2019-11-02 Coldplay Live on Saturday Night Live (SNL)

[iamsue]

Is there an issue?

Yeah, I didn’t understand if that meant it was boring or good. Guess I didn’t like the language. Sorry, very OLDplayer here. I’m not feeling well and I probably over-reacted. Sorry. I like your other comments on this performance though!

[TomRiver]

Yeah, I didn’t understand if that meant it was boring or good. Guess I didn’t like the language. Sorry, very OLDplayer here. I’m not feeling well and I probably over-reacted. Sorry. I like your other comments on this performance though!

 

Oh I meant it was good! Super fun performance. Definitely exuding joy and uplifting emotions.

 

No need to apologise, all good :)

[42Escapist]

Did you get your screenshot? I recorded it and will watch for it in the a.m. Will post here if I can get it.

Sadly I didn't, I found one person's screen capture of the performance on YouTube but the video quality is too grainy to read the text. I'm really hoping the band posts an official recording.

[merril]

[quote="TomRiver, post: 5945300, me

Yeah, Chris didn't sound too great

Yes, Chris's voice didn't sound great live but it sounds ok on Spotify. He or rather his voice is getting old I'm afraid. You could notice that this summer when he was performing live on various occasions. Perhaps they should let Will sing live.

[cp3176]

I’ll be the one to disagree lol we’ll agree and disagree .. I was kinda waiting for it to get a bit more intense in the song .. however the ending was perfect imo ....you wake up to a new day and quietly say halaluigh.. I get it .. I felt it .. a simple yet again Impactful message

 

Idk, as I said in the other thread it is an artistic decision to not have that third massive chorus singing hallelujah, which is what we were expecting, and this era has thrown nothing but curveballs our way so far..... this might be a decision that ends up growing on me to be honest. That purposeful restraint might be a long term grower as opposed to the predictable massive ending that they usually do, and have done many times before. If we wanted them to try different things, this is a part of it and this is what we get. Not necessarily that experimental music has to sound good, the whole point is that it's different and original and some will sound good, others not so much, but the point is is that we can appreciate them for putting real effort in to make something original. Even though Everyday Life isn't experimental per se it does have unique artistic choices which could be labeled as such, including this shorter ending which is again something different to try out, and now we'll see how it goes and see whether it stays with us or not. It's definitely a twist I wasn't expecting, so I appreciate that. :eek:

 

Yes, Chris's voice didn't sound great live but it sounds ok on Spotify. He or rather his voice is getting old I'm afraid. You could notice that this summer when he was performing live on various occasions. Perhaps they should let Will sing live.

 

For a few years now his voice has been "old" and it's understandable it will only continue to decline. Heck it's well known now that it's likely he lip syncs Clocks live. I mean other artists manage to keep their voices for a lot longer, although around this age it starts to deteriorate anyway. It's not like Chris is renowned for his unimaginable singing capability anyway, it's the fact he's the frontman of Coldplay, the songwriting, his personality, how he is as a performer, and even his philanthropy that gets him praise. I guess then again people who've managed to retain their voices into older years don't go singing night after night for two years on several occasions while bouncing all over the stage, so it's more understandable that his voice continues to decline. Heck it's a wonder he does what he can do, night after night of singing even half accurately while keeping the energy to move all around like that, how does it do it?!!!? Obviously a very fit man. You'd have to be to pull that off so often!

[aaronm360]

His voice definitely sounds so much better than it did throughout the AHFOD tour, that solid 2 year break really helped.

 

They went straight from the GS tour to recording and touring AHFOD so no wonder his voice was cracking and sometimes off-key then.

[Chloris]

I thought Chris’s voice was lovely in EL. Took me right back. Didn’t mind hearing a few vocal flaws in Orphans: as others have commented, I too welcome a bit of rawness and authenticity.

