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๐Ÿช Coldplay: Music of the Spheres ๐Ÿช | Out Now! | Discussion


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12 hours ago, TheBigBadBono said:

I must admit I'm not feeling entirely hopeful about the new era.

But I think people are forgetting that Music of the Spheres as a concept started during the Viva days and that all the reused terms (Alien Radio) and reused set ideas and costumes from the MX tour seem to confirm this. Just like the MX and Viva eras, Jon Hopkins is allegedly back (from his reddit AMA) and that we've heard only one pop song (HP) while hearing another in the vein of Everyday Life (HH) and a weird ambient intro that sounds like the Escapist, MMIX, and Always in My Head combined.

People are also overlooking how ambitious this is. This has entire worlds and planets, a concept, a language and culture, weird radio transmissions that suggest further clues, etc. This feels way too ambitious to be something like GS or AHFOD but rather something like MX or VLV. Will said his favorite song which was played on BBC big weekend but not broadcasted is something they've never done before - Chris also talked about a new song that was "weird and new", comparing it to metal/jazz-fusion.

I think there's something much more exciting to come than what we've seen so far.

People have cited one of the Roadie 42 blog posts before, where he says that Chris asked him to "build a solar system" after everyone got back from the last leg of the Viva tour in Latin America. I wonder if that has to do with the solar system of 12 "spheres" that the album is based around, or if it has to do with the stage setup, a bit like what was used for the American Idol performance of Higher Power.

http://timeline.coldplay.com/article/roadie-42-blog-118/

I wonder about this quote from another blog post in 2010. It might just be referring to the bizarre guitar tone that Jonny achieves in Princess of China. But it might be something different, something that we haven't heard. Who knows...

"The conversation about todayโ€™s song is getting underway. Guy, Will, Chris and Phil are sitting with producer Markus Dravs. Jonny has already sat at his guitar-world and has begun experimenting with sounds. His guitar is being fed into his laptop. What is coming out the other end sounds very much like itโ€™s arriving from another planet."

http://www.coldplay.com/roadie-42-blog-121/

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EDIT:

Honestly, this is exactly the kind of thing that Jonny could be doing with the Meris Enzo guitar pedal... he could be going for more of these really bizarre and otherworldly sounds.

Edited by 42Escapist
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I just saw an ad for the new all-electric BMW models with the soundtrack Higher Power. Though it seems a fittingย soundtrack especially with the line 'This joy is electric' I am a bit disappointed. Didn't they say some years ago that they would never allowย their music to be used for commercials?ย 

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2 hours ago, merril said:

I just saw an ad for the new all-electric BMW models with the soundtrack Higher Power. Though it seems a fittingย soundtrack especially with the line 'This joy is electric' I am a bit disappointed. Didn't they say some years ago that they would never allowย their music to be used for commercials?

Yes. But Chris said in a recent interview that after AHFOD they felt that they have achieved what they wanted. Now they have kind of re-written their internal rules, and are being open to certain things that they were earlier not open to.ย  This included their performance at American Idol.

ย 

I don't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it

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3 hours ago, merril said:

I just saw an ad for the new all-electric BMW models with the soundtrack Higher Power. Though it seems a fittingย soundtrack especially with the line 'This joy is electric' I am a bit disappointed. Didn't they say some years ago that they would never allowย their music to be used for commercials?ย 

What? Are you serious? Our commercials are filled with their tracks. Yellow, Clocks, Viva La Vida, Sky Full Of Stars, Adventure Of A Lifetime are tracks that are literaly abused by ads here. Cellular companies, car ads, sports equipment shops, gym chains and the list goes on. If you ask people if they know Coldplay and they say they don't, if you play them these tracks they will go like "OH! The track from that ad...". I also clearly remember Vodafone using the Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke mix of "Talk" back when I was in highschool, everybody seemed to mumble the tune from that remix.

