LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

[jc90]

I dunno where the idea that 'Ghost Stories was trying to please the masses and aiming for perfection' came from all of a sudden. Chris has said repeatedly that it was an album they had to make. Coupled with what he said about all those songs 'coming in from nowhere' and saying 'we don't care if you like this one or not, 'cause its an album we had to make, etc, etc'.

 

When he said songs came from nowhere, I think that is to say once the idea of the song came, it came out all at once in near final form already. So not much was done to the original idea. That is to say, the imperfections of the song were intentionally left it. Evidence of this was during the hour long interview with Zane where they talked about Oceans. How Will, Chris and the band were kinda out of time in the beginning of the track and found themselves as the track progressed.

 

I mean, to me, it sounds like Chris was the main driver in GS, even more so than on other records. He seemingly made this album to help him cope with his recent relationship issues; in other words, he was being a bit selfish on this album (selfish being used not in a good nor bad context). I think thats what he meant by 'he had to make this album'. So, he didn't really aim to please anyone but himself on this one.

 

All in all, I don't think/feel as if very much thought/fuss went into GS. They just put whatever first came to mind and let things grow organically.

 

However, I can agree with the idea that MX aimed to please everyone. It was defo a bigger album than GS and about as grand as I see Coldplay becoming. And as a repeat of myself and the general feel of the thread, I can also defo see LP7 becoming more like MX 2.0 than GS 2.0

[aschall]

For sure. GS really feels like a one-off thing.

[HurtsLikeHeaven42]

I agree with King in that another band like Imagine dragons will take over for a bit and then Coldplay will go back to it's roots to earn themselves back. I don't know if they will ever get back to their peak after that. It's hard to reach back up there but I don't really care how big they are, as long as I'm loving their music and they are too, then I'm happy.

 

With the next album I am expecting quite a mixture of things, we will have a bit of everything, similar to how GS had acoustic, EDM, simple guitar riffs bit of Para to X&Y stuff as well as MX. But I don't mind too much. I would looove to have another Parachutes/AROBTTH type album, but let's see what happens, they've got plenty more time to keep writing music.

[Revolverwin]

I can also defo see LP7 becoming more like MX 2.0 than GS 2.0

 

I agree with you that LP7 will be closer to MX in terms of style and vibes but I also think that they will bring something new in the forthcoming album.I don't know if it will be bigger than MX but it is safe to say for now that a more mainstream, radio-friendly tracks will dawn on us. Something that can make Chris jump and dance in the stage.

[Wilson]

I remember Chris saying albums 1-7 would be like a series and he doesn't know what they'll do after that. I would kill for their 8th LP(cause I know they won't do this for their 7th) to be like "Postcards From Far Away" and "Famous Old Painters". Just imagine a 40 minute classical sounding Coldplay album. I wouldn't mind half of the album being instrumentals!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jc90]

Whoa, save that for the LP8 thread there Wilson!

[4cat]

I remember Chris saying albums 1-7 would be like a series and he doesn't know what they'll do after that. I would kill for their 8th LP(cause I know they won't do this for their 7th) to be like "Postcards From Far Away" and "Famous Old Painters". Just imagine a 40 minute classical sounding Coldplay album. I wouldn't mind half of the album being instrumentals!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

That would be amazing :]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kingzilla]

I agree w everything, king. Except that mx and gs were trying to please the majority.

 

Gs was straight from the heart, honest, and genuine. MX had the same ambition as Viva, but Chris said many times during that era that he didn't care what anyone else thought anymore. To the contrary I think MX was striving for greatness, it just didn't live up to viva imo.

 

Either than that, it all seems pretty accurate

 

Fair enough, i agree with you with Ghost Stories. However, you cannot help but notice the trendy producers and of course avicii in an album like GS. The album did have a lot of things that pushed it away from mainstream. But if the next album is supposed to be more fan-friendlier, with the Rihanna collab and potential Avicii collab... idk, im hoping that this next album can improve upon MX and GS, with both their respectable flaws. And i shouldnt have said that MX and GS werent striving for greatness. MX was actually very ambitious and very big. I think that MX's problem, and of course this is my opinion, is that it was all over the place in production and many of the songs (Paradise, ETDIAWF, PoC, DLIBYH, Charlie Brown, HLH) were more mainstream then anything else coldplay had done before, except maybe X&Y. I'm not one of those guys who hates MX and GS. In fact, I love MX and GS. But I do prefer Viva, AROBTTH, Parachutes, over MX and GS. Not because MX is not as good as Parachutes, but because i like the more subtle, less poppy feeling of it. It sounds raw and MX sounds overly polished compared to the live version of many of these songs that sound better.

