Any thoughts on what the story in the album is???

[chrismartin_]

ive heard chris say that there is sort of a story in the album..any ideas on what it is?

[rafaelchampion]

I only understood completely Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends 3 years after the album release, so I don't hope understanding this album so fast.

[Pink]

Not a strong story per se, but a loosely connected idea -- finding love/beauty in oppressive/ugly surroundings -- the story told a million times: boys finds girl, they fall in love, they break up, they possibly get back together (or, if not, realize life goes on and it's all good). There you go!:)

[Harondor]

Here is my interpretation of this story :

 

We have the male character, Mylo. He's young and carelss, hanging around in the town, with his pals the Lost Boys.

Xyloto, the female character dreams of a more adventurous life. The world seems bland to her. This is why she joins the "Lost Boys" and meet Mylo. They fall in love.

The Lost boys live without rules, like pariahs. They steal cars, and probably take drugs...

They feel free and invincibles but their life is dangerous.

They're finally caught by the authority (police ?) and the two lovers are separated. Mylo is firstly desperate but in his heart he finds the courage to fight. He has many obstacles but he's sure he'll see his love again.

[ediskrad73]

how i interpreted it:

 

Mylo Xyloto - Overture (theme that comes back in numerous songs)

Hurts Like Heaven - General spray paint/urban youth plot identified. Also introduces main male character.

Paradise - Introduces the female character.

Charlie Brown - The two meet through the gang (The Lost Boys) and fall in love

Us Against The World - Honeymoon period of the relationship

MMIX/Every Teardrop - Excited about the new relationship, possibly them going out on a weekend? This one's still kinda sketchy to me.

Major Minus - Trouble in Paradise (ha ha, see what i did there?)

UFO - One of them has doubts

Princess of China - Breakup

Up In Flames - Typical post-breakup blues song

A Hopeful Transmission - Always sounded to me like a ringtone, so possibly the dumper calling the dumpee, and the one being hopeful about the call?

Don't Let It Break Your Heart - They talk, she cheers him up

Up With The Birds - Alls well that ends well.

[VIVA.42]

how i interpreted it:

 

Mylo Xyloto - Overture (theme that comes back in numerous songs)

Hurts Like Heaven - General spray paint/urban youth plot identified. Also introduces main male character.

Paradise - Introduces the female character.

Charlie Brown - The two meet through the gang (The Lost Boys) and fall in love

Us Against The World - Honeymoon period of the relationship

MMIX/Every Teardrop - Excited about the new relationship, possibly them going out on a weekend? This one's still kinda sketchy to me.

Major Minus - Trouble in Paradise (ha ha, see what i did there?)

UFO - One of them has doubts

Princess of China - Breakup

Up In Flames - Typical post-breakup blues song

A Hopeful Transmission - Always sounded to me like a ringtone, so possibly the dumper calling the dumpee, and the one being hopeful about the call?

Don't Let It Break Your Heart - They talk, she cheers him up

Up With The Birds - Alls well that ends well.

 

you just made my day with that :) its so perfect

[LoryABjerre]

Princess of China is the first song made all songs of album

 

http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/59341

 

http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/59315

 

There is still a week to go before the release of Coldplay’s fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, and earlier today the tune that will undoubtedly be the disc’s most talked-about made its way onto the Internet — though the band’s label, EMI, is consistently pulling the song down where they find it.

 

Back when the track listing was first announced, “Princess of China” immediately stood out, mostly because it contained the note “featuring Rihanna” right after it.

 

It isn’t the first time a voice that isn’t Martin’s has shown up on a Coldplay song (remember that version of “Lost!” that captured one of Jay-Z’s best freestyles over the piano solo?), but “Princess of China” is a pretty powerful departure for the band, as it not only invites RiRi along for the ride but also locks into something like an R&B groove (or at least the British swoop-rock interpretation of an R&B groove).

 

“She’s one of the top five singers in the world,” Martin told EW during a recent conversation about the new album (the results of which you can read in the current issue, on newsstands now). “While we were working on it, I was thinking, ‘I wish Rihanna was singing this.’ That was around the time of Rated R, when she was singing dark stuff like ‘Russian Roulette.’ I got nervous to ask [drummer] Will [Champion], because I knew he would say, ‘Well, we don’t really have guests on the records,’ but then I asked him and it was accepted as an idea. But the song itself was always asking for her. The process of getting her to sing on it took ages, but in my head I would have been very disappointed if anyone else had done it.”