People don't realise that covering a song or playing it on a commercial DOES NOT need the greenlight of the artist to be allowed into an ad. They can go ahead and use it as long as they pay for the licence it requires. Using a sample though on a track (like how Talk is sampling Kraftwerk's Computer Love) DOES INDEED require the licence of all the artists involved.

The reason we have all these instrumentals of their albums is because they are offered by EMI SYNC and UMPG for licensing, mostly in ads.

Edited by nowayme
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Coldplay's songs or part of them have been used in several movies, series and trailers, but as for commercials for certain products they once said: 'We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs' meanings like that.' That's why they turned down multi-million contracts from Gatorade, Coke etc. The contract with BMW will certainly be very profitable for them.

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41 minutes ago, merril said:

Coldplay's songs or part of them have been used in several movies, series and trailers, but as for commercials for certain products they once said: 'We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs' meanings like that.' That's why they turned down multi-million contracts from Gatorade, Coke etc. The contract with BMW will certainly be very profitable for them.

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That meant them being featured in-person in ads, not their songs. I can name atleast 8 ads at the top of my head here using their songs. As I said, if let's say me, a telecommunications company, want to use "X" track of a Top40 artist, I just go to their music licence publishing website, find the track I want, select from a certain type of criteria that I want to use, pay for it and done. It's a little bit oversimplified but at no time it ever requires anyone from the original artists agreeing in any way their song being used in my company's ad, the artists do not hold any kind of publishing rights to their music. Kinda similar to how cover songs work. The original artist cannot stop you from covering their song, it's just that you are obliged to pay for a licence. The only exception to the rule is when you want to sample their track.

Edited by nowayme
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On 6/12/2021 at 3:23 AM, harrisonrules said:

Why are there so many sex shops in Kaotica

3rd one is unclear but I see S and E in back and possibly Xย 

20210608_122214.thumb.jpg.2060d429cbb8330906655ae31dc4f060.jpg

Screenshot_20210608-235533_YouTube.jpg

Screenshot_20210609-200021_YouTube.jpg

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1 hour ago, ermitao said:

Maybe a reference to the cyberpunk genre. Its also included in the concept art:ย Higher Power, DOFRESH .

I haven't played it yet, but I know that there's a videogame called Cyberpunk 2077 and there are sex shops in there. It is based on a role-playing game called Cyberpunk 2020. Maybe they took inspiration from there. In fact, the whole aesthetic of the Higher Power video, reminds a lot to that videogame.

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8 hours ago, The Philosopher said:

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I haven't played it yet, but I know that there's a videogame called Cyberpunk 2077 and there are sex shops in there. It is based on a role-playing game called Cyberpunk 2020. Maybe they took inspiration from there. In fact, the whole aesthetic of the Higher Power video, reminds a lot to that videogame.

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9 hours ago, ermitao said:

Maybe a reference to the cyberpunk genre. Its also included in the concept art:ย Higher Power, DOFRESH .

Kaotica is absolutely inspired by cyberpunk. It's a run-down dystopian world where scrap metal and garbage are all over the place, and there are few signs of life apart from Chris and the aliens who dance with him. It's likeย Earth in the movie Wall-E, which is filled with so much garbage and pollution that everybody flew off into space to get away from it.

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14 minutes ago, BerheavedTripod8 said:

ย Acoustic version of Higher Power out in some parts of the world. Works for me when using australian VPN

Man, this is BEAUTIFUL!! This is the Coldplay I love. Versiรณn with piano, acoustic guitar and heart. Great!

Works with any Australian VPN in iPhone. You wonโ€™t regret it!

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Curious to see what you guys think!

Either Coldplay no longer cares about being authentic, and put commercial succes above creating original music. Or, they have lost touch with what their fans like (both old and new ones).ย Proof: ย 

1. Higher power does poor on Spotify in streamsย given their total monthly listeners, despite a major commercial push.ย 

2. Coldplay claimsย to perform live, but in fact vocals of two different 'live' performancesย are identical (Brits & Idols).

