christianallen

I don't think there's a single song on this record that'll reach the popular heights Viva la Vida did. "Paradise" was an obvious choice for the first single. It's extremely catchy and vibrant. But it's also a bit too plodding for its own choice. "Viva la Vida" was extremely immediate in terms of structure. "Paradise" takes a bit too long to get to its chorus to be the same level of single. It's also a bit too slow. "Charlie Brown" is the obvious comparison, but its chorus in no way compares to that of "Viva la Vida." Even down to the way he sings "we'll be glow-in-in the da-a-ark" – it's jagged. It doesn't lend itself to the sort of easy, steady listening that did the chorus of "Viva la Vida." As well, the "all the girls all the boys" is another somewhat odd, jagged turn that I personally enjoy but, again, doesn't lend itself nearly as well for the radio. And lest we forget the famous "oh oh oh" of Viva la Vida – there is absolutely NOTHING that immediately catchy on this album. And while I do sort of enjoy the fact there's not a world-conquering single on here ("Viva la Vida" got SO huge, and I heard it SO much, that I sort of got tired of it and to this day can't really listen to anything other than the remix), I think it'll hurt Mylo Xyloto as an album in the long run. You don't have something that will really conquer anyone immediately. And as a result, you're not necessarily gonna have something that is gonna force (by way of its incredible immediacy) someone who's never bought a Coldplay album to go buy this one. Viva la Vida has sold an incredible 11 million copies in just three years. Mark my words, Mylo Xyloto won't sell half that. At least, not in the same amount of time. This is due both to less immediately-catchy singles, and already notably-worse critical reception. And, one might justify this by saying MX isn't supposed to have a song like that. Hence the title track being just a short introduction, etc. On this, I call bullshit. Mylo Xyloto is hands down the most pop thing Coldplay's ever done (and that takes some determination, honestly, 'cause Coldplay's through-and-through a pop band). This isn't some Radiohead The King of Limbs minimalist affair (not playing the Radiohead card here; I fucking hated that album and generally dislike that band). Coldplay absolutely wanted another "Viva la Vida"-level pop masterpiece on here. They didn't quite get it. Even when collaborating with ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR FEMALE POP ARTISTS OF TODAY (obviously talking about "Princess of China"), they still don't come up with something that lends itself to the same level of radio rotation. Think about it: it's got a catchy "oh" hook, but where's the chorus? The song really doesn't have one. The "I would have been a princess" should have been the massive chorus, but it never returns. And of course, you might say: neither does "Clocks." But that piano riff has become so associated with the piano pop movement that its lack of a vocal chorus doesn't even matter. It's the exception to this general rule. So, to conclude, I don't think there's really a song that will reach the same cultural level as any of those. But to answer your question, I'd say "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall." It was the first thing we heard, it's got a pretty undeniably catchy opening riff (albeit it's more of a sample than an honest creation), and it really does signify Coldplay's shift to a more electronic and aggressive sound. I think that's the thing that we as Coldplay fans will remember the most as a touchstone of this album era. I realize I just wrote a lot. And I sound really critical. But I actually quite enjoy Mylo Xyloto, even though I do think it's Coldplay's weakest album.

Coldplay fans are stupid. "Princess of China" is probably the ballsiest song on the album.

No kidding. And, even if we ignore the not-so-blatant-but-blatant sexism throughout all of your "RIHANNA IS A WHORE" posts... You guys who are just jumping to such conclusions are literally NO better than the people who just say "it must be Coldplay, so it must be gay." Grow up and start opening your minds.

You guys are funny. Coldplay is one of the biggest bands in the world. They've ALWAYS wanted to appeal to a mass audience. By asking Rihanna to duet, they're just broadening their sound... they clearly wanted something involving the female voice, and obviously none of the boys could supply that. So they asked someone well-known. What if they had gotten someone whom no one knew about? Would that somehow make it better for you? No, they went a route of "choosing someone with a good voice who happens to have fans." BUT OH GOD, SHE'S A SEX SYMBOL! Well I'm sorry Susan Boyle wasn't fucking available to do the tracking. Reading some of the comments. "This is heartbreaking." "Coldplay are no longer my favorite band." Major lolz at all of that. One fucking song and people lose their shit. It's one song. You haven't even heard it yet.