 

Martin said that once the decision was made and the logistics worked out, the process of working with Rihanna was exceptionally smooth. “It was very organic,” he explained. “I played her the song on the piano, and then she said ‘OK, leave it to me.’ And then the next thing you know, you’ve got a f—ing beautiful Rihanna record. She’s amazing. And by the way, she could sing the menu and it would sound amazing. Believe me, I thought about doing that — just replacing the rest of our album with her singing the menu. ‘Two ninety-nine!’”

 

Still, fans of “Princess of China” may have to wait for a special occasion to see it performed live. While the band was test-driving the songs from Mylo Xyloto on the road in the spring and summer, they ran into a bit of a roadblock when it came to that song. “I gave it one go, in Germany,” Martin said. “I couldn’t get away with it, so we had to stop playing it. She’s a much, much better singer than me.”

 

[LoryABjerre]

Not a strong story per se, but a loosely connected idea -- finding love/beauty in oppressive/ugly surroundings -- the story told a million times: boys finds girl, they fall in love, they break up, they possibly get back together (or, if not, realize life goes on and it's all good). There you go!:)

 

yes Rihanna is in its role in the album and is the only woman who sang in the history of Coldplay :thinking:

[kover]

This is just how my ever-dramatic and cinematic mind imagines Major Minus.

 

The song starts with the crackdown of the oppressive city-state government, who has seemingly just decided that Mylo and his opposition present a substantial threat. The first heavy electric guitar riff I imagine as Mylo and perhaps the female character out on the streets graffiting when the police appear on the scene, with orders to kill, knowing Mylo as the leader of the rebellion. The sense of urgency that the guitar and bass part convey make me think of a chase down the city streets, one that ends in Mylo and the girl getting away- hence the sudden transition back to acoustic guitar. The second riff makes me think that they haven't learned from their mistake and go back to graffiti some time later, and are discovered by the police again. Or perhaps it's only Mylo who goes out this time (it just makes the rest of the song easier to picture.) The police chase Mylo back to his house where he hides (you could hear them climbing the stairs) and anxiously waits, hoping to not be discovered while several armed men search for him during the quiet part of the song.

It's actually quite creepy if you think of the "Um-uh" vocals in that part as actually being the words "Come out... come out..." Then the police discover him and again a chase follows during the main guitar riff as Mylo flees to get out of the house. Then he flings open the door as the awesome guitar climax of the song hits and then, just for the hell of it, discovers that a full-on firefight/battle/whatever you want to call it is going on outside between the rebel opposition and the government forces.

And that's all I've come up with.

[Samuel_94]

how i interpreted it:

 

Mylo Xyloto - Overture (theme that comes back in numerous songs)

Hurts Like Heaven - General spray paint/urban youth plot identified. Also introduces main male character.

Paradise - Introduces the female character.

Charlie Brown - The two meet through the gang (The Lost Boys) and fall in love

Us Against The World - Honeymoon period of the relationship

MMIX/Every Teardrop - Excited about the new relationship, possibly them going out on a weekend? This one's still kinda sketchy to me.

Major Minus - Trouble in Paradise (ha ha, see what i did there?)

UFO - One of them has doubts

Princess of China - Breakup

Up In Flames - Typical post-breakup blues song

A Hopeful Transmission - Always sounded to me like a ringtone, so possibly the dumper calling the dumpee, and the one being hopeful about the call?

Don't Let It Break Your Heart - They talk, she cheers him up

Up With The Birds - Alls well that ends well.

 

Very well summarised, I agree

[LauCH]

I think Major Minus is more like if they take away the male character.

[Heinrich42]

Well, um, this is how I see and interpret the story. I do realize it’s kind of weird and far-off, but they made something loose, didn’t they? I guess the idea then is for us to use our creativity.

 

Ok, so the beginning is pretty much what has already been said here: Hurts Like Heaven is a prologue, an explanation of the situation and basically a summary of the album’s concept: graffiti and repression.

