AROBTTH is not sad, it's an album where they show maturity and show a set of various emotion of a man in his twenties. There's urgency, angry, disillusion, resignation, love, political thoughts, etc.

 

It's the album where they showed the interactions between men and the world around them, X&Y was more introspective instead, and Parachutes was more intimate and personal.

 

People may think the first three albums are sad because they compare them with the poppiness, lightness and triviality of MX and AHFOD, but I honestly think they're wrong because there's a huge difference in terms of complexity and completeness.

And that's the main reason why we Oldplayers generally dislike the post-VLV eras, it's the base of the sense of perfectionism tha made them so enjoyable to listen through the years

BTW I didn't say it was sad because I didn't like it, I still love it :D Yes, those are more specific feelings but again, overall "regret" "missing someone" "longing" "alone/confused" etc... are more related to sad than a happy feeling. And when I listen to AROBTTH songs they just feel sad... (but then they have those more specific feelings too) (Again, this is not an insult. I LOVE these soulful songs that they really put their emotion into. Do not take this the wrong way ! :D)

 

And I don't really think you can call MX "poppy" or "light" or "trivial". I agree with AHFOD in a sense, but MX feels too rich and full to be that way. Yes, it's poppy compared to their earlier albums, but still not really pop, again "pop rock" at best with 1 straight pop song, 1 R&Bish song, and 2 poppier style songs. The rest is happy, not poppy. (I guess they are a little poppy but still...)

 

I really like MX because it just feels like a happier version of their earlier albums. It still has that rich, deep, thorough feeling in a happier format. And it's quite rocky too...

The ambivalence towards the modern world and music industry and the bands uncertainty and doubt about their own place in music and their own future really propelled AROBTTH to be the modern masterpiece it is.

 

The bands comfort and confidence nowadays creates that sense of triviality in the newer material. Even the newer stuff with even a sense of insecurity (Ghost Story, All Your Friends, Moving To Mars) is sidelined in favour of bland and unispired pop such as True Love, Ink, Up In Flames etc.

For me the Song AROBTTH is not so much about regret as it is about anger and suppressed emotions.

 

I agree on what has been said on how AROBTTH compares to the likes of MX and GS and AHFOD. Their early albums were pretty deep.

Chris should seriously listen to this....

BTW I didn't say it was sad because I didn't like it, I still love it :D Yes, those are more specific feelings but again, overall "regret" "missing someone" "longing" "alone/confused" etc... are more related to sad than a happy feeling. And when I listen to AROBTTH songs they just feel sad... (but then they have those more specific feelings too) (Again, this is not an insult. I LOVE these soulful songs that they really put their emotion into. Do not take this the wrong way ! :D)

 

And I don't really think you can call MX "poppy" or "light" or "trivial". I agree with AHFOD in a sense, but MX feels too rich and full to be that way. Yes, it's poppy compared to their earlier albums, but still not really pop, again "pop rock" at best with 1 straight pop song, 1 R&Bish song, and 2 poppier style songs. The rest is happy, not poppy. (I guess they are a little poppy but still...)

 

I really like MX because it just feels like a happier version of their earlier albums. It still has that rich, deep, thorough feeling in a happier format. And it's quite rocky too...

I completely agree with everything you've said.

1 a.m.? Check

Headphones? Check

Time for a long post.

 

I picked Trouble even though I quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to find anything post MX but honestly that isn't a huge deal. Trouble was one of my favorite songs when I first started listening to Coldplay. Between listening to Trouble and Warning Sign on a ride home from the beach one night my interest in Coldplay was born. I think Trouble is underrated in the grand scheme of Coldplay but it isn't neglected to there's that. The opening may not be as iconic as Take On Me but again in the Coldplay world it's up there. Trouble if I recall correctly was their last single before moving on to AROBTTH. It also did pretty well on the charts and was their second most recognizable song behind Yellow to the average music consumer of 2001. In my opinion Trouble keep Parachutes from getting too comfortable without a piano, when it starts it almost catches you by surprise. Before Trouble only Don't Panic (electric piano) and Yellow (rather percussive piano used during the chorus) used a piano. I might be wrong but I don't think Spies using it. Trouble has a considerably colder feeling to it compared to the songs following up to it, but it works out. Anyways this is all my opinion anyways so whatever.

