The Dutch are being spoiled by EMI.

As reported earlier, last month 3 exclusive limited edition singles of ‘Talk’ were released in the Netherlands including live bonus tracks.

Now, the band’s latest album X&Y will get a re-release in the Netherlands as a special Dutch edition later this month, including all the b-sides on a special bonus disc.

Official release date is set for 16th January, though it will be in most of the shops 3 days earlier.

Tracklist Disc 1:

1. Square One

2. What If

3. White Shadows

4. Fix You

5. Talk

6. X&Y

7. Speed Of Sound

8. A Message

9. Low

10. The Hardest Part

11. Swallowed In The Sea

12. Twisted Logic

Tracklist Disc 2

1. Things I Don’t Understand

2. Proof

3. The World Turned Upside Down

4. Pour Me - Live At The Hollywood Bowl

5. Sleeping Sun

6. Gravity

[Thanks RadioMad]

From Coldplay.com:

Check the members' section now to access the details for tomorrow's (Friday, January 6th) US pre-sale for the recently announced Anaheim show.

Details will also be coming soon to your email inbox...

NEW DELHI, INDIA- Upon the release of Coldplay's new album in the Indian market this past month, eager listeners discovered something of a problem. If played in anything other than a standard CD player, the disc reportedly emits an hour of complete silence.

Computers and car stereos all over the South Asian country are experiencing the same problem, unable to pump out the steady stream of inoffensive quasi-rock to which fans have grown so accustomed. Even though the license agreement (only visible once the disc has been purchased and opened) says that opening the case renders it non-returnable, record executives have graciously agreed to refund customers for the defective discs.

So far, however, few if any have come forward to take them up on the offer, a fact that EMI Music Group's Alain Levy says the company had planned on from the beginning. "Complaining about a DRM'd Coldplay disc is like leaving a store with a faulty moped," Levy told reporters. "You could return it, but then you'd have to admit that you bought it in the first place."

For critics of the record industry, the issue at hand is bigger than just a few hundred thousand defective CD's or even concerns that these invasive copy protection schemes could spread to the British and American markets. The most chilling aspect of all of this, they say, is that record companies like EMI are calling out fans of flaccid pop-rock for public humiliation. Indeed, leaked company documents seem to indicate that the incident in India was an experiment of sorts.

Source: ridiculopathy.com

San Francisco, CA - infoZine - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today sent an open letter to EMI Music -- the record label representing artists including Paul McCartney and Coldplay -- calling on it to agree not to pursue any legal action against computer security researchers who examine the copy-protection technologies used on some EMI CDs, including Coldplay's X&Y.

In the open letter published Wednesday, EFF urges EMI Music to publicly declare that it will not take legal action against computer security researchers who study copy-protected CDs released by record labels owned by EMI.In late 2005, independent researchers uncovered security problems with Sony-BMG copy-protected CDs, forcing the label to issue patches and uninstallers to those customers who had played the CDs on Windows computers. Several record labels owned by EMI, including Virgin Records, Capitol Records, and Liberty Records, use similar copy-protection technologies supplied by Macrovision. On those CDs, an end user license agreement (EULA) forbids reverse engineering for any reason, including security testing. In addition, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has chilled the efforts of computer security researchers interested in examining copy-protected CDs.

"Music fans deserve to know whether EMI's copy-protected CDs are exposing their computers to security risks," said Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney with EFF. "When it comes to computer security, it pays to have as many independent experts kick the tires as possible, and that can only happen if EMI assures those experts that they won't be sued for their trouble."

Source: infozine.com

Fans of Mariah Carey and Jamie Foxx had lots to cheer Wednesday as Carey officially captured the 2005 album sales crown and Foxx topped the first pop album chart of the new year.

Carey and 50 Cent were trailed on the list of 2005's top sellers by Kelly Clarkson (3.5 million), Green Day (3.4 million), Black Eyed Peas (3 million), Coldplay (2.6 million) (thanks to X&Y, pictured) and Rascal Flatts (2.5 million).

After trailing 50 Cent's "The Massacre" for most of the year, Carey's comeback CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi," closed the year with a flourish."Mimi" went into the final week of the year with a slight 32,000-copy lead over "Massacre," but the Carey album sold 102,000 copies last week to give it a 2005 total of 4.97 million. "Massacre" sold 18,000 copies for a 2005 finish of 4.85 million, reports Nielsen SoundScan.