Then come Paradise and Charlie Brown, which introduce the two characters. Xyloto is a girl which is not happy with the situation but prefers to just hide away and pretend everything is ok in her dreams. Mylo, on the other side, is the rebel. He takes drugs and hangs out with the lost boys. However, he thinks that doing such things is already a revolution and that he’s being a rebel and would eventually win the battle against the system. The fact that he actually believes this shows that he is in fact naïve, which will be something important later.

Us Against The World is the part where they meet, fall in love and decide to be revolutionaries.

Afterwards comes Every Teardrop is a Waterfall. In this song, they are starting their revolution, gathering people to help them, and I perceive the lyrics as being a message to people, telling them that although things are not well, they can actually make it better if everybody joins their revolution.

Major Minus is the beginning of the fight, and when I picture this song, I see in my head a dark room, with Mylo and Xyloto making plans and strategy and warning everyone of the dangers they’ll encounter (“So be careful who it is you’re talking to…”, “Don’t believe a word…”, etc).

Now comes the weird part. Bear with me.

At first, I was thinking why they had put things related to aliens both on the artwork and in the songs. Well, maybe it has something to do with them after all.

In U.F.O, Mylo realizes they are losing the battle and that everything will probably be in vain. So, in a kind of personal confession, but in a way also like a prayer (“LORD I don’t know which way…”), he speaks with the skies (he possibly saw something there? An U.F.O perhaps?). He does not expect, however, any response. As I said, it is kind of a personal confession.

Princess of China is when their revolution doesn’t work and they split up. One of the reasons why it didn’t work is, as was stated in the beginning, Mylo is naïve, and he wanted to do everything too quickly. Didn’t work out (“Could have had a castle, worn a ring, but no, you let me go”).

Well, Up In Flames is basically Mylo regretting things. Not much to say here.

A Hopeful Transmission could be a song someone would forget to analyze in this case, as it’s just an instrumental (I didn’t talk about Mylo Xyloto or M.M.I.X, for instance). However, I do believe that this track is actually very important. It is the response from the skies. This is the continuation of the parallel story which began in U.F.O.. Still, how would alien language sound like? What would a message from the skies be like? It’s just some sounds, but they are hopeful, and Mylo understands what they say. They tell him not to give up. They also tell him: “GO GET THE GURL YOU DUMBASS”, So yes, the aliens are the good guys after all.

Don’t Let it Break Your Heart is the part where Mylo convinces himself that he should try again, but properly this time. He got mature, he is not naïve anymore. Yet, he is powerless and has no will to do anything without Xyloto by his side, because he’s still in love. So, in Up With the Birds, he just goes away to try and find her and apologize to her, with the promise of getting back and actually making this revolution work.

 

So yeah, I think that’s it. I hope you agree with me that the story this way actually makes some sense…

[chrismartin_]

Well, um, this is how I see and interpret the story. I do realize it’s kind of weird and far-off, but they made something loose, didn’t they? I guess the idea then is for us to use our creativity.

 

Ok, so the beginning is pretty much what has already been said here: Hurts Like Heaven is a prologue, an explanation of the situation and basically a summary of the album’s concept: graffiti and repression.

Then come Paradise and Charlie Brown, which introduce the two characters. Xyloto is a girl which is not happy with the situation but prefers to just hide away and pretend everything is ok in her dreams. Mylo, on the other side, is the rebel. He takes drugs and hangs out with the lost boys. However, he thinks that doing such things is already a revolution and that he’s being a rebel and would eventually win the battle against the system. The fact that he actually believes this shows that he is in fact naïve, which will be something important later.

Us Against The World is the part where they meet, fall in love and decide to be revolutionaries.

Afterwards comes Every Teardrop is a Waterfall. In this song, they are starting their revolution, gathering people to help them, and I perceive the lyrics as being a message to people, telling them that although things are not well, they can actually make it better if everybody joins their revolution.

Major Minus is the beginning of the fight, and when I picture this song, I see in my head a dark room, with Mylo and Xyloto making plans and strategy and warning everyone of the dangers they’ll encounter (“So be careful who it is you’re talking to…”, “Don’t believe a word…”, etc).

Now comes the weird part. Bear with me.

At first, I was thinking why they had put things related to aliens both on the artwork and in the songs. Well, maybe it has something to do with them after all.

In U.F.O, Mylo realizes they are losing the battle and that everything will probably be in vain. So, in a kind of personal confession, but in a way also like a prayer (“LORD I don’t know which way…”), he speaks with the skies (he possibly saw something there? An U.F.O perhaps?). He does not expect, however, any response. As I said, it is kind of a personal confession.

