because every band needs a horn section obv

 

:nod: :wacko:

I stand by what I said about synths :P Less is better.

because every band needs a horn section obv

 

o

Now THAT I would like to hear! I love DM as well as New Order. That's how synths should be used, imo.

 

This :nod:

They should go in a direction like this:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvN0kDd7cbw]The Sun and the Moon and the Stars - YouTube[/ame]

More[/color][/b] is better.

 

Corrected :|

Here's the video:

 

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/28507086/

 

I like how as soon as Chris said Skrillex Johnny just looks down :laugh3:

Do want moar bassline . . .

Y-E-S.

 

You have no idea how badly I want LP6 to be their Rock album :dazzled: Packed full of songs like Violet Hill and Politik and How You See The World and Major Minus and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and . . .

Y-E-S.

 

In a word - I want them to be moar badass. Like this:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w2fNOEzR9Y]U2 - Bullet The Blue Sky - ZooTV Sydney - YouTube[/ame]

:cool4:

^I think they're already a bit too much compared to U2

The bassline in that song is just amazing... not to mention the Edge solo :dead:

and you can't spell the word badass without bass.

Exactly. If used properly. Few bands do that, imo. Paradise is already a little too hip-hop for me. When I first heard ETIAW,the opening made me think it was Black Eyed Peas, FFS! Until I heard Chris, I didn't know it was Coldplay.

The beginning of ETIAW reminded me of some Rihanna song. How very prophetic of me. :D

I ignored that song until the album came out. Upon another examination, that song is very rock-y, very Edge-y and the lyrics are very Coldplay!

 

But what's "hip-hop" about Paradise? The bassline? Guy actually plays it in concert. I think it's a beautifully elegant song, it's like a classical/pop hybrid. I adore it on a completely visceral level. Sometimes when I'm not in the mood for it, the chorus is very repetitive, but when I am, I enjoy it very much. And when you think about it, how would YOU evoke the feeling of being in Paradise? What was he supposed to write? "OK so I'm in paradise, there's a tree here, there's this there etc." you know what I mean. I think the para-para-paradise lyric and the way they sing it works very well.

 

This. thisthisthis. Just--EVERYTHING. UGH.

The amount of synths / ambience in Viva was perfect.

. . . But there's just too much of it in MX :blank:

 

I think you cling too much to Viva. It WAS perfect and it IS better than MX, but MX is also perfect if not perfecter than Viva. I mean that in the context of its cohesiveness. They're very different albums regarding the overall sound, themes and imagery they provoke. Viva is all about the age of revolution and MX is like an urban fantasy.

 

I honestly enjoy their every album equally. I would never say that MX is their best work, but I don't think of it as a let down AT ALL.

I like how as soon as Chris said Skrillex Johnny just looks down :laugh3:

 

And so begins the mutiny,lol. ;)

 

^Guy does appear to play it live, but it's too synthy on the albbum. Why use a synth when you have a brilliant and melodic bassist right there?? :o

 

And a lot of people have said the drums would be completely hip hop if played behind diferrent tracks. I agree. I do like the song, but it's probably my 2nd least favorite.

I actually think that Guy is kinda the weakest link of CP. :\

 

I mean, I don't know if it's his skills, the mix on albums/individual sound levels on concerts, or the songwriting (not utilizing bass prominently), but Guy is almost inaudible. Unless it's some specific song like God Put A Smile, they can almost completely do without him. (LOL what I am saying, of course they can't do without Guy, who else is gonna radiate sheer sex appeal. :charming:)

 

I just wish they would base their songs on more recognizable basslines...

I actually think that Guy is kinda the weakest link of CP. :\

 

I mean, I don't know if it's his skills, the mix on albums/individual sound levels on concerts, or the songwriting (not utilizing bass prominently), but Guy is almost inaudible. Unless it's some specific song like God Put A Smile, they can almost completely do without him. (LOL what I am saying, of course they can't do without Guy, who else is gonna radiate sheer sex appeal. :charming:)

 

I just wish they would base their songs on more recognizable basslines...

 

I think most Coldplay songs do have a decent bassline, but I agree that in a lot of cases the studio versions are mixed so that you basically can't hear the bass unless you deliberately listen out for it. However, when they play live it's a different story I think. I didn't even notice the bassline of Yellow for example until I heard a live version. Even Paradise has a great bassline in my opinion, and so do many of the songs on X&Y.