Still, it was an impressive figure for the New York rapper, whose previous album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," sold 6.5 million copies in 2003, making it the biggest seller of that year. The top album of 2004 was Usher's "Confessions," which sold nearly 8 million copies.

Foxx's album, "Unpredictable," took over the No. 1 spot on the chart in its second week, after selling 200,000 copies. The album had sold 598,000 copies its first week in stores to enter the sales chart at No. 2, behind Mary J. Blige's "The Breakthrough," which sold 727,000 copies the same week.

But last week Blige's sales fell to 193,000 copies, slipping to No. 2 on the new chart.

Eminem's "Curtain Call" greatest hits package is No. 3 this week after selling 186,000 copies last week.

Source: latimes.com

More than 4,000 U2 fans reveal surprising thoughts about the band, the albums, the songs, the tours, and much more in the first U2 Fan Survey sponsored by @U2 (www.atu2.com), the web's oldest independent U2 site.

U2 fans named Coldplay, The Beatles, and Bruce Springsteen as their favorite musical artists aside from U2.

"With more than 70 countries represented, and more than 4,100 fans voting, we feel the survey is statistically representative of U2's online fans as a whole," @U2 founder and editor Matt McGee said. "No one's ever tried to collect the thoughts of U2's worldwide fan base and find out what we think about things both serious and lighthearted. There's some great information in here for both casual and serious U2 fans."

Read the full survey results here

2005 proved quite a refreshing year for music, polishing the apple and unleashing quirky pornographers on savvy music kids across the nation. The best of the breed proved to be an eclectic mix, spanning everything from the resurrection of 70s disco fever to addicting bubble gum pop Britney would trade her first born for. The common element that they all share is an innovative approach to formulas that grew tired eons ago. Now pay particular attention to the fact that this isn't a list of the top singles of 2005. These are the songs that sprang off their albums and wrestled me to the ground like a possessive lover. They beg to be cherished in your iPod, and they've got all those luscious qualities where you simply must surrender to their seductive musical touch. Also, to save myself some whining over technicalities, the final five picks can't claim 2005 as the year of their birth, but they sucker punched my attention through inclusion on soundtracks and just general discovery this year. Therefore, they are part of the family. Here is the best of 2005.

11. Coldplay : What If - Chris' song to his little Apple. Quit with the snickering in the peanut gallery. We've always known Gwyneth was a little fruity. It seems fatherhood has taken the place of relationship angst as Chris Martin's sandbox of choice for contemplative beauty. In the vein of "the Scientist," "What If" offers a heartfelt plea to his young daughter that proves his new avenues of inspiration haven't lost anything from the days when he was bouncing around the stage to "Yellow." Album: X&Y

Read the full list of songs here

Coldplay are so paranoid about live gigs, they study the internet after every performance for fan reviews.

Despite their status as one of the biggest live acts in the world today, Coldplay refuse to take their success for granted.

Former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft [pictured] - who performed with Coldplay at Live 8 last year - reveals, "They're funny lads. After gigs they go on the web seeing what the fans liked. If someone has said the gig was too short they sit around worrying whether to change it! I had to give them some advice: Fucking forget the fansites, man - do your own thing!"

Source: ContactMusic

On behalf of Coldplaying.com Happy New Year Coldplay!

Coldplay have announced an extra date on their forthcoming US Tour 2006.

The band will play at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA on 7th February 2006.

Pre-sale is yet to be officially confirmed.

Morgan Page believes what the major record labels don’t know won’t hurt them.

A Vermont native, recent Emerson College grad and former WERS-FM disc jockey, the 24-year-old Page has an Internet hit with “Cease and Desist,” an unauthorized compilation of his dance remixes of tracks by Coldplay, David Bowie, the Kills, Tegan and Sara and, no kidding, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.

This music isn’t for sale. It’s a free download. Grab it while you can at www.nuancerecordings.comNo, Page isn’t being sued by the record labels. So why the rush?

“Due to overwhelming demand, the link will be taken down permanently in the new year . . .,” Page wrote on his Web site last week. “Hosting this file has gotten extremely expensive as the number of downloads has far exceeded our bandwidth expections. Have a great new year, and may your stockings be full of bootleg remixes!”