Princess of China is when their revolution doesn’t work and they split up. One of the reasons why it didn’t work is, as was stated in the beginning, Mylo is naïve, and he wanted to do everything too quickly. Didn’t work out (“Could have had a castle, worn a ring, but no, you let me go”).

Well, Up In Flames is basically Mylo regretting things. Not much to say here.

A Hopeful Transmission could be a song someone would forget to analyze in this case, as it’s just an instrumental (I didn’t talk about Mylo Xyloto or M.M.I.X, for instance). However, I do believe that this track is actually very important. It is the response from the skies. This is the continuation of the parallel story which began in U.F.O.. Still, how would alien language sound like? What would a message from the skies be like? It’s just some sounds, but they are hopeful, and Mylo understands what they say. They tell him not to give up. They also tell him: “GO GET THE GURL YOU DUMBASS”, So yes, the aliens are the good guys after all.

Don’t Let it Break Your Heart is the part where Mylo convinces himself that he should try again, but properly this time. He got mature, he is not naïve anymore. Yet, he is powerless and has no will to do anything without Xyloto by his side, because he’s still in love. So, in Up With the Birds, he just goes away to try and find her and apologize to her, with the promise of getting back and actually making this revolution work.

 

So yeah, I think that’s it. I hope you agree with me that the story this way actually makes some sense…

 

 

 

I always thought of AHT of xyloto dieing or going up with the UFO and then UWTB would be Mylo going to find her. In UWTB Chris sings "I might have to go where they dont know my name" and the guitar riff between the slower part to the faster part is Mylo going up with the birds

 

Maybe wrong but that's what I think... :)

[Heinrich42]

I always thought of AHT of xyloto dieing or going up with the UFO and then UWTB would be Mylo going to find her. In UWTB Chris sings "I might have to go where they dont know my name" and the guitar riff between the slower part to the faster part is Mylo going up with the birds

 

Maybe wrong but that's what I think...

 

Well, that's actually possible. Anyways, I don't really think there's right and wrong here, because the concept is loose, so there's plenty of material for interpreting.

[chrismartin_]

hopefully chris will say something about whens he is on Jimmy Kimmel with the band on Dec 17th or something like that.

[Fer42]

this is my interpretation:

The story begins with a prologue of the situation of oppression and darkness and the urge to take to the streets (Hurts Like Heaven)in this world called HypnoFlow(?:laugh3:?). Comes the introduction of Xyloto, she feels safe in his dreams (Paradise) while Mylo is a rebel facing the situation with his gang (Charlie Brown) and then meet and fall in love Xyloto (Us Against The World). They received a strange Transmission and decide escape (we soar walls) hoping to find a way (Every teardrop is a waterfall). In the second part of the album, they take a car (CK?) And lead (Got one eye on the road and one on you) out of town, facing the system (Major minus). Mysteriously find a stranger, who tells them that there is a place where the streets are gold, only to follow (UFO). Then, find a place on the coast (many mentions of water and sea in the album) Mylo and Xyloto enter in conflict because they are completely different (Chris mentioned that in an interview in December 2010), Mylo want to find out. Xyloto have in place quiet, feeling like a princess. Mylo follow their impulses and leaves (Somebody ran away Saying 'fast as I can I got to go, I got to go'), breaking the heart of Xyloto (Princess of China). Mylo realizes his mistake and decides to return (up in flames) On the way receives a transmission from place to escape (A Hopeful Transmission).Arriving with Xyloto notes that she is not. only see a wreck with a message (Heard From my shipwreck I call her) who said that never left (Do not let it break your heart). Mylo found to be strange (UFO) and flies with him, hoping to meet her . Another option would be to travel out of this world into space (Moving to Mars).

Best of all, are the different interpretations of us fans. :)

sorry for my English

[Cheese Nip 2]

There was another post like this where you can read other people's interpretations, including mine which I will post below this.:)

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89432

[Cheese Nip 2]

Here's what I've gotten from the story so far (I've only heard it a couple times though so this is subject to change). For all intensive purposes Mylo Xyloto will be the male protagonist's name.

