years ago) link
that song is very much not “impeccably written”
― brimstead, Thursday, 23 May 2019 22:42 (four years ago) link
Of course it is. There's nothing about that song that I can find fault with, and nothing about it that's unnecessary/doesn't need to be there. It became a huge hit to the surprise of nobody.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 22:54 (four years ago) link
good times for ilm
― FernandoHierro, Thursday, 23 May 2019 23:02 (four years ago) link
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ca/e4/db/cae4db4539b244b479dd293e8316dc7c.gif
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 May 2019 23:06 (four years ago) link
Good times for ILM to come up with a dismissal of this record that isn't "lol Coldplay", that is... I'm still waiting!
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 23 May 2019 23:47 (four years ago) link
I liked Coldplay's first three albums quite a bit. I saw them at Madison Square Garden on the Rush of Blood tour and really enjoyed it. But I found this album overdone, like they were trying way too hard to come up with sounds that would make people say "Well, I didn't expect that from Coldplay." It's always a bad sign when a band starts dressing in faux-military or mock-marching band uniforms, too. So IMO it's been all downhill for them starting with this album. I'm basically in full "I can't believe I used to like these guys" mode with Coldplay at this point.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, 24 May 2019 00:15 (four years ago) link
I don’t have a problem with Coldplay, I just think vida la vida is an objectively bad song
― brimstead, Friday, 24 May 2019 00:21 (four years ago) link
I’m down with Delacroix though
the pet shop boys viva la vida cover vs their where the streets have no names cover
― ufo, Friday, 24 May 2019 00:24 (four years ago) link
maybe its the arrangement that’s bad? Idk not a pleasant experience
― brimstead, Friday, 24 May 2019 00:27 (four years ago) link
Then perhaps you'd like to elaborate on why you think it's an objectively bad song? If only because "it's not a pleasant experience" is about as subjective as it gets?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Friday, 24 May 2019 00:44 (four years ago) link
I liked Coldplay's first three albums quite a bit. I saw them at Madison Square Garden on the Rush of Blood tour and really enjoyed it. But I found this album overdone, like they were trying way too hard to come up with sounds that would make people say "Well, I didn't expect that from Coldplay."
I believe that trying to come up with something that sonically was a break from their previous three records was the point!
It's always a bad sign when a band starts dressing in faux-military or mock-marching band uniforms, too.
Why is this a "bad sign"? Because The Beatles did it?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Friday, 24 May 2019 00:47 (four years ago) link
Which is the one they stole from Joe Satriani?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 24 May 2019 00:52 (four years ago) link
I had actually forgotten that they did this, because I am at the point where I never think about the Beatles unless someone else brings them up. It's a bad sign because it signals that a concept album or some other type of Statement may be on the horizon (cf. My Chemical Romance). The only band that can really pull off faux-military uniforms is Laibach, for obvious reasons.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, 24 May 2019 00:58 (four years ago) link
id always thought the uniforms were directly inspired by arcade fire who they talked a lot about at the time and were clearly heavily influenced by, but the beatles were probably part of it too
― ufo, Friday, 24 May 2019 01:02 (four years ago) link
i actually got a free copy of this CD as it was left in a rental car. i only played it a couple of times because around this time i was over Coldplay. i will have to throw it on inbetween Beck songs and pick a song.
― Bee OK, Friday, 24 May 2019 01:14 (four years ago) link
I agree with everyone in this thread insofar as this is one of the best albums of the decade and I'm also too snobby to ever listen to it for pleasure purposes
It's strange though, these secret uncool albums that are made and are awesome but are just too uncool for your consumption, and yet through corporate means or otherwise they still find their way into your pharmacy shopping experiences, and you have this incredible moment of musical epiphany when you're purchasing deodorant, and Chris Martin is suddenly "singing about me, he's literally reading my mind, this is incredible,"
And I don't have much else too add except that I saw them on this tour and it was a truly life-defining moment because I was 5th row and I turned around like every song when things got very Coldplay-esque and watched an entire stadium of people less cool than me experience emotions that I'm too dead to ever experience myself
― flamboyant goon tie included, Friday, 24 May 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
― brimstead, Friday, 24 May 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
yeah I’m too cool for this album ok lol
― brimstead, Friday, 24 May 2019 02:35 (four years ago) link
about viva la vida the title track 1) the strings kind of smother everything 2) his delivery, he sounds moon eyed and dumb and like he’s slowly approaching me with a syringe, it just doesn’t work with the lyrics well 3) It’s just not a great tune. Melodically, harmonically, rhythmically, whatever
― brimstead, Friday, 24 May 2019 02:50 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Tuesday, 28 May 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
Just ftr there is absolutely no reason to ever do this, unless you're just actively trying to waste your label's money. Especially not if you're gonna get the results these dorks got.― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, May 24, 2019 1:03 PM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Friday, May 24, 2019 1:03 PM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
There's, of course, a very good reason to do this. If things are recorded separately, it gives whoever it mixing the record more flexibility and control at the mixing stage without having to worry about bleed. The downside of this, of course, is that it can also feel a little sterile, but in this case I think the band were just trying a different approach and seeing what happened. I think the end result sounds great, of course.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Tuesday, 28 May 2019 00:33 (four years ago) link
Uh, hey. I have done exactly that on hundreds of records. There are ways to make overdubbed single violins sound wonderful. It isn't easy and there are lots of methods and tricks, but Davide's method sounds really good to me.