Thinking between a 6 and a 7 again. I'm more of a fan of "mainstream indie" than I am alternative rock nowadays anyways, and I can say that "Major Minus" seems a step in the right direction. It's less preachy and less sappy than most Coldplay stuff. Chris Martin sounds positively dangerous and exciting, in the vain of "Spies," "Violet Hill," and "Twisted Logic." Also, the news that Jonny's guitar is going to be featured more seems to go in Coldplay's favor, 'cause as they've put down their guitars in lieu of keyboards, their music has gotten at times a bit stale and far more mainstream-y sounding than representative of their full potential; hence why "Violet Hill" absolutely trumps much of Coldplay's more traditional stuff. In any case, it doesn't really matter too much what rating Pitchfork's gonna give them. Pitchfork doesn't have much patience for radio-friendly rock, that's just how they are, and their rating certainly shouldn't decrease anyone's enjoyment for the album. I know it won't decrease mine. But I still think MX has album of the year potential.

Hey, I've been a member on here for quite a while, but, as you can see, haven't been a huge poster. Amazing site and forum, though. Really. An absolute MUST VISIT for Coldplay fans. In any case, I just wanted to say hello, and that you seem to be one of the nicest collections of people I've never met. It's almost unbelievable how generous some of you are (looking at you, Anna) and I promise it hasn't gone unnoticed. Much love to all you fellow fans, and bring on LP5! xx Christian

??? :huh2: Actually, thank you for that. Listening to "Major Minus" whilst watching that video proved to be extremely enjoyable.

Hey, Lizzybear – sorry for steering the conversation away. I know we haven't "met" on here, but I've been trying to send you a PM about something completely unrelated to this thread, and it said your inbox is full. Would you mind clearing out space for a message from a fellow Coldplayer? xoxo christian allen

^^^ You made some good points... I think I was just so expecting the crowd that was there last time (mostly college people) that I wanted some more movement. I think I might've had a bad section, 'cause no one around me seemed to even be singing... :-\

It was a great, great, great show. The tracklist has already been posted, so I won't copy it again... but overall the band put a lot of energy into it. I saw them last time at their X&Y tour, and they were great then... i think they've further tuned their live sound, however. They also played a longer set. They were full of energy the whole time, and "Death and All His Friends" made me cry. The one gripe I had with the show was the crowd... it was possibly the most unenergetic crowd I've ever seen at a show, and I've been to 30+ shows (I'm only 16, mind you)... the crowd was just dreadful. No one moved at all for "Life In Technicolor" or "Violet Hill", and I thought maybe it was just 'cause they didn't know the songs as well (an odd excuse, I know)... but then Coldplay hammered out "Clocks", and STILL no one moved. In ALL of the floor section, I saw maybe five or six people moving around. (The floor section consists of probably 50 rows of 30 people (if not more), to give you an idea of how many were there. And seriously, less than 10 showed any energy. Which made ME, a diehard Coldplay fan, pretty much lose it. My anger was at its peak when Chris Martin was out on one of his crowd-walkways and he was LITERALLY 3-4 feet away from all of the people, who were just standing there motionless, without any energy whatsoever. Also, during "The Hardest Part", almost all of my section (we were on the first section, with pretty good seats) sat down. It was HORRIBLY frustrating. I think most of the reason is because it was an old crowd... probably resulting from the ticket prices that were much higher this go around. So overall, great show, great set, great everything, TOTALLY worth the money. But by far the worst crowd I've ever seen. Just a question: Has anyone else experienced the same problem?

Hey everyone, I'm not a regular poster here (though I may become one), and I wanted to share a band's music with you. They're an undiscovered band from California, called "War Stories". Though, while they're undiscovered, they're really good. They make catchy, soulful alternative rock, so I feel like it might suit some of you guys' interests. Here's a link to their only music video, for the song "Lion": [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecG_A7800V4]YouTube - War Stories - Lion[/ame] Or, check them out at: http://www.myspace.com/warstoriesmusic Seriously, they're amazing, and it'll only take a minute of your time.