You don't have to read this, just want to get this off my chest and perhaps some feedback.

 

I'm having a terrible love-hate relationship with Coldplay. I am concerned about that. I'm even thinking about it too much, now that school is out and I have too much time.

 

The Coldplay I love: When I listen to Parachutes or A Rush or watch Live 2003, I know I love Coldplay. They're just perfect there, great music, humble folks, serious guys with a good sense of humour, stripped down, still rocking, skillful, balanced, concentrated, intelligent, able to make you shiver in goosebumps. The way they did Politik for example has never been matched. I wish that I was born earlier, that I went to a Coldplay concert in 2002/3, only knowing about their two albums, and having the best evening of my life. I saw them this weekend, and I failed to get the feeling I got when I watched Live 2003 for the first time.

 

The Coldplay I don't like: After A Rush, the exaggerated cheesiness of Fix You: with the constant falsetto, plain cheesy lyrics, church organ that makes me feel a little unwell sometimes, it feels as if they lost their touch to write mellow ballads without too much cheese (like The Scientist) (still loved by many people though, no offense then). They evolved towards too big stadium rock and anthems like Viva La Vida. Stadium Rock that's all about "big" and less about "beautifully rocking". Next to that, the fuckloads of money they want to receive for playing a set doesn't quite match the Fair Trade they stand for (glad they give 10% to charity though). The special costumes they've been wearing during the Viva Tour and now this tour, the way they're being special with their painted instruments, exaggerated cryptic announcements like the one for ETIAW, ETIAW itself, in which I don't recognise the Coldplay I love at all, etc.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I still love a lot of their newer songs (Major Minus Live(!!!)) and Viva is a great album. But this commercial, stadium rock, cheesy, plain teengirl lyrics Coldplay is the Coldplay most people know. People hate Coldplay because of that. They don't like what they see/hear and they don't dig further into Coldplay. Therefore they never discover the Coldplay buried underneath, the Coldplay I love so much.

 

This all means that I'm terrified to declare myself as a Coldplay fan. Most people wouldn't understand what I mean when I say Coldplay. That way, I'm even a bit ashamed for being a Coldplay fan...

 

What should I do then? How do you think about what I've written here? Are there people with similar thoughts? Shouldn't I worry about it too much? Am I being a whiner (most definitely yes)?

hmmmm :thinking:

I kind of feel the same way as you.

When I watch 2003 Live, Chris doesn't interact with the crowd that much by saying things like, "Everybody okay?' and screaming before a chorus or something.

I don't really mind that now, but back then the concerts just seemed cooler, the atmospheres they produced were amazing. They seemed almost shy and concentrated 100% on the music they were performing.

 

Now I kind of feel like Chris is more concerned about interacting with the crowd, being a goofball and dancing than making the music sound good.

 

However, I do like it that Chris dances around and interacts with the audience and the music is still good but I prefer 2003. But they couldn't be like that forever and I'm glad they have become what they are now.

I love their new songs, even though their old songs may be better. But I would be sad if there wasn't THIS Coldplay in my life.

You think Fix You is cheesy? The falsetto gets a bit tiresome after a while, but I think it's a great emotional song with all the glamour and hype stripped away--it's pretty much a love song laid down in bare bones. ;)

 

ANYWAY. . .

 

I don't think their Live 2003 performance will ever be topped by any live band. Ever. So I agree with you there--ARoBttH era songs are absolutely epic songs. There are very few songs from X&Y and Viva that have that feel, but Coldplay play with the same energy and passion as ever, which I think is more important than the actual songs they are playing.

 

In the area that I live in, there are VERY few people that even remotely like Coldplay, so I know where your worries are coming from. Generally, admitting that I like Coldplay means that several classmates will loudly proclaim that Coldplay are a gay and horrible band. Are you afraid of admitting being a fan of the old Coldplay, or new Coldplay? I'm guessing the latter, by your post. I think the only thing you can do is tell people you are a Coldplay fan, and then when they scoff/laugh/tell you that they are a shallow/gay/boring band, you can clarify what about Coldplay it is that you enjoy.

 

Do they think Coldplay are shallow? Play them A Rush of Blood, Cemeteries of London or the almighty Clocks.

 

Do they think Coldplay are boring? Play them Politik or Violet Hill or for heaven's sake, get them to listen to Yes!