3. During the britsย they posted a picture indicating they were about to get on stage outside the O2, despite the performance being recorded a few days before that.ย 

4. The acoustic version of 'higher power' does not have authentic vocals, but the ones identical to the original.ย 

5. The Higher Powerย CD single was promoted as "extremely limited" on Facebook, yet is even for sale in physical stores.


Thoughts?

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44 minutes ago, JustSomeone said:

Curious to see what you guys think!

Either Coldplay no longer cares about being authentic, and put commercial succes above creating original music. Or, they have lost touch with what their fans like (both old and new ones).ย Proof: ย 

1. Higher power does poor on Spotify in streamsย given their total monthly listeners, despite a major commercial push.ย 

2. Coldplay claimsย to perform live, but in fact vocals of two different 'live' performancesย are identical (Brits & Idols).

3. During the britsย they posted a picture indicating they were about to get on stage outside the O2, despite the performance being recorded a few days before that.ย 

4. The acoustic version of 'higher power' does not have authentic vocals, but the ones identical to the original.ย 

5. The Higher Powerย CD single was promoted as "extremely limited" on Facebook, yet is even for sale in physical stores.


Thoughts?

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It's interesting what you share, and I'm agree with the fact that Coldplay is losing some authenticity during the years, but before to be so critical on that (anyway, I love what they do), it's important to see how producers influences on their releases. And to be poppy isn't the same to don't be authentic.ย 

For Parachutes, A Rush... and X&Y, the "hand" of Ken Nelson is there. I feel that "darkness" and "authenticity" what I love a lot in Coldplay. In live performances, small backings tracks there, but there were them. I remember a concert when Chris said: "Coldplay is better in darkness", from X&Y era.ย 

But then, Brian Eno and Rik Simpson replace Ken Nelson, and we all eventually felt how his music changed, not necessarily for worse!. Viva was a great album in my opinion, but clearly the "darkness" factor was provided by Jon Hopkins (a genius). So, even when is more poppy, Viva still has a little darkness and authenticityย there. Until here, if you see live performances, you see authenticity everywhere. Even when the "violins" in Viva La Vida are backing tracks, you feel the live authenticity. The "Coldplay Factor".ย 

But then, Jon Hopkins was removed from the next production, MX, and the poppy started to be more present.

Some exceptions are "UFO" eventually, but it's a fact that the boys found on this "colorful" wayย something completely cathartic. And Brian Eno and Rik Simpson in the production. However, even when MX is a poppy production, the boys made the effort to create live performances with authenticity. See, for instance, the same MX (the beginning) when Will plays the Xylophone or the guitar in "Every Teardrop..." (it could be just a tape, but they preferred to make it live. The authenticity remained there, behind the poppy style).ย 

Now... let's see GS. Brian Eno is, now, who is not in the production line, but Hopkins returned, and now with the great Avicii. In some way, the darkness returns, and for my perspective, GS was the last of the darkness times. Eventually was the the message that "authenticity" was in decay, because it was the first time that some songs had piano sounds as backing tracking (A Sky Full Of Stars). GS was a great album, but I think something changed from there.ย 

Because, next, A Head...ย  ย it was just a poppy explosion. Who was there... Rik Simpson, almost alone as Producer. Yes, live performances were quite spectacular, but this time plenty, plenty of backing tracks. Even with "Midnight" played just from tape. Eventually, "God Put A Smile.." was the great exception there because how they played live, reminded how Coldplay started. With no backing tracks. Just them. But again, authenticity in decay.ย 

Let's talk now about EL. EL wasn'tย for me a darkness style album. It was almost an acoustic-based production. If you see the production line, are almost only new people, including for the first time Max Martin. Yes, Max entered for EL. And guess what was the only song produced by Martin there. Yes, Orphans. The most poppy song in EL.