I guess more subtle basslines are just Guy's style. I mean, as much as I would love to hear a Coldplay song with a bassline as epic as [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dm_5qWWDV8&ob=av2n]this[/ame], I know it's never going to happen so I'm content with a more subtly awesome one like [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUAKXzkpv_c]this[/ame]. :D

Agreed Fitz, Paradise and X&Y are good examples.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PC1ZCc_JO8I#t=113s

 

:wacky:

 

Slap that bass harder nigga. :whip:

 

P.S. I like that Muse song, but I can't fuckin stand that guy's deathbed voice.

Thanks everyone for the comments, and it's nice to see the debate stay civil! !

Yay, a decent, respectful discussion. Props to everyone in this thread. :thumbsup:

First of all, props to everyone in this thread for keeping things civil, especially with a touchy topic like this!

 

Jesus fuckin Christ, it's like you're all talking about abortion or the holocaust.

Just picked some random posts that caught my eye...

 

There's a lot of multi-quoting needed here that my bad eyes are a little lazy for,lol.

 

I do like MX, and I love some of the songs. UWTB showed some genuine ingenuity, for example.

 

But I don't think it showcases Jonny as much as VLV or the other albums. He plays a whole 15-bar solo on Paradise, and the short time he plays on UWTB is WAY to low in the mix. And is he even on PoC? He really stood out on VLV, without even trying. (I'm not syaing this because I'm a Jonny fan. In fact it's part of WHY I became such a Jonny fan. Going back and listening more to his contributions on the other albums since I felt his absence on this one made me appreciate him all the more.) And I'm only talking about a couple of songs. There are others on MX where he shines!

 

Brian Eno didn't produce this time out. Only 'consulted' and co-composed. So I don't know why some still blame him for this album not standing up.

 

Having said that, much as I love Eno, it's probably time for them to move past him and all of their current producers. Even HE would want their evolution to continue in terms of production, and would likely stop back if he thought that would push them forward.

 

And running the train right off the topic rails, I'd happily see Eno stick around if he brought Daniel Lanois into the mix. THAT would be a pairing to make an EPIC Coldplay album, imo. But I both digress and daydream,lol.

 

I would argue MX has the most and best Jonny of any album....

 

-HLH, three massive Jonny solos.

-Paradise - big solo. Live, Jonny's guitar is more noticeable.

-CB - kind of the IMP or Yellow of this era.

-UATW - only that one part (comparable to Amsterdam).

-ETIAW - Jonny is one of the driving factors - the riff is VERY recognizable and good. This is one of the few guitar riffs of Coldpay's that I can play and have people recognize right away, the others being CB, Strawberry Swing (sometimes), and Fix You.

-Major Minus - rocking!

-UFO - No Jonny. :(

-POC - I think the main riff is actually Jonny, although we've yet to see whether he plays that on guitar or on synth (at Rock Im Park it's synth, but I would bet it'll show up on the guitar).

-UIF - a little Jonny, but still important.

-DLIBYH - underrated song, but Jonny's work is still important.

-UWTB - agreed. He's way too low on the mix. :(

 

I did this off the top of my head...I honestly believe MX has some of the most memorable Jonny moments and parts of any album. VLV does have some great guitarwork too though.

 

Well, I watched it last night, the whole show was a bit of a disappointment to be honest.

 

I was really looking forward to this as I love Eddie Izzard, but his set was short and not very funny.. IHO. :dozey:

 

The rest of the comedians were average at best..

 

Coldplay did their best I think with a very cold audience, or it seemed that way to me... However I too wish they'd done CB instead of ETIAW.. :( My son, who I allowed to stay up that late, and is a new CP fan - so a pretty reliable barometer for some of the newer/younger fans I feel, (he is 13) commented, that Chris isn't singing at the end! And he was right.. there was a back up track on ETIAW, and Chris was bouncing around in the balcony but the track was singing for him.. :( What was going on with that?? I know he does sing it live, I've seen him do it ... twice..

 

I actually thought Paradise was one of their better TV performances of it lately.. but again agree it's been done now.. my son commented, 'I'm actually bored with Paradise now'.... :confused:

 

I agree that they have to do these TV performances, but it's not helped by audiences that just stand there (at least they did stand - after Chris offered them $5 each if they did - the best comic bit of the evening IMHO :laugh3:)

 

I really don't think ETIAW is their best track live.. and I wish they'd played Charlie Brown.. which is..

