bluexylophone

i really really really hope i can get a ticket to the MSG show. i doubt they will come in pairs but i hope so as i hope to take a friend. anxious as to how it's going to work. fingers crosses. i believe in my good luck. don't fail me now haha.

can i change my vote? for the better? haha.

1) Great post. 2) The D# does indeed sound better, as the high E would have sounded a tad too minor when in conjunction with B and C#. It doesn't sound dissonant as it would if you're playing a C# minor chord and substitute the E. as i said before, Chris only hits the note for so long. Chris isn't an idiot and Eno is most definitely not an idiot. They both know that E is the second note of the c# chord, but Chris didn't want to sing it. That is why you hear him sing "roof (C#) TOPS (D#, not E)" in the song. The note was intended. music theory is very good and helpful, yet extremely awful in so many obvious ways.

you're right, if one is playing a c# minor chord it is natural to want to hit that E note. but because of that, because it is precisely natural, i doubt that it was a mistake as you claim it to be. so sure, it isn't the natural high note to hit, but it still works because it's still in the scale and he only sings for half a second. i understand what you mean and it's a good observation but it makes me glad i'm not big on music theory. when things like a measly little note get in the way of a good song. a note that i'm certain is meant to be sung. even though it doesn't come off that way on the outset. music theory is highly respectable. and i respect it, for one. but there are so many avenues of music in which it really doesn't, or rather shouldn't, have a place. i think it's a great that you picked up that one note, but i'd hate to be you. to be hung up on something as small as that. i would give Chris and especially Brian Eno [who, again, I suggest you listen to, regardless of Coldplay (particularly his first two rock records)] the benefit of the doubt.

i just picked up my bass upon reading this thread and sung the E note and i would bet money that, like i said, that E is not what Chris was aiming for. it's too high, despite the fact that the D# creates a clash when played with C# minor. except it doesn't really clash, because when Chris hits the D sharp note, it is only for a SECOND. haha. this is why it shouldn't be considered a mistake. the d# is still in the c sharp minor scale and all he is doing is going up and down the scale. it would be a mistake if it was the last note in the bar, holding the word "TOP" at 0:44 for example. but he's not. sorry gretta. i get what you mean, but talk about insignificant.

he most definitely sings a D# when an E would fit with the C# minor. yes, you are right about that and i don't think you deserve comments like dejan, but i feel bad for you if you are seriously hung up on rock songs, i repeat, rock songs that don't conform to the musical theories that jazz is so strictly subjected to, or classical for that matter. though as i hope you already know, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and whole load of other classical composers have written pieces with "clashes" and dissonant chords. it's not "wrong" as stephanbass says. it is intention. the D# doesn't even SOUND bad when played with the C# minor chord. haha. and i assure you, that E note is not what Chris was aiming for. again, i commend you on your discovery of these "mistakes" but i don't think they are worth pointing out. at all. it's meager. music theory, though highly valuable in other genres, is just that not important in rock. for the same reason that Miles Davis was surprised, upon leaving Hendrix with sheet music, to come back and learn that Hendrix couldn't read. that didn't make him any less of a guitar player. or the same way Paul McCartney never learned how to read music. it's not important. Violet Hill is just one of a thousand rock songs with "mistakes" no need to worry about it. btw, listen to Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

the hook is the chorus. that chorus is golden. and those two notes (C# to B to C# again), driving that C sharp home.. a simple yet brilliant hook.

it's most definitely a grower. like i said, i didn't think much of it at first, but it gets better each time i listen. Eno's production is so good. What strikes me is the power with which Chris's first line breaks open the song. It sounds extremely clear and loud. Great stuff.

yeah i'll stick to that. haha. :)

i'm confident it's "my love's like ____ that _____" but i'm really stumped on those two words. the 's' doesn't sound like an 's' on second thought. and unfold sounds like there's a 'f' in there. haha. i've no idea. this is difficult for sure. haha.

i hear "my love's like _____s that unfold" could be poem, but i'm not sure. it sounds like it definitely starts with a 'p' and i'm positive i hear a plural 's' in there. 'my love is like ____' makes sense as incomplete simile as well i just don't know what that 'p' word is.

i actually didn't think much of it at first listen. only because it wasn't exactly the sound i expected to hear. on the 2nd and 3rd listen, knowing then what it sounded like, the greatness sunk in. and reading along with the lyrics makes it sink even deeper. great song. can't wait to hear the rest.

Hi there. Finally registered after years of pointless lurking haha. I'll keep it very short and simple. Happy to be here and look forward to some good discussions. I'm glad to join you all. :) -bx