Rank Coldplay's albums

[cp3176]

Please' date=' tell me what albums you've been listening to over the past 3 months. I'm curious[/quote']

 

I've been listening to quite a few other artists other than Coldplay :)

 

But believe me, in my opinion, MX is just beautiful. No other album of today, maybe a few albums of different artists, but not much, can even remotely compare to MX. One things for sure, MX is quintillions of light years better than those other albums IMO...

[aschall]

I've been listening to quite a few other artists other than Coldplay :)

 

i assumed as much. but really, im curious. tell me

[aschall]

People were hating on MX for pop sound when it came out, it would be mainstream to rate it low so they rated it high (my assumption).

 

oh lord. i cant

[I ran away]

also you're wrong

 

 

Thank you for this extremely elaborate response to my opinion.

[I ran away]

I agree, and that's what makes this world interesting. That's what makes debates and all interesting. It's good to debate, this world wouldn't be interesting without it nor would this forum. And these debates come from disagreements between opinions. After all most of our Coldplay games wouldn't work if everyone thought the same way:P

 

I fully agree with that ! And same goes for ratings from different music critics. In the end they are all influenced by personal opinions, so one cannot say "this is better than that because Pitchfork or NME or whatever rated it higher".

[aschall]

Thank you for this extremely elaborate response to my opinion.

 

lol k.

[42Escapist]

Here's my current ranking...

1. Viva

2. AROBTTH and X&Y (tied, similar to @I ran away's ranking)

3. Parachutes

4. Mylo Xyloto

5. Ghost Stories

 

I'm not necessarily an MX detractor. From a pop album perspective it is by far the best in my opinion. As a Coldplay album, though, that is where I think MX falters. Sure, there are songs that I love. Hurts Like Heaven, Charlie Brown, Us Against the World, Up With the Birds, and Major Minus come to mind. If you remove the instrumental interludes, that is about half of the album. The rest of the songs aren't necessarily "bad" in my eyes. Issues like cheesiness and poor production keep them from reaching their full potential. Also, Moving to Mars (my favorite b-side) and the sweet Parachutes-like Wedding Bells should never have been left off of that album. If they had been used and the remaining songs had been given the production and better lyrics that they deserved, MX would be much higher in my rankings.

 

I think I will end up ranking AHFOD between AROBTTH/X&Y and MX. That is purely a guess, based only on the supposed Indian music experimentation and my first impression from Amazing Day. I hope the album will be everything that I feel MX could've been.

[Lobabe]

My ranking

 

1. AROBTTH

2. Parachutes

3. X&Y

4. Ghost Stories

5. Mylo Xyloto

6. Viva

 

I'm so surprised to see GS so far down on people's list- and Viva so high up on people's lists. Though, I guess maybe there's elements I like in Coldplay, others don't. It's interesting to compare though.

[The Adversary]

Lets get out of this mode of thinking that AROBTTH cant be touched. Its not their best album and its annoying when people bash the newer stuff.

This is actually ridiculous. Clearly, as an artistic endeavor, AROBTTH is miles above MX. It'd be laughable to suggest MX is anywhere near AROBTTH in any category whether it be influence, staying power, song structure, lyrics, authenticity etc.

 

AROBTTH is a classic album that will be remembered by many as one of the best albums ever made. MX is overproduced and has Rihanna on it.

 

We can talk out of our ears about "subjectivity" all we want but some indicators of quality have to be put in place. Some people think One Direction are better than the Beatles, Some people think Sharknado is better than the Shawshank Redemption and some people think MX is better than AROBTTH :rolleyes:

 

 

Pitchfork the best critic out there? Don't make me laugh.

[theprospekt]

This is actually ridiculous. Clearly, as an artistic endeavor, AROBTTH is miles above MX. It'd be laughable to suggest MX is anywhere near AROBTTH in any category whether it be influence, staying power, song structure, lyrics, authenticity etc.

 

AROBTTH is a classic album that will be remembered by many as one of the best albums ever made. MX is overproduced and has Rihanna on it.

 

We can talk out of our ears about "subjectivity" all we want but some indicators of quality have to be put in place. Some people think One Direction are better than the Beatles, Some people think Sharknado is better than the Shawshank Redemption and some people think MX is better than AROBTTH :rolleyes:

 

 

Pitchfork the best critic out there? Don't make me laugh.

 

I have to say I agree. People are of course free to have their own favorites, but everyone must also recognize that there are completely objective reasons for AROBTTH to be considered better than MX that go beyond just taste.

 

I agree with what is stated above that AROBTTH is a classic, timeless album and MX will never be considered to live up to that same standard.

 

I'm not trying to hate on people who love MX, I get that. I've listened to MX more than any of CP's other albums. But still there is no denying that AROBTTH is Coldplay's masterpiece and they will most likely never be able to top it themselves.