 

[2000]

 

 

2000 Chris live is such a nice sight. Saying and doing goofy stuff all the time in the most sincere way for a musician on the rise. I think like most Parachutes performances, the defining attribute is his voice. Every generation Chris's voice (make that the first 4 generations actually) gets a very tiny change that affects live and studio recordings in very unique ways. I personally don't know which is my favorite but Parachutes Chris has a flavor of youth to it. Speaking of his voice there are a lot of special things to note that he does. Only during Parachutes he sung the line "I never meant to cause you trouble" and the other variant with cause being pronounced /kôz/. Every other version from here he sings /kɒz/ instead. I don't know if it's a stylistic choice he made during AROBTTH but it's interesting either way. Chris's falsetto at the end is great, a staple of the era. I don't think this is the peak of the song. Trouble was just bigger than what the Parachutes era could support. You'll see what I mean.

 

[2003]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mb_FEivRxI

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mb_FEivRxI

 

 

AROBTTH is my favorite album and tied with VLV for my favorite era. AROBTTH was where Coldplay's sound got professional, it went to college and tidied up, or at least that's how I would describe it. So what does this mean for Trouble? Trouble is a balancing act that is perfected on AROBTTH's tour. Will's simple but meaningful beat along with Guy's bass are what you subliminally nod your head along to when you listen to the track. Chris and Jonny compliment each other very nicely and even though the Parachutes recording is a little shoddy there's no denying the production of their live set is on another level this time around and it really shows. Also like most songs (besides VLV) it took the crowd one cycle to get the whole sing-a-long thing down so you get that this time around as well. I'm not 100% sure here but the Yamaha piano they used for AROBTTH is not what they currently use (or have been using since MX, when if I recall, they made one from bits of other pianos or something like that). This piano resonates in a much better way for Trouble (in my opinion, every song) because it's less percussive when the point of actuation is reached, but I'll touch on that later. Trouble is also played at a slower tempo this time around.

 

[2006]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXanBfrSvI8

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXanBfrSvI8

 

 

X&Y marks the more modern style of Chris's singing. He generally holds certain notes longer and is a bit more nasally on his ahs. There's also a pretty big drop off in his britishness compared to AROBTTH and Parachutes. This is the only recording I can find that isn't total garbage quality for X&Y. I didn't mention it yet but since Will is playing take note in the other eras that Chris chooses to play chords in between Trouble's usual progression to keep the sound from going flat for too long, or maybe just to transition into them more smoothly. Chris also begins to take some creative liberties on the melody of the second verse starting here, I'm personally not a fan. Nothing else really notable here since it isn't a proper rendition of the song.

 

[2008]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rALJYxmGZ1g

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rALJYxmGZ1g

 

 

Kicking it into high gear. Trouble is considerably faster this time around. Honestly that's really all there this to this one. Most of it has already been said.

 

[2011]

 

 

So this piano has been one of my main issues with MX and beyond. It's WAY too percussive for Coldplay music. You can hear it best when he really punches down on octaves. It makes some of the softer songs develop this really crunchy edge to it (The Scientist in this era was so bad for that reason). Again, my opinion but it's so far off from Trouble's recording I think it sounds out of place. Also Chris lets one /kôz/ slip here but goes back to the other pronunciation.

 

If I was pressed to rank them (X&Y not included because it doesn't really qualify)

 

AROBTTH

VLV

Parachutes

MX

 

I don't really have any other thoughts left but everyone let me know your thoughts on Trouble and the different performances.

 

 

Bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=kkXg3Cquo9A;m=2;s=50

If I catch something I forgot or messed up don't be surprised if I edit this.

Can't remember if this has been posted here before:

 

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct00/articles/ken.htm

1 a.m.? Check

Headphones? Check

Time for a long post.

 

I picked Trouble even though I quickly realized I wasn't going to be able to find anything post MX but honestly that isn't a huge deal. Trouble was one of my favorite songs when I first started listening to Coldplay. Between listening to Trouble and Warning Sign on a ride home from the beach one night my interest in Coldplay was born. I think Trouble is underrated in the grand scheme of Coldplay but it isn't neglected to there's that. The opening may not be as iconic as Take On Me but again in the Coldplay world it's up there. Trouble if I recall correctly was their last single before moving on to AROBTTH. It also did pretty well on the charts and was their second most recognizable song behind Yellow to the average music consumer of 2001. In my opinion Trouble keep Parachutes from getting too comfortable without a piano, when it starts it almost catches you by surprise. Before Trouble only Don't Panic (electric piano) and Yellow (rather percussive piano used during the chorus) used a piano. I might be wrong but I don't think Spies using it. Trouble has a considerably colder feeling to it compared to the songs following up to it, but it works out. Anyways this is all my opinion anyways so whatever.

