LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

[gai]

Regarding promotion will they be doing Graham Norton?

 

Let me rephrase that. Will they appear on his show?

 

Also Colbert please.

 

 

I don't even know on which continent they are currently.

don't think graham norton will happen because they just did the jonathan ross show.

colbert would be wonderful, but don't think that'll happen for awhile either. only late night show in the US confirmed around the release dates is the james corden's tomorrow.

 

and they should be somewhere in uk or europe now i guess? they played london yesterday and they have some promo stuff happening starting tomorrow in europe.

[Nikola]

I also think -- and this may sound crazy -- that AFHOD, Birds, HFTW is Coldplay's strongest 1 - 2 -3 opening punch of ANY album. MX with HLH, Paradise, Charlie Brown is tied or second. But I find these three to flow well into each other and HFTW has really grown on me.

 

 

Oh I AGREE sheer excitement-wise. *___* Love both of those 1-2-3 punches.

 

Nothing beats the 1-2-3-4-5 punch of AROBTTH tho. Like that section of their discography alone places them among the greats.

[Nikola]

don't think graham norton will happen because they just did the jonathan ross show.

colbert would be wonderful, but don't think that'll happen for awhile either. only late night show in the US confirmed around the release dates is the james corden's tomorrow.

 

and they should be somewhere in uk or europe now i guess? they played london yesterday and they have some promo stuff happening starting tomorrow in europe.

I see. Well thanks. :(

[Jedi Leo]

AHFOD is dancepop for me.

 

AHFOD is as close to U2 as I´m ever gonna get *lol*

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

What about AROBTTH's 1) Politik 2) In My Place 3) GPASUYF - That was a pretty good opening as well.

 

Not an opening, but I would argue the 1-2-3 of Viva, Violet Hill, and Strawberry Swing is the best as far as song triads go :P

[Guilherme]

After listening AHFOD more times, i change my opinion about the album, i started liking many songs, like Birds(Indie-rock vibe), Evergrow(Oldplay in their best), Fun(very good vibe), Army One(I love Paradise vibe, and Will drums) and finaly UP & UP, People that song have potencial to be one of the best coldplay songs ever, but one thing that i hate is production, i saw a little overproduction, i think Stargate forced effects to turn coldplay songs more pop.

Sorry for my english :(

[A Rush of Magic]

Some guy on the Super Bowl Coldplay video comment section has been telling me that 1D is better because they actually play their instruments while Coldplay adlib everything live.

 

 

Literally the most ignorant thing ive heard because when 1D performs live they just sing while a separate group of people do the instruments. Meanwhile Coldplay actually performs their songs almost the same way they were recorded. They even made midnight exciting. That song couldve just been Chris singing while a backstage team did the rest on a laptop but no, Jonny worked the synths/piano, Will did the beat, Guy played bass on a freaking laser harp, and Chris sang over a vocoder like they recorded it.

[Lobabe]

AHFOD is dancepop for me.

 

Right? This song could've been so much more with more traditional production. Just ...this song doesn't fit with the production to me.

 

And I remember reading that Coldplay recorded 8 versions of the song, and chose this one. I don't know why...makes me wanna hear the others.

[Jedi Leo]

And I remember reading that Coldplay recorded 8 versions of the song, and chose this one. I don't know why...makes me wanna hear the others.

 

The way I understood it is that they had several songs with this title, not that they had several versions of the same complete song :)

[I ran away]

Right? This song could've been so much more with more traditional production. Just ...this song doesn't fit with the production to me.

 

And I remember reading that Coldplay recorded 8 versions of the song, and chose this one. I don't know why...makes me wanna hear the others.

 

I actually meant the album as a whole, I think its dominating genre is dancepop. But of course the song AHFOD is dancepop as well :)

[Jedi Leo]

I actually meant the album as a whole, I think its dominating genre is dancepop.

 

Hmm you think so? When you say dance pop the albums that come in mind to me are Justin Timberlake FutureSex or Rihanna (any album). The closest Coldplay come to a pure dance pop song is to me Adventure of a Lifetime, but even that has too many organic drums and guitar licks to be fully dance pop hehe

 

If I should describe the album as a whole I would describe it as dominating genre: no genre *LOL* I mean an album where Everglow, Hymn , Birds, Adventure and Amazing Day all exist together is clearly a non-genre album hehe

 

However I think I agree with you if you say the production throughout tends very much to dance pop, that I would agree and for that we have Stargate to thank or blame (depends whom you ask hehe)

[I ran away]

Yeah, AHFOD, HFTW, AOAL and even Birds are quite dancey imho !

[Jedi Leo]

Yeah, AHFOD, HFTW, AOAL and even Birds are quite dancey imho !

