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.

 

True. And while I'm glad they want each album to differ greatly from the last, that fear may actually be holding them back. So a song or two on the next album sound a little like something from a previous album. As long as they're well-written songs, who cares??

 

Relax, Coldplay. Have a glass of wine and some cake. :)

True. And while I'm glad they want each album to differ greatly from the last, that fear may actually be holding them back. So a song or two on the next album sound a little like something from a previous album. As long as they're well-written songs, who cares??

 

Relax, Coldplay. Have a glass of wine and some cake. :)

 

Brava! I agree, and what a fantastic analyses thread in general. Just dipping my toes in this thread with some civilized opinioning. :smug:

 

I've been sort of hoping for the next record to go rock and roll as well. Maybe, maybe, they can convince themselves to scale back a bit after two gradiose albums like the one's they just done (I mean 3 really if you can put X&Y through that progression).

But I'm not sure how that might play out, just with expectations and their own vision. It's been more than ten years now and there's definitely been an established change from just making good ol' soft rock to now pushing the limits of what they can do with music (both fantastic, IMHO). It's a huge range they've got and sometimes leaves me wondering where things can go from here.

Of course, I'm assured that whatever comes next will still be mindblowingly fantastic, as per the usual. Perhaps that's just my Mylo fandom speaking. I personally love where things have gone. It shows a range that you couldn't have expected 6 or so years ago from these guys and it's fantastic.

But I digress. I'm not sure how I feel about the level of concepting that would have to happen if they continue this path of elaborately concepting an entire palatte for each new record. Could they, as a breath of different air, scale it back somewhat? Part of me wants (even an EP!) something that really pays homage to their rock and britpop roots while still keeping the level of innovation they've set for themselves.

And as I finish up here I realize I'm asking for something nigh impossible (but you never know with the boys!) and saying basically nothing. Ah well, I am talented in talking in circles :rolleyes5:

Sounds like my dream Coldplay album! You're doing just fine!!!:D

as;dsjh stupid computer just deleted my entire post :shifty:

 

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.

 

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...

 

:lol: Yeah, tell me about it!

 

Umm . . . I suppose so. Personally, I think the 'U' songs are the best tracks on MX, and you're right about the fact that they're necessary to 'tame' the wildness that the rest of the album brings, but they jam the flow of the album. The first time I listened to MX I was like FAST SONGS OMG GOGOGO--*tires squeal* slllloooooooooowwwww . . . FASTERFASTERMUSTGOFASTER *flow stops dead* . . . . . . . . SCHIZOPHRENIC GLASS OF WATER SONG *segue* nice peaceful song. Even with the interludes, it just seemed odd to me :shrug:

 

I do agree that the segues between the last three tracks work very well, but to me (as I mentioned above) a sudden stop in the wildness is very jarring. Contrast is good, but sometimes it's better to have a grey area instead of a drop-off. . . . Which is another thing that I like about Viva (getting to your other point :P ). Chris did sing differently in every song, the tempos and instrumentations were different, but somehow the guys made it work!

 

Wait what . . . you just named a bunch of songs from Viva :P (I don't care much for the song Viva myself when it's live, but my God that ending is spinetingling). LIT is an ambient intro, so it doesn't count, Yes was played live like three times, I'm pretty sure Strawberry Swing doesn't have much of a backing track at all, and CoL has an ambient intro/background. I will give you Lost! and LiJ, though, because they do rely on backing tracks :P.

 

I do agree that songs from Parachutes and ARoBttH sound the best live (and are probably fairly easy to perform in comparison), but I think there would be problems if the guys played the MX songs without backing. They could go without the intro to CB, but what about HLH, ETiaW, and Paradise? Most of ETiaW could probably be covered, but there's a bunch of stuff going on in the background in HLH and I don't even want to think about how much ambience and effects there are in Paradise :wreck:

 

. . . long post is long :P

 

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.

 

I can agree with this :lol:

 

But I'm beginning to wonder if their fear of repeating themselves is actually holding them back more than helping them now :uhoh: I understand wanting to change, but maybe they shouldn't change so drastically each time.