 

To finish... I think the performance of the evening was by Mumford and Sons..

 

Edit: I also agree with Joel and Celine, it WAS a tv performance and they are never as good as the real live shows, and if we have to defend CP to people, so what? Their loss.. I also disagree to an extent.. I LOVE Paradise when it's played live.. I prefer it to the album.. but that's because I've been there when 20,000 people sang para para para... ! It's an awesome feeling, and not of course one that carries onto TV. In fact the entire performance was just what I expected, apart from the backing track singing for Chris.. that just worried me a bit.. because if Oliver, my son noticed it.. you can be sure lots of others will too... oh well.. I still love them and am still bloody excited for going to see them in June.. :D

 

Actually the singing at the end is NOT looped. It's Jonny, Will, and Guy singing it!

 

And so begins the mutiny,lol. ;)

 

^Guy does appear to play it live, but it's too synthy on the albbum. Why use a synth when you have a brilliant and melodic bassist right there?? :o

 

And a lot of people have said the drums would be completely hip hop if played behind diferrent tracks. I agree. I do like the song, but it's probably my 2nd least favorite.

 

The bass is still somewhat distorted live. I like the texture it has on the CD though...it reminds me of various Muse basslines which are comparably more distorted than normal Coldplay lines.

 

I do object somewhat to the overall amount of synth/strings on Paradise. I believe the live version is PERFECT in piano-guitar-otherstuff mix.

 

Yes, the drums are hip hoppy...but why does that matter? If you take the drums from Strawberry Swing or Lost you get tribal-sounding drums. It's just a fun application of something you usually get somewhere else. I don't think it's very justified to not like what they did with the drums in Paradise (or UIF)..I think they're very valid stylistic decisions.

 

I actually think that Guy is kinda the weakest link of CP. :\

 

I mean, I don't know if it's his skills, the mix on albums/individual sound levels on concerts, or the songwriting (not utilizing bass prominently), but Guy is almost inaudible. Unless it's some specific song like God Put A Smile, they can almost completely do without him. (LOL what I am saying, of course they can't do without Guy, who else is gonna radiate sheer sex appeal. :charming:)

 

I just wish they would base their songs on more recognizable basslines...

 

It's true that no one will recognize Guy for a bassline except for MAYBE Paradise or Square One. But that doesn't mean he's not important. I highly doubt he plays what he does out of skill limitation - see live performances of Spanish Rain to see him playing lead guitar for example.

 

He's VERY important though. I don't think that should ever be denied. Just listen to ETIAW, Major Minus, Speed of Sound, Politik, GPASYUF, Daylight, Shiver, etc...he's no Flea or Chris Wolstenholme, but Coldplay's not a band of virtuosos.

 

I do wish his bass would be featured in at least one song in a prominent way though....I'm personally a very bass-and-drums listener to music.

 

I think most Coldplay songs do have a decent bassline, but I agree that in a lot of cases the studio versions are mixed so that you basically can't hear the bass unless you deliberately listen out for it. However, when they play live it's a different story I think. I didn't even notice the bassline of Yellow for example until I heard a live version. Even Paradise has a great bassline in my opinion, and so do many of the songs on X&Y.

I guess more subtle basslines are just Guy's style. I mean, as much as I would love to hear a Coldplay song with a bassline as epic as

, I know it's never going to happen so I'm content with a more subtly awesome one like this. :D

 

White Shadows. :heart: ...I don't think the mix has ever adversely affected Guy...I think it's just a matter of having good speakers/headphones, because bass is the first thing lost when sound quality isn't good.

^Agreed on everything.

 

Something that crossed my mind a couple of times but I failed to mention on this forum is that I think that ETIAW has kind of evolved from Strawberry Swing.

Chris said that he thinks that SS is the best song on VLV and I believe that he wanted to apply the similar guitar riff driven sound to the lead single of the next album. It sounds like a speeded up and chopped apart SS riff, doesn't it?

 

Overall, MX is much more playable live than VLV. Apart from strings on both albums, MX songs are more based on their regular instruments than on:

 

 

 

etc.

 

Most Viva songs live are like ~70% playback.

I think you cling too much to Viva. It WAS perfect and it IS better than MX, but MX is also perfect if not perfecter than Viva. I mean that in the context of its cohesiveness..