In a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles, Page explained that “Cease and Desist” has become a victim of its own success. But he says it will remain available for free downloading on another Web site after it is taken off the Nuance Recordings site at the end of this month.

Page operates in a legal twilight zone familiar to fans of Danger Mouse, who created a sensation with his “Grey Album” mashup of Jay-Z and the Beatles. Page’s mixes are done without permission, but the artists he borrows from aren’t about to sue him. They understand his house music transformations are worth their bandwidth in free publicity.

“Actually, looking for permission to remix other people’s music is usually the worst thing you can do,” Page said. “I admit I was concerned about a legal backlash at first, but I got so much positive feedback about these mixes - which were basically just taking up a lot of space on my hard drive - I felt like I had to release them. Nowadays, remixes are more of a marketing crossover tool than anything else.”

Page constructs his slamming revisions using Pro Tools software and adding his own live bass playing.

While artists such as Norah Jones have praised Page’s mixes of their work, others he’s plundered remain blissfully unaware.

“A lot of this stuff falls below the artist’s radar,” Page said. “Meanwhile, dance remixes may be all over the Internet.”

While Page is giving some big names some unasked-for publicity, he’s benefitting, too. He’ll be doing some legitimate remixes for Ashley Simpson soonand he’s been licensing his own songs to Adidas, Subterranean, Arden B, Nike, Chanel and Nine West.

But Page remains a believer in the power of the Internet as a marketing tool. He’s launching his own digital-download label, where tracks will be available online only and with much better sound quality than offered by iTunes.

Source: http://theedge.bostonherald.com

Jamie Oliver is the biggest celebrity influence on Britain’s middle classes, ahead of everyone from David Cameron to Sir Trevor McDonald, according to a new style guide.

After a year in which the young chef became the patron saint of school dinners, his campaign to improve the diets of children made him a hero to parents nationwide.

David Cameron, an Old Etonian, is in second place for wooing middle England when he ousted David Davis to win the leadership of the Conservative Party. And the millionaire anti-poverty campaigner Chris Martin, the lead singer Coldplay, came third for bringing such issues to a wider audience.

The influences on the middle classes is published in the guide Class of 2006 from the media agency The Fish Can Sing. The guide is an annual publication which monitors how the country’s middle classes vary and change. It believes that most of Britain is now “middle class” in one form or another.

Source: http://news.scotsman.com

Pictures from the latest Blender magazine, featuring a 2005 music review of Coldplay have been added to the gallery here

More on the scans here [Thanks dajrekshn]

Coldplay’s 'Fix You' [pictured] re-entered the UK Single Charts at number 37, whilst the Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘I Predict A Riot’ re-enters at number 39.

Coldplay's other current single 'Talk' drops down ten places to 20th.

Other surprises include Madonna’s former number one single 'Hung Up' is a climber from 8 to 3 in the first UK music charts of 2006 where Shayne Ward holds onto the top spot with ‘That’s My Goal’.

In the albums charts, Eminem spends a fifth straight week at the top with ‘Curtain Call’ and Hard-FI with ‘Stars of CCTV’ makes a huge leap from 33 to 4.

Coldplay's 'X&Y' was voted #1 album in Philadelphia's WXPN Top 50 Countdown of 2005.

The countdown was voted on by listeners and hosts. X&Y beat out notable albums such as Kanye West's 'Late Registration', Beck's 'Guero', and David Gray's 'Life in Slow Motion'.

Read the full top 50 list here

INDIA: Coldplay's new CD comes with an insert that discloses all the rules enforced by the DRM they included on the disc. Of course, these rules are only visible after you've paid for the CD and brought it home, and as the disc's rules say, "Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund," so if you don't like the rules, that's tough.

What are the other rules? Here are some gems: "This CD can't be burnt onto a CD or hard disc, nor can it be converted to an MP3" and "This CD may not play in DVD players, car stereos, portable players, game players, all PCs and Macintosh PCs." Best of all, the insert explains that this is all "in order for you to enjoy a high quality music experience." Now, that's quality.

See the insert below. More on this here [Thanks swim730885]

Singer-songwriter James Blunt's 'Back To Bedlam' was the biggest selling album of 2005, according to official figures.