 

In short, people will think what they think; you may be able to convince them otherwise, or you may not. You shouldn't worry about it because it is out of your control. Coldplay will never stop writing beautiful songs, you just have to remember that whenever you feel that the guys have let you down with their new 'commercial, stadium rock, cheesy, plain teengirl lyrics'. Coldplay will meet bumps in the road, as will all bands, but in 50 years when Coldplay's era has long been at its end, I know you'll be able to look back proudly and say to people 'Yes, I am a Coldplay fan.'

 

And they will agree that Coldplay was an f-ing good band.

I will have to agree with you, I'm a much bigger fan of their earlier work and the way they dressed casually and seemed much more focused on the actual music.

That's not to say I don't like VLV or the new songs. It's just that now it seems that they're trying to create a sort of 'image' or 'look' if you know what I mean.

 

But no, I would never be ashamed of being a Coldplay fan, whatever people might say about them.

^^ All of what ColdplayingfromKansas said.

 

Plus:

 

I get you completely and I have felt the same in the past.

The thing is, we're probably always gonna get some shit for liking Coldplay. We just gotta keep fighting for them, or at least I feel that way. In a way they saved my life, so I certainly owe them that much.

The Beatles had a lot of haters and yet they're considered the best band ever. I'm not saying Coldplay will be considered the best band ever within twenty years, but I think they might just make the top 5. ;)

 

Also, they are still the same band and the same people. They haven't forgotten where they came from. It shows in their current setlist, out of 18 they only play 1 song from X&Y and about 4 from Parachutes, etc. I think that says a lot about the direction they're heading.

 

Maybe you should try and focus on just the good things, that has helped me a lot. Listen to the songs you love, don't listen to X&Y if you don't like it. Watch their passionate faces instead of their clothes.

 

And about the lyrics, the new songs (maybe apart from that one) have fantastic lyrics, don't you think? We've got enough reason to believe LP5 is going to be great.

 

The commercial stuff, the big machine that surrounds Coldplay, we've got to forget about that. It's just the way it is and it also gives them the opportunity to make great music. So let's focus on their great music, because that's the only thing that matters.

I get annoyed with them when they play live and Chris would rather spin around a few times than have decent breath support for his singing.

 

I mean, I appreciate he's trying to show that he has energy, but I go to see them live because I enjoy their music, not because they're professional dancers.

 

Also, I appreciate the effort to interact with the crowd with all the "hey how are you all? in the front? right? left? back? in an airplane above us? in the next country over?" but there are different ways of interacting with the audience. . . sorry for always bringing my posts back to Muse but I saw them live so I can kind of compare their "methods" with Coldplay's.

 

When Muse play live, all Matt Bellamy has to do is spin around a spotlight on the crowd, or let us sing a verse, or let us sing House of the Rising Sun while he plays the riff, or let Dom say "It's been a while since we've been in Newark" and then play a rare song, and the audience loves it. They don't joke around with the crowd and they don't ask how we are (because after all, if I say "well I'm having a great day" they're not even going to hear it :P) because they know that we've come to hear their music, and so they concentrate on the music.

 

 

But I know how you're feeling, Tryptophan, because there are some moments that I'm listening to Twisted Logic for example and I'm just thinking "How did this make the cut to the album?"

 

Anyways, just my 2 cents.

Thanks a lot people. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I think this will help.

 

Some minor remarks: I sometimes feel like being ashamed for being a Coldplay fan because of the way most people think they are. If I say I like Coldplay nobody will get what I mean, they will think about the singles and the circus, and I will think they are right to some extent, because they won't know any better. I won't get a proper chance to make clear what I really mean, because they will not know what I'm talking about. On the contrary, if those people say they do like Coldplay, chances are higher that they only know 5 to 10 songs, and that they prefer Viva or whatever was the last thing they released. The only thing I can do then is introduce them to other Coldplay stuff, but since they wouldn't have looked for that themselves before, I think they wouldn't really like it anyway and my efforts would be worthless.

 

And I do like the clothes, the way they look, but not the concept of having specially designed clothing and all that, if you know what I mean. And I do like X&Y. And some things I like about Fix You: the typical Chris Martin dance (though it doesn't compare to Chris playing an instrument and concentrating on the song, you know) and Jonny, always Jonny.

I just have to say that you have to realize that youre a different person then you were in 2003 and sometimes you cant recapture the feeling that you had then.

 

also if Chris doesnt interact with the audience then people complain.. so they cant win

I think too many people grasp on the Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head era more than they do the band itself. Instead of holding onto the fact they are a talented band who produce good music, they latch themselves onto one specific era and won't accept any other style of music Coldplay releases.