 

Would love to hear more of what everyone thought of the song EL? I mostly enjoyed it. There were some dreamy aspects that made me think of Hypnotised. Thankfully as a piano ballad it is (IMO) better than Everglow, which I really disliked as too cheesy. Though it’s still slightly tending towards the cheesy direction, perhaps.

 

Couldn’t help but smile at REM line ‘everybody hurts’, and what felt like a bit of a homage to Jeff Buckley with the ‘alleluia’s’ at the end.

[ColdplayingMama]

I thought Chris’s voice was lovely in EL. Took me right back. Didn’t mind hearing a few vocal flaws in Orphans: as others have commented, I too welcome a bit of rawness and authenticity.

 

Would love to hear more of what everyone thought of the song EL? I mostly enjoyed it. There were some dreamy aspects that made me think of Hypnotised. Thankfully as a piano ballad it is (IMO) better than Everglow, which I really disliked as too cheesy. Though it’s still slightly tending towards the cheesy direction, perhaps.

 

Couldn’t help but smile at REM line ‘everybody hurts’, and what felt like a bit of a homage to Jeff Buckley with the ‘alleluia’s’ at the end.

I thought it was absolutely beautiful. All I could think was, gosh, I hope I (and everyone else here on Coldplaying) get to see it live someday. I am no vocal professional but I thought Chris sounded great on both songs :heart:

[Gideon_Mx]

I love the lyrics and melodies of EL, especially Chris' piano!

Jonny's guitar is stunning (as always). Will's backing vocals are wonderful. The more I listen to Everyday Life, the better it gets!!!

[Gideon_Mx]

By the way, I agree that Chris wasn't at his best today but it's good to know it was 100% live (his vocals). It makes it sound more human and raw.

I love Orphans live. It's obvious that they used the backing tracks of the childrens' (Apple and Moses) vocals? I cannot hear Will singing at all during the choruses, maybe because it's full of them. Someone said they sounded a bit empty? I disagree!

The only thing I find a pity is that Chris' guitar has been turned off near the end basically, at least it was too soft!

And Jonny's guitar melodies/riffs sounded great live :grinning:

[jc90]

Every first performance is rough. I remember when they debut Viva la Vida at an MTV show and it was awful. They didn't work out the live elements that we know today, and they were no doubt nervous about showing off their baby. The performances, I thought, were fine for what they were.

[Zero Theory]

A few positive and negative thoughts

 

Pros

-Orphans is really catchy, I quite like it. Great energy live too. Even Guy was visibly into it- a rare occurrence these days.

-This title track is one of the few occasions I think the studio version is better than the live performance, but maybe they'll bring the full on strings/everything else for the Jordan performance of it.

-I like Chris' shirt and the whole aesthetic of the era. Curious to see if they'll wear the tux/bowtie thing for concerts, or the more casual style like the SNL performance.

 

Cons

-The title track is beautiful, but I think it's missing a huge opportunity for one of those trademark bending, drawn-out-note solos from Jonny, like the style of Moving to Mars or True Love. The live performance lacked so many of the good parts that are in the studio version.

-I think Coldplay blew a huge opportunity to play Arabesque and blow the mainstream away. The title track, upon first listen (which for me, was the SNL performance), felt like it was easy for critics to validate how insipid some Coldplay songs are. They could've played Orphans, which satisfies the mainstream pop category, and then Arabesque as something to make people think "wow, this band truly does have something special and different". I can picture people sitting there after hearing Everyday Life and going "meh, that was boring". But of course, us Coldplayers find the "boring" stuff to be beautiful emotional masterpieces.

-Although Chris' voice sounds much better than the end of the AHFOD tour, unfortunately, he is really slowly starting to show his age in his voice. You can hear it strain and crack a lot more than it used to, and he clearly tries to avoid his upper register in Orphans for the "I wanna know, when I can go..."