[Guest kmm1482]

Fair enough, i agree with you with Ghost Stories. However, you cannot help but notice the trendy producers and of course avicii in an album like GS. The album did have a lot of things that pushed it away from mainstream. But if the next album is supposed to be more fan-friendlier, with the Rihanna collab and potential Avicii collab... idk, im hoping that this next album can improve upon MX and GS, with both their respectable flaws. And i shouldnt have said that MX and GS werent striving for greatness. MX was actually very ambitious and very big. I think that MX's problem, and of course this is my opinion, is that it was all over the place in production and many of the songs (Paradise, ETDIAWF, PoC, DLIBYH, Charlie Brown, HLH) were more mainstream then anything else coldplay had done before, except maybe X&Y. I'm not one of those guys who hates MX and GS. In fact, I love MX and GS. But I do prefer Viva, AROBTTH, Parachutes, over MX and GS. Not because MX is not as good as Parachutes, but because i like the more subtle, less poppy feeling of it. It sounds raw and MX sounds overly polished compared to the live version of many of these songs that sound better.

 

Why can't they just make music?! Just 4 dudes with instruments in a booth. Why is that so hard to do? Did they forget how to do that??

[Kingzilla]

Why can't they just make music?! Just 4 dudes with instruments in a booth. Why is that so hard to do? Did they forget how to do that??

 

Imagine doing that for 15 years. It might get boring. People's music tastes change. Chris' music tastes have certainly change. I'm not so against mainstream poprock, but i just want it to be artistically thrilling like Viva was and parts of MX and GS. Always In My Head is one of my favorite songs period. So is O. Charlie Brown and Hurts Like Heaven are two amazing songs as well. These songs are just as good as Viva songs imo. I'd love them to go and make a straight rock record, but with this day an age, i doubt we are going back at that point unfortunately

[aschall]

Why can't they just make music?! Just 4 dudes with instruments in a booth. Why is that so hard to do? Did they forget how to do that??

 

GS is that. Aside from ASFOS, the entire album was very gimmick-less and stripped down.

[aschall]

I'd love them to go and make a straight rock record[/color], but with this day an age, i doubt we are going back at that point unfortunately

 

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[theprospekt]

GS is that. Aside from ASFOS, the entire album was very gimmick-less and stripped down.

 

Yep. Proof? Listen to Hurts Like Heaven, then say, Magic. GS is basically a modern Parachutes.

 

 

[smoke is rising from the houses]

[Guest kmm1482]

LP7

 

GS is that. Aside from ASFOS, the entire album was very gimmick-less and stripped down.

 

Seriously??? Go listen to both back to back and then get back to me

[lennyrott1]

I'd love them to go and make a straight rock record, but with this day an age, i doubt we are going back at that point unfortunately.

 

I believe this sums it up for many of us Coldplayers. As hardcore fans I definitely sense a lot of us yearn for a more rockier, instrumental, and and acoustic record that hearkens back to the distinct and acclaimed (critically and commercially) eras of Viva and AROBTTH. If an album was going to do that, it would have been Ghost Stories, but Coldplay took a distinct route towards pop-electronic music, and therefore we must accept that we are never going to quite get those old sounds back, unless they release a ton of old B-sides some day (PLEASE!)

 

We may get little kernels here and there, however. Oceans was Parachutes. Atlas was (almost) as haunting as A Rush Of Blood Through The Head. I would even argue Ghost Story, though not nearly as quality, sounds much like a Viva era song. In short, Coldplay DOES try to please a lot of people. No matter what Chris Martin says, Coldplay makes music for a huge audience: Top 40 loving teens, indie-pop loving young adults, rock loving, radiohead revering twenty/thirty somethings, and contemporary adult listeners. Every era is able to fill this tall order, and LP7 will too.