 

Personally, I will never understand the hatred towards X&Y. That album is a masterpiece primarily because of how heartfelt it is. Parachutes and AROBTTH is as well, but there is a point where we need to move on. It's like comparing Bob Dylains The Times They Are a-Changin' to Time Out of Mind. You just cannot.

 

I end with this: good bands and artists change, bad bands and artists never change. Coldplay is a good band, right? Of course they are.

 

Just my two cents.

^THIS.

I think too many people grasp on the Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head era more than they do the band itself. Instead of holding onto the fact they are a talented band who produce good music, they latch themselves onto one specific era and won't accept any other style of music Coldplay releases.

 

Personally, I will never understand the hatred towards X&Y. That album is a masterpiece primarily because of how heartfelt it is. Parachutes and AROBTTH is as well, but there is a point where we need to move on. It's like comparing Bob Dylains The Times They Are a-Changin' to Time Out of Mind. You just cannot.

 

I end with this: good bands and artists change, bad bands and artists never change. Coldplay is a good band, right? Of course they are.

 

Just my two cents.

 

I agree.

 

The only thing I ask of them though is for them to play some of the older stuff in concerts as well not just new, which is why im liking the setlist they have had for the festivals :D (shiver!!! :dance: )

I mostly agree with LiTii about what people expect from some bands. People change and the guys from Coldplay are not the same guys they were back then in 2003, let's say. Of course, the essence is the same, as with most people, but they are more confident and you can see that on stage for example. As regards the interaction with the audience, I think it is just the way Chris is :shrug:, he has been like that for quite a while, even those early performances back then in 2000/2001. He has always said crazy things and joked around with the audience, just comparing it to what other bands do is, I don't know, I wouldn't say pointless, but well. They are different. I do, however, understand what you mean when you say he moves around way too much and he sometimes ends up breathless, well, that's something many people can find annoying and I understand why.

 

As regards being ashamed of being a Coldplay fan because people in general can't see past the "Coldplay on TV and radio" and see "The Coldplay we love" , well, that isn't a new thing, I mean when they started to get famous many people hated them and we are talking about the Parachutes and AROBTTH eras, so it's not really a new thing. 8 years ago, when I mentioned I liked Coldplay people would mock me cause they were "depressing" or "boring" today they may mock you cause they are I don't know"too happy" and "colourful" or whatever. You know what you like and you should be ok with that no matter what others think. Don't worry too much about it, I'd say.

 

 

They have become bigger and the songs they release are certainly more radio-friendly that the songs most people love and cherish, but it is also a matter of what you like and enjoy. They keep making that kind of music some of us love and enjoy and that's why many people still like their new songs.

Personally, I will never understand the hatred towards X&Y.

 

 

X&Y ALL THE WAY

 

:escaping:

For those who have these complaints (they like Coldplay when they were just four guys and not superfamous and before X&Y and Viva eras), isn't it a vicious circle: Coldplay gets famous, Coldplay puts out more albums, Coldplay plays more concerts for more fans who enjoy them. They can't always be your little band that you found and have hidden away. Personally, I don't have a complaint about how popular they are, or what kind of music they put out, or how Chris acts at their concerts. If they are popular, they will still be able to put out more music instead of being cut by their label. The music changes--from Parachutes to Viva, you have quite the spectrum, and how good are the new songs that we've only heard live (pretty darn good). Chris has obviously become more confident as a person and a singer and frontman, we can't really fault him for reaching out more to the audience at concerts--we ALL benefit from that.

If Coldplay were the same "old" Coldplay in the Parachutes and AROBTTH era then they would be getting no where right now. If they had stuck to the AROBTTH sound it would have become sensationally dull and unappealing after a short time.

 

A lot of people's dissatisfaction towards them these days stems from the very fact that they are much much bigger than they were during those first two albums. What if Viva La Vida was their first album? The same people would be saying 'Ahhh I preferred VLV and they're trying too hard to be hip with Parachutes and AROBTTH" etc etc. It's just people allow nostalgia and fame to cloud their perceptions of later work.

 

 

The era of Parachutes and AROBTTH may have been perfect for you but you have to accept that they are looking for a different kind of perfection these days. A different kind of perfection in every sense from 8-10 years ago.

I agree with the original post. I didn't have time to read the others.

 

Coldplay works best as a less is more band. Their first two albums musicially are unbelievable and are unmatched. I as well hate the direction they have taken overall. There are of course some highlights here and there (Moving to Mars, Reign of Love, Life in Technicolor, Prospekts March), but their overall sound seems like they're trying to be an anthem band.