 

[2000]

 

 

2000 Chris live is such a nice sight. Saying and doing goofy stuff all the time in the most sincere way for a musician on the rise. I think like most Parachutes performances, the defining attribute is his voice. Every generation Chris's voice (make that the first 4 generations actually) gets a very tiny change that affects live and studio recordings in very unique ways. I personally don't know which is my favorite but Parachutes Chris has a flavor of youth to it. Speaking of his voice there are a lot of special things to note that he does. Only during Parachutes he sung the line "I never meant to cause you trouble" and the other variant with cause being pronounced /kôz/. Every other version from here he sings /kɒz/ instead. I don't know if it's a stylistic choice he made during AROBTTH but it's interesting either way. Chris's falsetto at the end is great, a staple of the era. I don't think this is the peak of the song. Trouble was just bigger than what the Parachutes era could support. You'll see what I mean.

 

[2003]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mb_FEivRxI

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mb_FEivRxI

 

 

AROBTTH is my favorite album and tied with VLV for my favorite era. AROBTTH was where Coldplay's sound got professional, it went to college and tidied up, or at least that's how I would describe it. So what does this mean for Trouble? Trouble is a balancing act that is perfected on AROBTTH's tour. Will's simple but meaningful beat along with Guy's bass are what you subliminally nod your head along to when you listen to the track. Chris and Jonny compliment each other very nicely and even though the Parachutes recording is a little shoddy there's no denying the production of their live set is on another level this time around and it really shows. Also like most songs (besides VLV) it took the crowd one cycle to get the whole sing-a-long thing down so you get that this time around as well. I'm not 100% sure here but the Yamaha piano they used for AROBTTH is not what they currently use (or have been using since MX, when if I recall, they made one from bits of other pianos or something like that). This piano resonates in a much better way for Trouble (in my opinion, every song) because it's less percussive when the point of actuation is reached, but I'll touch on that later. Trouble is also played at a slower tempo this time around.

 

[2006]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXanBfrSvI8

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXanBfrSvI8

 

 

X&Y marks the more modern style of Chris's singing. He generally holds certain notes longer and is a bit more nasally on his ahs. There's also a pretty big drop off in his britishness compared to AROBTTH and Parachutes. This is the only recording I can find that isn't total garbage quality for X&Y. I didn't mention it yet but since Will is playing take note in the other eras that Chris chooses to play chords in between Trouble's usual progression to keep the sound from going flat for too long, or maybe just to transition into them more smoothly. Chris also begins to take some creative liberties on the melody of the second verse starting here, I'm personally not a fan. Nothing else really notable here since it isn't a proper rendition of the song.

 

[2008]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rALJYxmGZ1g

Mobile Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rALJYxmGZ1g

 

 

Kicking it into high gear. Trouble is considerably faster this time around. Honestly that's really all there this to this one. Most of it has already been said.

 

[2011]

 

 

So this piano has been one of my main issues with MX and beyond. It's WAY too percussive for Coldplay music. You can hear it best when he really punches down on octaves. It makes some of the softer songs develop this really crunchy edge to it (The Scientist in this era was so bad for that reason). Again, my opinion but it's so far off from Trouble's recording I think it sounds out of place. Also Chris lets one /kôz/ slip here but goes back to the other pronunciation.

 

If I was pressed to rank them (X&Y not included because it doesn't really qualify)

 

AROBTTH

VLV

Parachutes

MX

 

I don't really have any other thoughts left but everyone let me know your thoughts on Trouble and the different performances.

 

 

Bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id=kkXg3Cquo9A;m=2;s=50

If I catch something I forgot or messed up don't be surprised if I edit this.

 

Thank you for your interesting and careful analysis. I have to say that I prefer the Parachutes version of Trouble most, because to me all songs sound most "right" to me in their respective Era. Trouble is a very moving and genuine song, and Chris's youth-tinted vocals imho fit it best.

Seems like Chris is into the Rihanna/Drake song "Work" at the moment... :( (at 5:55 in the video below...I overlooked this detail cause I was not familiar with the song but someone pointed it out on the other soundcheck video that is on Youtube)

 

Ohhhhhh no. Please don't tell me he likes that crap. That's the one song by Rihanna I don't like that I've heard so far; it sounds like Drake feat Rihanna not the other way around. :(

 

At least the music of the band that he's in hasn't reached that level of mainstreaminess and just complete untalented uninspired radio crap.

Ohhhhhh no. Please don't tell me he likes that crap. That's the one song by Rihanna I don't like that I've heard so far; it sounds like Drake feat Rihanna not the other way around. :(

 

At least the music of the band that he's in hasn't reached that level of mainstreaminess and just complete untalented uninspired radio crap.

