MTV: "Coldplay's 'Simpsons' Spot: Awesome Or Lame?"

After executive producer Al Jean mentioned it last week, representatives of the band confirmed today that Coldplay would make a guest appearance on an episode during the upcoming season of "The Simpsons." They'll join an impressive list of bands who have gone yellow for the show, including U2, the Ramones, the Who, Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica, MTV Newsroom writes today.

MTV go on to say that: Coldplay don't necessarily have the same cool cred as the bands above, but are they the most mediocre act to ever play a note with yellow skin? Of course, Coldplay will have a lot of trouble living up to the greatest "Simpsons" musical guest of all time, which is when Red Hot Chilli Peppers played on Krusty the Klown's comeback special and changed their lyrics to be more family-friendly. So the "Give it Away" line "What I got you got to get and put it in you" became "What I'd like is I'd like to hug and kiss you." That's some hilarious censorship we can get behind.

Below (after jump) are the musical guests that Coldplay will give a run for their money. More discussion on 'Coldplay featured in the Simpsons' is at the forums here onwards. [thanks Max & clisaj]

Shawn Colvin: Remember Colvin? She had a brief bit of success during the Lillith Fair era with her hit "Sunny Came Home," and she's one of the few musicians to appear on "The Simpsons" as a character and not herself. She played a singer in a Christian rock band who wooed Ned Flanders following the death of his wife Maude. Verdict: She appeared well after her caché had expired, though she was in the guise of a character and not herself, making it seem more like an acting performance than anything else. Plus, she appeared in more than one episode — no small feat for a "Simpsons" guest star.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive: BTO appeared on an episode in the show's eleventh season, where they played themselves doing a gig at a state fair that Homer attended. In the scene, Homer compares the group to Emerson, Lake and Palmer and openly mocks their song choices (he only wants to hear "Taking Care of Business," and really only a particular part of it). Verdict

Sting: In "Simpsons" lore, Sting was Krusty the Klown's opening act in the '60s. Later on, he was recruited to sing on the show's "We Are the World"-esque charity single "We're Sending Our Love Down the Well." Verdict: Sting was never quite believable as a playing-along guest on the show — strange considering his skin actual skin tone is pretty close to that of Bart and Homer.

Baha Men: The trio never actually ended up on the show, but they did perform several parodies of their lone hit "Who Let the Dogs Out?" for the show. Verdict: They get a bit of a pass for not having been on the show, and their lameness is more the fault of the show creators for going back to the well long after it had dried up.

Source: MTV Newsroom

More photos of Coldplay at Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (25th July 2009)