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Another year, another gazzilion festivals. In 2006 they grew, they buzzed, they fell, they body-popped - much like some of you. From the scintillating to the soulless, this is the year that, erm, still is...   Read any of the reviews of 2006 doing the rounds and they?ll all proclaim what an 'amazing' year it was. To an extent they're right. Music was good, spirits were high, the weather was hot and Tom Chaplain did a stint in rehab. But compared to the last two euphoric summer seasons spent traw

The 2007 Brit awards will be broadcast live on TV for the first time in almost two decades, it has been revealed.   The ceremony was shown live until 1989, when a shambolic show hosted by Mick Fleetwood and Samantha Fox led to the decision to tape the awards in advance. "British music is in one of its most exciting phases," said Peter Jamieson from the Brits committee. "So what better time to take the show live?"   Organisers have dropped the best rock and best urban act awards for 2007. The be

Aristotle once wrote: "Where there is a dearth of quality, mediocrity is King."   And so it was when Parachutes landed upon us, and, it would seem, most of the time since. Because Coldplay write perfectly adequate songs, and have an almost original sound, and actually play their instruments, and do so perfectly adequately, and have clearly become a very successful "rock" band.   All very admirable, and, as Aristotle implied, given that there was absolutely nothing else around at the time, a very

There are sad songs — like Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You" or "The Scientist" by Coldplay — and then there are songs that induce such melancholia they make Kurt Cobain sound more like Jack Johnson.   Author Tom Reynolds analyzes the latter variety in his recently released book, "I Hate Myself and Want to Die: The 52 Most Depressing Songs You've Ever Heard."   Both popular hits (à la Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You") and nearly forgotten songs (think Richard Harris' version of

With all the Glastonbury furore out of the way, we can look back now on the airing and subsequent release of Moving To Mars via the Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP. After almost 1300 votes in just 72 hours, a whopping 52% of Coldplayers have given a perfect 10/10 score for the track. Overall, 90% of you have given the song at least 7/10. See the poll results, and more of your comments, after the jump. What did you think of the latest song to be unveiled? Let us know at the Moving To Mars sub-fo

It's written right there on the wall of the studio where Coldplay writes and records its hit songs under the title Band Rules: "6. Always keep the mystery. Not many interviews."   And it is rare for the multiple-Grammy nominated band to open up for the media, but front man Chris Martin bends the rules when he gives correspondent Steve Kroft a candid interview and lets 60 Minutes cameras into their private studio. The result is a unique look inside one of the world’s most popular musical acts th

Boston Herald is the latest media source to preview the 60 Minutes programme that will feature Coldplay's Chris Martin talking about the band from the comforts of the London studio, The Bakery. The feature on Coldplay will air in the US at 7pm ET/PT on CBS, in the hour preceding the Grammy Awards telecast. Here's their article:   Chris Martin of Coldplay fame broke Band Rule No. 6 when he allowed “60 Minutes” cameras and reporter Steve Kroft a rare, exclusive interview and peek into the band’s p

(CBS) This story was first published on Feb. 8, 2009. It was updated on Aug. 13, 2009.   The small, exclusive club of rock musicians that can legitimately claim to be among the very best in the world got four new members this past year - the British rock quartet Coldplay, led by singer Chris Martin, writes CBS News in a recap of February's 60 Minutes interview with Coldplay. If you haven't yet seen Coldplay's '60 Minutes' slot that aired just before February's Grammy Awards, you can see it agai

9 years of X&Y On June 6th 2005, Coldplay released their third studio album, X&Y and it instantly resulted in world domination for the band, with X&Y becoming the highest selling album of 2005 and expanding their fan base of Coldplayers across the globe in the process! We will take a look a the 9 things that we love about X&Y, a special era of music for Coldplay that will always live in our memories, in video form! There are a million things really to love about X&Y so choos

Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a division of Masque Sound, introduces the Antenna Kit ($1,850).   The kit is comprised of two HA-8089 helical antennas, two LPDA (bat wing) antennas and two pairs of 25-foot and 50-foot low loss cables, and is designed to provide drop-out free performance for in-ear monitors, wireless microphones and intercom installations.   Packaged in a road-worthy black (or optional yellow) storm case outfitted with latches and custom foam inserts, the PWS Antenna Kit i

I consider myself an authority on what is funny and what is stupid. It would behoove the reader to follow my advice.   “Brokeback Mountain” was released about four months ago and people are still making jokes about its sheep-herding, homosexual male leads. These jokes are not funny. In fact, they are stupid, immature, lame and unoriginal. Essentially, the people who make these jokes simply substitute the word “gay” with “Brokeback” or “Brokeback Mountain,” which doesn’t make grammatical sense.

I consider myself an authority on what is funny and what is stupid. It would behoove the reader to follow my advice.   “Brokeback Mountain” was released about four months ago and people are still making jokes about its sheep-herding, homosexual male leads. These jokes are not funny. In fact, they are stupid, immature, lame and unoriginal. Essentially, the people who make these jokes simply substitute the word “gay” with “Brokeback” or “Brokeback Mountain,” which doesn’t make grammatical sense.

