frostbitepanda

Holy shit Coldplay. Welcome fucking back. Talk about a banger.

Happy birthday Will! Hope you had an awesome day. :)

^^ I cannot see Coldplay doing a Greatest Hits record until they're done making music.

Now you see, this is why I do have to contextualize my disdain for X&Y a bit. This is also why music is so cool, because people have different memories attached to different albums/songs, so it hold different significance to everyone. I first started listening to Coldplay in 2002, just after AROBTTH. Before then, music was not very important to me. My parents were never particularly interested in music, so I never had anyone to "guide" me through music and how awesome it could be. "The Scientist" was the first song I had ever listened to that did something to me. Before, music was just... there. I had such a strong reaction to that song... it was like a light switch being thrown. It was also like the first whiff of a very addictive drug that has persisted to this day-- and I owe that to this band. That's a hefty thing: an integral part of my life's meaning and identity. I obsessed about the coming of the new album. I waited three long years to hear new Coldplay songs (which to me was something so inconceivably awesome I could barely handle it) and to see them live (which, at that point, was basically my life's goal). When X&Y came out, I listened to it dozens and dozens of times. I picked out parts of songs I liked and tried mercilessly to convince myself that this album was what I wanted. And it just... wasn't I didn't have one of those "oh shit" moments like I had had with almost every song off the first two. It just felt overly-polished, flat, and boring. Durign that time I listened to that album possibly 100s of times-- all begrudgingly. I just wanted to love it so much, but I didn't and I had to come to terms with the fact that Coldplay kind of let me down. And that's a big stain on what otherwise could be considered a good album. And years later, I still return time and time again to Rush and Parachutes (and, later, Viva), but X&Y literally never occurs to me. I just never got into my bloodstream like the others.

I would love a PM as well! I was just listening to this today with my AudioTechnica headphones and thought how nice it would be to have a more high quality recording to listen to with those things!

^^ Sparks is in my top ten. Of course, my top ten changes just about every day, but Sparks always tends to stay up there. :) Today I'm really digging Strawberry Swing, Oceans, and ALIENS.

It's very well done, and very beautiful. What a nice idea for a tattoo. I love the artwork from that ear as well. Well done! What is your first Coldplay tattoo?

I, too, was once upon a time on here a lot. Fell off after Xylo came out. Then my friends at r/indieheads indicated that their new song was good (AICTAIY) and so, curious, I listened to it. Here I am. :)

I used to make icons too, now that I think of it. If y'all want to use any of them around here in the forums, feel free. :) My old LJ icon journal. (There's more than just Coldplay on there, but there's a lot of Coldplay) http://drdanaspooky.livejournal.com/

I actually did pick out a photo! I was planning on doing a series: a portrait of all four individually, playing in darkness. This is the photo: https://coldplaying.com/gallery/will-champion/will-champion-up-close-and-personal/nggallery/page/4#gallery/3061db2f25d13aa9e4c5720c46a4f85d/592

I, unfortunately, never go around to Will. :(

And here's one of Jonny.

Here's one I did of Guy, like a million years ago. Here's a link, cause the image I uploaded is pretty shit quality:

I did not mean to imply that the other three don't contribute to my love for them. The band would not be Coldplay if even one were to disappear. But, Coldplay would be nothing without Chris' voice. On the other hand, Coldplay would also be nothing without Jonny's guitar, Will's drumming/arrangements, and Guy's bass work. You can't really parse them out, but, when I first heard Coldplay, what first dragged me into my love for them, was Chris' voice. I think that's what I was really trying to say. Their best songs are definitely when all four of them are firing in sync with one another and all their contributions are allowed to really shine through (see: my comments about AICTAIY).

I agree so much. There is really nothing like it. :)

Huh. Their true souls on X&Y? Can you explain a bit more as to why you think that? I'm just curious!