 

The only question is which audience will it lean towards? MX (for me) seemed aimed at a new generation (Indie-pop, all out pop-rock) while Ghost Stories was more for old fans/appeasing the new, so throwback sounds mixed with Top 40 pop.. Of course, each album comes with sounds that are completely unexpected, and that keeps Coldplay fresh and exciting.

 

I am with you guys on this: LP7 will be most like an MX 2.0, but still will maintain a unique sound quite different from its predecessors. It will be a record that teenage girls can fall in love with and that radios can anxiously sample from. Mass pop hits, a few avant-garde pleasers, I am betting more rock oriented, but mostly electronic, if not EDM occasionally, and it pains me to say that.

[aschall]

Seriously??? Go listen to both back to back and then get back to me

 

Go listen to which ones back to back?

[Guest kmm1482]

Go listen to which ones back to back?

 

Parachutes and Ghost Stories

[aschall]

Parachutes and Ghost Stories

 

What am I looking for? They seem pretty similar to me, both in theme and instrumental sparseness. One has an acoustic outfit and the other a more modern, electronic one.

[jc90]

Why can't they just make music?! Just 4 dudes with instruments in a booth. Why is that so hard to do? Did they forget how to do that??

 

They are making music. I think you may just be uncomfortable with the music they're making if you don't mind me saying. It is just 4 dudes with instruments but they've just swapped their old instruments with new ones. Example, Will hitting the drum pads instead of his drum kit. That doesnt make it bad.

 

Y'know, i've followed some of your comments, and going off memory, I think you really want them to make AROBTTH 2.0. And it's not just you, others as well, including myself. But to expect the next one to be it is just wishful thinking im afraid....

 

And no one is arguing how easy/hard it is to do, but I'm not sure that's what Coldplay are trying to do. They aren't trying to do the easy thing anymore 'cause we all KNOW they can do it, and its been done by others already. In my head, they're almost trying to mix what was known as 'alternative' with other influences like pop, r&b and edm to create a new genre.

 

How that all translates into what LP7 can be, is guesswork. But just because they've explored it with GS doesnt mean they'll continue with it.

 

edit: and while i'm posting, I agree with the majority that interpret GS as a modern day parachutes for the most part.

[lennyrott1]

Anybody have any thoughts on the end of the True Love video? Someone in that thread (I am sorry I forgot who) commented on how the images at the beginning and end of the video don't quite fit in, and therefore might be teasing the next era. More specifically I am talking about the extremely "Dark Side Of The Moon" reminiscent triangle with the intersecting line and flash of colours.

 

Possible hint? It looked like something out of the MX era if you ask me. I think the video itself is not very good at all by Coldplay standards, but that little cheesy "Anything Is Possible," bit at the end has me intrigued.

[Kingzilla]

Anybody have any thoughts on the end of the True Love video? Someone in that thread (I am sorry I forgot who) commented on how the images at the beginning and end of the video don't quite fit in, and therefore might be teasing the next era. More specifically I am talking about the extremely "Dark Side Of The Moon" reminiscent triangle with the intersecting line and flash of colours.

 

Possible hint? It looked like something out of the MX era if you ask me. I think the video itself is not very good at all by Coldplay standards, but that little cheesy "Anything Is Possible," bit at the end has me intrigued.

 

I'd usually say no to that, but the fact that we are so close, who knows whats going to happen. They could drop the album tomorrow. So while i take it with a very large grain of salt, its very much possible imo.

[theprospekt]

My guess is we've already seen the visual theme for LP7 and the title will be "Anything Is Possible"

 

 

[smoke is rising from the houses]

[lennyrott1]

^ Could very well be, but I sure hope not. It would be a Pink Floyd rip off and a the most boring, sappy title for an album released since....ever.

[Kingzilla]

i rlly think its just part of the video tbh. I mean... why bother? It fits with the video, and they will start promotions in a few months probably

[Joueur Froid]

I don't really think this is "teasing" the new era... imo it's just a way to highlight the main message of the video in a stylish way haha you know, not just white letters on black screen.

But I could be wrong ! :) Wait'n see