LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

[The Adversary]

God no, Coldplay don't need to become the next A-ha the world already has one A-ha too many. :lol: and Discotheque? *Shudders*

[Revolverwin]

I just realized that if AHFoD does indeed drop this year that my top, like, 5 favorite bands will have released albums this year... Coldplay, Noel Gallagher, Civil Twilight, U2, and Muse.

 

WHAT A YEAR TO BE ALIVE COME ON COLDPLAY

 

Will U2 release a new album this year?

As for Coldplay, a 2015 release is still on target at the moment considering that they started recording A Head Full of Dreams.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

^ Oh, sorry, I was talking about Songs of Innocence. Turns out that was released late last year. For some reason I don't have any memory of listening to it before January :P

[Revolverwin]

^ Oh, sorry, I was talking about Songs of Innocence. Turns out that was released late last year. For some reason I don't have any memory of listening to it before January :P

 

I see :happy2: though I hope they release "Songs of Experience" soon.

[ov3la]

U2 is going to release another album called songs of experience. Hopefully coldplay releases a head full of dreams sooner. [emoji23]

[Revolverwin]

^ edited my previous post. it should be experience and not innocence haha

[aviv201498]

U2 is going to release another album called songs of experience. Hopefully coldplay releases a head full of dreams sooner. [emoji23]

 

When Songs For Experience will going to release?

[ov3la]

^ edited my previous post. it should be experience and not innocence haha

 

Lol.

[ov3la]

When Songs For Experience will going to release?

 

They don't have a release date for it yet.

[a2iel]

Maybe now that Chris was inspired by Glastonbury he'll write that one last song he always writes last minute to complete the album!

[ov3la]

Maybe now that Chris was inspired by Glastonbury he'll write that one last song he always writes last minute to complete the album!

 

That would be cool.

[nvdmm]

[video=youtube;wb_7C1vMpRQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_7C1vMpRQ

 

I always have mixed feelings when I watch this. Obviously I'm absolutely mesmerized by the utter beauty and perfection of it but I'm also filled with disappointment and just ask myself "what if?". At this point this is a band that could have realized an entirely different potential.

 

I know that every time me or someone else brings up this issue people say they had to "evolve" or change drastically to maintain their popularity or whatever reason it is people use. But I just don't think thats true. The question I ask myself all the time is is there any time left or willingness for the band to create a similar masterpiece.

 

Anyway I didn't want to pollute the thread and just thought a bit of nostalgia helps every now and then; so don't get mad!

[ov3la]

LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

 

[video=youtube;wb_7C1vMpRQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_7C1vMpRQ

 

I always have mixed feelings when I watch this. Obviously I'm absolutely mesmerized by the utter beauty and perfection of it but I'm also filled with disappointment and just ask myself "what if?". At this point this is a band that could have realized an entirely different potential.

 

I know that every time me or someone else brings up this issue people say they had to "evolve" or change drastically to maintain their popularity or whatever reason it is people use. But I just don't think thats true. The question I ask myself all the time is is there any time left or willingness for the band to create a similar masterpiece.

 

Anyway I didn't want to pollute the thread and just thought a bit of nostalgia helps every now and then; so don't get mad!

 

They have had already had great potential with X&Y and Viva. The reason coldplay's style changed is because they don't want to sound the same throughout their career . The band themselves said that repeating themselves would be boring. If coldplay wouldn't change their style, they would sound like the fray. Of course they can create similar masterpieces but they aren't going to do that. Not for a head full of dreams at least. Maybe for their eighth album.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

[video=youtube;wb_7C1vMpRQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_7C1vMpRQ

 

I always have mixed feelings when I watch this. Obviously I'm absolutely mesmerized by the utter beauty and perfection of it but I'm also filled with disappointment and just ask myself "what if?". At this point this is a band that could have realized an entirely different potential.

 

I know that every time me or someone else brings up this issue people say they had to "evolve" or change drastically to maintain their popularity or whatever reason it is people use. But I just don't think thats true. The question I ask myself all the time is is there any time left or willingness for the band to create a similar masterpiece.

 

Anyway I didn't want to pollute the thread and just thought a bit of nostalgia helps every now and then; so don't get mad!

 

I ask myself that sometimes as well . . . especially when listening to that version of that masterpiece song :P

 

But, while I love ARoBttH, if not for the band's desire to evolve, we never would have gotten Viva which (in my opinion) is basically the greatest album of all time. Plus there's always the possibility that Coldplay might not be as massive as they are today if their sound stayed the same. I have no doubt they would still be hugely successful, but they could have turned out like The Fray (that is: boring, predictable, blah).

