I have often heard that White Shadows sounds very similar to a U2 song. Does anyone know which U2 song(s) that would be?

just the general guitar in the song sounds very "Edge-like", if that makes any sense. Not really any song in particular, though I do think a lot of it is because he's playing around the 8th-12th frets on the last 3 strings, which the Edge plays a lot of his famous riffs on:

 

Some examples:

Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Where The Streets Have No Name

With Or Without You

I Will Follow

I normally don't enjoy threads like this, comparing the bands, but the influence U2 has had on Coldplay is so blatantly obvious. Especially if you listen to the Boy album. That's where you can hear the most similarities, I believe.

 

The songs trevgreg listed above are definately examples of Edge's characteristic sound, the "silver" notes, as Bono's called them. He truly invented a completely different facet of guitar sound and technology, using the delay peddle (which you can hear all over Boy) and the crisp, clean, single note melodies instead of big beafy "Guitar God" sound. Big difference between Edge and Jimmy Page, definately.

 

If you put on In My Place I think you can hear the influence of Edge's technique all over the place. Not to say they copied, of course. Boy came out 25 years ago, it's a little late for full out plagerism. Actually, I think Coldplay puts much more use to the actual chord than U2 has, with the rhythm guitar in the background etc etc.

 

I always, personally, heard Coldplay in An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart. It's actually really interesting to play U2 and Coldplay back to back (which is basically all I do, since they're my 2 favorite bands). I don't really hear much U2 in White Shadows, except with a couple of the guitar licks, you can hear the "silver" notes, played on the high frets with some delay and distortion.

 

Sorry to ramble so much and get all geeky, I just thought I'd try to make an intelligent response to this since usually U2/Coldplay comparison threads get sort of stupid and pointless, and no one ever wants to listen to anything. It's so obvious Coldplay has taken elements of U2's sound and used it. But who wouldn't? And now bands are taking elements of Coldplay's sound and using that.

 

/done. :lol: :rolleyes: Sorry I talk so much.

an_cat, I think thats the single most intelligent thing I've heard anyone say about the whole thing yet... thanks. :cool:

Phew, well I'm glad I somehow got my point across in that long spiel! :lol: Sometimes I babble so much I wonder if I'm secretly Bono. :P

 

It annoys the shit out of me when people just respond to threads like this: "OMFGZ COLDPLAY IS DEFINATELY NOT U2 SO STFU PLZ GO AWAY THNX". :rolleyes:

 

And then you've got the U2 fans on the other side (and U2 fans are even more annoying when it comes to Coldplay comparisons, they're so snobby sometimes). "COLDPLAY SUCKS CHRIS MARTIN IS SO BORING I HATE THEM THEY COPIED U2 EVERYTHING THEY DO SUCKS BECAUSE THEY COPY U2" well if they're copying U2 then that means U2 must suck, and obviously you don't think that if you're trying to DEFEND U2.

 

Coexist, people. :lol:

 

And now that I've got that out of my system I can go back to watching the Talk video. Phew! ;)

wow an_cat. that was amazing. i wanna go buy every u2 album. i like a lot of their stuff, but you are so intellectual! wow. my mind is blown.

simply..great minds think alike...u2 and coldplay think alike! :D ;)

 

 

anyone understood that? :stunned:

I understood it! :lol: :lol: :kiss:

^whoo! relief!...i have sort of an alien humor that no one gets.... :stunned:

but its great, you got it! :D

I'm sure Coldplay gets your alien humor.

 

 

 

haha. Get it? I get it.

 

 

:uhoh:

^yup. lets talk, lets taa-aaalk!!

:lol:

wow... an_cat, you explained that better than I ever could've. No worries there! :)

 

I guess now that I think about it, there is a bit of that in In My Place too as well as the other song. Ah well...

 

EDIT: Oh, I forgot too... I think one of the guys did mention in some interview that White Shadows was influenced by U2. That and Tears For Fears' "Mad World" (which I have trouble believing from that one RS interview).

Keep in mind that, like an_cat, my two favorite bands are U2 and Coldplay.

 

A lot of U2 fans take to comparing White Shadows to Unforgettable Fire-era U2, where the band first started using synths under direction of synth-master Brian Eno. If you believe this theory, than any band who uses synths is ripping off Unforgettable Fire-era U2. After listening to UF in its entirety on the drive home from university today, I really think that this isn't true at all. Songs like 'Wire', 'Indian Summer Sky', 'A Sort Of Homecoming'? Those songs bear absolutely no resemblance to White Shadows, and neither do the rest of the albums' tracks.

