lafinion

Now that I think of it, the 'plastic', unnatural feeling MX gave to me is explained. It looked more like self-persuasion of happiness than actual feeling. Perhaps, Chris is returning to being more honest with himself, though with much pain and difficulty.

I don't get why two people, who claim to love each other have to separate... Can't believe it. I just cannot imagine them with other people. I always thought they'd be able to make it through. They both seem to be good people with good principles. Apparently, it takes more to stay in marriage. Wish all sorts of happiness to both of them, wherever they choose to seek it. (Still, part of me thinks they will change their minds and get back together)

Not that I complain or anything, Chris looks fascinating. But sometimes I miss the younger version of him, the skinny one, with curls out of control, no earrings and mere idea of shaving his belly making him laugh out loud. I miss times, when he wore only plain white shirt and black trousers, and that was good enough for him. Somehow, he seemed more easy to relate to. Not a performer, who makes money out of every song, just a guy who shares his art. I don't know why I'm saying that, perhaps no one here agrees with that.:\ But still, something to think about - how the clothes, jewelry and haircut can change perception of a person and a message he or she is giving.

My friend is getting married to a guy 7 years older than her. Perhaps it got me thinking a bit on question of age in relationships. I used to think that difference in age of more than 2-3 years was weird and generally not good. But my friend and her fiancee seem to work perfectly as a couple, they even look the same age, I wouldn't even know he was older if they didn't tell. As time goes, I think I tend to accept age difference much more. After all, the more people I meet, the more I understand that maturity sometimes has nothing to do with age and also, when you fall in love, you don't really count years. So yes, relationship with age gap can work. Though I still see age difference of more than 15 years as suspicious and more than 20 as very suspicious.

I don't think that Coldplay are not respected because they're making pop music. Look at Lady Gaga - most mediocre pop as for me, but the fact that she uses outrageous outfits, experiments with her appearance, dance moves, public image etc., etc. makes some people call her "genius". In other words, she pushes boundaries, in some way or other, she's doing something, which perhaps is not totally new (cough..Madonna ripoff...cough), but not regularly seen on stage. Take Radiohead - they were innovators, they did something, that hasn't been done before. They started new wave in music, to which Coldplay belonged too at the early stages of their career. Again, they were not afraid to push boundaries. To do something new. Perhaps, that's how "legend" is different from a merely famous artist - "legends" are remembered not for their professional excellence, but rather for this brevity to bring changes and try something new, which sometimes can go terribly wrong. Coldplay don't experiment that much, that have set their own boundaries. Chris was very vocal about it - they will make music as long as it is about good melodies. And, personally, I respect that. I think that experiments can be subtle and elaborate, and not necessarily straight-into-your-face kind of way ("hey, how about my bare ass on TV, huh, huh?"). I think media (and many other people) see Coldplay playing it safe, not gambling it all, not risking their careers and success to try out something different. That's why when their albums come out, no critics are awe-stricken and thrilled by their boldness. Coldplay is still good music, that's why they get positive reviews for every album, but they are not media's favorites, that's for sure. Still, I believe in Coldplay's philosophy - that is, to do what you believe in. They follow it, and their music speaks to people of different countries, nationalities, ages, welfare... It certainly is saying something about their music, isn't it? Perhaps, they are not media darlings, but they are "people's band", the band you'd love, if not respect. Time will put everything into right places. 30 years more of successful career, and Coldplay will take place among such bands as R.E.M., U2, The Rolling Stones and others.

Or imagine them going really heavy. It's like no one in the world expects them to release something in the sphere of death metal, and bam - here you go, death metal album. On a serious note, please no pop/rap collaborations. I don't want to see Coldplay turning into some crappy Maroon 5. I just don't.

On the whole I think they used too many loop choruses on MX too. They're on ETIAW, Paradise, Princess of China.. A bit of too much, isn't it? And as of Paradise, from the beginning I thought it had a rather simple structure (intro - build-up - epic and repetitive chorus), and weak lyrics (sorry, Chris). And it wore off pretty quickly for me, meaning I don't listen to it anymore (which is a pity, some Coldplay songs I listened to for couple of years on an everyday basis). Though I don't mean to hurt feelings of the MX fans, Paradise still is a lovely tune (For example, I loved it how they used it in th Life of Pi trailer, absolutely epic and amazing. Perhaps my life is not epic enough to appreciate this song:)).