Agree to disagree? :shrug: But not really, I understand your concerns, I see your point and I agree, but I guess that the stuff that bothers you, doesn't bother me. We definitely agree that they should pursue a more "rock" sounding direction, like Violet Hill, my favorite song on VLV, or Major Minus, God Put A Smile and similar songs, but if they don't experiment, they will never achieve anything epochal.

as;dsjh stupid computer just deleted my entire post :shifty:

 

 

 

:lol: Yeah, tell me about it!

 

Umm . . . I suppose so. Personally, I think the 'U' songs are the best tracks on MX, and you're right about the fact that they're necessary to 'tame' the wildness that the rest of the album brings, but they jam the flow of the album. The first time I listened to MX I was like FAST SONGS OMG GOGOGO--*tires squeal* slllloooooooooowwwww . . . FASTERFASTERMUSTGOFASTER *flow stops dead* . . . . . . . . SCHIZOPHRENIC GLASS OF WATER SONG *segue* nice peaceful song. Even with the interludes, it just seemed odd to me :shrug:

 

I do agree that the segues between the last three tracks work very well, but to me (as I mentioned above) a sudden stop in the wildness is very jarring. Contrast is good, but sometimes it's better to have a grey area instead of a drop-off. . . . Which is another thing that I like about Viva (getting to your other point :P ). Chris did sing differently in every song, the tempos and instrumentations were different, but somehow the guys made it work!

 

Wait what . . . you just named a bunch of songs from Viva :P (I don't care much for the song Viva myself when it's live, but my God that ending is spinetingling). LIT is an ambient intro, so it doesn't count, Yes was played live like three times, I'm pretty sure Strawberry Swing doesn't have much of a backing track at all, and CoL has an ambient intro/background. I will give you Lost! and LiJ, though, because they do rely on backing tracks :P.

 

I do agree that songs from Parachutes and ARoBttH sound the best live (and are probably fairly easy to perform in comparison), but I think there would be problems if the guys played the MX songs without backing. They could go without the intro to CB, but what about HLH, ETiaW, and Paradise? Most of ETiaW could probably be covered, but there's a bunch of stuff going on in the background in HLH and I don't even want to think about how much ambience and effects there are in Paradise :wreck:

 

. . . long post is long :P

 

 

 

I can agree with this :lol:

 

But I'm beginning to wonder if their fear of repeating themselves is actually holding them back more than helping them now :uhoh: I understand wanting to change, but maybe they shouldn't change so drastically each time.

 

All of that was pretty much 100% right on IMHO

 

I do wish they'd play 1 concert without backing tracks though, just so all the naysayers could see how much IS played live. All 4 members are most definately contributing to VLV live!:thinking:

All of that was pretty much 100% right on IMHO

 

I do wish they'd play 1 concert without backing tracks though, just so all the naysayers could see how much IS played live. All 4 members are most definately contributing to VLV live!:thinking:

 

I'd love to see that happen. I know they have it in them.:)

I'd love to see that happen. I know they have it in them.:)

 

Only if they bring a couple of violinists on tour with them. :P

Not even Davide Rossi can play multiple layers of strings simultaneously by himself.

I'd love to see that happen. I know they have it in them.:)

 

 

All they'd really need is a string section and one guy for synths. They'd still have to use a bit of vocal backing though, becuase no matter what Chris can't sing two parts at once.

All they'd really need is a string section and one guy for synths. They'd still have to use a bit of vocal backing though, becuase no matter what Chris can't sing two parts at once.

 

I think even that could be done. There are 4 of them, and as far as I can hear, they're all decent singers, so they could learn those doubled Chris parts. A string section would be really cool! And most, if not all synth parts used to come from Chris's piano anyway. As long as he can layer sounds/split the keyboard, it's all manageable.

I think even that could be done. There are 4 of them, and as far as I can hear, they're all decent singers, so they could learn those doubled Chris parts. A string section would be really cool! And most, if not all synth parts used to come from Chris's piano anyway. As long as he can layer sounds/split the keyboard, it's all manageable.

 

 

Actually, Jonny plays a great many of the synth, and other weird instrumentation live. Pretty much anytime he's at his little purple midi keyboard (VLV, LiJ, Paradise), that's what he's doing. I'm not sure why so many people act like he's doing nothing when he's doing that.:\

I do agree with what you're saying, on the whole, but there are a few things that you have said that you dont seem to have thought about.

 

Firstly, I agree with you on the choice of songs but judging by what you said I dont think you realise what the event was for. Although i dont think the song choice was ideal either, they were playing at an international charity event.