 

Dance-y yes but not right down dance pop imo. Hymn is too R&B to be pop, Birds is too alt , AHFOD is too rocky hehe

 

I am splitting hair aren't I? haha Sorry if it came across as such. Sometimes I tend to get nerdy about stuff :)

[Lobabe]

Hmm you think so? When you say dance pop the albums that come in mind to me are Justin Timberlake FutureSex or Rihanna (any album). The closest Coldplay come to a pure dance pop song is to me Adventure of a Lifetime, but even that has too many organic drums and guitar licks to be fully dance pop hehe

 

If I should describe the album as a whole I would describe it as dominating genre: no genre *LOL* I mean an album where Everglow, Hymn , Birds, Adventure and Amazing Day all exist together is clearly a non-genre album hehe

 

However I think I agree with you if you say the production throughout tends very much to dance pop, that I would agree and for that we have Stargate to thank or blame (depends whom you ask hehe)

 

Well, Amazing Day and Kaelidescope are the least-pop songs, but the rest really could be summed up as pop...even pop rock. Because Hmyn has drum crashes and lead guitar...which that's about the most furthest from rock- song.

 

I think all and all...it's a good album...maybe even great.

 

But ...it's great in a different way. A way I'm not happy with Coldplay. For this reason- a lot of these songs could've been written by someone else and I wouldn't have been surprised. I could've heard Taylor Swift do Hymn For a Weekend or ...Up and Up. I could hear Sarah Mclaughlan do Everglow. I could hear U2 do the title track... or Fun or Army of One, X marks the spot.. they could've been done by a number of modern pop artists.

 

Who else would do a Politik? Or ..Shiver or Sparks?

 

They're not doing their ...original-type material... potential.

 

To me, the most original song would be ...Adventure of a Lifetime.. that riff is not likely to have been conjured up by anyone but Johnny. The lead guitar, that is. And it's got a great build to it, in the way that Coldplay has always been good at. A lot of these other songs don't have that kind of build up.

 

I think Coldplay should make an album for their fans next. This one is for ....the football stadium, the Super Bowl, if you will.

They're trying to get noticed by everyone. But making music everyone ....kinda loves. It's not as righteous a path as making music no one else could make...and making a permanent mark on those few people that do take notice.

[Jedi Leo]

But ...it's great in a different way. A way I'm not happy with Coldplay. For this reason- a lot of these songs could've been written by someone else and I wouldn't have been surprised.

 

I hear something different here. I dont like R&B and yet I like Hymn, I am not too crazy about ballads and yet I like Everglow. Thats simply because I like Coldplay songwriting style, so I must say I hear their "stamp" all over AHFOD as well. Even the songs Chris gave away to Natalie back when you can hear they are Coldplay songs.

 

I think they managed quite well to navigate different genres while keeping their style intact. Now if you think their songwriting style is exclusively the first two albums, then thats another story :)

[Jedi Leo]

I think Coldplay should make an album for their fans next.

 

And I dont wanna come across as presumptuous or rude here but I AM a fan too :) And I do feel they still make albums I can relate to.

[getithom]

I think Coldplay should make an album for their fans next. This one is for ....the football stadium, the Super Bowl, if you will.

They're trying to get noticed by everyone. But making music everyone ....kinda loves. It's not as righteous a path as making music no one else could make...and making a permanent mark on those few people that do take notice.

 

Sorry, but any self-respecting artist/band would not make an album 'for their fans'.

[lennyrott1]

Arguably, every Coldplay album is for everybody--especially GS and AHFOD. And that is why they are my least favorite. With earlier albums they would commit to just a few primary sounds on an album that people would either love or hate, though they were still accessible and mostly pop rock albums.

 

With GS and AHFOD you get a whole swath of stuff. Straight Pop/Contemporary Dance: True Love, ASFOS, HFTW, AOAL, Army of One. Indie-pop: Magic, Ink, Fun, Birds, AIMH. Stadium/Alt-Rock: AHFOD, Amazing Day, Up&Up R&B/Hip-Hop: Another's Arms, X Marks the Spot. Ambient/Electronic: Midnight, Kaleidoscope Piano Ballad: O, Everglow

 

Heck, you could even extend that list back to MX. The truth is, Coldplay says they want to channel ALL of their influences which in turn aims to please fans of EVERY genre. This is admirable, and they do a good job at every genre in my opinion--but not a great job. So I am pleased insofar as I like the genres of Indie-pop, alt-rock, and ambience and ballads--but if I don't love Coldplay's stuff in other genres, then I won't enjoy the entirety of their albums (i.e. True Love, ASFOS, HFTW, Fun) I think they need to go back and make something with a more straight-forward sound that sticks to just a few genres, or experiments within a similar soundscape like Viva La Vida did. When they did this, I still really liked my least favorite songs. Nowadays, on the last 3 albums, I just really don't enjoy entire tracks and that compromises the quality of the album.