 

The only thing I will ever consistently complain about is the quality of the lyrics we get. Coldplay can evolve their sound however they want, but I want the lyrics to be good darnit :P

 

EDIT: I just realized that both me and the poster above used The Fray as examples :lol:

[ov3la]

LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

 

I ask myself that sometimes as well . . . especially when listening to that version of that masterpiece song :P

 

But, while I love ARoBttH, if not for the band's desire to evolve, we never would have gotten Viva which (in my opinion) is basically the greatest album of all time. Plus there's always the possibility that Coldplay might not be as massive as they are today if their sound stayed the same. I have no doubt they would still be hugely successful, but they could have turned out like The Fray (that is: boring, predictable, blah).

 

The only thing I will ever consistently complain about is the quality of the lyrics we get. Coldplay can evolve their sound however they want, but I want the lyrics to be good darnit :P

 

EDIT: I just realized that both me and the poster above used The Fray as examples :lol:

 

Yes viva is the best album i've heard as well, their best cd in my opinion. They have masterpieces on every album not just arobtth. Their lyrics have gotten dull and kind of drab. I do like the fray. They're good even though they're repetitive. Haha.

[I ran away]

nvdmm, I fully agree with you.

[theprospekt]

Now that you mention A Rush Of Blood To The Head and lyrics. I love the lyrics to that song:

 

"Said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war, if you can tell me something worth fighting for"

 

So much suppressed anger in that song, and the way he sings those words just gives me the chills!

 

I want something as perfect as that for LP7.

 

 

[smoke is rising from the houses]

[nvdmm]

So much suppressed anger in that song, and the way he sings those words just gives me the chills!

That theme is present in the entire album and it kind of gives this great complexity and edge to the work as a whole. There is this serenity on the surface but when you're properly immersed into the songs you feel a certain chaos and rage from within. Its an astonishing quality and I think they managed to recapture this again only a few times on X&Y and VLV.

[Revolverwin]

[video=youtube;wb_7C1vMpRQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_7C1vMpRQ

 

I always have mixed feelings when I watch this. Obviously I'm absolutely mesmerized by the utter beauty and perfection of it but I'm also filled with disappointment and just ask myself "what if?". At this point this is a band that could have realized an entirely different potential.

 

I know that every time me or someone else brings up this issue people say they had to "evolve" or change drastically to maintain their popularity or whatever reason it is people use. But I just don't think thats true. The question I ask myself all the time is is there any time left or willingness for the band to create a similar masterpiece.

 

Anyway I didn't want to pollute the thread and just thought a bit of nostalgia helps every now and then; so don't get mad!

 

Whatever it is, we'll never know. I mean, they could have been a better band but we can never be sure of that. We can only presume, we can even dream about it... but that's it. I really do see your point man, nobody has the right to be mad at you. Though I'm okay with the "new" direction the band is taking, sometimes I too wish for a more raw, more rock sound. It was inevitable really.. considering the fact the it was the sound Coldplay presented to us since their birth as a band. But there are so many things to consider these days. And for a band like Coldplay, There's always the pressure to release a great album. I remember Chris Martin said on an interview (MX era) that he wanted everyone who bought their albums to enjoy it, like eating a really good sandwich and I think they achieved that somehow. We can all see that the band is trying and incorporating a lot of styles since Viva and I respect that. It produced memorable and great tunes. Evolution paid off. But our what ifs will remain unanswered.

[The Adversary]

I think it's fair to say A Rush of Blood was their peak at this stage? I'll sheepishly make that statement because I know a lot of people don't like to hear it. Live 2003 was something else. A rush of blood was definitely the best album of the last decade hands down in my opinion, a masterpiece as said above . I'm not hoping for AROBTTH on LP7. I'd just like something that the detractors won't have a field day with, you know?

[lennyrott1]

I don't think the band knew what they wanted to be after AROBTTH. They had proven they were a band to be reckoned artistically with on that album, but also knew they were one of the biggest things in pop music. I have been really content with everything they have done since...but yeah, I sometimes get the feeling that this record will be remembered as their most definitively mature sounding, despite its pop appeal, because they decidedly stuck with pop music and changing styles.

 

AHFOD. I really don't know what to expect. My expectations are pretty high, since Chris has already said it is the "end of something," but I also can't see them writing anything that profound lyrically or as musically angry or deep as AROBTTH. The last two records have been wonderful and filled with passion, but really have lacked lyrical depth or emotional resonance on the level with previous records.

 

I just really want them to make music that can still be called weird, artful, alternative, surprising, colorful, passionate. That is all. They have achieved that somewhat on every album, I just fear an all-out pop explosion that leaves little room for novel musical ideas.

[The Adversary]

Yes, I couldn't agree more. I'm all for evolving your style, but there's evolution and then there's revolution.

