12 Coldplay months of 2010: SEPTEMBER (4 heading for Las Vegas?)

busybeeburns · January 2, 2011

Drum had to pull out so here's my September review :)

Chris Martin performs live at Apple Keynote convention (1st September 2010)

After rolling out a new lineup of iPod models, Chris Martin took the stage to perform Wedding Bells on piano, as well as Viva La Vida and Yellow, at the end of a press conference for the company's new products at the Yerba Buena Centre in San Francisco which was also screened live on TV screens at The Brewery in east London. Introducing Wedding Bells, Chris who was wearing a white Flaming Lips t-shirt, joked: "This is a new song called 'Coldplay 2.6' and it has a lot of new features, it features seven different kinds of chords and even a new one that our closest rivals have no idea about," before adding: "This could be the only time you ever hear it. It could go terribly wrong but we'll see what happens."

DOWNLOAD IT! http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72254

Photos of Chris Martin performing at Apple Keynote event (1st September 2010):

Meanwhile, MTV got the wrong end of the stick by suggesting that Coldplay's new song was a subconscious way of telling the media of the current state of Chris Martin's marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow. In their online article, they suggested that it points to an "imminent split" and that Chris is "goofing on the press". Wedding Bells was first heard live on the South Bank Show last September and the couple are still together. One could argue that the article is just another cheap shot at an easy target. Read on for their missive. Meanwhile back on planet Earth you can discuss here what you think Wedding Bells is really about and how it fits into the Coldplay and LP5 story.

It's the bane of any celebrity couple's public existence: The near-constant barrage of tabloid stories proclaiming that one or both of the famous duo are cheating, about to file for divorce, have a wandering eye, are pregnant or refuse to have children. In the case of Coldplay singer Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who have two children together and have been married for seven years, allegations of marital strife have dogged them for years. And while neither have deemed it necessary to respond to the persistent drumbeat of break-up rumors, their silence and the rarity of paparazzi spotting them together has helped stoke the tabloid press speculation... On Wednesday (September 1), Martin may have inadvertently (or perhaps not) done more than anyone to throw fuel on the fire by performing a new, unreleased Coldplay song called "Wedding Bells" at an Apple computers event announcing new iPods and a social networking site called Ping. Martin suggested he was playing the somber lament-for-love-lost tune for the first, and possibly last, time ever. One listen to the lyrics and anyone inclined to believe the rumors might take them as proof positive of an imminent split, or, perhaps as a wry comment on their absurdity. Or both. Or neither. The urgent piano ballad opens with the ominous lines, "Those wedding bells are ringing up upon that hill/ And I don't want to swallow such a bitter pill/ You keep on moving, but I stay still/ But I always loved you and I always will," before diving into even deeper territory. "Days of no sleeping caked in mud/ All kinds of poison in my blood/ I lost the only thing I ever loved/ oh oh oh oh/ I heard them ringing procession by/ Umbrellas in their clear blue sky/ And saw you swimming in that sea of white/ Oh oh oh oh/ If everything that went before didn’t matter … I always loved you and I always will."

Chris Martin joins Jay-Z on stage at Yankee Stadium, NYC for hip-hop concert (13th September 2010)

Chris Martin was a surprise performer in New York last night (13th September) as he joined hip-hop's two biggest stars - Jay-Z and Eminem - as they headlined Yankee Stadium in the borough, in a grand show of how hip-hop has grown from Bronx party music to stadium-filler.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOFh5AJ9-68]YouTube - jay-z x chris martin perform "most kingz" & "viva la vida" @ yankee stadium nyc 9/13/2010 freestyle[/ame]

Phil Harvey tweeted about the show, annotating the picture he sent with "Last night at Yankee Stadium. Jay-Z, undisputed King of New York. Chris went onstage for Heart of the City, Most Kings and Viva. pH

Photos of Chris Martin on stage at Yankees Stadium, NYC with Jay-Z (13th September 2010):

Coldplay Roadie #42 - Blog #122 (the band and R#42 are all back!)

Oh yes, I should have mentioned that we were going away for our summer holidays.... But today, like legions of kids across the land being dragged away from their Xboxes (or their surfboards...) we're back to school. Interestingly and somewhat predictably, we've spent the last ten days prepping the studio ready for what we thought would be our first lesson - only to have the timetable turned firmly on its head within the first hour of the band being in the building.

The natural response is to curse, tut and whine about moving goalposts, but we've long since learned that this is simply the way the creative process works. The band are attempting, after all, to create something from nothing. So planning the route is as much guesswork as anything else. As things begin to develop, the best way forward becomes clearer.