[iamsue]

Here’s the best screenshot I can get of Chris’s guitar strap. From what I could see, it says “Heart and Consciousness”. Just watching Everyday Life performance. I could listen to that all day. Got chills and almost teared up at the same time. But that’s life. That’s the point. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the album. Sorry if someone already captured this; just catching up on the rest of this thread since looking at it around 1am.

 

 

 

[I ran away]

Check out Misty Buckley's photos of the guitar straps (I love the lyrics written on them !) and other art made for this era:

 

https://www.instagram.com/misty.buckley/?hl=de

[iamsue]

Check out Misty Buckley's photos of the guitar straps (I love the lyrics written on them !) and other art made for this era:

 

https://www.instagram.com/misty.buckley/?hl=de

Thanks for finding these! I love how earthy and natural everything looks!

[42Escapist]

Here’s the best screenshot I can get of Chris’s guitar strap. From what I could see, it says “Heart and Consciousness”. Just watching Everyday Life performance. I could listen to that all day. Got chills and almost teared up at the same time. But that’s life. That’s the point. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the album. Sorry if someone already captured this; just catching up on the rest of this thread since looking at it around 1am.

 

[ATTACH=full]9545[/ATTACH]

So it isn't "Conscious Pilot" after all, haha!

 

 

Check out Misty Buckley's photos of the guitar straps (I love the lyrics written on them !) and other art made for this era:

 

https://www.instagram.com/misty.buckley/?hl=de

 

I've always loved when they make an effort to include little lyric snippets in these designs on band equipment. They add to the overall aesthetic quite well.

[Gideon_Mx]

Orphans (SNL dressing room rehearsal)

 

In my opinion, Chris sings actually better here than he did live. I didn't notice any voice crack in this one!

For the live performance, I think he was just a bit more nervous. This was also the first live TV performance in 2 years.

Jonny once said during an interview that live TV is something that makes the band nervous.

[Carolina*]

Orphans (SNL dressing room rehearsal)

 

In my opinion, Chris sings actually better here than he did live. I didn't notice any voice crack in this one!

For the live performance, I think he was just a bit more nervous. This was also the first live TV performance in 2 years.

Jonny once said during an interview that live TV is something that makes the band nervous.

Is this the longest they've ever gone without performing as a group?

[cp3176]

His voice definitely sounds so much better than it did throughout the AHFOD tour, that solid 2 year break really helped.

 

They went straight from the GS tour to recording and touring AHFOD so no wonder his voice was cracking and sometimes off-key then.

 

I'm not sure, I couldn't really notice a massive difference between the AHFOD tour voice (at least from what I remember) and this voice. He's definitely starting to show some age visually and sonically. Not that it matters, still be my favorite performer no matter what!

 

Would love to hear more of what everyone thought of the song EL? I mostly enjoyed it

 

I see a lot of conflicting views here on the forums saying "it really goes nowhere" and "it's boring" (@Zero Theory, no, even some of us Coldplayers have some level of intolerance for boringness). That being said, this is my favorite of the era so far. It has great Viva-esque production value with the strings (that are used in a semi-unconventional manner), and as always the vocal melodies and the emotional piano chords compliment each other effortlessly, in classic Coldplay fashion. For what's there, it's great.

 

I wish the guitar was a little more prevalent in the studio version as it was comparitively buried under the rest of the mix in the studio (no surprise, it's almost always like that these days with Coldplay, live version Jonny shines, studio version everything else, although the live version was missing the strings and all the other production tidbits that make the studio version stand out a little) It's also a little short, and as the same person mentioned I think they missed an opportunity for a grand solo and a massive "Hallelujah" chorus, but then again it's a refreshing and creative artistic choice to show deliberate restraint, to do something that you haven't done before. Where Coldplay usually goes for the massive choruses, they held back from that this time, and that's something I notice critics pick upon, that Coldplay can be a little too bombastic sometimes (which I personally disagree with, but hey, to each their own). In a way I think it makes the world of music more interesting, because with a song that feels like it should have a larger chorus at the end, it doesn't, and thus that makes music less predictable and more fun because now you know you're not just gonna get a massive chorus everytime, as good as that feels. It's something deeper that I think they've explored here, and even though there might have been missed opportunity, it might have been a creative decision on their part for the reasons listed above to not go into a massive chorus.