[gentleparachute]

@The Adversary @theprospekt

^ What about complexity of sound / layering? Complexity of musical lines? MX is much more complex and richer on both these counts... AROBTTH has beauty in it's relative simplicity however cannot match MX technically in parts. MX also has more variety - in texture, in mood, stylistically...

 

I think the argument about song structure is debatable- there are many more musical motifs hidden within MX than AROBTTH... particularly motifs within songs - how many guitar riffs / lines did Jonny play within the opening track of HLH itself? Again more varied song structures in MX, and also number of musical ideas packed into each song.

 

Lyrics are likely to be weaker... It's harder to write memorable happy, blissful uplifting songs than wounded, sarcastic/ ironic ones. I'm not saying that MX is definitely better than AROBTTH, however if we're gonna compare, there are definitely things that MX can match / even surpass. I think you will find it hard to argue that the musical criteria you use to rank albums is better / more valid than anyone else's! :)

[gai]

^^^^^^That's the reason why Pitchfork Media is such a bad music rating thing... MX is better than all of those albums combined and then some

 

they're from pitchfork. probably the most credible music site out there. also you're wrong

 

the thread is veering away from topic, but i had to reply to this.

 

in all curiosity, what makes you think that pitchfork is such a qualified, objective establishment to rank an artist's work? remember the horrible (somewhat deserving) GS review it got? this is the ranking of all coldplay albums by the same guy that did the GS review for pitchfork.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coldplay p4k-style, revised--Parachutes: 10.0 Rush: 8.1 X&Y: 5.6 Viva: 10.0 Prospekt's: 9.2 Mylo: 8.3 Ghost Stories: 5.3</p>— Larry Fitzmaurice (@lfitzmaurice) <a href="https://twitter.com/lfitzmaurice/status/637986293901860865">August 30, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

had he been working at pitchfork and reviewing these albums at the time, we would have gotten a completely different critical response to them. you can argue that it's hindsight, but all in all, a review from even a reputable music critic is nothing more than a subjective view of one person (and maybe the editor). so rely on your wits than looking for external sources like pitchfork to be the ultimate decider.

 

btw, this guy doesn't work for pitchfork anymore.

 

edit: agree with this quote. not sure why you were trying to make them very reliable before if this is your belief.

 

And no, on the contrary, reviewers CAN have biased opinions. In fact, its inherent that they have bias. Thats what makes it stimulating to read.

[ov3la]

My ranking

 

1. AROBTTH

2. Parachutes

3. X&Y

4. Ghost Stories

5. Mylo Xyloto

6. Viva

 

I'm so surprised to see GS so far down on people's list- and Viva so high up on people's lists. Though, I guess maybe there's elements I like in Coldplay, others don't. It's interesting to compare though.

 

Its because viva's so different from any album they've made. Multiple instruments, odd time signatures. GS is calm, cool and dreamy.

[Aiko]

1. Mylo Xyloto

2. Viva la Vida

3. Ghost Stories

4. A Rush of Blood to the Head

5. X & Y

6. Parachutes

[aschall]

Clearly, as an artistic endeavor, AROBTTH is miles above MX.

 

AROBTTH is a classic album that will be remembered by many as one of the best albums ever made.

 

Some people think One Direction are better than the Beatles, Some people think Sharknado is better than the Shawshank Redemption and some people think MX is better than AROBTTH :rolleyes:

 

oh goodness. so many fallacies... ugghh it hurts

 

AROBTTH one of the greatest albums ever made. ur living in lala land

[cp3176]

This is actually ridiculous. Clearly, as an artistic endeavor, AROBTTH is miles above MX. It'd be laughable to suggest MX is anywhere near AROBTTH in any category whether it be influence, staying power, song structure, lyrics, authenticity etc.

 

AROBTTH is a classic album that will be remembered by many as one of the best albums ever made. MX is overproduced and has Rihanna on it.

 

We can talk out of our ears about "subjectivity" all we want but some indicators of quality have to be put in place. Some people think One Direction are better than the Beatles, Some people think Sharknado is better than the Shawshank Redemption and some people think MX is better than AROBTTH :rolleyes:

 

 

Pitchfork the best critic out there? Don't make me laugh.