If Coldplay were the same "old" Coldplay in the Parachutes and AROBTTH era then they would be getting no where right now. If they had stuck to the AROBTTH sound it would have become sensationally dull and unappealing after a short time.

 

A lot of people's dissatisfaction towards them these days stems from the very fact that they are much much bigger than they were during those first two albums. What if Viva La Vida was their first album? The same people would be saying 'Ahhh I preferred VLV and they're trying too hard to be hip with Parachutes and AROBTTH" etc etc. It's just people allow nostalgia and fame to cloud their perceptions of later work.

 

 

The era of Parachutes and AROBTTH may have been perfect for you but you have to accept that they are looking for a different kind of perfection these days. A different kind of perfection in every sense from 8-10 years ago.

 

i agree, and may i add that i find it hard to understand why people are so surprised/disappointed by Coldplay's seeming unwillingness to be simple? it just seems to me like though they may have been a simpler band back in the Parachutes era, they were never trying to be. it's like where they are now is where they've been working towards getting since the beginning, and it's kinda nice to see that they have accomplished that.

All I have to say is...

 

I am a terribly self conscious person. I am a musician. I'm an introvert. After I listened to X & Y, I clasped on to Coldplay like a leech. I had something to believe in! Yes, I agree, it is different from A Rush of Blood to the Head, but I don't think they were trying to make it a "studium" sounding album....On to the story...

 

Well, one day, I was in Latin class, and Magistra was showing us a video a former student made to tell the story of Baucis and Philemon. At the part of the story after Jupiter and Mercury flooded their town, Swallowed in the Sea started playing. Without even hesitating, I literally threw my arms up in the air and said, "That's Colplay!!!!. They have good taste in music." Everyone laughed at me, and I was flustered, but it didn't matter, because for once in my life, I wasn't afraid to express myself. It was the most liberating thing.

 

I think if you like anything Coldplay has done ever, anywhere from the Safety EP all the way to ETIAW, you should express it. Don't worry about what others will think of you, because that is their loss not to find out about who you are as a Coldplay supporter, or who Coldplay really is and what they stand for...

 

You don't have to be a crazy superfan, and you don't have to like everythign an artist creates, that's okay... :)

Sorry, kind of a monologue there :embarrassed:

Oh, and in truth, who doesn't like a band better when they are less widely known? I guess following a band closely is like watching a card game; you never know which card is going to be played next. :P

I get annoyed with them when they play live and Chris would rather spin around a few times than have decent breath support for his singing.

 

I mean, I appreciate he's trying to show that he has energy, but I go to see them live because I enjoy their music, not because they're professional dancers.

THIS.

 

But I know how you're feeling, Tryptophan, because there are some moments that I'm listening to Twisted Logic for example and I'm just thinking "How did this make the cut to the album?"

Oh thank goodness, I thought I was the only person out there who didn't like that song. Nice to know I'm not alone!

 

Reign of Love[/color], Life in Technicolor, Prospekts March), but their overall sound seems like they're trying to be an anthem band.

I feel like I'm the only person that can't stand Reign of Love. :| For some reason I find it gag-worthy.

As much as I love Parachutes and AROBTTH, if they kept making records like that, it would eventually get boring for them and us. I would rather them try stuff out even if it sucks, at least I wouldn't be wondering about a different sound and neither would they.

Personally, I think that all the Coldplay albums are equal in amazingness, because each of them has its own personality that cannot be tagged by 'oh it sounds like this' or 'oh it sounds like that.' I don't think that there's much of anything that Coldplay does that is commercial; if they ever did a 'commercial' album the band would be very upset with themselves and trash it.

 

Just remember, Trytophan (I don't know your name, sorry); Even the songs by Coldplay that you don't like, are still Coldplay songs. And it may be those Coldplay songs that everyone will know, and because of those songs, now respect your love of Coldplay.

I'm not going to bother a lengthy response to the silly logic - sorry, non-logic used above -_-

 

I agree, to an extent. For me, X&Y was not entirely horrid. It still had its enjoyable moments. Viva does have enjoyable moments but they are few and far between.

I'm not going to bother a lengthy response to the silly logic - sorry, non-logic used above -_-

 

I agree, to an extent. For me, X&Y was not entirely horrid. It still had its enjoyable moments. Viva does have enjoyable moments but they are few and far between.

 

True, X&Y wasn't awful all the way throughout. :thinking:

But overall I'd still say that it was not nearly up to par with their earlier material, and Viva was at least closer to their earlier quality, even if in a different style.