Thank you an_cat for that wonderful explanation... I haven't heard too much of U2's music so it's nice when someone explains it :) But the U2 comparisons / influences are definitely obvious (right down to the way they perform), even to a newbie like me... I hear the Edge all over Square One, except Jonny has somehow managed to compress all the mega riffs into one song (with a big sound of course :D)... :o And Chris' voice may get to sounding like Bono in 15 years :lol:

Well it's good to see that many U2 fans are also Coldplay's...anyway just one thing to add...what do you think about the Fix You riff..isn't it like Edge is playing it...I mean anytime I listen to that song my mother says "This is Edge!" :lol:

U2 and coldplay are my two favorite bands aswell an_cat in fact i just saw U2 last saturday.....was very cool.

^Awesome!!! I'm seeing them one week from this Sunday! *dances around!!* I'm so excited!!!!!!!

 

 

I'm glad I could explain the Coldplay/U2 similarity for some people. Especially those who aren't familiar with U2. I don't like to think that a lot of Coldplay fans are getting turned off to U2 just because they're "similiar" or whatever. Or there's some rivalry?? :huh: It just upsets me! And vice versa. I couldn't imagine being a Coldplay fan without being a fan of U2. I think the problem is that a lot of old U2 fans heard Coldplay when they came out and thought it was like a sequel to I Will Follow or something (I have no idea, but I'm sure that happened). I sort of did it backwards. I heard I Will Follow and thought U2 was ripping off Coldplay... 25 years ago!!! :lol: :lol:

 

I don't see any similarity between Unforgettable Fire and ANYTHING Coldplay's done so far. I can't even see where that's coming from. :huh: Chris and Bono have definate differences between their vocal styles as well. Bono puts much more use to his lower register and everything in between, and very sparingly uses his falsetto, making it that much more poignant. Chris, however, tends to lean on his falsetto and higher register for songs such as Fix You, etc etc, especially when the subject matter is one of loss or sorrow. That's HIS style though, and it works for me! As does Bono's. And if Chris' voice can sound half as good as Bono's does now in 15 years, than I'll be a happy camper ;) :lol:

 

I really don't know if I'm making sense right now... :/ I just realised that I really like to compare Coldplay and U2, it's fun. LOL!!! Listening to the Unforgettable Fire right now (more specifically, 'A Sort of Homecoming') it definately cements in me how different Chris and Bono's approaches are. Bono's voice is so... HIS. As is Chris Martin's. Anyone who says that they sound the same is a fool. (I hope I'm not calling anyone on here a fool, because I definately don't think anyone is!!! :lol: :P ). U2 fans are much crueler towards Coldplay than Coldplay fans are towards U2, believe it or not. They're so damn hostile!!! I could never say anything like this, I feel, on a U2 forum because I'm sure it'd just be swept under the carpet and labeled "Blasphemy" :lol:

 

One thing I do believe, and it's what seperates Chris from Bono for me, is that I don't think Chris could ever hit the notes that Bono does on Pride. I'd love to hear him try, though, and maybe prove me wrong. I just don't know if he has that range, or that power. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing! And I'm not saying Bono kicks his ass or anything, it's just a thought that randomly popped into my head just now.

 

Honestly, I sometimes wonder if I'm Bono, I talk so much!!!! :P I'm sure I lost you all with this babbling. I'd just like to see some Coldplay fans come to appreciate U2 a bit more, as well as the other way around! I hope that by making intelligent comparisons between them I can sort of inspire some people to listen to just ONE MORE U2 song... And I'll hold to it, if you want to hear the closest Coldplay would get to a U2 album, listen to 'Boy'.