 

It is quite frustrating I think because even under the veil of pop music, Chris tentatively slips in something amazing on each of the last two albums, on GS it was Midnight which made me really excited as I believed Coldplay we're doing something similar to Kid A, but alas it was not to be. I think part of it comes from the band wanting to be all things to all men. They want to be artistically creative and original, yet want also to have the chart toppers and appeal to easy listeners. The problem with this is, no one is fully satisfied and you end up alienating people.

 

It is just heart wrenching when you think of all the potential after AROBTTH, not to say the next two albums weren't great. They were, it's just that they weren't a work of art like the first two were. Case in point, I think it says a lot that Coldplay we're once compared to greats like Radiohead and Oasis but are now compared to the likes of Bastille and Imagine Dragons.

 

As far my expectations for AHFOD, I think as far as you can guess from a title, it's promising. And as you said, as this is the 'last thing' I think its okay to have high expectations for this truly exceptional band who are capable of writing masterpieces. Just please no collaborations, No EDM, No electric drum kit, No concept albums that ruin personal interpretations.

 

Maybe I expect too much and if anyone thinks that, that's entirely fair enough.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

It seems to me that Coldplay have made their greatest albums when they set out to prove something. ARoBttH was to prove that they weren't "bed-wetters" and Viva was to prove that they hadn't lost their way and weren't out of ideas.

 

Both times it resulted in something that was musically brilliant, lyrically profound, and ultimately memorable. As others have pointed out, both albums had an anger and a hunger about them flowing just under the surface. Sometimes it came out, as in ARoBttH (the song), Politik, Violet Hill, and Yes. And guess what, ask most Coldplay fans what songs they think have the deepest, most profound lyrics and chances are they'll mention at least one of those songs. Then, when they reigned themselves in with their more typical "hopeful" and "happy" songs like Strawberry Swing or DaAHF, they punched that much harder because that dichotomy had been established.

 

When we get right down to it, I think it's those angry songs that we've been missing. Look at Coldplay's other four albums and try to find a song that's as hard-hitting as those four I mentioned. I can think of just one: Twisted Logic. They have other songs which sound kind of angry (like Major Minus), but don't really have the same gut-punch effect to them. Instead, we've gotten albums filled with those hopeful or sad songs that target all the typical, familiar emotional areas.

 

Now, there's nothing wrong with having an album's-worth of hopeful/happy/sad/depressing songs. Parachutes has that calming feel-good vibe and it's good, and I'm not really sure what category to place X&Y under, but it's been getting a lot of praise lately also. Coldplay can and does make good albums without those gut-punch songs, but I think if we want to hope for another "great" like ARoBttH or Viva, we need to hope for some fire and anger.

 

In short, we need some nightmares in our head full of dreams.

[lennyrott1]

^Great points. I love the music with GS and MX the band commented on not caring about what people think and making what they want, and I absolutely love the results. That said, the albums and tracks you mentioned have so much more grit, anger, and meaning behind them, and thus are some of Coldplay's best tunes. I don't know if they think they have something to prove anymore, but I certainly love the idea of nightmares.

 

I would be incredibly frustrated if AHFOD didn't at least have a Major Minus or a Midnight that offers up something more sinister and dark. I see it two ways. 1. Dreams are going to be nothing but rainbows and "anything is possible" cliches, or 2. Dreams are going to be hopeful, but sometimes terrifying bizarre and complex. The latter would be very welcome, while the former would be just another MX/GS, full of heart-on-sleeve proclamations of love and happiness, and the occasional song of heartbreak, nothing new, nothing original.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

^ Agreed about AHFoD going one of two ways. I'm hoping they go the second way also--I could see them doing a dark/bizarre vibe for first half of the album and then transitioning to a happier/lighter tone for the second half since they seem fond of doing concept albums lately. If they go the route of #1, this might sadly wind up being my least-favorite album :disappointed:

 

Also I've just had a tinfoil hat-ish theory thought:

 

 

WHAT IF this album comes out as an amalgamation of Coldplay's growth through the years, with the first few tracks being very Parachutes-y, the next few having an ARoBttH vibe, then X&Y, etc. I think that could be both very cool and tell the type of story that the band seems to like (with the story being the journey of the band itself, beginning with perhaps doubts about making it as a band, then progressing to anxiety about needing to prove themselves, then evolve their sound, finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places, etc.)

 

Such an album could have those dark moments that I was talking about, while also carrying a very hopeful vibe of knowing everything is going to be okay in the end. The "head full of dreams" could be referencing the songs themselves, as I have no doubt that Chris at least always has ideas for songs bouncing around in his head.

 

*takes off tinfoil hat* Okay, my wildly speculative moment is over for the day now :P