From authenticity perspective, EL was a moment. A "Bare Bones" moment, but for live performances, again, the boys didn't complicate things: Chris playbacks on Church, the piano play itself for Broken, etc. EL is a deep album, and I love it, but I think that Orphans, the last song to arrive (as Chris said), generated something from Max Martin for the future: The things are commercial, beyond any authenticity.ย 

Chris Martin has mention that "Max is our producer right now for everything we do". Having said that, and if you see what Martin has produced (which is great from a commercial perspective), for LP9 I really expect only commercial-based things. Nothing with the nostalgic darkness. Nothing eventually hybrid. Is like if Max Martin said: "Show me what you left in MX and A Head.. and let's what can we do now. We need to sell it.".ย 

Don't get me wrong, please, I love Coldplay, since the beginning. But people and time changes. I'm expecting to see next performances with real people there, in order to see what remains there. Eventually, there is still some authenticity.

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1 hour ago, JustSomeone said:

Curious to see what you guys think!

Either Coldplay no longer cares about being authentic, and put commercial succes above creating original music. Or, they have lost touch with what their fans like (both old and new ones).ย Proof: ย 

1. Higher power does poor on Spotify in streamsย given their total monthly listeners, despite a major commercial push.ย 

2. Coldplay claimsย to perform live, but in fact vocals of two different 'live' performancesย are identical (Brits & Idols).

3. During the britsย they posted a picture indicating they were about to get on stage outside the O2, despite the performance being recorded a few days before that.ย 

4. The acoustic version of 'higher power' does not have authentic vocals, but the ones identical to the original.ย 

5. The Higher Powerย CD single was promoted as "extremely limited" on Facebook, yet is even for sale in physical stores.


Thoughts?

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I think both of your statements have some issues.ย 

If Coldplay has become inauthentic, how do you explain Everyday Life? We can't really pretend it was a one-off thing or a passing phase. It was a full album that felt mildly reminiscent of theย pre-mylo eras.ย On top of that, pop has become Coldplay's sound for the past seven or eight years. That's a long time to be inauthentic, imo. Don't get me wrong, I see where you're coming from, but I think EL throws a bit of a wrench into your statementย 

Have Coldplay truly lost touch with what their fans want? A decent amount of people (mostly new fans, I'll give you that) seem pleased with what they've put out in the past seven years. Despite Higher Power being a bit of a flop, it's not their worst song ever. Some people still like it.ย 

But here's to hoping LP9 is different.ย 

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Well guys,

It could be that I'm a bit drunk or particularly in love with humanity tonight but guess what?ย 

Coldplay are the ones we learned to know during the last 20 and more years. We know theirย value as musicians, singers, performers, sognwriters and so on. And we like them right for those things. Even if I'm a bit disappointed by their poppyish path, I will always recognize that behind their production, there's a huge work of putting toghether ideas, trying them and figure out what could soundย like putting those thingsย inside, just like every other musician in the world. But their' way. Maybe I don't like how they sound like,or lyrics, or so on, but I can see how they put all those things on a song.

Maybe they are embracing the full pop-world and we have definitely lose them. Or maybe they are trying to find something new that can satisfy their deep need of create something in 2021, our deep need of new music and also the need of doing something always catchy, cool and fresh that all the listeners are expecting from them duringย the last 20 years. Real fans or not. In In my little opinion human heart is a great prove of what they can do right now. And also higher power, why not?ย 

Whatever could pop out, it will be a big come back, full of music and of course, coldplay's wayย of doing things. Let's enjoy this era and what will bring to us. I'm sure everyone of us will find a little gem in it.ย 

Yes, a bit populist and naive, but music is such a beautiful thing... If we are so disappointed of how things are going is just because we loved a lot their previous releases. We just have to enjoy what's next. Anyway, it will be full of new music and new sounds. Sounds good, isn't it?ย 

A big hug to all of you guys

ย 

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  • Captain Crieff changed the title to Coldplay LP9 Rumours | Music of the Spheres | Vol. 1 released 15 October 2021
  • Captain Crieff changed the title to ๐Ÿช Coldplay: Music of the Spheres ๐Ÿช | Out Now! | Discussion

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