I know it's sad but it was to be expected, wasn't it ?

Ohhhhhh no. Please don't tell me he likes that crap. That's the one song by Rihanna I don't like that I've heard so far; it sounds like Drake feat Rihanna not the other way around. :(

 

At least the music of the band that he's in hasn't reached that level of mainstreaminess and just complete untalented uninspired radio crap.

 

 

NOT WORK!! That's part of the shittiest and disgraceful British charts I've seen in a century:

 

WARNING: The next picture can be classed as shocking and truely crap:

 

[ATTACH=full]4270[/ATTACH]

 

Accordingly 'Work' dropped a couple of places to no 7 though. So that's good.

 

For more on my hatred on the current charts check out 'Grunge Music' where I want an Alternative rock revolution back!

 

EDIT: Work's at no 6. Wtf.

I'm so glad I know nothing about that song LOL

I'm so glad I know nothing about that song LOL

 

Lucky!

 

The lyrics to Work

 

Work work work work work work

Tell me about it work work work work work

Na Na na na na na na

Work work work work work

 

LIKE WELL DONE RIHANNA THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY 'good' lyrics them

 

#PutWorkInTheCrapMusicThread

Lucky!

 

The lyrics to Work

 

Work work work work work work

Tell me about it work work work work work

Na Na na na na na na

Work work work work work

 

LIKE WELL DONE RIHANNA THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY 'good' lyrics them

 

#PutWorkInTheCrapMusicThread

:) LOLOL

I didn't even know it was by Rihanna! I liked her collaboration on Princess of China, but generally I don't listen to her stuff. She does have a good voice, I'll give her that.

[ATTACH=full]4271[/ATTACH]

 

1998's charts:dance:

 

There was Radiohead, Oasis, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Ian Brown, Natalie Imbruglia all on the same chart

 

I wish it was like this now:fingersx::happy:

:) LOLOL

I didn't even know it was by Rihanna! I liked her collaboration on Princess of China, but generally I don't listen to her stuff. She does have a good voice, I'll give her that.

 

She does, she just doesn't use it in the right way. But her voice is good yes. Stay's really good as well imo.

Lucky!

 

The lyrics to Work

 

Work work work work work work

Tell me about it work work work work work

Na Na na na na na na

Work work work work work

 

LIKE WELL DONE RIHANNA THOSE ARE SOME PRETTY 'good' lyrics them

 

#PutWorkInTheCrapMusicThread

 

I am happy that Chris has such good lyrical and musical inspirations.

Seems like Chris is into the Rihanna/Drake song "Work" at the moment... :(

This song would medley quite well with "X Marks the Spot." Someone should make that a real thing!

I'm so glad I know nothing about that song LOL

 

That's good, you don't want to know anything about that song, beacuse once you hear it you can't forget it.

After listening to the entirety of Parachutes, AROBTTH, X&Y, Mylo Xyloto and AHFOD within 24 hours during my work, I couldn't help but notice...and I don't dare post this anywhere else but in the Oldplaying thread...that listening to AHFOD felt like listening to utter trash to me. I'm not out to offend anyone who likes it, but honestly it felt so forgettable and trivial next to the other albums (I can't say that about MX, in fact MX has still a lot of original and great melodies hidden in all its poppiness).

All I can say is thank you AHFOD for making people appreciate MX at least a little bit. :lol:

Dear Oldplayers, some of you already know but there is a project trying to get Coldplay to perform I Ran Away live for the first time during the AHFOD Tour 2016. If you're interested, join here: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-i-ran-away-project-bringing-i-ran-away-live-to-the-ahfod-tour-2016.106550/

After listening to the entirety of Parachutes, AROBTTH, X&Y, Mylo Xyloto and AHFOD within 24 hours during my work, I couldn't help but notice...and I don't dare post this anywhere else but in the Oldplaying thread...that listening to AHFOD felt like listening to utter trash to me. I'm not out to offend anyone who likes it, but honestly it felt so forgettable and trivial next to the other albums (I can't say that about MX, in fact MX has still a lot of original and great melodies hidden in all its poppiness).

 

I understand. To me it feels like a bunch of songs put together. It doesnt give me this idea of bandmembers writing together in the studio, jamming and trying, exploring, until they have the sound/vibe/flow for the album, it doesnt have a feeling of a real creative process and it makes me think of: "give me fake, don't give me real".

 

This album could be better with better recording for sure. We need a band to re-record this album, only real instruments. That would be interesting :)