[Jedi Leo]

The truth is, Coldplay says they want to channel ALL of their influences which in turn aims to please fans of EVERY genre. but if I don't love Coldplay's stuff in other genres, then I won't enjoy the entirety of their albums (i.e. True Love, ASFOS, HFTW, Fun)

 

I agree with Coldplay trying to channel all their influences but I dont agree that it is to aim to please fans of every genre. I think it inevitably ends up pleasing only versatile fans. I mean even people who just love Beyonce of Justin Bieber will only like a handful Coldplay songs (they will probably ignore the ones they cant dance to or ballads like Everglow or Amazing Day or Birds).

 

So I think you hit the nail on the head there when you said if you dont generally delve in all the aforementioned genres you won't enjoy a Coldplay album in its entirety and arguably you won't enjoy all 7 albums either (as they span so many genres). I totally agree and I can see why you would wish a more straight forward more genre-constrained work by them. Time will tell how they will evolve, but so far they seem to really be absolutely eclectic, which ultimately will fully please only eclectic listeners.

[lennyrott1]

I agree with Coldplay trying to channel all their influences but I dont agree that it is to aim to please fans of every genre. I think it inevitably ends up pleasing only versatile fans. I mean even people who just love Beyonce of Justin Bieber will only like a handful Coldplay songs (they will probably ignore the ones they cant dance to or ballads like Everglow or Amazing Day or Birds).

 

Very fair points!! And I nonetheless think it is really cool that Coldplay has done so much on their recent albums :) I warmed to ASFOS somewhat and already am with Hymn for the Weekend. While I may not like how they sound within their respective albums, it is pretty cool to shuffle through Coldplay and have an acoustic ballad, a hard-rocker, an ambient piano ballad, and then an EDM explosion! :) They really are a talented band who writes relatable and diverse music, so it makes sense that they have so many fans!

 

I just hope they can veer away from the overwhelming pop production on AHFOD. I think that as talented musicians they still have a lot of sounds and genres to explore but they need to do so with the right atmosphere and production style. Stargate really helped them get a fun pop sound down, but that kind of constrained the albums creativity in my opinion and left some songs feeling more generic than dynamic.

[Jedi Leo]

it is pretty cool to shuffle through Coldplay and have an acoustic ballad, a hard-rocker, an ambient piano ballad, and then an EDM explosion! :)

 

Yes, I love this about them actually! Most artists when you shuffle their catalogue you kinda know you´re gonna get a variation on the same theme, so to speak. With Coldplay you go from Spies to Politik to Paradise and from Everglow to Chinese Sleep Chant *lol*

I love this because it keeps them so fresh through the years for me anyway.

 

I just hope they can veer away from the overwhelming pop production on AHFOD. I think that as talented musicians they still have a lot of sounds and genres to explore but they need to do so with the right atmosphere and production style. Stargate really helped them get a fun pop sound down, but that kind of constrained the albums creativity in my opinion and left some songs feeling more generic than dynamic.

 

Very good points. I can imagine though that the production is to define how you want the whole album to feel/sound, like a background theme, so it makes sense they would pick the production they did for the kind of overall mood they wanted to create. But yes inevitably it will "hinder" some songs perhaps. After all you can have a lot of genres but not usually multiple productions! hehe

 

I think though that they will go somewhere totally different for album 8 mood-wise and production-wise, different than the previous trilogy MX/GS/AHFOD. Sometimes its also too easy to judge the band only by their last 2-3 albums, not knowing where they are gonna go in the future. I for one do not believe that the last trilogy will define their sound forever cuz they will need to change it up and do something different, but yeah only time will tell.

[jer123]

If theres a album 8 its prob gonna be 3+ yrs later

[Jedi Leo]

^^When , not if hehe The band is not splitting :D

[Rickulus]

If they do take a hiatus for a while, they better come back with atleast 15 songs.(EXCLUDING INTERLUDES!)

[Lobabe]

Sorry, but any self-respecting artist/band would not make an album 'for their fans'.

 

My main point is...this album is the sound of a band trying to remain relevant. Not just having fun in the studio.

 

I love Coldplay, I do. But everything from the sounds used..to the melodies. Amsterdam was an original melody- Everglow is not. You can both call them piano rock...but ...just sayin..

 

 

Maybe another way of putting it... if Army of One was exactly the same...maybe a little less guitar, but had Katy Perry's voice... I would believe it was a Katy Perry song.

 

I wouldn't believe that about Amsterdam, for instance..