nvdmm

I think you're both spot on. I think the gripe that perhaps some of the long time fans myself included had VLV onward wasn't the motion of change, but rather how they chose to evolve. EL was a testament to what they should have done to get it right. They could have explored all they wanted while retaining that signature Coldplay alt-rock sound, something that U2 for example has had a lot more success with.

https://youtu.be/kL1j9igQSlE I watched this today on the band's Reddit and thought to share it here. I think the guy perfectly sums up my own thought and feelings regarding how the band have evolved over the past 20 years and how the fans have reacted to those changes. His most resonating point was the lack or loss of a consistent fan base who follow the band, which would ultimately result in people not even noticing their greatest album since VLVODAAHF (Everyday Life) because the vast majority of their original following have moved on, and their new fans prefer their pop Disney sound. I think right now they're at a crossroads. They realize they can't reacquire the respect they once had but at the same time they can't get any bigger or more bombastic either. So where do they go from here? I would love to read your thoughts.

Thank you for your kind message. I completely agree with you on Champion of the World and I'm very much glad we got to hear it. I just think it doesn't quite fit the tone of the record quite as much as Flags does and that's why I think they should have been switched.

I've come back after a few months and the forum has changed yet again ? I'm struggling to figure out what's what/who's who! Can my dear lovely Oldplayers please enlighten me as to what's been going on and whether there's been another change in ownership? I've never been so inactive in my 12 years in this place and I guess most of it has to do with how social media dramatically improved the ease of sharing your thoughts and opinions with others. A huge number of older members also left and my interest in the band declined as well. I was going to create a new thread to serve as a hub for all of the coldplaying member reviews of EL along with my own detailed review of the album but for whatever bizarre reason the band decided their best album in years will have the shortest era time span, and so all momentum was lost! I absolutely think it was. The strings and choir in Sunrise, When I Need A Friend and Everyday Life is trademark Coldplay. Church draws from both Parachutes and VLV. Daddy, Wotw-Potp, Old Friends and Flags sound like they ARE from Parachutes. Guns and Eko probably came from the VLV sessions. Trouble In Town's final third has AROBTTH written all over it. Jonny's guitar work and the final minute of Arabesque are basically X&Y and بنی آدم could have been on Prospekt's March. You also get the marvelous experimentation we've come to expect from the band throughout the entire record. You remove Orphans and replace Champions of The World with Flags and we get a 10/10 Oldplay album. And that is something I never thought would say again. I'm incredibly frustrated at how the band chose to treat what is effectively their best work since VLV. This is a record that deserved to be marketed properly, heard more and toured for longer.

Well this decade was certainly a lot less eventful for me than the previous one. My interest in the band peaked before VLV (hence why I joined the forum back then) and things didn't quite go the way I was hoping afterwards. As the band matured into the mega phenomena they are today my appreciation for great music also grew stronger and I felt distant from the band. Nowadays my approach to them is a lot more laid back. I've long accepted they aren't going to be the next Pink Floyd or U2 and that's completely fine. A lost opportunity? Absolutely; but it's fine. Let's just accept them for who they are and enjoy what they have to offer. I'm very much looking forward to that!

What a breathtaking performance! It makes you realize how much we all miss that old band.

I have to admit after listening to it on repeat for the past weeks I feel the same. I think they took it to the next level with the experimentation. What a breathtaking performance! They just weren't happy with the output. They felt he wasn't pushing them enough in terms of creativity and coming up with fresh ideas. Getting Brian Eno on was a genius move but all he essentially did was change the band dynamics. And that's how Viva happened. And then MX happened and all the crap afterwards. I think avoiding working with Ken Nelson was a huge mistake for the band and is what caused their loss of identity. If he was on board right after Viva things would be very different now.

Well you know I'm not the sentimental type but since I've dealt with this shit for so long myself all I can say is never think of yourself as a lonesome individual with no friends or people/communities who count on your existence (this place included and I want to press how much we all care about you) . Seeking professional help is a must and the better experts out there will recommend medication along with CBT. The music you listen to also matters a lot just like all the other things you get up to on a daily basis. As for the album, I have a LOT to say about it. It's possibly the greatest step forward for Coldplay and I'm a bit lost for words right now but I'm sure we're gonna have a ton of fun discussing it you and I ;)

Well things are certainly taking a turn! Looks like I might have to change the years on my signature!

I was gonna reserve all judgment until a few weeks after the album drops, but wow! I'm genuinely amazed by this song. First time I've felt like this for almost a decade! It's everything I've wanted from this band in one track; superb instrumentation, breathtaking strings, stripped-back minimal production, great heartfelt lyrics, moody tones and textures... Also VERY reminiscent of Gravity. I'm just blown away by this song and I know of a lot of oldplayers who feel the same. Two interesting facts I've picked up; the intro is most likely a street recording of a middle eastern country (Palestine probably) around the time before sunset Adhan. And the strings are either directly sampled or inspired by Mirrorball:

Hey guys it's great to be back discussing the band's terrible recent output :laughing: Joking aside I think the project will sonically be similar to what One Republic and Imagine Dragons are doing at the moment with Davide Rossi injecting some magic into it. And my god the forum has changed. It took me a while to figure everything out!