 

Where we differ greatly - I feel that MX could have done with some songs not on it and that it's a bit of an incoherent babble at some points

 

:nod: You have no idea how badly I want LP6 to be their Rock album :dazzled: Packed full of songs like Violet Hill and Politik and How You See The World and Major Minus and God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and . . . *trails off awkwardly*

 

I wanted this for LP6 and then was disappoint :sad:

^^Like or dislike for a thing isn't something anyone needs to justify, but I repsect your points.

 

And ALL good points about Jonny. Like I said, there are some really stand-out songs for him on MX, but I still disagree about Paradise. I love his solo, but it's the only 16 bars he gets on the whole track. I'd have liked to hear more. Having all instruments on all songs would be busy and annoying, but there are a few times where it's almost mechanical for lack of Guy or Jonny, and I'm used to Coldplay being more 'organic'. There's that word again,lol.

 

Cobalt: EXACTLY. My thoughts on MX in one easy sentence.:)

 

Guy+A Whisper="that song would fall flat without him. ;)

 

 

imo

 

EDIT: Actually, I meant to say Daylight, not A Whisper, though he's still lovely on it. And the chorus in I Ran Away. Yes, the bassline is repetitious, but it adds a layer of harmony that the guitars alone couldn't have.

 

Sure, anyone can play bass, but it's THIS bassist, THIS drummer, THIS guitarist (:heart:) and THIS singer/pianist/guitarist that make Coldplay, and it wouldn't be the special and unique entity it is without any one of them. :)

Beware: mega multi-post ahead :freak:

 

Corrected :|

 

Bad Mark :whip:

 

Y-E-S.

 

 

Y-E-S.

 

In a word - I want them to be moar badass. Like this:

 

:cool4:

 

:nod:

 

I may get shot down for this, but I want them to try a couple of songs in the style of Muse . . . really prominent bassline and epic guitar riffs (just as long as Chris doesn't sing like Matt Bellamy :P)

 

I ignored that song until the album came out. Upon another examination, that song is very rock-y, very Edge-y and the lyrics are very Coldplay!

 

But what's "hip-hop" about Paradise? The bassline? Guy actually plays it in concert. I think it's a beautifully elegant song, it's like a classical/pop hybrid. I adore it on a completely visceral level. Sometimes when I'm not in the mood for it, the chorus is very repetitive, but when I am, I enjoy it very much. And when you think about it, how would YOU evoke the feeling of being in Paradise? What was he supposed to write? "OK so I'm in paradise, there's a tree here, there's this there etc." you know what I mean. I think the para-para-paradise lyric and the way they sing it works very well.

 

I think you cling too much to Viva. It WAS perfect and it IS better than MX, but MX is also perfect if not perfecter than Viva. I mean that in the context of its cohesiveness. They're very different albums regarding the overall sound, themes and imagery they provoke. Viva is all about the age of revolution and MX is like an urban fantasy.

 

Welllll, I don't care for ETiaW's lyrics myself :rolleyes: Especially the first and second verse. But yes, the guitar riff is pretty cool.

 

I think the "hip-hop"-iness of Paradise comes from all the synth stuff going on. There's just too much of it (especially in the studio version where the drums are on a loop). The strings are fine, and all of the "real" instrumentation is great (piano, bass, guitar, live drums), but if they had stripped away >80% of the synths and had their parts played on the piano or bass, I think it could sound a lot better.

 

Plus, I was hoping for a 'dark paradise' theme in the lyrics :disappointed:

 

I cling because it's SO GOOD :awesome:

 

And there's where you and I differ: I think that, as a whole, Viva was more streamlined and cohesive and just easier to listen to. Each song flowed into one another very smoothly and there was an overarching theme of love/revolution/war that tied things together very nicely. MX does a good job of this up until CB and after PoC. In the middle, it just seems to get kind of lost :shrug: But to each their own.

 

 

Jesus fuckin Christ, it's like you're all talking about abortion or the holocaust.

 

Would you rather us be screaming death threats at each other? :P

 

Overall, MX is much more playable live than VLV. Apart from strings on both albums, MX songs are more based on their regular instruments than on:

 

 

 

etc.

 

Most Viva songs live are like ~70% playback.