The former soldier, who was virtually unknown this time last year, outsold returning stadium rockers Coldplay, whose third studio album 'X&Y' finished second.

Robbie Williams' latest LP came third , while Kaiser Chiefs and KT Tunstall finished in the top 10 with their debut albums.

The top 10 UK albums of 2005:

1. James Blunt - Back To Bedlam

2. Coldplay - X&Y

3. Robbie Williams - Intensive Care

4. Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

5. Gorillaz - Demon Days

6. Westlife - Face To Face

7. KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope

8. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

9. Faithless - Forever Faithless - The Greatest Hits

10. Eminem - Curtain Call - The Hits

More on this here

Improbably, Belle and Sebastian live down a lane that you enter by a gloomy archway. Then you cross a rubbish-strewn courtyard, walk through a door with no name and climb a staircase full of foreboding.

Groovy pubs come and go and Belle and Sebastian have outlasted most of them; groovy groups too. "We've got this wee game in the office now," says Murdoch, keeping his raincoat tightly fastened. "Someone will pick up a paper and go, 'God, are that band still around? We thought we'd seen them off!' The other day I was reading about how Coldplay had talked up this lot and they were back playing again..." And he stops, for fear of sounding arrogant.

But if they were so inclined, Belle and Sebastian have got a lot to be arrogant about. It was exactly 10 years ago, as 1995 slouched into 1996, that the seeds of the band were sown, and they're still here, still making music - a fine new album, their seventh, is released next month.

Read the full article here

With some major tours already been to Toronto and gone this past year -- Coldplay [pictured], U2, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, to name a few -- what do concert-goers have to look forward to in 2006?

Well, for starters, Coldplay has already announced they are returning to the Air Canada Centre March 22 with none other than The Verve's Richard Ashcroft opening, making for one of the most anticipated double bills in 2006 so far. Ashcroft has a new solo album due Jan. 24.

Elsewhere, such music A-listers as Shakira, Madonna, Robbie Williams, Ricky Martin, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, New Order, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Oscar winner-turned-recording artist Jamie Foxx, all released new albums in 2005 and have either yet to tour or just not made it to Toronto yet.

Read the full article here

Coldplay are nominated for Sweden's 'Rockbjörnen' award. This year, Coldplay is nominated in three different categories:

Bästa utländska grupp (Best international group)

Bästa utländska låt (Best international song)

Bästa utländksa skiva (Best international album)

Simply choose one in every category and fill in your name, e-mail and gender (Kvinna=Woman Man=Male).

For more details and how to vote, click here

John Lennon's 'Imagine' has been voted the nation's number one song - 25 years after his death.

The Beatles classics 'Hey Jude' and 'Let it Be' came second and third in the poll compiled by Virgin Radio. U2 made it to fourth place with One, while Robbie Williams followed with Angels.

Virgin Radio's Ben Jones, who will play out the top 10, said: "Its apt that Lennon is top of the poll in the year of the 25th anniversary of his death. His writing, especially with Paul McCartney, is possibly the country's greatest ever musical export and he clearly still holds a special place in the nation's heart."

The Beatles have 33 entries in the top 500 songs. The Rolling Stones follow with 17 entries, followed by U2 with 15 and David Bowie and Queen with 14 each. Coldplay and Oasis failed to make it into the top ten. The top songs, polled by 7,000 Virgin Radio listeners, will be counted down on Virgin Radio's Top 500 on New Years Eve.

1.Imagine - John Lennon

2.Hey Jude - Beatles

3.Let It Be - Beatles

4.One - U2

5.Angels - Robbie Williams

6.Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

7.Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin

8.Every Breath You Take - The Police

9.Hotel California - The Eagles

10.You're Beautiful - James Blunt

Amazon.com today released its “Best Of 2005 List” which includes the best selling, most positively reviewed, most wished for, and favorite gift products as determined by Amazon.com customers in 2005.

The black 2GB iPod nano was the fourth best selling product–as counted by total units sold–behind Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (books), X&Y by Coldplay, and Star Wars Episode III- Revenge of the Sith (DVD).

