New topic cos it ain't just about 4th album :)

 

http://www.suntimes.com/output/derogatis/cst-ftr-coldplay10.html

 

Coldplay leader isn't sure anybody likes band's CDs

August 10, 2005

 

BY JIM DEROGATIS Pop Music Critic

 

Few albums in recent memory have raised the sort of expectations that greeted the third release by the inventive Britpop quartet Coldplay.

 

Radio expected a string of gorgeous hits akin to those the band has delivered in the past ("Yellow," "Clocks," "Politik," "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" and "In My Place"). Capitol Records banked on a multiplatinum smash that would save its fiscal butt. And critics were eager to crown the next great stadium rockers to rival U2.

 

With so much at stake, it isn't surprising that "X & Y" prompted a backlash that began soon after the album was released in early June. The most notable naysayer: New York Times rock critic Jon Pareles, who used the album to brand Coldplay "the most insufferable band of the decade." (How quickly he forgot Creed!)

 

Pro or con, all of this noise threatened to drown out the beautiful and emotional sounds of the disc itself, which finds vocalist and bandleader Chris Martin enhancing his simple but indelible pop songs with elements of the swirling ambience of Brian Eno and David Bowie's fabled "Berlin trilogy," as well as borrowed rhythms and credited hooks from Krautrock bands such as Neu! and Kraftwerk.

 

All pop songs should be as imaginative as "Square One," "Speed of Sound" and "Hardest Part," and all stadium rockers should be as fiery as Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion were during a special small-club gig at Metro in May. Fans seem to be the only ones remembering that these are the things that really matter: After eight weeks on the Billboard albums chart, the group is still perched at No. 6 with sales of 2 million and climbing.

 

I spoke with Martin by phone from England last week as he prepared to return to the Chicago area for a what is expected to be a sold-out show Saturday at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre.

 

 

Q. The gig Coldplay did at Metro in May was a great opportunity to see the band in an intimate setting. I was sitting at the table next to your wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. Was it as special for you as musicians to play in a room where you could see every single face?

 

A. Yes, it really was. It's a very nerve-wracking time before a record comes out, and something like that gives you so much confidence at a time when everyone's really judging you. It's nice to be in a room full of your closest allies. I think we have no illusions: We know we have to become a new band for every album, so it seemed very natural to us to play these tiny places. New songs like to be played intensely before going to the stadiums or whatever.

 

 

Q. The trade publications wrote a lot about how much the industry had at stake on this album. Was that weighing on you?

 

A. No, it doesn't really mean anything to us. We never really thought about it. We don't even think of ourselves as part of any industry; we just think of ourselves as ourselves. None of us read share prices, and we don't associate anything we do with anything those people are writing about! The only way to make records is to just detach from any outside considerations and think, "Are we doing something we're proud of?" You don't think about how much money it's going to make.

 

 

Q. I admire the experimentation on this album -- the influence of Eno and Krautrock, and the way you seem to be making conventional pop music from unconventional sounds.

 

A. I don't really think of it as experimental at all; see, I thought we were making unconventional pop music out of very conventional sounds! [Laughs.] It's only our third record, and we said at the beginning that the priority was always going to be songs, and we had to do what was best for each song. But thank you very much, anyway.

 

 

Q. Eno is credited with playing synthesizer on a few tracks. What was it like working with him?

 

A. Well, working with Eno is really kind of an overstatement: He came in for one evening. The reason why it's good to have him on the record sleeve is that a lot of the music he wasn't there for was sort of inspired by the records he made 10 or 20 years ago. His presence adds a bit more to it, and also knowing about the way he works. This is all stuff I think we're about to embrace. We learned an awful lot making the last record, and hopefully we'll put it into practice if we ever go into the studio again. I want to get fast, dark and heavy, with no pianos. Not necessarily heavier in terms of Metallica, just a bit more powerful.

 

 

Q. How did the idea come about to perform "Bittersweet Symphony" with Richard Ashcroft of the Verve at Live 8?

 

A. I was thinking about how, say, 50 Cent has G-Unit, which, through his own success, brings other people into the spotlight. We like to remind people that there are great things that we wouldn't exist without, and I think Richard is so brilliant, and people kind of forget that. So I thought, "Well, if we're getting press now, how could Live 8 happen without him and the best song of the day?" I'm sure there's some TV show that does that, where some kids get to see their dreams come true.

 

 

Q. The admiration seems to be mutual: I spoke with Ralf Hutter when Kraftwerk came to Chicago a few months ago, and he seemed flattered to be given co-songwriting credit on your song "Talk," which is built on the melody of "Computer Love."

 

A. Oh, no way, really? See, on one level it's totally surreal, because we can call these people up now, and they actually talk to us -- it's like being the kid in the chocolate factory. We never, ever thought we'd be here, and now we're these people we used to pretend to be in front of the mirror. So we never lose that sense of being fans. When you do, you become a cynical old bastard, and you should just stop.

 

 

Q. What about being branded "the most insufferable band of the decade" by the New York Times?

 

A. I sort of think it's a great thing. Don't get me wrong, it was very strange, because we are very nervous being in America at the moment. We're not quite sure if anybody likes us. We did that one [club] tour, and it was cool, and then after that, we had those New York Times and Rolling Stone reviews that really went for us. [Free-lancing for Rolling Stone, the New York Times' No. 2 rock critic, Kelefa Sanneh, wrote that " 'X & Y' is the sound of a blown-up band trying not to deflate."]

 

Up to that point, everything had been pretty great, and then we had these two things, and at first I was like, "Right, now I'm going to work in a grocery store and never pick up the piano again!" Then I thought, "Well, maybe it's great to be in a position where it's worth writing the case against you, you know?" In some ways, it's very flattering. It's very healthy to have a backlash, because if you believe the hype, you really will become s---.

 

Q. How do you tune that sort of thing out?

 

A. I know where I came from, and I know I'm still the same person. We all feel incredibly grateful to be able to do what we're doing. It sounds very cheesy when you put it in print, but literally every day I wake up and cannot believe that I am allowed to do what I do. It's awesome. I spent a while working in factories and getting up at four in the morning. Now my biggest worry is telling off the spotlight guy because he didn't quite follow [guitarist] Jonny [buckland] fast enough. Again, I always feel like we won the golden ticket.

thanks for the article

 

it's cool that chris still feels grateful to be in a band :)

LifeLight, thanks very much for posting!

really nice interview :)

it's like being the kid in the chocolate factory.

 

I always feel like we won the golden ticket.

 

Chris had seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just before ?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

 

Thanks for posting the interview LifeLight ;)

thanks for posting the article a great read :D