OMFGZ COLDPLAY IS DEFINATELY NOT U2 SO STFU PLZ GO AWAY THNX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

lmfao Kelli. Yoo iz sucha n003. :kiss:

:blush: :kiss:

I don't like to think that a lot of Coldplay fans are getting turned off to U2 just because they're "similiar" or whatever. Or there's some rivalry?? :huh: It just upsets me! And vice versa. I couldn't imagine being a Coldplay fan without being a fan of U2. I think the problem is that a lot of old U2 fans heard Coldplay when they came out and thought it was like a sequel to I Will Follow or something (I have no idea' date=' but I'm sure that happened). I sort of did it backwards. I heard I Will Follow and thought U2 was ripping off Coldplay... 25 years ago!!! :lol: :lol: [/quote']

 

I started off as a Coldplay fan... They're my introduction to all the good music out there :D From Coldplay, I grew & started exploring and listening to other stuff being compared to them e.g. Radiohead, U2, Jeff Buckley etc. The thing that has really struck me since is how 'unoriginal' Coldplay are... In the sense that when I first heard them I thought Parachutes was the best and most original thing I had ever heard :lol: - nothing else compared. But in the time it took Coldplay to get from AROBTTH to X&Y, I got to hear so many 'new' sounds from other bands that I'd start hearing everybody else in Coldplay's music. For awhile, it had a disillusioning effect coz CP's 'originality' had been pulled from right under their feet. But since then, I've come to appreciate Coldplay for refining all those 'borrowed sounds' and taking them to a new level/ using them differently.

 

Watching U2 on Live8, I realised how much CP have grown into the U2 mould... There are many superficial similarities. Based on this, I think U2 fans do have a right to lambast Coldplay although they would realise there is more to it than imitation if they bothered to pay more attention. I'm lucky that I heard Coldplay first before latching on to U2... I think I might be one of those calling them copycats if I'd heard U2 first :P

 

When I said Chris might sound like Bono in 15 years I didn't mean that their vocal styles are similar, just that their voice quality is remarkeably alike. How they use them to sing is a different matter altogether. And since you pointed out how differently they sing, it might be that Chris is consciously trying to avoid sounding too much like Bono to save himself the comparisons (I have often wondered why Chris doesn't sing the lower registers more, I much prefer it to his falsettos... You just might have found me my answers :)). As I said earlier, I don't know too much about Bono, but Chris does have this amazing range in his voice and singing talent... he sings in styles that are more diverse than a lot of people I've heard and really can bring out emotions in the listener.

 

I really do look forward to hearing more U2. I'm sure I'll spend many moments chuckling to myself thinking "there goes another U2 rip-off..." as I explore more of their sound :lol:. Too bad old albums are not easily available here :(

I normally don't enjoy threads like this, comparing the bands, but the influence U2 has had on Coldplay is so blatantly obvious. Especially if you listen to the Boy album. That's where you can hear the most similarities, I believe.

 

The songs trevgreg listed above are definately examples of Edge's characteristic sound, the "silver" notes, as Bono's called them. He truly invented a completely different facet of guitar sound and technology, using the delay peddle (which you can hear all over Boy) and the crisp, clean, single note melodies instead of big beafy "Guitar God" sound. Big difference between Edge and Jimmy Page, definately.

 

If you put on In My Place I think you can hear the influence of Edge's technique all over the place. Not to say they copied, of course. Boy came out 25 years ago, it's a little late for full out plagerism. Actually, I think Coldplay puts much more use to the actual chord than U2 has, with the rhythm guitar in the background etc etc.

 

I always, personally, heard Coldplay in An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart. It's actually really interesting to play U2 and Coldplay back to back (which is basically all I do, since they're my 2 favorite bands). I don't really hear much U2 in White Shadows, except with a couple of the guitar licks, you can hear the "silver" notes, played on the high frets with some delay and distortion.

 

Sorry to ramble so much and get all geeky, I just thought I'd try to make an intelligent response to this since usually U2/Coldplay comparison threads get sort of stupid and pointless, and no one ever wants to listen to anything. It's so obvious Coldplay has taken elements of U2's sound and used it. But who wouldn't? And now bands are taking elements of Coldplay's sound and using that.

 

/done. :lol: :rolleyes: Sorry I talk so much.

