merril

Well, so there will be no tour in the next 1 - 2 years. And that for ecological reasons?? That sounds strange. I can understand that they care for the environment, but why fly to Jordan and have so many musicians, journalist etc. etc. fly there as well? Why not release the album in London? I suppose there are other reasons for their not going on tour.

This video, the melody and Chris's soothing voice are so beautiful and so very sad! He sings 'It's ok, it's ok, it's ok' and you feel he has to repeat the words to convince himself that everything is ok. But of course nothing is ok when a child longs for his/her father who is not there. I feel so sad for Chris here who seems to try and come to terms with the fact that he doesn't live together with his kids.

Or why not write to Guy directly on his instagram account, tell him what you intend to do and ask the band for at least a 'greet and meet' after the show outside. That's of course not as good as the concert, but at least the trip will not be completely in vain. I would love to fly to London but I have no time for that on a Monday. Soo sad!

I agree. If they had a new album out earlier they would probably play Glastonbury, which they definitely don't.

That's what I think as well. I read some English language papers of Jordan and even there the concert isn't mentioned. And no people from Jordan will get the chance to watch the concert live. Many people from Jordan complain about that. They are so disappointed. I still don't understand why Jordan? If they don't give local people the chance to go to the concert they could have played the new songs just anywhere in a studio and let people follow the concert in Youtube.

Or an allusion to BrokenEngland (Brexit)?

So far I haven't heard any of the leaked songs but I went to the thread and read a few reviews. I was embarrassed how widely opinions diverge. There seem to be some really bad songs on the album. Well, I won't read any more comments. I am just going to enjoy the album on November 22nd! I am sure Coldplay won't disappoint me!

No, No, No, I keep telling myself. I won't read any of the posts on the leak thread and I won't listen to any of the leaked songs! I wonder how long I will reisst the temptation.

Well, sorry to say, but that's democracy. I voted for Sparks.

Yes, and he said it was a mish-mash of styles, of little snippets, pieces, voice memos and some songs and bits of songs. The band asked him to just put them together and when he played them Guy said that it was ok and he should leave it as it was. I'm a bit worried about this album the more I listen to Chris talking about it. They seem not to have put much energy and work into it. It's probably called 'Everyday Life' because it is nothing special, nothing they cared much about. As Chris put it, it's unfiltered and raw and perhaps unfinished.

In the Australien interview Chris says that they won't be playing Glastenbury next year. That's a surprise, most of us thought they would play there. They probably don't have enough 'great' songs for a huge event. Chris has repeatedly said that many of the songs in LP8 are just voice memos. It seems as if an album that they can tour is still far away.

They'll probably play 'Orphans' at the Global Citizen Festival because that would fit in well with the festival's overall idea.

I don't understand why they only want to contact fans in the USA and Canada. They have fans everywhere!

@"lennyrott1 I fully agree. Of course Chris (and probably also the rest of the band) care about what people think of their music. They definitely want the audience to love their songs. If they didn't care at all, they wouldn't even release any music, but play together behind closed doors. They want to please at least those who like their music, but they are still upset about those who critizise them. Chris still seems to be very sensitive to the - as I think unfair - criticism they received for their Superbowl performance, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned it. But I don't worry as much as you about LP9 (we don't even know for sure whether they have planned another album after EL).I quite like most of their 'poppy' songs.

Yes, and that's probably the main reason why they don't tour this album. Chris doesn't look as if he would be able to go on tour. But I could well imagine Jonny, Will and Guy going on tour. They seem much more energetic than Chris at the moment. I hope he will be able to get through those two concerts in Jordan.

Yes, he said they were not doing very much talking or touring for this album. He said it was a very personal album and the songs were 'unfiltered', 'totally raw' and 'pure' and that he didn't want to explain or defend them. People should just take them 'as what they are'. This is a bit like what he said for Ghost Stories, but it is different, though. It seems as if they didn't work much on the songs but recorded them straight away without practising much and with all their imperfections. The songs on Ghost Stories, however, were fully formed and flashed out when they released them. Chris has said on repeat that the songs on EL were very personal. I wonder what happened in his personal life to make him look so tired and sad. He seems no longer full of energy as he used to be.

I found two excerpts of this interview here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4lEKzNB-iR/ One contains a Spanish translation of the main points but not a direct quote of that part. Chris obviously says that 'Orphans' was a voice memo which he kept for a future project. It might mean that LP8 was that future prospect, so it won't find its way on to LP9. He also seems to have said that 'Orphans' is the main single of the new album. But this is what I understood from the Spanish text. It may be wrong. :blush:

I agree, those 'poppy' songs are not always their best songs. But if they want to tour an album, they have to include some songs with popular tunes, especially as they love when the audience is singing along with them. Most of us here tend to think that songs which appeal to a large audience are 'bad'. Would this mean the more people like a song the worse it is? Certainly not. The word 'popular' derives from the word 'people' and you can't say people per se have a bad taste. Great bands like The Beatles were and still are liked by the vast majority of audiences and at the same time get critical acclaim. Also a sing-along song can be a good song, at least 'good' in the sense that it makes peope happy. I must admit I quite like some of their songs from AHFOD, especially if I just want to relax and get into a happy mood. Besides, Stargate for many people here seems to be a synonym for bad music. But all four members of the band love Stargate. They have all said so in different interviews, not only Chris. So if LP9 contains some songs along the line of 'Orphans', we just have to accept it as the music Coldplay likes. In any case, LP9 won't be a copy of AHFOD, the band seems to have really developed and incorporated many new aspects of music into their songs. I am looking forward to both, LP8 and LP9.

What if this snippet is the whole 'song'? What if 'Guns' is just a voice memo?

I am slightly worried about the band playing 'Orphans' live in Jordan. The influx of more than 1.3 million Syrian refugees into Jordan with ist 9.7 million inhabitants is not without problems, Jordan itself being a poor country. And now comes a band from far away Britain singing a happy song - happy as far as the music goes - about Syrian people who just want to 'get drunk with (their) friends'. People in Syria and Jordan are Muslims for whom it is forbidden to drink alcohol. I am not sure how they will react. But probably the audience will mainly consist of Western people and the whole concert will take place 'behind closed doors' with nobody in the Arab world taking notice of it. I do voluntary work for Syrian refugees at the weekend and we were always told to be very cautious when alluding to the war and what the people have been through because many of them are traumatised. It's a great venture and risk Coldplay is taking. I hope everything will go well on November 22nd. It would be great if the band donated some of the money they earn with their new album for Syrian refugees.

Thanks!

[quote="TomRiver, post: 5945300, me Yes, Chris's voice didn't sound great live but it sounds ok on Spotify. He or rather his voice is getting old I'm afraid. You could notice that this summer when he was performing live on various occasions. Perhaps they should let Will sing live.

Exactly!! I loved Arabesque when I first heard it and I loved Orphans on second hearing. It's really catchy. I thought the songs which would be released would be getting better and better. But even after listening to Everyday Life several times I don't like it as much as the other two. It ends so abruptly and leaves me with a question mark. Well, we must simply accept the fact that this is the music which is close to the boys' hearts. As Chris said they no longer pay attention to what people think of their music. I'm still looking forward to the other songs on the album though.

I wonder whether Chris is alluding to this song when he sings with the Gospel choir and says: When I am broken and in need... So brokEn might have some Gospel elements.

Yes, but the writing is not upside down. :grinning: