Harvey Danger frontman disses Coldplay's songs as 'generic'

The casual observer would roundly label Harvey Danger as the textbook definition of a one-hit wonder: The Seattle band rose to prominence in the late '90s on the strength of the intensely catchy single "Flagpole Sitta" off its 1997 debut Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?, and then seemed to disappear. But Harvey Danger was busy breaking away from the clichéd arc that dogs most groups that are suddenly hugely successful.

To commemorate his band's passing, Harvey Danger frontman Sean Nelson sounds off to The A.V. Club about the bands he and his bandmates would like see drop off the face of the earth forever, and which should get back together. (No band is safe.) As for the Coldplay dis, Nelson calls their songs “generic” and “inspired by the boring parts of Radiohead. Here's the full quote:

I think it’s funny that bands aspire to be the biggest band. That’s all I can think of about Coldplay. When “Yellow” came out, they were [one of the] bands that sounded like they were really inspired by the boring parts of Radiohead. They all seemed like they came out as the antidote to the weirdness of OK Computer. They came out and it was like all I ever heard about them was that they wanted to be the biggest rock band in the world, as big as U2, and Chris Martin got that faraway glaze in his eyes. Then I heard the third record and all the songs were truly generic—they could generally be applied to anyone in any situation...

But that aspiration might have been due to pressure from Capitol—they built up so much hype and were banking on that band singlehandedly putting them in the black a couple of years ago. You do ultimately have to participate in that when you’re at that level. It’s one thing if Sir Giles Cricketbat from the MI says, “We’re expecting big things from you, son!” But it’s ultimately what you say at that position as a pop figure that matters. I would never know what it would be like to be in that position, so it’s hard to say. But I agree [with guitarist Jeff Lin, who chose them], what is the point of Coldplay? That’s a much simpler question to answer.

Harvey Danger would like your favorite band to break up. And they would like a few to reunite, as well. You can read the other disses here at AV New York.

New photos of Coldplay at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC (7th August 2009):