 

Then I know people are complaining about the song not really having enough momentum, and I can see where they're coming from in that the song kind of revolves around the same thing, not varying in energy much, but personally it is enough to satisfy me, there is enough emotion in the choruses and it moves and evolves well enough to please me at least. To have that "slow song" kind of vibe which kind of floats there but still manages to be emotional, I think they nailed it this time. They tried with Everglow as another user mentioned in here, and unlike that user I personally also like Everglow but I think it turned out much better this time.

 

This title track is one of the few occasions I think the studio version is better than the live performance, but maybe they'll bring the full on strings/everything else for the Jordan performance of it.

 

bUt wAiT, tHaT'D (probably) mEaN uSiNg bAcKiNg tRaCkS, aNd tHaT'S nO fUn aMiRiTe?!!?!?!1111!11

 

Here’s the best screenshot I can get of Chris’s guitar strap

 

Darn this takes me back to the good ol days (geez I know I'll sound so self indulgent to the real long time fans that have been doing this kind of thing with Coldplay for decades) in the AHFOD speculation era, which lasted a lot longer. During their first high profile live performance in some time, we noticed some colorful (in a literal sense not in a swear word sense) lyrics on some of Chris' pants. We made some out, did some photo manipulation etc. and at the end it turned out that some lyrics were included in the album (and some didn't make it, because it is likely that the album was still being made at that time). Also during another subsequent performance where a new song was played, we noticed some letters that made a phrase from the album, and the Flower of Life.

 

So those words on the strap may very wel translate into the album!

 

So it isn't "Conscious Pilot" after all, haha!

 

Maybe it's "Heart Conscious Pilot".

I can't really see the "ness" at the end so maybe it is sort of something like that!

 

n my opinion, Chris sings actually better here than he did live. I didn't notice any voice crack in this one!

For the live performance, I think he was just a bit more nervous. This was also the first live TV performance in 2 years.

Jonny once said during an interview that live TV is something that makes the band nervous.

 

I think it's a combination of them not being on stage (or on TV, even though I know some deep phobias can last a long time I don't know how they could be playing that long and still have minor stage fright, I guess after not being on stage for that long it's understandable :P) and also the fact that he was bouncing and running around as usual during the actual performance (don't know how much longer he'll be able to do that for) can make him crack and go off key more, like on most live shows.

[Zero Theory]

 

I see a lot of conflicting views here on the forums saying "it really goes nowhere" and "it's boring" (@Zero Theory, no, even some of us Coldplayers have some level of intolerance for boringness). That being said, this is my favorite of the era so far. It has great Viva-esque production value with the strings (that are used in a semi-unconventional manner), and as always the vocal melodies and the emotional piano chords compliment each other effortlessly, in classic Coldplay fashion. For what's there, it's great.

 

 

I didn't say it was boring, I think you are misconstruing what I said.

 

I'm just saying the typical argument from people who hate on Coldplay, or are indifferent to the band, is referencing their slower songs as being boring, and their upbeat songs to be mainstream sellout pop. (To which I disagree with both points, I'm just saying how those people feel). And the title track (although I find it beautiful, especially the studio version) is certainly an expected Coldplay sound from a neutral point of view/someone who is aware of Coldplay but doesn't actively listen to or love them. And I think Arabesque on SNL would've been a cool opportunity to do something different and kind of catch the eyes and ears of non-Coldplayers in a great way.

 

As we all know on here, Coldplay are incredibly talented and have the ability to spit out a standard pop rock hit, as well as write deeply moving and creative music. But the mainstream doesn't see that, so it's like my life goal for everyone to know that oh wait, Coldplay are actually one of the greatest bands of all time.