i guess orderin' the albums is not a good move for us to comment on Coldplay..

 

Every album has a different side and i love every album.. Thank you so much Coldplay =)

what annoys me is that there alot of X & Y haters out there. Even coldplay have moaned about it. But how I see it, if they never made X & Y then they wouldn't be in the position they are today.

Both brilliant , only song i dont like that much is chinese sleep chant , its too much like U2 and i dont like the lyrics

 

Btw I've seen the bakery last week :) pretty cool - > check the foto

I just don't get it... keep reading so many posts from people saying that their new album is so much better than X&Y...

 

I think these people need to get their back catalogue out again and remind themselves of the tracks on the album.

 

White Shadows, Low, Swallowed in the Sea, Speed of Sound, Talk, Square One, What If... all amazing. Really all the tracks on the album are amazing!

 

From their new album (which I've cained to death by the way) I have only really found myself liking Yes! (Chinese Sleep Chant), 42, Reign of Love and Violet Hill. The others just don't really stand out in my head.

 

Whilst working today I started humming Strawberry Swing, but I don't find it amazing... maybe it's a grower. I've just found their new album slow and in many places, quite cheesy. DAAHF reminds me of Status Quo, the breakbeat on lost is awful and should be removed, LIJ is like some Irish folk jig and VLV reminds me of some dodgy Clannad / Enya track...

 

Anyone else agree??

While I agree with you that Swallowed in the Sea and Speed of Sound are amazing, the rest of those songs are just ok to me, while all of VLV is always stuck in my head.

Like this:

 

*ahem*

 

Viva La Vida is better than X&Y

Sorry X+Y while its still a good album is a step down from AROBTTH. Viva La Vida is them finally noticing their weaknesses and bypassing them.

 

First its formulaic in breaking no new ground in terms of song structure. You have so many songs (What If, Square One, Fix You, X+Y) that all start with synth intro with Chris talking/singing over. Most still end that way. Its boring, its fomulaic, and its the band stuck in a rut. Voiceovers SUCK.

 

Second lyrically its a far weaker album. All of the confessional music is lost to song about OTHERS. Songs about Chris are rather absent as almost every lyric is YOU. You and me. Him and us.

 

"You're in control is there anywhere you wanna go?

You're in control is there anything you wanna know? "

 

"Maybe you'll get what you wanted

maybe you'll stumbled upon it"

 

"When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse"

 

"You can take a picture of something you see

In the future where will I be?

You can climb a ladder up to the sun"

 

 

"You see the world in black and white

No color or light

You think you'll never get it right

But you're wrong, you might"

 

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me

And that's what made me see

Where I was going wrong"

 

the album is FULL of you and me songs. This generic focus and lack of personal touch just feels so unfocused. Even the band feels that the album winds on to long ("It should have been 11 songs but which songs should have been cut we disagree on"-Chris).

 

Part of the joy of VLV is the band discovering new instruments, more World rythms, and taking on more musical roles and sounds. I just got sick of Chris's falsetto being used as a crutch and being used over and over and over again.

 

Here's the Rolling Stone article which Chris simplifies it better than i can....

 

What was Brian Eno's assessment of the band?

He goes, "Your songs are too long. And you're too repetitive, and you use the same tricks too much, and big things aren't necessarily good things, and you use the same sounds too much, and your lyrics are not good enough." He broke it down.

 

How did you respond?

You deal with it. You can either sit 'round, look at your platinum discs and say, "Fuck you, you're all wrong," or you can go, "OK, he's probably got a point." Brian and Markus [Dravs, the co-producer] broke us down in a sort of military boot-camp way. Within 20 minutes, we'd forgotten about any previous record sales.

 

X&Y got some mixed reviews, but the harshest was from the New York Times, which called Coldplay the most insufferable band of the decade. How did you handle that?

 

It was a big deal. It's the first real attack on your band, and from a publication we all respect. I agreed with a lot of the points. It was like, "Yeah, I do sometimes go for the obvious, and I do sometimes fall back on old tricks." So, in a way, it was liberating to see that someone else realized that also. And there is something glamorous to me in taking a bit of a beating and keeping on going. When you do something that some people don't like quite so much, then you are free again. Your whole canvas is open. You don't have to fall back on piano, we don't have to fall back on falsetto, you don't have to fall back on every song being a yearning love song.

 

 

So simply X+Y = fomulaic, stale, and more of the same. VLV = liberated, refreshing, wiser.

what annoys me is that there alot of X & Y haters out there. Even coldplay have moaned about it. But how I see it, if they never made X & Y then they wouldn't be in the position they are today.

 

 

Every band has missteps. Some are just bad (Oasis' Be Here Now). Some are deemed weak by the fanbase but revered by those outside (Blur's Think Tank, U2's Pop, REM's Monster), and some are loved by the fanbase but hated by the public at large (Radiohead's Kid A).

 

VLV seems to meet both fans, public, and critics approval which X+Y just could not accomplish.

Sorry X+Y while its still a good album is a step down from AROBTTH. Viva La Vida is them finally noticing their weaknesses and bypassing them.

