Sir Raptor of Nonsense

Interesting how the three songs I'll most readily cite as having Chris' best lyrics are all album closers: "Everything's Not Lost", "Amsterdam", and "Til Kingdom Come"(I consider it X&Y's true closer, even if "Twisted Logic" was the intended finale). "When I counted up my demons. I found there was one for every day, With the good ones on my shoulder, I drove the other ones away" It's more desciptive than he usually makes his lyrics, which is why I like it. Deep, hopeful, not indulging in self-pity, but makign an effort to see thigns through with a smile on his face. "Come on, oh my star is fading And I see no chance of release I know I'm dead on the surface But I'm screaming underneath" Kind of the flip side of the aforementioned verse, but knowing the rest of the song isn't so hapless helps the line along. Honest and aching. And... I can't actually cite a specific example from "Til Kingdom Come", because it's all so good. It's actually a more spiritual-sounding song than coldplay's usual boy-girl dynamics; I can detect some Biblical inferrences that may or may not have been deliberate.(Though not a fan, this could be because it was intended for Johnny Cash. I'm just supposing...)

For the sake of fun and frolic, let's go forward from Parachutes and reselect which songs were to be singles. For myself, I'd say: -Parachutes- Shiver: No, they chose this one perfectly. No other song could have lead the album so well as it represented it.("Yellow" is too big to resemble the rest of the album.) Yellow: This one, too, shouldn't be changed. Everything's Not Lost: Such a sweeping ballad as this should have been destined for radio play. A tad more universal in lyric than "Trouble", it might not be quite as catchy, but evocativeness should've won this one out. Sparks: More for the sake of added exposure for a lovely song than the chance it might be a big radio hit. "Don't Panic" was too short for the singles market and "Trouble" might be too similar in structure to "Everything's Not Lost". And as long as we're rewriting history, make "Life is For Living" a hidden track rather than tacking it to the end of 'Lost'. That stupid medley is a playlist-ruiner. (Nothing against the song, mind you, just not to close where the main track would have been more effective.) -A Rush of Blood to the Head- A Rush of Blood to the Head: A rallying single to leave off a rallying record, I'd say. "In My Place" seemed too easy-going to work properly as the leader. However... In My Place: ...that's not to say it should not have been a single at all. Radio-friendly and instrumentally shiny, it could probably grab the people ungrabbed by the title track. The Scientist or Amsterdam: Again, too structurally similar to be separate releases, "The Scientist" has the musical accessibility, but "Amsterdam" has the edge in lyrics. Considering music is music and production first, I suppose "The Scientist" wins out, thoguh I feel bad that "Amsterdam" didn't receive greater exposure. Daylight: Just to startle the public. ;) Actually, I don't know what to put in this space; I don't think the individual songs were this album's appeal so much as the whole thing together.(Which is a double-edged sword.) -Non-album- Moses: Appease the masses hungry for a new album by releasing "Moses" as a single. I know, it surfaced and got soem radio play, but it ought to have been recorded in the studio and released commercially. -X&Y- White Shadows: Prove to the public this album is different right off the bat, and people won't keep ignorantly claiming that this is Parachutes 3.("Speed of Sound" is remeniscent of "Clocks". We get it.) I think "White Shadows" splashes cold water on those expecting more of the same and kicks off with a killer rythm we may never have had from Coldplay prior to this. A Message: To remind listeners that X&Y contains a mix of the old and the new, give 'em the most poignant and intoxicating track that's not "Til Kingdom Come". What If: Maybe a more intricate piano ballad than "Trouble" or "The Scientist", if this makes the cut, it should see good chart success. Kind of hypnotic in all that clamor toward the end. Low: Exciting and with another classic Crescendo To End All Crescendos™, it carries a lot of weight. It could also be the track that has everyone playing the air bass -- a rarity in a guitar-obsessed society. Til Kingdom Come: Won't haquaint and powerful. (Incidentally, the plethora of single-quality material ppen, but we're rewriting... well, the future, I suppose. But you should've canned all the hidden track stuff, boys; I've heard several people say they bought the album because they heard this song somewhere or other. It's just that on this album could actually see a fifth single surface. C'mon -- there's so much to choose from!) Well, that's just me. Were you Coldplay's marketing team, what would you have lobbied/would lobby for?