The "esq" in the letter simply means love, which is what the band always write at the end of their post/letters. It's "Eshgh" in Persian. Sa'adi's favorite subject matter incidentally.

I just really got bored if I'm honest. I felt so removed from the whole thing I skipped most of it. I felt an unhealthy dose of indifference towards the band afterwards so I put in Live 2003 and all is well now! GPASUYF alone revitalized my soul!

Absolutely! We have to remain optimistic and I sincerely hope they remain faithful to their original sound if and when they decide to continue with Coldplay. Los Unidades seems to be more than just a side project for Global Citizen but we're still unaware of the details and what the dynamics are. It's a great initiative though if it turns out to be what we think it is. Thank you! 2003-2011 refers to my fanboy period when I followed the band vigorously i.e. paid for their records, went to their live shows and bought merchandise etc. It's not a reference to their music making prowess although their decline began around after VLV and their decline is the reason my fanboy time ended long ago. As for MX and GS I can refer you to my hundreds of posts about those two records but long story short, I see them as missed opportunities. MX could have been something else entirely if they'd released the comics before the album and replaced a lot of the songs (PoC, Paradise etc.) with more raw sounding Major Minus-like tracks. The production was also horrendous. GS suffered the same fate. All Your Friends and Ghost Story should have replaced ASFOS and Ink and the production was again very disappointing. Overall I'm still confident AROBTTH remains their absolute best album to date. It's good the band have realized that majority of people share this opinion.

E-Lo-E-O-Lo-E-O-Lo-Lo-Lo-Lo. We're entering the 4chan phase of the band's career!

I'd love to hear it too so a PM is appreciated.

May he walk with our Lord Savior Jesus Christ™®

I wish you'd gone with the threesome.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I read it but Jesus! Looks like they're doing exactly what I hoped for these past ten years! The band are finally taking a properly long hiatus and I can assure you the longer they take the better their output will be (potentially), once they decide to release something. Only in the next couple of years can they step back and evaluate their music and status in the grand scheme of things, and do so without the excitement and bias that comes after all these years touring and selling millions of records.

Here it is from the song's thread Holy shit that was me almost 10 years ago! I can't believe I said what I said! :grinning: By the way I'm now certain that section of the song was Brian Eno. I asked it from Oracle and the way he avoided the topic in his answer made me certain. However all members of the band, including Guy are definitely on the track and that's why all 4 of them are credited.

Good to see your post old friend! We both know it's unlikely to happen as we've discussed a million times before. And the reasons are very clear. They've lost certain qualities that makes bands try to be inventive. Te begin with they seem to have fallen into a "safe zone" where popularity and sales within certain demographics replace a lust for creativity. They've been on a repeat cycle of pop-album-then-bombastic-tour for a decade now. They're just too comfortable with where and who they are to care about producing extraordinary music. They also stopped giving a fuck about what their core fanbase think long ago, even before they were done with critics, and this is a very dangerous pit to fall into as they lose their drive to maintain or improve their artistic credibility. Their lives have also drastically changed and when your songwriter is involved with people or activities that are very questionable you can't not expect things to change for the worse. There are a lot of other factors too but let's not get into it for the two millionth time. Right now they shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as U2 or Radiohead let alone the likes of Pink Floyd. If their aim really is to make something great huge changes need to be made. Ones that could potentially rock the core of the band. A 3-5 year hiatus is a must. Going forward Chris must also be kept out of the process for the first year of any writing effort and they need to get Ken Nelson and Marcus Dravs back into the studio right away. The ONLY solution for Coldplay as a band right now is for Will, Jonny and Guy to think as if there is no Chris Martin. They need to stop being session musicians and start experimenting again both instrumentally and creatively. Once they get comfortable again just jamming together as a rock band without this huge force overshadowing everything then we might hear some changes.

Thank you everyone for voting! I hope you all have a great new year and lots of amazing music ahead of us to listen to. I also hope Chris is left out of the studio for the next three years :grinning:

HAHA Thanks I feel honored. Second year running. Hopefully :imp: Here is my votes: Best Thread of 2017 - The ultimate Oldplaying Thread===S, BS, TBR, P, AROBTTH, X&Y, VLV, PM (started by [uSER=100371]@i-ran-away[/uSER]) Friendliest user - [uSER=100371]@i-ran-away[/uSER] Funniest poster - @coldplayisawesome Missing in action 2017 - @The Adversary

Good luck to everyone! There's no way my success could be repeated from last year... [spoiler=Most Likely to Scare Coldplaying and Stephen into an Early Retirement]

I have achieved my objective! Fire away people!