 

 

Mylo Xyloto

 

MX/Hurts Like Heaven: Mylo Xyloto is a youth living in a society where the government has an overpowering presence over the people. Art is forbidden (except for propaganda) and Mylo has always felt like there was something more to life and has always felt drawn to music and painting. He deals with teen angst and a series of complex emotions. He doesn't have many friends and can't share his feeling with anyone. He has seen graffiti throughout the area (bridge in the park, factory sign) and it gets him thinking. One day he decides that he has had enough of being afraid of "the man" and decides to arm himself with a "spray can soul" and spray paint anti government arm all over town.

 

Paradise: We are introduced to another character. She shares many of the same feelings as Mylo but while Mylo is a big activist for standing up to the Gestapo like soldiers and oppressive government, she is more interested in having a friend; someone she can rely on and share her feeling with. She feels alone, and while she is against the oppressive government, her number one goal is to be happy and find…well…paradise.

 

Charlie Brown: We now get more background on Mylo. He is rebelling but still doesn’t seem happy. He has joined many other "rough" boys (the lost boys), but doesn't quite click with them. They have offered him drugs and a life of crime which sees to make them happy. Mylo is against these things though, and when they don't make him happy, he starts to rethink his priorities. This "rebellion" is not how he thought it would be. Many of the kids he is hanging out with just want to smoke and steal, but Mylo wants more. He starts thinking about the boys, the girls, all the madness in the world etc. He wants to glow, he wants to be special. He decides to lead his own innocent riot against the government. He then sets up a pirate radio station called Major Minus Media. His riot begins to gain traction.

 

Us Against The World: Paradise girl decides to go to a secret meeting of Mylo's gang, the Car Kids (yes, I went there). They meet up and the two fall deeply in love. They have found the answers to all their problems in each other. They still feel like outcasts but now they know that there's another person like them, and Mylo tells her "It's just Us Against The World."

 

M.M.I.X/ Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall: Mylo and Paradise girl's gang has really caught on now. They hold secret concerts over Major Minus Media and the finally feel happy for the first time they can remember. And all the kids they dance, all the kids all night, until Monday morning feels another life. So yeah. The do that.

 

Major Minus: The villain. Major Minus is not necessarily a specific person but rather a presence similar to the eye of Sauron. He may or may not be a real person, as no one has ever met him. He works through the Gestapo like soldiers and you never know when he is watching you. Everyone's paranoid and after a couple of the kids have gone missing, many think Major Minus is on to them and their satirically named "Major Minus Media". Mylo starts to feel guilty. He doesn't know where those kids are and he feels like he's responsible. He also has a gut feeling Major Minus is toying with him.

 

U.F.O: Mylo is trying to deal with his life which has become troublesome again. He finds sanctuary in Paradise girl. And hopes one day they can get past all to this to a place where the streets are paved with gold.

 

Princess of China: Mylo and Paradise are starting to fight. The fear of being caught and trying to manage the car kids have pushed them apart. They've lost sight of what has made them really happy and are on the verge of a break up and…

 

Up In Flames: …they break up. Mylo can't believe there love is truly gone forever. He hasn't seen her and has tried to contact her but he just can't find her. He knows in his heart there's nothing he can do. Like they say, you don't know what you have until it's gone. That's how Mylo feels, and it's not a good feeling.

 

A Hopeful Transmission/ Don't Let It Break Your Heart: It has been a very long time since Mylo has seen Paradise girl, but he still loves her. It one final act of love, he runs in the middle of the night to the Major Minus Media radio tower. He doesn't care if he's seen, there's no fear in his mind. He has to reach her. He runs through the streets until he reaches the tower. When he gets there, he pulls out his guitar and prays Paradise is listening. He plays Don't Let It Break Your Heart for her.

 

Up With The Birds: The Major Minus Media tower is surrounded by soldiers. Mylo has been wanted by them for a while now and they finally have their chance to get him. He saw this coming, if he can't have Paradise it doesn't matter to him, so he took the risk to try to reach her. As the first part of the song ends Mylo looks around to see that Paradise is also in the tower. Neither of them care now if there armor "rusts in the rain". There together and everything will work out as long as they have love.

 

The End

 

I know that's a lot and I took a lot of creative liberties, but that's my story for you! Hope you enjoy it!

[aschall]

if coldplay never mentioned that MX had a story, I would have never found it