MasoKnight

Lol. This would be the most ridiculous way to find out about a leak.

Damn, what was up with everybody avoiding October 13th in the poll? haha

Right. There's a pre-loaded track being pumped through the speakers. But Guy is actually playing the drums (most of the time). We just don't hear it.

Well, "miming" suggests that they're not playing at all. I'm sure Johnny really is playing the right notes, just as Guy is truly drumming on Lost!. But what comes through the speakers is a different, fuller sounding track.

Wedding Bells is one of the worst songs I've ever heard Chris Martin sing.

Sometimes a website here or there posts a clip or two. I remember a German (maybe?) site streaming ~30 seconds of 42 several days before VLV was released.

His comments on UATW and UIF pretty much confirm that he's heard the album. Not every magazine gives an author the luxury of several thousand words.

Congratulations! Long overdue

Parachutes: 8.5/10 AROBTTH: 9.0/10 X&Y: 5.5/10 VLV: 9.25/10 I'm expecting something between 8 and 9.

Well that was awesome. Seriously, that crowd just made up for sucking most of the show.

Yeah, it's an abbreviated list--the new stuff plus the essentials. But I am incredibly pleased to have a set that I can't guess song for song.

I love this guy

Ditto.

I'm fine with Rihanna being featured. She's got a cool voice and has used it on some awesome tracks. But after hearing Paradise, I'm concerned about Coldplay's ability to pull off the hip-pop sound effectively--with or without Rihanna.

Honestly, hearing Paradise did deter me from ordering the pop-up album, at least in the short term. On the other hand, as your ratings suggest, this is the only dud for me so far, so I might change my mind. Edit: Forgot the songs! I'll throw in a few old ones for perspective: Politik>HLH>CB>MM>UATW>ETIAW>The Hardest Part>Paradise>What If

Yes, I'm sure EMI went to Coldplay and said: Ya know, sure you sell more records than pretty much anyone else on our label, and sure Viva la Vida was great and all, but we'd really like you to sound a little more "mainstream." Cause 50 million albums isn't "mainstream" enough. Aye, people. This is Coldplay now. Take them or leave them, but stop blaming Eno/EMI/Gwyneth.

I'm not going to go so far as to call them "sell-outs," and I really have no reason to believe the new direction is anything other than what the band wants. But this is the first time I've heard a new Coldplay song and felt truly indifferent. I've listened to Paradise twice, and really that's enough. It's not a grower--it's a skipper. Coldplay can do "pop," and satisfy me. Viva la Vida is pop. Lost! is pop. But there is an element of songwriting put into those tracks that's lacking here. Considering that Paradise would be the worst song on Parachutes, AROBTTH, and VLV (and pretty close to the worst on X&Y), I'll give it a 2.

pretty boring honestly

It actually improves the song, which is a pretty remarkable feat in this case. ETIAW has always seemed like LP5's LiJ to me, and this video is in many ways similar to that one. Edit: And dropping this without an announcement was a pretty cool surprise.

I'm not saying anything about the quality of ETIAW, but I'd prefer something of its style to close the album on a happy note. MTM feels like a very predictable closer.

Watched it last night on VH1 with some friends. It was absolutely spectacular. Their best Glastonbury, hands down. 9/10

VH1 is 10 eastern, for US viewers. Not sure if it'll just be the BBC stream or something a little different.

I think the setlist is the best we could've reasonably hoped for. Princess of China, maybe. People need to realize that Coldplay aren't going to play stuff like Spies, Amsterdam, Square One, etc. anymore. We should feel blessed to see the likes of Shiver, Everything's Not Lost, and Shiver a dozen years after they were first performed.

Hmm. Anchorman is making it sound like the crowd is awesome. Not sure what to think; I'm not watching until tonight on VH1.

Wow. After being pleasantly surprised with the studio version of Major Minus, I thought there was no way this would top it. I was wrong. 9/10