This, of course, is easy to type several days after the fact, made all the more easy by a good healthy dose of tutting and cursing which helped to smooth the transition.

After much discussion and frantic re-arrangement of the studio, the afternoon begins with the band in a circle and playing together. The results are pretty special.

I remember a long time ago discussing with a mate how driving a car very fast wasn't really that impressive. He said, "It's not like The Flintstones, where you've got your feet through the floor powering it yourself". In a way, making "huge sounding" music can be the same. It can be a triumph of machinery, when all the driver is doing is pressing his foot on a pedal.

Here and now, "big sounding" is some distance away, as the band are pretty much as close to silence as it's possible to get whilst still playing music. As a result, it's less like watching a racing driver and more like witnessing a high wire act. All poise, balance and the ever-present possibility that it could all go south at any moment.

Everyone in the room is still. I click the mouse button on my laptop and receive a disapproving raising of eyebrows from co-producer Rik Simpson. It becomes one of those moments where you're a little afraid to exhale in case it bursts the bubble or breaks the spell.

Our first week back continues in exactly this vein. "The plan" becomes a pinball, bouncing off different points of enthusiasm at alarmingly regular intervals. In all honesty, it would be pointless me trying to explain where we're going right now. By the time we're halfway there, we'll be going somewhere else.

Hell of a ride though....

Roadie #42

Guy Berryman finishes co-producing The Pierces' album

Guy Berryman finished co-producing The Pierces' new album with Rick Simpson. The Pierces are two sisters from Alabama, and the new album will be their fourth. Talking on their MySpace, the Pierce's wrote: So one day they said, "We're done, this isn't working..." and decided to split up. "When you pour your heart into a record and see its potential, and you also see that it isn't going to reach that potential, it drags you down," says Catherine. "It's heartbreaking..." "I felt angry and frustrated," Allison says. "We were trapped in this deal that was going nowhere."

But they were saved from that fate. The day after deciding to split - the very next day - the sisters received a call that changed absolutely everything. "It was Guy Berryman," Catherine says. "He asked if we wanted to join Coldplay on tour in South America..."

Will Champion featured in new video for Sudan365: 'Beat For Peace'

Will Champion helped launch a new video to aid a global bid for peace in Sudan, in which other drummers from Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Stornoway, Snow Patrol and The Police also feature. The 'Beat For Peace' music clip is part of the Sudan365 campaign that aims to target a meeting of world leaders at the United Nations in New York on September 24. Campaigners are calling on world leaders to prevent a return to war in Sudan ahead of a landmark referendum in January 2011.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJMzB48r8rI]YouTube - Sudan 365 - A Beat For Peace[/ame]

Coldplaying finds out that Coldplay planning New Year's Eve concert in Las Vegas with Jay-Z (20th September 2010)

Coldplaying found out that Coldplay and Jay-Z had reportedly agreed a multi-million dollar deal to play a concert together on New Year's Eve, at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort to see in 2011.

The event was being organised by celebrity party planner Colin Cowie and would be invite only with no tickets being put on general sale to the public. Guests would be treated to separate sets from Coldplay and Jay-Z before the two acts take to the stage together. Beyonce Knowles was also said to be planning to perform in Las Vegas on the same night so she could be with her husband to celebrate the landmark date.

Coldplay Roadie #42 - Blog #123 (all smiles, scans and backups...)

I guess it's inevitable that after a couple months away from the recording process, the first couple of weeks back would feel a little like being thrown into a wind tunnel. When the fellas get the bit between their teeth, things start to move very quickly. And then they accelerate. As detailed previously, "the plan" has again been shaken up like a fizzy drink can. Once they decide to bend back the ring pull, you'd better be on your toes...

The immediate plan has shifted to one very specific thing, to the exclusion of all else. Brian has often claimed that limitations are very useful in the creative process and in this case it's like a huge shot in the arm. The past week has been like watching one of those time lapse movies of a tree growing. Rather than a tree of course, we have a song. One song in particular.

The extreme focus and the speed with which things start to come together results in an unmistakable giddiness within the studio. Despite there being nothing stronger than a decent espresso in evidence here, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there was something chemical at work.

The excitement elevates the mood to the point where everyone is completely on form. Jokes crackle back and forth between takes - and the takes themselves are quite clearly keepers...

Davide Rossi joins us for a while. He's the immensely talented young man who put down all of the strings on Viva. He brings with him equal parts breathtaking virtuosity and supreme stand-up comedy. Pretty soon, he and Andy Rugg are in the Bakery laying down his army-of-one string section.

Upstairs, Jon Hopkins is sitting with Dan Green weaving laptop magic that will swell and glow throughout the track. From the bottom of the stairs, you can make out an acoustic guitar and Chris singing at the top of his lungs from through Phil's office door.