 

So simply X+Y = fomulaic, stale, and more of the same. VLV = liberated, refreshing, wiser.

 

I could not agree with you more.

 

And I think hiring Brian Eno was the best decision they've ever made - it seems like he gave them a good kick up the guts and took them back to what defined their first two albums - sheer beauty, without superfluous melodrama.

I just don't get it... keep reading so many posts from people saying that their new album is so much better than X&Y...

 

I think these people need to get their back catalogue out again and remind themselves of the tracks on the album.

 

White Shadows, Low, Swallowed in the Sea, Speed of Sound, Talk, Square One, What If... all amazing. Really all the tracks on the album are amazing!

 

From their new album (which I've cained to death by the way) I have only really found myself liking Yes! (Chinese Sleep Chant), 42, Reign of Love and Violet Hill. The others just don't really stand out in my head.

 

Whilst working today I started humming Strawberry Swing, but I don't find it amazing... maybe it's a grower. I've just found their new album slow and in many places, quite cheesy. DAAHF reminds me of Status Quo, the breakbeat on lost is awful and should be removed, LIJ is like some Irish folk jig and VLV reminds me of some dodgy Clannad / Enya track...

 

Anyone else agree??

 

I don't agree at all. I think VLVoDAAHF is up there with AROBTH, in my opinion X & Y was a huge step back after AROBTH. The new album is clearly much more inspired, and dynamic. Maybe you should give Viva a few more listens and you'll like it, as it's not very instant.

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me

And that's what made me see

Where I was going wrong"

 

This is why X&Y doesnt measure up to any of the other 3 coldplay albums.

seriously, how can those lyrics make sense to anyone?

On the other hand, VLV does have some cliche's to it, but at least almost all of them are somewhat coherent.

Swallowed in the Sea lyrically was such a misstep that it really threatens Chris's reputation as a talented song-writer. I recall seeing people quoting that song continually while they were laughing at coldplay and who frankly can blame them.

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me

And that's what made me see

Where I was going wrong"

 

This is very good symbolism of someone showing a person a wrong they've done, or showing them someone they've hurt, and that's what made them see where they were going wrong.

 

My favorite line from the song is "What good is it to live with nothing left to give"

This line is an incredibly powerful question that I can very easily relate to and it's comforting to know other people may feel this way.

 

I think Swallowed in the Sea is some of their best songwriting, you just have to be willing to look closely and really understand what they're trying to say.

One of the other mis-steps was in how the promoted the album. Having The Hardest Part (and it horrible video) be the last video and not releasing any rockers (Low or White Shadows) as singles was a terrible idea. Even as much as I like Fix You its just another copy of the standard ballad fomula and it again brings out the falsetto for yet another bow.

 

The acoustic jam part of the Twisted Logic tour really bugged me after awhile. How many times did we need to hear Til Kingdom Come and Ring of Fire (answer:every show)? I like Jonny Cash too but spending every show dedicating 2 songs to the man was a big low point. Same with the consistant setlist that barely changed, I know a lot of tapers that didn't bother purchasing tickets or taping during Twisted Logic due to the weak setlists and weak album.

I have to disagree with your comment here. SITS is nowhere near as off track or trite as Fix You. Also, what doesnt translate as well on an album can do wonders in a video or live... See, Fix You. Lyrics do not always have to be vague, artsy, barely recognizable or mysterious to get their point across. Sometimes when lyrics are more straight forward and accessable its for good reason.

 

I happened to think the lyrics. "If I could write a book, the one they'll say that shook the world, then took it back from me" are perfect for this simple love song yearning for it to return... We all get so caught up in our daily lives and jobs that we end up swallowed whole.

 

Just another 2cents from me about a song worth keeping on the often undervalued X&Y.:)

QUOTE: Chris's Nuts --- One of the other mis-steps was in how the promoted the album. Having The Hardest Part (and it horrible video) be the last video and not releasing any rockers (Low or White Shadows) as singles was a terrible idea. Even as much as I like Fix You its just another copy of the standard ballad fomula and it again brings out the falsetto for yet another bow.

 

 

Now see I agree with what youve said here about The Hardest Part... Aweful song choice for a single. Filler video beyond belief....

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me

And that's what made me see

Where I was going wrong"

 

This is very good symbolism of someone showing a person a wrong they've done, or showing them someone they've hurt, and that's what made them see where they were going wrong.

 

My favorite line from the song is "What good is it to live with nothing left to give"

This line is an incredibly powerful question that I can very easily relate to and it's comforting to know other people may feel this way.

 

I think Swallowed in the Sea is some of their best songwriting, you just have to be willing to look closely and really understand what they're trying to say.

 

*Gwyneth enters the house. Pulling through the doorway a small birch tree. Chris Martin busily writing lyrics looks startled.*

 

Gwyn: "Chris here's a tree I cut down for you" (looking angry)

 

Chris: "Wow, you killed a tree. I guess I can see where I was going wrong. "

 

 

Seriously....great songwriting....? :( It dosen't even make sense! What's symbolic about those lyrics.