It is really expensive to hire orchestras on albums, and especially expensive for major label artists such as Coldplay; major labels oftentimes have mores stringent requirements with regards to adhering to union regulations with your choice of orchestra.
― flamboyant goon tie included, Tuesday, 28 May 2019 02:45 (four years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Wednesday, 29 May 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link
I went with 'Chinese Sleep Chant' in the end, but 'Cemeteries of London', 'Lost!' and '42' all deserved a vote.
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Wednesday, 29 May 2019 00:04 (four years ago) link
the new songs are a return to VLV's art-rock lite so they've vaguely got my interest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goyq7GDYEkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJNG3WmsOs4
― ufo, Sunday, 27 October 2019 08:50 (four years ago) link
"arabesque" rules
― american bradass (BradNelson), Monday, 28 October 2019 02:00 (four years ago) link
Yeah, "Arabesque" makes me think they've been listening to 70s Afro-rock.
― shared unit of analysis (unperson), Monday, 28 October 2019 02:02 (four years ago) link
...Drew Goddard (the director) has a writing credit on that?
― Simon H., Monday, 28 October 2019 05:42 (four years ago) link
they've absolutely been listening to 70s afro-rock - the "music is a weapon" bit is a fela kuti sample and one of his sons and one of his grandsons play on it. palestinian oud trio le trio joubran also play on it
― ufo, Monday, 28 October 2019 10:51 (four years ago) link
"orphans" feels especially indebted to the unforgettable fire & the joshua tree, even for them, but that's not a bad thing
― ufo, Monday, 28 October 2019 11:18 (four years ago) link
"Arabesque" was a nice surprise, but that "Orphans" song sounds pretty generic to me, not unlike that loosely Afro-poppy "Adventure of a Lifetime" song of theirs or one of those recent Beck songs."Colors?"
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 28 October 2019 11:48 (four years ago) link
i think this new album might be their best, pleasantly surprised
― ufo, Thursday, 21 November 2019 21:00 (four years ago) link
"trouble in town" is really cool
― ufo, Friday, 22 November 2019 06:21 (four years ago) link
livestream of their performance in jordan right now on youtube
― DT, Friday, 22 November 2019 06:36 (four years ago) link
"Church" is very much the same widescreen late 90s downtempo-influenced-by-"world music" feeling as Ray of Light and i love it
― ufo, Saturday, 23 November 2019 02:24 (four years ago) link
this album is excellent
― american bradass (BradNelson), Monday, 25 November 2019 16:50 (four years ago) link
unfortunately Chris "Lib Dem" Martin is now cancelled
― FBPRieu (Noodle Vague), Monday, 25 November 2019 16:51 (four years ago) link
the first side is really wonderful the whole way through, even the lyrics of "daddy" can't make me dislike it. it's a shame nothing else is quite as adventurous as "arabesque" for them but as i said before "church" and "trouble in town" are highlights too
the second side is much more inconsistent though, "cry cry cry" is horribly cloying and a terrible use of that sample, it's the only track i skip. "bani adam" is an interlude in form but longer than a lot of the proper songs and both parts of it are fairly insubstantial. "eko" and "old friends" are gorgeous folk ballads at least, some of their very prettiest. "orphans" is one of the few concessions to radio and arenas but evokes the wide open desert feeling of joshua tree-era u2 in a really nice way, especially the verse. the chorus is a little clunky but as far as big coldplay arena anthems go i really like it. the other one on this album, "champion of the world" is plodding and forgettable though
― ufo, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 11:43 (four years ago) link
i think they get away with the earnest prettiness of tracks like "daddy" here because they don't aim for any sort of big arena-rock emotional catharsis climax in the way they usually would. they're happy just to let the songs be extremely pretty and float along (and really they're recorded so gorgeously here!)
― ufo, Tuesday, 26 November 2019 11:47 (four years ago) link
Best Coldplay album in 11 years. Looks like EDM and loudness war is finally toned down a good bit.
― The GeirBot (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 27 November 2019 12:32 (four years ago) link
Heard "Champion of the World" today and liked it!
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 16 January 2020 01:55 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUV5-frRU4
they've gone prog?
paris from king has a writing credit on it
― ufo, Friday, 23 July 2021 01:35 (two years ago) link
haha they have bts on their single out this week that's a very goofy move
― ufo, Tuesday, 21 September 2021 09:43 (two years ago) link
They played City Winery in NYC last night, which holds about 500 people max.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 21 September 2021 14:29 (two years ago) link
That must be a thing as bands ease back into live performance. Metallica played here last night at a venue that holds a thousand max.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 21 September 2021 14:49 (two years ago) link