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Do you think Guy will leave Coldplay?


DukeNewcomb

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Why are you so mean to me?

 

Anyway...

 

In 2003, I was obsessed with them and got to meet them. Back when all they had was a small bus. I was only 14 years old, and was ecstatic. Chris was super nice and asked me a bunch of questions. Jonny shook my hand and asked me about school, talked to me about geography and stuff. Will, who was and is my favorite member of the band, showed me his drum set. All three signed my Coldplay swag. My autographed Rush vinyl is still a prized possession of mine.

 

Guy texted on his phone, mumbled to the ecstatic fans in the room, and left.

 

He's just kind of removed from everyone else.

 

9 years have past since that :laugh3: But ok, at least it explains your view, a bit.

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Why are you so mean to me?

 

Anyway...

 

In 2003, I was obsessed with them and got to meet them. Back when all they had was a small bus. I was only 14 years old, and was ecstatic. Chris was super nice and asked me a bunch of questions. Jonny shook my hand and asked me about school, talked to me about geography and stuff. Will, who was and is my favorite member of the band, showed me his drum set. All three signed my Coldplay swag. My autographed Rush vinyl is still a prized possession of mine.

 

Guy texted on his phone, mumbled to the ecstatic fans in the room, and left.

 

He's just kind of removed from everyone else.

 

 

Allow me to respond with a big fat "so what!'. :rolleyes:

 

He's documented as being shy, so maybe he was uncomfortable in the room full of "ecstatic fans" Or Maybe he was on his phone because he was dealing long distance with some sort of personal issue . Or any one of a billion other things. All of that has less than zero bearing on his skill as a musician, his skill as a producer, or his value to the band.

 

being "a dick" (and I'm in no way convinced that Guy is), does not make him "totally replaceable" (especially now, when his production abilities play a fairly big role in shaping their current output.)

 

I play bass, and hang out on a few bass forums, and Guy's playing is the only member thing about the band that I've actually heard praised by hipster music snob types who ordinarily wouldn't go near Coldplay with a ten foot pole. He's no slouch on the Bass.

Not one of the 4 members of the band (no, not even Chris) is an exceptional musician in the scheme of things, but the band wouldn't sound the same without any one of them.

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Why are you so mean to me?

 

Anyway...

 

In 2003, I was obsessed with them and got to meet them. Back when all they had was a small bus. I was only 14 years old, and was ecstatic. Chris was super nice and asked me a bunch of questions. Jonny shook my hand and asked me about school, talked to me about geography and stuff. Will, who was and is my favorite member of the band, showed me his drum set. All three signed my Coldplay swag. My autographed Rush vinyl is still a prized possession of mine.

 

Guy texted on his phone, mumbled to the ecstatic fans in the room, and left.

 

He's just kind of removed from everyone else.

 

As somebody who consistently acts that way and is often called a bitch for it, I think he's just very, very introverted.

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Fair enough, but that still doesn't mean he's easily replaceable.

 

Tell me something about his bass technique that no-one else would be able to replicate. It's nothing special to me.

 

I mean he could be an awesome bass player, but in the breadth of Coldplay's catalog there are very few complex basslines.

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^That's not even about being a legendary bass player.It's about the chemistry within the band, it's about the members and their friendship. Coldplay does not exist without one of the original members, end of story.

 

Tell that to the Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

or Queen

 

or Guns N Roses

 

or The Who

 

or Lynard Skynard

 

or Van Halen

 

or Kiss

 

or Metallica

 

or Bon Jovi

 

or Pink Floyd

 

or The Rolling Stones

 

or AC/DC

 

 

If Will Champion were to be eaten by piranhas tomorrow they would get another drummer and Coldplay would live on.