If you could improve the life of a Colombian coffee farmer or a Ghanian cocoa grower by just changing brands, would you?   Millions of people worldwide have, simply by strolling into a supermarket in London or Berlin or Los Angeles or Sydney, and buying a Fair Trade product.   The blue-and-green Fair Trade mark appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.   High-profile people promote the cause. Coldplay lead sing

If you could improve the life of a Colombian coffee farmer or a Ghanian cocoa grower by just changing brands, would you?   Millions of people worldwide have, simply by strolling into a supermarket in London or Berlin or Los Angeles or Sydney, and buying a Fair Trade product.   The blue-and-green Fair Trade mark appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.   High-profile people promote the cause. Coldplay lead sing

Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas are among the bands donating tracks for a new charity album to raise awareness of tinnitus. You can read more discussion on this story at the Coldplay forum now [thanks LdySpace]   A host of musicians, producers and DJs have pledged songs for I Am The One In Ten, which is being put together to raise funds for the British Tinnitus Association (BTA). All tracks on the album will be performed by artists who have tinnitus, including Chris Martin. Other big names set

2007 seems to be a promising year for fans of the increasingly popular indie rock and college radio music scenes. A warning to music fans: Be prepared to buy (or if you must, burn) a significant amount of albums if this year’s offerings are as strong as last year’s, a highly likely scenario.   Last year featured noteworthy albums by a plethora of talented artists, many of whom released breakout debuts or important follow-up albums, while longtime rock staples offered albums that featured innovat

Last week at the UK Music Video Awards Strawberry Swing gained an impressive three category wins, including the coveted Video of the Year, writes Animation Blog. Downloaded already by nearly one million YouTube browsers, the fact that it is the latest official video for Coldplay helps of course. Here is Animation Blog's online article, from the perspective of the unjaundiced eye reviewing the best of world animation:   But we focus on the movies here. A mix of stop motion and live action, the vi

At the end of May 2005 a friend told me of a development I assumed was a joke.   The number one single in the United Kingdom had just been confirmed. Beating out the rap group Akon, as well as the incessantly popular Coldplay by nearly four copies to one, was a blue, animated froglike creature from a German mobile phone company.   It seems a ring tone, a retake on the huge 1980s hit “Axel F.”, had become England’s favorite music. It would hold the premiere UK spot for the next four weeks. Over t

As previously reported, The 17th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards airs globally for the 12th year on Sunday June 18th, with the number of televised international broadcasts growing to a record-breaking 65 countries across five continents. It's Canada's hottest awards show and red-carpet scene, star-packed and energized by thousands of screaming fans - airing live and direct from MuchMusic's famed street-front world headquarters in Toronto, Canada.   Once again the MMVAs delivers the best artists an

As previously reported, The 17th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards airs globally for the 12th year on Sunday June 18th, with the number of televised international broadcasts growing to a record-breaking 65 countries across five continents. It's Canada's hottest awards show and red-carpet scene, star-packed and energized by thousands of screaming fans - airing live and direct from MuchMusic's famed street-front world headquarters in Toronto, Canada.   Once again the MMVAs delivers the best artists an

Music fans were this week warned of an explosion in the number of fraudulent gig ticket websites, with fears growing that the number of people likely to be ripped off this year may well exceed the estimated 30,000 people fleeced in 2008.   Guardian Money can reveal that some of the sites offering tickets to events such as this year's Reading, Leeds and V Festivals are identical to scam websites that left many people out of pocket last year - yet the authorities seem powerless to act. When the au

The first thing actress Gwyneth Paltrow bought for her shingle-style Amagansett house was a $37,500 Boontje Blossum chandelier, but her "major splurge" was on a yoga and pilates studio that she uses every day.   That's according to the latest issue of Us Weekly, in a sneak peek of a spread in the Oct. 9 issue of House & Garden magazine.   Paltrow and husband, Coldplay rocker Chris Martin, bought the unfinished home for $5.4 million in 2006. First, they added bedrooms to accommodate their "bi

The date is 29 November. It’s a Saturday night and I’m clutching two tickets for Coldplay’s grand homecoming gig in my right hand. It’s a strange and not entirely comfortable sensation, writes Noripcord.com.   I’ve climbed the concrete steps to Sheffield’s Hallam FM Arena on just two occasions, and for good reason, too; its enormous stage generally plays host to revolving cast of nastiness – Cliff Richard is coming soon, along with a line-up of 80’s has-beens, High School Musical On Ice (I kid y

A tired Duke of Cambridge has resorted to singing Coldplay songs to his newborn son, Prince George Alexander Louis, to get the infant to sleep, the Daily Star reported earlier today. More discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum now [thanks Tash]   31-year-old Prince William has been belting out Coldplay songs 'Yellow' and 'Paradise' in the hope the little one, who was born last week, will go back to sleep as he is up six times a night and is keeping Carole and Michael Middleton, the parents

BBC radio listeners have chosen Coldplay's second album as their favourite record of all time. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, released in 2002, beat the likes of Pink Floyd and The Beatles to top the Radio 2 poll. DJ Jo Whiley revealed the winner on Monday afternoon following a countdown of the favourites throughout the day. More discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum now [thanks Tash]   UPDATE: You can now download the interview between Jonny Buckland and Jo Whiley talking about A Rush Of B