 

lol you so stole what i was going to say on this topic. great explaination.

gentleparachute, the same with me. I became a Coldplay fan around the time Trouble was released. It wasn't until ROBTTH that I REALLY liked them though, and became obsessed, etc etc. I read a lot of Coldplay fans bashing U2 in the first year or so of liking them, so I didn't even bother to listen to any of their music. I can't believe what I was missing. I admit, I did subscribe for a VERY short time the "U2 Hate Club", based on absolutely nothing. That's why when Coldplay fans diss U2, and when U2 fans diss Coldplay, it's almost personal for me. :lol: I can't believe what I was missing all that time. :stunned:

 

They definately do take from U2 the little things that are fairly obvious. Like the involvement in a cause and trying to get their fans active in that. Of course, it's stupid for me to just assume that Chris saw Bono getting involved in things in the 80s and said "Ok, I'm going to have to do that too". He does MTF out of the goodness of his heart and IF U2 was an inspiration for that, then good. If more bands got behind important things and fought for them, then that wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

And I've got to say, Coldplay at the EMAs was pretty crazy. :lol: There was a whole thread on a U2 forum I'm a member of going on about how now Chris is stealing Bono's moves. Yeah, but Bono doesn't crawl around the catwalk as a bear or cat or whatever. He does as a bull.... and ok maybe sometimes a little catlike during An Cat Dubh... Oh great this doesn't help my point that Coldplay doesn't copy U2 :lol: :lol:

 

I didn't think that you were saying their vocal styles are the same at all, it's alright. I was just making another comparison between the bands that I figured hadn't been really thought of before. I think Chris should use more of his lower register too! I mean of course his falsetto is great, and the fact that he has that range seperates (for me) Coldplay from a lot of other bands. I just wish he'd put more use to the range in his songs and not just say "For this verse or song it's mostly lower and for this one it's going to be all falsetto".

 

To just make one last point about the original subject of this thread, I really don't think any Coldplay song sounds like any ONE U2 song. It's more of an artistic styling that they're borrowing from and putting use to. However, melodically and, indeed, thematically no Coldplay song is like any U2 one. I mean, Coldplay will never write a song like '40', for instance. I can hear the influence of a lot of other bands, as well as U2, and all of these sounds put together make up Coldplay. And that mut is what I love. :lol: :P

I started out as a U2 Fan more than 10 years ago and I only listen Coldplay since ... 4 years or so, I can definatly say that their music are similiar but one thing is for certain: they're (coldplay) not influenced by U2.

 

Certainly not. I don't know but White Shadows could be most compared with Pride or Stuck in A Moment...

 

there are similarities but their lyrics and idea's plus melody's are completely different. And I hope I heard that correctly while putting on U2 and Coldplay about 2450 Times per week (each).

...And I hope I heard that correctly while putting on U2 and Coldplay about 2450 Times per week (each).

 

:o Is that possible? How many hours a day do u listen to music??? I'm knocked-out by the thought that I might actually be clocking similar play counts for Coldplay coz they're on almost all the time.

 

-------

an_cat OMG, your Coldplay history is sooo like mine! I also became a fan after Trouble... the experience was life-changing to say the least :D. I'd heard them around Yellow when the single was released. Radio DJs were getting all hot n bothered about "this new band called Coldplay..." I'd heard Yellow on the radio, and wasn't in the least bit impressed although they sounded alright. The music just didn't click. Then Trouble came along and the video (UK version) just blew me away...

 

I never would have latched on to U2 (and so many other bands) if I didn't have Coldplay first. Parachutes was perfect for me, and as I grew into AROBTTH and X&Y, my musical tastes expanded along as well. I'll always have them to thank for that. As for similarities in activism, I think any good band with a conscience / who feel passionately for things happening in the world would do what Bono & Coldplay have done... so many causes out there need addressing, and I would expect bands who've a heart to be supporting some of them.

 

I guess the way Chris & Bono are similar during concerts is their energy & the way they channel/express it... They both bound around the stage a lot and sing their hearts out :P And I so agree with you that Chris should vary his voice more within songs... For me, one of the best tracks I've heard is "Where Is My Boy". It more or less covers everything of his voice, and all the emotion there is just wow. And I can't wait for the day they decide to go mad and Chris has a go at singing like MJ / Justin Timberlake using his falsetto :lol: (he's already used it in his Ash and The Streets collaborations, but too bad there are no original CP productions out as yet :P)

 

And to return to something that has anything remotely resembling the original point of this thread, I guess the most we could say is that Coldplay are inspired by U2. Most times, the songs trigger off "this part so might have been written by such-and-such..." reactions. Or ocassionally I hear little quotes that've been done before in various odds and ends. I find it endearing that Coldplay gives tributes to the great bands of yesteryear by make a study out of their styles and at the same time, adds on to music by exploring new ways of expressing those styles :)