Fair, I can agree to that. I don't know if I've ever met someone with my particular disdain for X&Y. I just feel like, overall, the songwriting on GS was leagues better than anything on X&Y. You call "What If" boring--- that whole album with the exception X&Y (song) and maybe Twisted Logic is boring as hell. And, I think SFoS is a better song than my personal least favorite from X&Y (and, like, ever)-- The Hardest Part (even typing out the name of that song made me clench my jaw a bit).

I also do this, and I think you hit the nail on the head as to why I like this song so much. Chris' vocal performance really stands out. One of the biggest reasons I have not been as big of a fan of theirs in recent times is because I've felt that something in their production style is stifling Chris' voice. And, say what you will about Jonny's (brilliant) guitar work and Will's (fantastic) drumming and backing vocals, and Guy's (groovy) bass work, but we're all fucking here because of Chris' unusual voice. Coldplay songs carry so much weight because of the rawness of his voice. Sometimes it's gets a bit... creaky, for lack of a better term-- like it almost hurts for him to be singing. That is a big, big element that has been missing from a lot of the songs they've been releasing lately (and honestly, a huge reason why I dislike X&Y so much). The vocal performances are flat, and sometimes his voice is even mixed much too softly into the production! It's maddening! The production for AICTAIY I think is also excellent. I'm not really sure where some people are coming up with their criticisms for it, but I think it's brilliant. And, once again, we have a vocal performance that is much more like the Chris Martin of old. But the really, really awesome thing about this song that just gets me so excited is that it's such a perfect nod to their older sound, while also sounding very new. When I listened to it for the first time I thought to myself "Oh my god! listen to that classic Buckland guitar!" "Holy shit, Guy, get it!!" "Fuck! there's the piano!!" and then there this huge Coldplay crash, but it all sounds very new and fresh all the same. Uhg, I just love these two songs so much. Hypnotised really grew on me. I like it a lot, although it suffers from some shoddy mixing at the end there. They other two-- Miracles is such a huge disappointment. I like the beginning-- the guitar work is fabulous, but then they had to ruin it. Like, why? And SJLT is not only a terrible embarrassment of a song anyway, but it's a waste of space on what would otherwise be an amazing EP. It's just a live version that was not recorded well and is only slightly more palatable than the original. :/

To be fair, Coldplay has a habit of putting some of their best work on either an EP or on B-sides. Of course, we've never had to deal with three strait disappointing albums (although, I am of the opinion that GS is a better album than X&Y, but that's just like... my opinion man). It's... disheartening and frustrating to be sure. I was trying to describe it to my brother last night, who loves Coldplay. It's so infuriating to be a fan of theirs, because you know what they're capable of music-wise. You know how much talent they have and that keeps getting reinforced through releases like this, but then gets thrown back in your face with works like SJLT and M(SS). It's MADDENING.

^^ Embarrassing is a good way to put it. It's very disappointing too, as I really love certain elements to that song-- the guitar work most especially.

Don't Panic [28] Shiver [20] Spies [11] Sparks [26] Yellow [23] Trouble [22] Parachutes [0] (-2) We Never Change [13] (+1) Life Is For Living [12]

Politik [30] In My Place [16] (-2) The Scientist [18] Clocks [10] Green Eyes [10] (+1) Warning Sign [16] A Rush Of Blood To The Head [33]

Square One [22] What If [4] (-2) White Shadows [19] Fix You [21] Talk [19] Speed Of Sound [22] A Message [19] Low [23] The Hardest Part [19] Swallowed in the Sea [16] Twisted Logic [12] (+1)

Always In My Head [18] Magic [16] Ink [19] (-2) True Love [11] Midnight [24] Another's Arms [11] Oceans [22] (+1) Fly On [23]

Life In Technicolor [14] Cemeteries Of London [26] Lost! [19] 42 [17] (+1) Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love [17] Yes [3] (-2) Viva La Vida [22] Violet Hill [22] Strawberry Swing [22] Death and All His Friends [23] Life In Technicolor ii [24] Postcards From Far Away [20] Glass of Water [23] Rainy Day [21] Prospekt's March/Poppyfields [2] Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground [12]