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I'm staying on my positions. Coldplay does not exist without Guy, Jonny, Will and Chris. As every band on that list, Coldplay have their own unique story, that you know very well. That story was enough to convince me, personally. And I'm going to pretend I didn't read that last sentence, I don't want to think about it :sick:

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As a bass player myself I must say that his bass lines on X&Y in particular are more complex than you would think. Even if he doesn't nessisarilly play a lot of notes he takes a melodic approach similar to the way Paul McCartney does. Those for me are the hardest bass lines to master and they work with Coldplay's music. Someone like Flea, while a great bassist, wouldn't sound right on a song like Fix You. The chemistry of Coldlpay is built around Guy's technique and it's grown that way for so long now it wouldn't work without him.

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Tell that to the Red Hot Chili Peppers

 

or Queen

 

or Guns N Roses

 

or The Who

 

or Lynard Skynard

 

or Van Halen

 

or Kiss

 

or Metallica

 

or Bon Jovi

 

or Pink Floyd

 

or The Rolling Stones

 

or AC/DC

 

 

If Will Champion were to be eaten by piranhas tomorrow they would get another drummer and Coldplay would live on.

 

 

Not one of the bands you mention sound the same today as they did during their "classic line-up" eras. Bands can change members, but they can never perfectly re create the chemistry that used to be. Smart bands don't even try, that's why they often go in a whole different stylistic direction than they had with their old members.

 

Keep in mind it's not just about playing the bass, it's about writing the basslines, which someone else would never get exactly the same, no matter what.

 

You can't actually see the Who these days, only a band that contains two of it's members (and probably not the two people would choose if they could to boot.)

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As a bass player myself I must say that his bass lines on X&Y in particular are more complex than you would think. Even if he doesn't nessisarilly play a lot of notes he takes a melodic approach similar to the way Paul McCartney does. Those for me are the hardest bass lines to master and they work with Coldplay's music. Someone like Flea, while a great bassist, wouldn't sound right on a song like Fix You. The chemistry of Coldlpay is built around Guy's technique and it's grown that way for so long now it wouldn't work without him.

 

 

And that doesn't even cover his work as a synth player/programmer, which has had a considerable contribution on all of the band's work post X&Y. Bands with umpteen lineup changes become little more than glorified cover/tribute bands IMHO.

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For me Guy is the weekest on the band, he usually just goes with the chords.... he has some moments on X&Y and Viva. I do agree though that it's more about the chemestry than the technique, he just fits well with the others.

 

In fairness, all of the band members' playing trends toward minimalism. Jonny usually plays fairly restrained rhythm style parts, and Will doesn't really even play Tom fills. They're all more technically sound then may be readily apparent, or that they're given credit for.

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His bass lines are boring and he always looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than on stage...

 

bulls*&t!

 

He always looks like he's having the time of his life up there. He may not jump around like Chris, but he's always grooving to the music. Heck, he's even greatly improved his stage style of the last couple tours. He smiles and makes eye contact a lot more than he used to. Does this look like he doesn't want to be there?:

 

tumblr_mawvtcKcPr1qcln2zo3_500.gif

 

As for his bass playing, he's a solid player, just not a flashy one.

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bulls*&t!

 

He always looks like he's having the time of his life up there. He may not jump around like Chris, but he's always grooving to the music. Heck, he's even greatly improved his stage style of the last couple tours. He smiles and makes eye contact a lot more than he used to. Does this look like he doesn't want to be there?:

 

tumblr_mawvtcKcPr1qcln2zo3_500.gif

 

As for his bass playing, he's a solid player, just not a flashy one.

 

:nod:

 

In Paris on the x-stage I noticed he was moving his hips to the music, even when we wasn't playing :lol:

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No, I'm not. I've been to 14 shows over the course of their career and he looks bored at most of them.

 

 

Whatever. We'll obviously have to agree to disagree. I've been to around that same number of shows (I don't keep exact count anymore), with at least one show per tour since AROBTTH in 2002, and that's not been my experience at all, most especially over the last couple tours. Sure, in the early days he was staid and laid back on stage (not all that unusual for Bassplayers BTW), but that's a long way from bored IMHO. It's just like people who criticize the crowd for not jumping around or singing along, not everyone presents excitement/enjoyment in the same way.

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