The 20GB iPod was No. 4 on its list of products that appeared most often on the Wish Lists of Amazon.com customers in 2005, while the 512MB iPod shuffle was fourth on its list of products most frequently purchased as gifts by Amazon.com customers in 2005–behind the aforementioned Harry Potter book and Coldplay album and the complete first season of Lost.

Source: ipodnn.com

U2 tickets were the most wanted for 2005. Ticketmaster just released the year-end results of the most-requested shows and events of the past year, and U2 led the way, beating out the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, and the New England Patriots, among others.

According to Ticketmaster, U2's Vertigo Tour was the No. 1 most requested event and the No. 1 most requested concert of 2005, making U2's Vertigo Tour the most in-demand ticket of the year.

Ticketmaster based its ranking of the nation's most requested events on online page views, information requests, and ticket sales through Ticketmaster

sales channels between January 1st to November 30th, 2005.Here are the Most Requested Events and Most Requested Concerts of 2005, according to Ticketmaster:

2005 MOST REQUESTED EVENTS

01. U2

02. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

03. ROLLING STONES

04. PAUL MCCARTNEY

05. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

06. COLDPLAY

07. NEW YORK YANKEES

08. RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS

09. BON JOVI

10. KENNY CHESNEY

2005 MOST REQUESTED CONCERTS

01. U2

02. ROLLING STONES

03. PAUL MCCARTNEY

04. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

05. COLDPLAY

06. BON JOVI

07. KENNY CHESNEY

08. EAGLES

09. ELTON JOHN

10. NINE INCH NAILS

Source: fantasymusicleague.com

Radiohead have topped a poll by the readers of Q Magazine to find the greatest album ever - narrowly beating themselves to the No1 spot.

The band's 1997 record OK Computer won the vote, with 1995's The Bends grabbing second position. Their more experimental follow-up Kid A also made the Top 10.

Almost one third of Q's 100 Greatest Albums Ever were recorded in the 1990s, making it the best ever decade for music. The newest record to make the list was Coldplay's A Rush Of Blood To The Head [pictured], which was released in 2002 and ranked 25th.

Nineties record that charted highly include Nirvana's Nevermind, which came third, Oasis' fifth-placed Definitely Maybe and The Stone Roses' self-titled debut album at No6.

There was some success for older bands - The Beatles came fourth with Revolver - but landmark records like The Clash's London Calling and Beach Boys' Pet Sounds had to make do with the outer reaches of the Top 20.

Voters also sprang a surprise by ranking Madonna's 1998 album Ray Of Light at No33, ahead of classics by The Rolling Stones, Blur and Jimi Hendrix.The Top 20 are:

1. Radiohead - OK Computer

2. Radiohead - The Bends

3. Nirvana - Nevermind

4. The Beatles - Revolver

5. Oasis - Definitely Maybe

6. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

7. R.E.M. - Automatic For The People

8. Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

9. U2 - Achtung Baby

10. Radiohead - Kid A

11. U2 - The Joshua Tree

12. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

13. Jeff Buckley - Grace

14. The Beatles - Abbey Road

15. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon

16. The Verve - Urban Hymns

17. The Beatles - The Beatles

18. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

19. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

20. The Clash - London Calling

Coldplay wins 'Best album' and 'Best on stage' at MTV Italy Best of 2005.

For more information click here and here

[Thanks Lifelight]

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 12:00 on Saturday 31st December. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on Q.

Coldplay: MTV Live (Music)

Starting: 19:00 on Saturday 31st December. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on MTV UK.

The Essential Tracks of 2005 (Music)

VH2 brings you the pick of this year’s songs, featuring the likes of Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Gorillaz, Green Day, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis and more.

Starting: 12:00 on Sunday 1st January. Duration: 4 hours and 30 minutes

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 17:00 on Sunday 1st January. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 09:00 on Monday 2nd January. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on Q.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 10:30 on Monday 2nd January. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

The Essential Tracks of 2005 (Music)

Starting: 17:00 on Monday 2nd January. Duration: 5 hours

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay Live (Music)

Starting: 23:30 on Monday 2nd January. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

The Essential Tracks of 2005 (Music)

Starting: 10:30 on Tuesday 3rd January. Duration: 4 hours and 30 minutes

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 12:00 on Tuesday 3rd January. Duration: 30 minutes

Showing on Q.

[Thanks nettie]