I should think that "Square One" would be a given considering its subject matter, though "Politik" would probably do the job almost as well. "What If" could also be possible, though they'd probably also require an old standard to better please the crowd; "Don't Panic" or "Trouble", perhaps.

Puzzling that "X&Y" and "Swallowed in the Sea" have received so many votes, while "A Message", "Til Kingdom Come", and "Low" have received such sparse votes. I cast mine for "Low" -- it just has such a great, pounding rythm. And the strings there just add so much.

I bought it the other day, a mite apprehensive that everything would sound like it came right off the album. Thankfully, my fears were [mostly] allayed. The director of the footage should be shot(the camera skips around WAY too much, and not just for the frenetic songs like "One I Love"), but the lights and the music are phenomenal. I wish that the other five tracks could've been included on the audio disc(they had room to fit at least two or three of those on here...), but what you get is worth your money.

I think asking Chris Martin to pen great lyrics is asking something too much; he's a wonderful singer -- possibly the best voice of this generation -- but he is not, nor has he ever been, a great lyricist. The lyrics he wrote in the Parachutes era were somehow warmer, broader, and more genuine, but thereafter he seemed to wane. But that's fine; the words may sometimes feel clumsy, but the way he sings them remains touching and worthwhile, not the least of which can be found on "Swallowed in the Sea".

After listen number three, I was and still am convinced that X&Y is the only Coldplay album that thus far that time will(or, at least, should) vindicate as one of the great albums. There's greater variety here than on either of its predecessors, as well as a richer sound to it all. The string arrangements on, say the title track, feel more like a necessary part of the whole song rather than a pretty complement as it was on "In My Place" or "Everything's Not Lost". Strings add much to those songs, but I believe they could survive without, while "X&Y" without the string arrangement would seem to sap it of its soul. It is a little commercial in that it has a more prominent 80s sound(especially on "Talk") that's been very hip recently, but it doesn't feel like a sellout by any means; just a few guys having fun with some sonic qualities that happens to be big right now. Each track -- even the ones I'm not crazy about -- feels necessary on X&Y, while I can't say that about Parachutes or A Rush. I can't say that Parachutes would feel incomplete if they removed "High Speed" or Rush without "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face". X&Y also sees a great leap in the band's musical ability; Jonny is playing some more interesting riffs that contain only a hint of the signature ound; they don't rely on it as they did before. Even Will's drumming seems sharper and more focused than before. I actually feel him to be the star of "Fix You" rather than Jonny. The bass also sees greater audibility here than some past songs -- it seemed a bit cloudy in Parachutes, but just listen to how clear it is on "Low". With all these factors in mind, I think Coldplay's best is yet to come. It can really only improve from here.

There's a lot of the organ to be found on the whole album; of course "Fix You" fits right in -- even if, as my sister and I agree, it's a hideously pure sound in the track's beginning. Once the piano comes in after the first chorus it improves, swelling to the magnificent crescendo.(Though how much better it was on MTV's Live Leak, with Jonny's guitar replacing the piano after the initial chorus...)

Hm, in my experience a perfect album is a lousy album. That is, it comes across more as a Best Of than a collection of songs recorded in the same timeframe. You need some tracks that don't sound like potential singles. Therefore, I can fabricate a not-quite-perfect collection that resembles an album: 1. A Rush of Blood to the Head 2. High Speed 3. Sparks 4. The Scientist 5. Shiver 6. In My Place 7. Fix You 8. Parachutes 9. Til Kingdom Come 10. Everything's Not Lost + Life is For Living(counts as one track, technically...) 11. X&Y [Hidden: 12. Swallowed in the Sea]

Coldplay have never been much of a 'Rock Band' -- "Shiver" or no "Shiver". Even their 'rockers' ala "Yellow", "White Shadows", "One I Love", etcetera, are clsoer to epic balladry than rock music. There's a toughness to true-clue Rock -- and some celebrity wasn't far off when they called Coldplay a 'bunch of [blankin'] pansies." I'd call that a good thing, myself. The aformentioned songs might fall under pop rock, but this is pop music more than naything else. Very well-done pop music -- and X&Y is no different in that respect.

"Low", "White Shadows", "A Message", "What If" all have the right quality to be singles, so it's anybody's guess which ones they'll be. "Fix You" is a given, and my personal hope is for "A Message" and "Low" to follow up.