The ring pull has clearly been lifted - and the tune is exploding all over the place. What a lovely mess to witness. Moments like this come out of nowhere and a huge amount of progress is made very quickly. Sustaining this rate inevitably becomes the goal, which means the poor old Pro-Tools trackball is slowly melting under co-producer Rik Simpson's fingers.

I've escaped upstairs to my office. I've been given a backup task. Every hard disk involved in the recording process is backed up religiously on a daily basis. There's other media involved though. Chris has gone back to pen and paper recently and has been stuffing a notebook with lyrics, doodles and random thoughts.

Obviously, losing this would be disastrous, so I've been scanning every page, every scrap and every sellotaped addition. "The next record" exists in several forms within the Beehive walls. This, in many ways, is as pure a representation of what's coming than the stack of firewire drives sat on the Pro Tools rig.

So, ladies and gents, I give you the next Coldplay record:

R#42

Cher Lloyd butchers Viva la Vida on X-Factor

if you're a fan of X-Factor you will probably know by now that Cher Lloyd butchered Coldplay's Viva la Vida live on television. If you can bear the show and have the guts to click on the video, check it out below. Health warning not included! What did you think of it? Let us know!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9eJp2hEeBQ]YouTube - Cher Lloyd at Bootcamp sings "Viva La Vida" (Own Rendition) by Coldplay X Factor 2010 HQ/HD[/ame]

Fans meet Coldplay in North London // LP5 "delayed"

In September we reported that Coldplayers SueDeNimes and Imke met Coldplay. It was Coldplayer Coldplay747 who was probably there at that moment, saying, "The boys are all definately back and around the Beehive. Drove by Fleet Road earlier and saw Chris having pics taken with a couple of fans. Also Guy and Will outside the Bakery earlier this afternoon."

Coldplay with fans in North London (8th September 2010): [thanks SueDeNimes & Imke]

Meanwhile, news on Coldplay's LP5 delay hit the internet media. Many sources are citing Coldplaying and Craigie-J following news that Chris Martin was quoted as saying that the band is "close to finishing lots of songs," but "has not actually finished anything at all." Former manager Phil Harvey also confirmed the delay, and said that the gap between the release of a new album and a subsequent tour would be 'slightly longer' this time around.

Consequence of Sound had their own take on the story, saying that "The news is somewhat surprising considering that the band had debuted new songs as early as March. And while bassist Guy Berryman does have a new side project, Spinner.com also reported that Coldplay had so many ideas for the follow up to Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends that they had to literally put a load of them on a shelf that Martin couldn’t reach. Maybe the band just has problems finishing the job. Either way, it looks like you’re going to have to settle for the unfinished version of “Wedding Bells” to hold you over for now. C'est la vie."

Even CMU Music News joked: "Chris Martin has said there won't be a new Coldplay album this year, so there's some good news for your Monday lunchtime. Well, unless you're Gary 'The Guy' Hands', Roger Faxmachine or any one else with a tangible interest in the future of EMI - they could really do with their most bankable indie outfit being back on the release schedule."

SueDeNimes · January 2, 2011

Thank you, Ian!

September was a great month. :shy:

The Apple event was a big surprise and it was funny to find out that at least Phil and Chris went to New York after seeing Muse on the first of two nights when I came back from London!

They totally should have gone to the second night at Wembley. :P

nancyk58 · January 2, 2011

Thank you, IAN.

Great review of September. :thumbsup:

Raphaele · January 2, 2011

thank you Ian:)

nouratan · January 2, 2011

They totally should have gone to the second night at Wembley. :P

+1

BerrymanGirl1 · January 2, 2011

Great review Ian, thank you!

tcrush · February 28, 2011

September was a really awesome month.

As for 2011, I was really happy to come across this article

Coldplay join Beyoncé as Glastonbury 2011 headliners

Chris Martin's gang will top the bill at Glastonbury for the third time since 2002 – with rumours that U2 are to join them

Whole article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/15/coldplay-glastonbury-2011-headliners

I'm really hoping they do come back to Vegas, because I would love to see them this time. I know the Aria Hotel Shows are awesome, and it would be so cool if they collaborated with them or did something of that nature. (Love the hotel, so a bit biased haha). Either way I want to see them out in Vegas... it would be such an epic night. Side note, but I've also heard the Crazy Horse Show Las Vegas is pretty cool to see.. but like I said, side note.

Anyways, thanks for the great review of September, and I can't wait to see what they bring this year.

-Taylor

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12 Coldplay months of 2010: SEPTEMBER (4 heading for Las Vegas?)

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