- Gabriel

I've only heard this song once, but the first part hit me like a brick. Even with kind of weird lyrics, that part is just gorgeous. I'm not sure whether I dug the second part or not. I was expecting something rockier, and it went on a little too long for a first listen, but I'm sure it'll grow on me. As for the third part, describes my feelings exactly. But I still liked it. And the coda with a variation on the opening is amazing too. P.S. I only felt like there were two parts, personally. The second and third match so well that I lumped them together.

That's exactly what I think is happening. This may be one of those albums that magazines re-evaluate a few years down the road, like Rolling Stone did with Weezer's Pinkerton (from 3 stars to 5 stars) or Pitchfork did with Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (from 8.7 to 10.0). Albums are usually recognized as perfect only in retrospect. Not to say that Viva La Vida is perfect. We haven't even heard it yet. Maybe it deserves the scores it's getting. However, I agree emphatically that X&Y did not.

Both the Kylie duet and the full version of "Life In Technicolor" sound like they belong on an EP of extras or on singles as B-sides. I don't see why they'd end an album with these songs, or even include the full version of LIT on an album when it was essentially on the last one twice.

Maybe it's polyrhythm. I know that the time signatures that confuse me the most are simple ones where two instruments are each in a different time signature. For example... "Kashmir". (Drums 4/4, orchestra 3/4) Other examples: "Fitted Shirt" by Spoon (Guitar 3/4, drums in verses 4/4) "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" by The Beatles (During the "When I hold you in my arms" section, drums in 4/4, everything else in 3/4) "Does It Really Happen?" by Yes (During chorus, drums in 4/4, vocals 11/4 [3/4-3/4-5/8-5/8])

IT'S NOT?! Now I'm excited. I love weird time signatures. Which Coldplay doesn't ever use. (Almost) Until now? By the way, if it's instrumental, how do we know for sure that it's Coldplay? (I'm resisting the urge to listen, so my would-be analysis will not factor into this) EDIT: Nevermind; clip in What Matters review removes doubt.

This (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=COLDPLAY&sql=11:gzfwxqrkld6e~T20) is Allmusic's list of Coldplay's main releases. Does anybody have any idea what The Lowdown is referring to? I've never heard of it, or of any Sexy Intellectual recording label.

Apparently not having heard "See You Soon" is a crime. :( I'll get on that eventually. As for personal favorites that you guys are recommending, I tried to get in the "big" songs before I focused on the "little" ones. Much as I like "Amsterdam" and "Spies", I felt like they were not necessary. As for "Don't Panic", I know it's a classic, but I can not bring myself to put it on the CD. I just don't like it enough. It might have worked as an opener, but "Politik" does that job the best in my opinion. Thank you for Ron Sexsmith love. I'm surprised how few people here like that song. I've had that song since before I had ARoBttH or Parachutes. And yeah, he sounds like Kermit. :P Love the harmonies, though. As for your recommendations, "The Scientist" and "Violet Hill" are already there. I took off "A Message" at the last second to make room for the non-Coldplay songs. I ended up deciding that I didn't need many songs from X&Y, since most of them are, like Chris Martin admitted, anthems. "A Message" sort of breaks that mold, so leaving it off was a little painful. By the way, the only non-album, non-live tracks I have are: Crests Of Waves Careful Where You Stand Brothers & Sisters tracks Gold In Them Hills Faultline songs I have heard "Bigger Stronger" and liked it... Maybe I should have included that.

Thank you so much for all of these details. Most people have already asked any questions I would have. Actually, I have one. Did any part of "42" really seem inspired by German heavy metal, as stated in the NME interview? That comparison knocked me off my rocker more than anything else. Again, thanks.

I figured my friend might end up buying a Coldplay album or two later on, so that minimizes the overlap. It also added variety. I know it's very shaky logic. I left off "Spies" because I knew few people would harass me (in person :dozey:) for leaving it off. I left off "In My Place" because I just don't care for it enough. I included "Green Eyes" because it represents a side of Coldplay most of their songs don't show - most songs are long, loud, and anthem-esque, while "Green Eyes" is a pleasant, tightly written number. And thank you for your recommendations. Early? Underrated? I like those qualifications. That's half of the reason I included "Easy To Please".

Ain't Mormon, but thanks for being considerate in your second post. Your first guess was right: I was trying to save it for a better "album experience" when Viva La Vida comes out, but I already broke down. I put on the album and didn't bother to skip the track when it came on. Yeah, the flow gets kinda iffy around there. Particularly "Viva La Vida" into "Fix You". Otherwise, I'm very pleased with it. I decided to end the album the same way the band did on Parachutes. I liked the idea of the light-hearted ending. Spies - I love Spies; it was my favorite song from Parachutes for a while. I don't consider it a "hit", though. Amsterdam - I already had six songs from ARoBttH. Seven would have been pushing it, I think. See You Soon - Never heard it. Talk - This song just isn't very special to me. To me, the big songs of X&Y are the three I included. In My Place - I have never understood why everybody loves the crap out of this song. I was happy not to include it. No offense or anything. The rate-limiting factor here is the fact that I haven't heard any of these songs. I'm sure they're dandy, though. And I will defend "Easy To Please" to the death. It's one of my favorite Coldplay songs by a mile.