 

I see where you're coming from, but again I have to disagree :P Like songs from ARoBttH (and to an extent, X&Y), Viva has songs that work very well live. Except for the strings and background ambience on some of the tracks, everything is live (with the exception of Lost! and LiJ). All of the instrumentation is played up front, and there is no loop on any of the backing vocals. With MX, however, there's just too much stuff going on at once. It just sounds . . . messy. Especially during the chorus of Paradise. Now, not all MX songs are guilty of this, but there's a larger percentage of songs that use more synths than there was on Viva.

 

*takes a deep breath* Did that make any sense at all? :uhoh:

 

Where we differ greatly - I feel that MX could have done with some songs not on it and that it's a bit of an incoherent babble at some points

 

I wanted this for LP6 and then was disappoint :sad:

 

This.

 

:hug:

Ugh, so many things to say... :sick:

 

I can agree with a lot of things you said, I'm not that adamant in my views on MX. Are you referring to the "U songs" that stand out (in an inversed way :thinking:)? I think they are more than necessary to tame the madness of most of the songs. When I listened to the album for the first time I thought that those songs are too unimpressive when compared to the "main songs" and that they don't belong on that album. But I guess this is the result of the two album (acoustic and electronic) project they envisioned at first. Chris calls it a "schizophrenic" album.

 

The first two albums are like too basic to speak of some characteristic sound. Parachutes is more mellow tho and A Rush is more dramatic and they introduced subtle strings. X&Y however, does have prominent synths and a "space rock" feel to it. Viva has a lot of strings and unusual instruments and the songs are definitely similar and the album is very cohesive. There are two opposed stances regarding MX obviously and I'm definitely more inclined to this view.

 

All the interludes, interconnected songs like the last 3, an underlying story that runs throughout the entire album, make it very cohesive and interesting. There is a lot of contrast to some songs, like UFO to POC, but this is a good thing because it keeps it from being bland. Brian Eno instructed them to make different songs for Viva with different tempos and told Chris to sing differently in every song, but I guess they failed since you think it's super-cohesive. :P

 

As for Viva songs live - lolno. They are most definitely not suited to be played live. LIT, Lost, LIJ, Yes, SS, COL beat, THE ENTIRE VLV SONG (I bet if all the guys except Chris stepped off the stage it would sound the same) - all of these songs are heavily based on a backing tracks. Songs from the first 2 albums are clearly the easiest for performing live. MX songs have a lot of fairly irrelevant details for a live performance, like the "alien voices" in CB, but they can easily play the entire song without a back track. Just compare VLV and Paradise live, they are representative of their albums.

 

Damn I got carried away...

Where we differ greatly - I feel that MX could have done with some songs not on it and that it's a bit of an incoherent babble at some points

 

I wanted this for LP6 and then was disappoint :sad:

 

YOU ARE NOT A TRUE FAN. :snobby: loljk

I believe you meant to say LP5. :inquisitive:

 

I also want that for LP6.

This album is so hyper and saccharine, they went overboard in persuading the general public that they are not mellow sensitive crybabies anymore.

Now go make a ROCK album. :whip:

 

But let's return to the subject of this thread:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdXrS75bIIs]Coldplay Live at Radio City Music Hall (March 2012) - YouTube[/ame]

 

Ugh, Chrissy almost died during Paradise. :sick: He said: "we made it to the end of the song". He was really breathless.

ETIAW would be the first song I'd remove from this set list, however the audience reacted best to it. :shrug:

I believe you meant to say LP5. :inquisitive:

 

Dunce! How did I not catch that? Oh well, I suppose I've been up for several more hours than is healthy. :facepalm: But yes, that is what I meant. With the direction MX took I doubt this possibility more for LP6 :sad:

Dunce! How did I not catch that? Oh well, I suppose I've been up for several more hours than is healthy. :facepalm: But yes, that is what I meant. With the direction MX took I doubt this possibility more for LP6 :sad:

 

"That was embarrassing" :P

 

Who knows, I sure as hell don't want a MX pt. 2 (do want Car Kids EP :awesome:), but one thing is certain - they won't repeat themselves, cos they never do.

"That was embarrassing" :P

 

Who knows, I sure as hell don't want a MX pt. 2 (do want Car Kids EP :awesome:), but one thing is certain - they won't repeat themselves, cos they never do.

 

Actually it's more than "they never do", it seems that repeating themselves scares the crap out of them :lol:

Since X&Y, they seem obsessed with that thought.