*Gwyneth enters the house. Pulling through the doorway a small birch tree. Chris Martin busily writing lyrics looks startled.*

 

Gwyn: "Chris here's a tree I cut down for you" (looking angry)

 

Chris: "Wow, you killed a tree. I guess I can see where I was going wrong. "

 

 

Seriously....great songwriting....? :( It dosen't even make sense! What's symbolic about those lyrics.

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me" doesnt automatically mean literal cutting down of a tree. In GPASUYF did God literally come down and glue a smile to someone's face? No, its called symbolism, metaphors. This line could mean any number of things. The cutting down and bringing back of the treee could jsut mean the person showed him something he did wrong in the past that makes him realize he did something wrong.

 

Not all lyrics are going to make complete literal sense, and that's what beautiful about them, it's like poetry.

I will agree I like how SITS blooms around the midway part, especially the great bridge. Some of the lyrics aren't even as bad as some of the initial parts and are forgiveable. But its an unfinished song, a rough draft, where one of the four members should have spoke up and said "lets work on a few of those lyrics a little bit more". Coldplay don't generally put out substandard material (at least as album tracks). It just seems like a track that only 12 year old girls love and can appreciate. A nursery rhyme for kids. :P

*Gwyneth enters the house. Pulling through the doorway a small birch tree. Chris Martin busily writing lyrics looks startled.*

 

Gwyn: "Chris here's a tree I cut down for you" (looking angry)

 

Chris: "Wow, you killed a tree. I guess I can see where I was going wrong. "

 

 

Seriously....great songwriting....? :( It dosen't even make sense! What's symbolic about those lyrics.

 

 

 

:laugh3:When you take it out of the context of poetry or a song it IS funny... Some songs ask you to suspend reality and see the world in broader strokes....

I will agree I like how SITS blooms around the midway part, especially the great bridge. Some of the lyrics aren't even as bad as some of the initial parts and are forgiveable. But its an unfinished song, a rough draft, where one of the four members should have spoke up and said "lets work on a few of those lyrics a little bit more". Coldplay don't generally put out substandard material (at least as album tracks). It just seems like a track that only 12 year old girls love and can appreciate. A nursery rhyme for kids. :P

Sorry, but that's just wrong. They are wonderful lyrics and I feel bad for you if you can't see them for what they truly mean.

 

:laugh3:When you take it out of the context of poetry or a song it IS funny... Some songs ask you to suspend reality and see the world in broader strokes....

Thank you, that's exactly the point.

LOL or 37 year old guys wearing their heart on their sleeves... LOL (clears throat)...

 

You couldnt be more right about LOW or White Shadows having been released in place of The Hardest Part though. Even earlier, like the 2nd song.. Had White Shadows been dropped 2nd it would have given the whole album a different perspective and made Fix You look like a something out of left field....

"You cut me down a tree

And brought it back to me" doesnt automatically mean literal cutting down of a tree. In GPASUYF did God literally come down and glue a smile to someone's face? No, its called symbolism, metaphors. This line could mean any number of things. The cutting down and bringing back of the treee could jsut mean the person showed him something he did wrong in the past that makes him realize he did something wrong.

 

Not all lyrics are going to make complete literal sense, and that's what beautiful about them, it's like poetry.

 

I know its supposed to be symbolic but its so basic that its verging on parody and laughable. I know in "Amsterdam" Chris wasn't getting going to hang himself, but its a much deeper and developed song in comparison. If Chris really wanted his fanbase to stop taking crap for liking Coldplay then why on earth include it?

 

Face it, Swalled in the Sea is Coldplay's version of REM's Shiny Happy People Just a poorly written poppy song apon which we as fans and the band themselves will always be ridiculed for. :P

QUOTE: Chris's Nuts --- Face it, Swalled in the Sea is Coldplay's version of REM's Shiny Happy People Just a poorly written poppy song apon which we as fans and the band themselves will always be ridiculed for. :P

 

 

LOL! Shiney Happy People is HORRID! I cant believe you made that comparison COME ON! Out Of Times ONLY flaw, well maybe Radio Song too, is NOTHING like SITS... Im still just flabbergasted!!! LOL. SHP is a B-52's cast away that Michael Stipe picked up off the floor of some club in Athens and begged Kate Pearson to play with them... :laugh3:

PS I know SITS has many fans here but I also know how it gained so much ridicule from outside the fanbase and the critics. I don't even think its THAT bad a song but I'm upset they didn't spend that extra hour on the lyrics. There's better words that rhyme. :)

LOL! Shiney Happy People is HORRID! I cant believe you made that comparison COME ON! Out Of Times ONLY flaw, well maybe Radio Song too, is NOTHING like SITS...

 

Actually REM meant that song to be about the Chinese Gov't propaganda and how they portray their country and the stark reality behind it. Kinda adds depth dosen't it?

 

Well I could use

Radiohead's Pop is Dead

The Cure's Friday I'm in Love

 

 

 

as examples... (almost career killing :P )