My friend asked me to make a Coldplay compilation for him. (He asked me in particular because he said he didn't know anybody else who was into Coldplay) I wanted to see what you guys thought of my choices and sequencing; I spent much more time on the second than on the first. 1. Politik 2. Yellow 3. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face 4. Shiver 5. Clocks 6. Violet Hill 7. What If 8. Green Eyes 9. Speed Of Sound 10. The Scientist 11. Viva La Vida* 12. Fix You 13. Gold In Them Hills (Ron Sexsmith feat. Chris Martin) 14. Trouble 15. A Rush Of Blood To The Head 16. Easy To Please 17. Your Love Means Everything (Pt. 2) (Faultline feat. Chris Martin) 18. Life Is For Living * I haven't actually listened to "Viva La Vida" (philosophical reasons), but I felt like I'd be cheating my friend by excluding it from the CD based on how much everybody here seems to like it. And yes, "Don't Panic" is not here. I tried to include it because I know it's a "Coldplay classic", but in the end I just didn't like it enough to do so.

Well, they criticized his voice for not being able to carry the weight of the lyrics, which shouldn't be a problem for most people here (who have established that they like Martin's voice), so I find this review encouraging rather than upsetting. After all, the rest was quite positive.

I know exactly what you mean. AllMusic literally never gives a 5/5 star rating to anything new unless it's a compilation or re-release. Basically, 4.5 is the highest rating anything can get, so 4.5 is the new "perfect". Or maybe they're just saying that there's no perfect music made anymore, so "almost perfect" is the best possible. Great signature, by the way.

"...Might be a ghost". They mentioned this lyric in the Q magazine song-by-song run-through. The appearance of songs on this sheet supposedly scrapped from the album intrigues me. But maybe they just made this sheet before they finalized the tracklist.

Amazing. You have hit the bulls-eye on the exact comparison I have been thinking of lately. ("42"/"Paranoid Android") Even the individual sections seem to match up. There's a sad, emotional section (first section), "chorus" or soaring midsection ("rain down from a great height") and the "indescribably weird" section (ending with electric guitar). "42" supposedly has each of these. I'm looking forward to this song a lot.

Neat... But they don't match the colors I associate with the songs at all. "White Shadows" is anything but lime green.

Now that you mention it, it definitely looks like a Rorschach ink blot. And perhaps "Lost" includes some alteration of "Postcards From Far Away" at the end, in the same way "Yes" and "Lovers In Japan" became double-tracks. This is based on the fact that the title is clearly included in the space.

I don't expect LP5 to be a step back towards the older sound; Chris said that they were "done" with the sound of the first three albums, which apparently were a trilogy of sorts. If Viva La Vida is ridiculously experimental, LP5 will probably find the band mellowing their experimentalism out. If Viva La Vida is somewhat experimetal and still successful, they will likely become more experimental with the next release because they know they can get away with it.

I think the big, punch-it-up endings are typical of the "anthemic" songs that the band claimed they were trying to get away from. I've only listened to Violet Hill, and the ending is my favorite part of the song. I don't believe an anthemic ending would have made it better. It gave me chills when I realized that they changed the lyrics of the last chorus to "Why'd you let me go?" The subtle time signature twists in the piano-only section also do a lot for me. As I see it, they've handled at least one ending very well.

:lol:

Excellent. I was hoping that the style of "Violet Hill" was the exception rather than the rule, and this seems to indicate that. (Not that it's a bad song at all, but I was hoping for more of a departure from the old sound)

In the piano world website, scroll down the list of scales until you get to "Pure Minor" - that one is the correct minor scale as we know it. I have no idea what's going on with the earlier one listed as "Minor". It's like a Major with a flatted 3rd note. It also doesn't show any difference between 9 chords and 7 chords... Somebody in charge needs to whip that program into shape. [EDIT: Apparently you guys found the problem between me starting and ending my post.] I honestly can't even tell where this D# controversy is stemming from. I have no issue wth that particular note, and never in a million years would I have thought that it was an accident. However, I'm not afraid to admit that Chris certainly hits some bum notes in other spots. ("Cross" at 1:50 is painful) And minor9 chords are the shiz. The one used in this song is a very nice touch.

You hit the nail on the head for me. While I do like the song quite a bit, I'm hoping for some more radical moves on the other tracks. This just seems like a particularly dark Coldplay song. I do love the guitar, though.

I couldn't agree more. Chris' vocal sounds more sincere than it does in any of the band's other songs, and I believe that it's better than anything they did on A Rush of Blood to the Head. That's my first non-popular opinion. ("Shiver" > anything on ARoBttH) Others: "In My Place" shouldn't come after "Politik" on that album; it ruins the dark mood. "Green Eyes" is the best song from that album. "Moses" is boring. (The song, not the kid) "Easy To Please" is fascinating. "Speed Of Sound" is better than "Clocks", regardless of the fact that the piano riffs are based on virtually the same chord sequence. Coldplay should try out some weird time signatures. (But according to what Prospekt said about Eno, this may happen on the new album anyway)

He might be able to pull of "City Of Blinding Lights"... but I'd love to see them play "Bullet The Blue Sky" just to hear them tackle an angry song. And now that I think about it, that particular song doesn't seem too far-fetched.