I hardly think 'major Minus' would have been appropriate at an event about peace and development. (that would have been too bizarre)

Instead they chose songs that seemed to be uplifting and popular, given that it wasnt their own show.

And c'mon, i agree about Chris concentrating on his performance (which i agree was well bellow par) rather than jumping around but i couldnt really care less about what they wear as long as they try.

As for ETIAW, you like everyone else is entitle to an opinion but at this stage it astounds me that an actual appreciator of coldplay can ridicule one of their most upbeat songs. (If you were complaining about all of the stupid backing tracks then i would agree, but not the song itself)

I'd love to see that happen. I know they have it in them.:)

 

Instead of touring for the whole year i really think they should either completely rework their setlist or (and i know they wont) do some low key and intimate acoustic shows.

 

I just hope for the musics sake that they keep things fresh and switch it around a little.

Instead of touring for the whole year i really think they should either completely rework their setlist or (and i know they wont) do some low key and intimate acoustic shows.

 

I just hope for the musics sake that they keep things fresh and switch it around a little.

 

This.. :nod:

Instead of touring for the whole year i really think they should either completely rework their setlist or (and i know they wont) do some low key and intimate acoustic shows.

 

I just hope for the musics sake that they keep things fresh and switch it around a little.

 

 

They won't. That said, they way they do it works for them. Unlike most of the people who are active here, the bulk of their live audience, goes to 1 (or maybe 2) gig(s) per tour and doesn't spend hours on the internet reading about every show they play. It's harder to be disappointed by the repitition if you're not aware it's being repeated. Coldplay (for better or worse) plays to an audience of mostly casual fans, and the format of their shows is probably the best way to meet the expectations of that audience.

I at least hope the setlist gets extended, last I checked it was rather short

Instead of touring for the whole year i really think they should either completely rework their setlist or (and i know they wont) do some low key and intimate acoustic shows.

 

I just hope for the musics sake that they keep things fresh and switch it around a little.

 

Yes, this. But as has been said, it won't happen for the reasons given. The majority of fans aren't used to hearing multiple streamed shows like we obsessive fans doo, so the set will always be fresh to them. And it will always contain more single than deep album cuts for the same reason.

 

And yes, Jonny does handle a lot of the live synth work, so there's no reason they can't go live without backing tracks. Of course, you can do more with them. I'm just saying Coldplay is talented enough to not need them. I've seen early shows, and anyone who has will agree with me.

And yes, Jonny does handle a lot of the live synth work, so there's no reason they can't go live without backing tracks. Of course, you can do more with them. I'm just saying Coldplay is talented enough to not need them. I've seen early shows, and anyone who has will agree with me.

 

:nod: I've seen live performances of In My Place from around 2000/2001 and Chris used to play the synths in In My Place on his keyboard. Now that's all on a backing track. :\ I guess that was before he discovered his natural dancing talent :P

I at least hope the setlist gets extended, last I checked it was rather short

 

 

Again true. The problem is there's nothing really lighting a fire under the band's ass to change things. They're one of the most successful live acts in the world doing what they do, and I have a feeling the may not even really be that aware of certain critisisms (length of set, repetetiveness of set etc.) all that much. I can see how being in the middle of the circus, so to speak, they may lack perspective on the degree to which change may be needed.

:nod: I've seen live performances of In My Place from around 2000/2001 and Chris used to play the synths in In My Place on his keyboard. Now that's all on a backing track. :\ I guess that was before he discovered his natural dancing talent :P

 

 

In my place doesn't have a synth part.

In my place doesn't have a synth part.

 

Yeah, there are synth sounds on IMP,at least on the album.

Yeah, there are synth sounds on IMP,at least on the album.

 

They're not synths actually. Sounds more like a string arragement

Let's look at Radiohead. They are also one of the world's most successful acts, and from what I've seen/heard they rarely play two setlists the same in a tour. Now granted RH have been around a bit longer than Coldplay, but Coldplay still have enough of a back catalogue that they could mix up their setlists a bit.

They're not synths actually. Sounds more like a string arragement

 

Strings, synths whatever. My point is that Chris used to play them and he doesn't anymore.

They're not synths actually. Sounds more like a string arragement

 

Then there would be a string section credited on the album notes.