 

I agree in a way, that AROBTTH is one of the "classics" that are very highly respected (and deserves to be). And realistically, for that reason it may be better than MX. But you can't deny that MX has a very deep story to it too. I really love AROBTTH too, and I like the more rocky side of it with more "messy" so to speak production which I very much enjoy. But you can't deny that MX is still a very great album artistically, poetically (yes, it does have it's cheese and a bit of cliche's, but there are many ideas presented in this album and that through the artwork and lyrics you can find quite poetic. :)) MX actually does have a very deep and interesting story to tell, just like every Coldplay album. But MX stands out in my opinion, because it's about the only Coldplay album which actually tells the story of actual characters which I find is just amazing. They tell the story through the album artwork, through the lyrics, etc... and not many bands have pulled it off, really, even Coldplay only did it once. (Keep in mind that I'm talking about Coldplay telling the story of characters in an album with an actual deep and rich story to it. Of course I'd be dumb to say that Coldplay only told a story in an album only once ever:P) This isn't to demote the other albums, because they tell a very deep and rich story with tons and tons of hidden meanings and connections to other things we probably haven't even found yet... again, most bands today might tell a story in their album, if so, it's probably a very cheesy and vague one with probably not much hidden connections or anything at all. With all of the Coldplay albums, yes, even GS, they have hidden connections. Their artwork and the songs themselves tell these meanings... and the story is deep and rich. Almost no other band can do such a great job of telling a story through an album as Coldplay can today. That's why there's such high standards for Coldplay... they did what not many have done. In every single one of their albums, there's tons of meanings, again, probably even more than we've ever discovered yet. Each album has it's own atmosphere, it's own connections, it's own story. And that's why I love Coldplay... they try their best in every single album to make it feel a certain way, have a certain atmosphere, have it's own logo's that were unseen by the world before, have it's own meanings and connections, all presented by the artwork and the songs, etc. Many artists today just randomly make a collection of songs with no relation to one another at all (minus that they're completely dumb because of that fact), then they slap a random photo of themselves on there and call it a day... yeah. Coldplay is much better than that... their album cover most of the time really provides a general idea as to what to expect from the album. They even use colors in this case as well that in every case matches up to what the music has to offer... like Parachutes, orange, warm color. AROBTTH, black and white, if you listen to their music really it kind of has that feel to it. X&Y's dark shade, is very appropriate for the music inside. And on and on. The logo's on front are usually more subtle hints as to the idea of the album as well... and these are custom logos to be honest. There's no logo that Coldplay's used that isn't original. For that very reason that automatically makes GS even a better album than a lot of normal pop albums today... yes, it has meanings. Yes, it has connections. They are quite cheesy though and have cliches.. yeah.

 

By the way, just want to say two things:

 

Your comment about MX being overproduced and having Rihanna in it is dead wrong. There's like 2 songs that are overproduced on that album, and even less have Rihanna in it. (What's bad about Rihanna anyway? Yes, she does make pop, and at that more of resembling radio pop, but she's one of the better pop artists out there IMO... I guess it is bad in a way that Coldplay decided to team up with a pop artist which makes more-resembling radio pop (probably the reason why that's Coldplay's song that resembles stuff on the radio.))

 

But I totally agree on your opinion on Pitchfork. :lol:

 

Sorry that got extremely long :lol:

 

 

Its because viva's so different from any album they've made. Multiple instruments' date=' odd time signatures. GS is calm, cool and dreamy.[/quote']

 

Yep, and sometimes people like the GS's theme over Viva's... just opinion. :)

[42Escapist]

Your comment about MX being overproduced and having Rihanna in it is dead wrong. There's like 2 songs that are overproduced on that album, and even less have Rihanna in it. (What's bad about Rihanna anyway? Yes, she does make pop, and at that more of resembling radio pop, but she's one of the better pop artists out there IMO... I guess it is bad in a way that Coldplay decided to team up with a pop artist which makes more-resembling radio pop (probably the reason why that's Coldplay's song that resembles stuff on the radio.))

 

I'm not a fan of Rihanna but I'm not necessarily against her appearance in Princess of China. The band chose her because they felt she was the most suitable artist to collaborate with on the song. I think I read somewhere that originally Will was going to sing her part but it was awkward without a female singer. That makes sense to me, because it would be a little strange to have Will singing about being a princess. :p

[AMDB9]

I think I read somewhere that originally Will was going to sing her part but it was awkward without a female singer. That makes sense to me, because it would be a little strange to have Will singing about being a princess. :p

 

Plus, it would have made more sense if Jonny was singing ;)

[42Escapist]

Plus, it would have made more sense if Jonny was singing ;)

 

We all know Jonny probably wanted to. :D ;)

[cp3176]

I'm not a fan of Rihanna but I'm not necessarily against her appearance in Princess of China. The band chose her because they felt she was the most suitable artist to collaborate with on the song. I think I read somewhere that originally Will was going to sing her part but it was awkward without a female singer. That makes sense to me' date=' because it would be a little strange to have Will singing about being a princess. :p[/quote']

 

Yeah... Rihanna definetely would be more suited for a part like that then Will :p

 

BTW you have the 42nd post congratz!:D

[goodmusiclover]

1) Viva La Vida

2) A Rush of Blood to the Head

3) Prospekt's March

4) Parachutes

5) X&Y

6) Ghost Stories

7) Mylo Xyloto

 

#1-3: exceptional

#4-5: very good

#6-7: meh