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If we're making comparisons, IMHO AROBTTH is Coldplay's Joshua Tree, in that it's the record that will go down in history as the epitome of their "classic sound" What they Haven't done yet is make their Achtung Baby, a record that truly breaks ground and redifnes not just them, but their genre of music as a whole.

Now I'm confused. In your first post, you seemed to concede that they have experimented and/or grown over the course of there career. Is that not the definition of "breaking new ground"? Conversely, when you say they need to "get back to" something isn't that the very definition of recovering OLD ground?

Define "real band" though. Sure they use recorded elements to supplement live performance, but so does virtually every arena level act I've seen live for the last 10 years or so. Sure, they're show is full of production and "gimmicks" now, but again, so are a lot of other shows. In a lot of ways, IMHO they're more of a "real" band now than they ever were back in the old days. They're better musicians both individually and as a group, super tight when playing together live, and have all evolved into great showmen. In addition, their newer music (again IMHO) actually features the talents of all FOUR members, as opposed to a lot of the early material that was primarily focused around Chris. What you're talking about is merely that they've moved beyond your tastes, which makes them no more or less "real" than they ever were.

He actually did play guitar (a Gibson ES-150 which looks like a large acoustic even though it's electric) when they played Don Quixote live.

They all have names that end in Y, so that limits things somewhat. ;)

Just my truthful observation based on the audiences of multiple shows I've been to. It's not really an audience of "kids" like a lot of other bands.

This may be hard for some people to get their head around, but the thing of it is the general perception of Coldplay has always been being more like those manufactured pop acts than being a "real" band. It seems to me that most of the criticisms emerging from the band's fanbase in the MX era, are really just echoes of what other people always said about Coldplay. ;)

Stranger things have happened. There have been other cases where records up for album of the year were beaten in best rock album, especially among nominees that didn't win either. I'd honestly prefer Muse to win again. ;)

It's worth keeping in mind that the floor seating encompasses a large area, and so your view will differ greatly depending where on the floor you are. I've attended a couple shows on the floor and it was ok, but I was never that far back, and am of average male height (about 5'9"). I've heard lots of complaints about floor seats from others though, so not really sure I can give you good advice. :\

Not so much wrong as misapplied I guess. IMHO for something not to be "mainstream" it has to exist is some kind of Niche. Coldplay have been one of the most popular pop/rock acts in the world since at least AROBTTH. Therefore, I don't get how people can possibly contend that there old songs weren't mainstream, but the new ones are, given that songs like Yellow, In My Place, and Clocks are pretty ubiquitous. It's like using "indie" as a genre descriptor, it means nothing in and of itself, and IMHO is pretty useless. That's what I was trying to get across.

I don't have an issue with people having any opinion whatsoever on the quality of the songs in MX. The part I find silly/confusing/annoying/etc. is the use of the adjective "mainstream" in relation to a band who's been at the forefront of mainstream pop music/cultural awareness for over a decade. I meant neither you nor anyone else any offense. :)

Counting short songs etc. I've been to shows since AROBTTH tour and the MX show is the same approximate length as Viva, and a little longer than Twisted Logic and AROBTTH. Their gigs have hovered in the 90-95 minute range for years, and probably always will.

The tween market is driven by hit singles and Coldplay have never truly had those outside of the UK (and possibly some other parts of Europe). I'd say their niche is more the middle aged soccer mom crowd, judging by what I've seen at their live shows (and no disrespect intended to anyone who actually falls into that group.)

I'm sorry, but the whole "mainstream" line drives me absolutely f^%$ing nuts. It's one thing to say the new songs aren't good, but it's simply flat out incorrect to say the band has been anything but mainstream since the release of Yellow. If you looked up mainstream pop/rock act in the dictionary, you'd find Coldplay's picture.

I'm not sure those things are all that different from what they've always done. They released a duet with Kylie (a pop star if ever there was one), they're live sets have NEVER changed greatly over the course of a tour, and their ticketing was/still is expensive (though realistically is still toward the low end for acts of their size and popularity.) All of these things are fair enough as points of criticism (though I wouldn't really agree with any of them.), but none are NEW issues exclusive to the MX era IMHO.

I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth, but I think the point was that the Grammys (like most awards really) are heavily political in terms of the voting.

I'm guessing that's part of the reason the announcement was so abrupt. I'm sure the band's people know that the further into the process you get, the more tied into attending a certain date people become.

If there's a business reason the shows had to be postponed (which is by far the most likely explanation), the band probably aren't at liberty to give details even if they wanted to.

Again though, it was only a preliminary announcement and nothing ever went on sale. There were no ticket holders, thus no one is "out" anything by the postponement. I'm sure they have a reason, but I doubt we'll ever know for sure, and like I said above, I'm not sure anyone's entitled to more than they've gotten so far. Just my opinion.

True, but Coldplay have never really been that much of a singles band outside of the UK anyway, and if MX has an undisputed high point it's probably Charlie Brown. I could be wrong, but I don't think the Keys have quite enough momentum just yet to win a Grammy. Like you said it's a popularity/awareness contest, and they're still an alternative act (in the best sense of the word.) I think Jack White has the best shot TBH because he straddles the line between critical darling/mainstream awareness quite well and that's what wins Grammy's more than anything else.

I'm not sure I could agree with that. Every muse Album since Absolution has done relatively well in the US, and BHaR is generally considered the Album that broke them stateside. In addition, although I doubt the 2nd Law will win, the same could have been easily said for the resistance, and I'm not sure how that could possibly have been considered a "weak field" seeing as every other nominee in that category that year was an act that is considered a music legend. It's also worth pointing out that the nominated works by both Jack White and the Keys are both generally considered far from the best work that either of them has produced, so I wouldn't be so inclined to bet on either of them. Honestly, I think the rock categories this year are a pick 'em as a pretty credible case can be made that most (all?) of the nominees could conceivably win.

That sounds more like a promoter side issue, as Coldplay would make their guarantee regardless. I could easily see the promoter(s) worried about taking a loss on the shows though.

To be frank, they're under absolutely no obligation to tour anywhere, and as such don't need a reason (good or not) to not play shows in a given area.

With respect, the band don't "owe" anyone any kind of explanation beyond what they gave, especially since they never actually put anything on sale for any of the dates.

Will's drums may be electronic, but he's still playing them, just on the drum pad. Guy plays bass live through each verse, but not in the chorus, and Jonny does have a guitar part, albeit a somewhat sparse one. I'm not sure what you mean when you say there's "barely any live instruments". Yes, there's synth layers and backing tracks (and the piped in guest vocals), but it has the full band's live instrumentation as well.