Oh yes, Viva era was terrific. Sophisticated and powerful, colorful and diverse, magical and grand, yet it was very intimate and touching at the same time. I don't even know which direction they should take to create something as good as that. The MX one clearly didn't evoke such kind of feelings, unfortunately. Perhaps it was a necessary experiment, to discover the land o pop loops, heavy production and controversial collaborations. Let's hope the boys had enough of that :) At least I will. And I also will hope that lyrics will get more subtle, expressive and poetic. No eh-la-la-la and wa-wa-wa anymore, please. And don't overuse oooh-s.

I see that I'm not the only one who's glad that he got rid of those earrings.

Looking at the lyrics, it seems that Atlas belongs much to the MX era. Slayed dragon, searching for gold... Seems like that adventuruos MX theme. Maybe the album's leftover? If so, it could be different from the main LP6 theme. Or not:) We'll have to wait and see.

I just want Viva la Vida - take 2. That's all.

Is it just me, or there truly has been very little news on the new album? During the wait for MX, at this point of their '3 year cycle', we were getting some more information and more things were going on. Secrecy? Conspiracy? Not much happening? What is the answer?

It is so, but I'm afraid all the attention and enthusiasm people get after meeting them and telling their story in the Bakery thread, may be encouraging to some to go try and meet the band. Plus sharing info about who is in the studio now, when they come and go, where have meals - it all helps more people to find them. Of course it lies on each person to decide how to behave, but I think this forum community shall have its policy about it, like it has about not sharing officially released songs. Like some very general guidelines about things, that are not encouraged to be done. Personally, I have little problem with the whole thing. I only cringe when people tell about shouting for a band member, while he's walking two blocks away. Somehow, I find that disrespecting. And knocking on the door, disrupting them from whatever they are busy with, talking with them for a long time - that is kind of impolite. But on the whole, I think that guys see talking to fans as part of their job. And they obviously don't mind people coming to see them - as mainly they are nice, supportive and coming only in that short period of time, when band is not touring/having rest/recording somewhere else.

Weird, sounds absolutely like Chris to me. If it's not him, he has an identical voice twin somewhere in this world. :) Same intonations, same timbre. By the way, nice song, whoever wrote that.

We all know they have a well-established recording cycle, which is 3 years long. Very unlikely they will break it. I can see them releasing a LP in winter 2014, bur not earlier.

VLV was a tough one to follow. The scope of that album - which was lyrically and musically interesting, innovative and diverse - is hard to beat. VLV was grand without being pretentious, managed to combine big radio-friendly singles with quite acoustic songs. The themes of the album - life, death, art - were recognizable in lyrics, even in the name of the album. The theme of MX was very specific, therefore it was hard to relate to. For me it's a major fail. They created the idea in their heads, which basically explained lyrics and musical arrangements. And it definitely explained the artwork and their outwear. But did we know it? No, we didn't learn anything specific before ComiCon in summer 2012, a year after the release of the album. So, in the expectation of cohesion, "concept album" etc., when I heard MX, I thought: "What the hell this is all about?" The idea of it was lost on me. It was the fail of management. Sometimes they have to think how it all looks from outside. Managing during this era was very strange. The hype that accompanied ETIAW and Paradise, and surprisingly quite releases of other singles - especially potential hits HLH and Charlie Brown. Also, what for did they release ETIAW EP, which basically repeated album tracks? And comparing to their productivity during previous eras, why so few songs? They used to release 10-12 songs as B-sides or on EPs, and now there is nothing. As for the album itself, I agree it's the weakest by far. And I blame production, first of all. It killed the thrill of most tracks, especially Major Minus, which is simply mind-blowing live but nothing special on the album. Secondly, it's lyrics. I won't say that Coldplay write bland lyrics - because I do think that on all previous albums, lyrics were simple, but honest and sincere. On MX they are just not interesting. I am sorry, but ETIAW offers weak metaphors, Paradise lacks wording, UFO repeats VLV theme, PoC sounds childish even in Rihanna's voice. Lyrics ruined a lot for me on MX. Once again, maybe that's because I didn't know the "plot" of the album, but the truth is that lyrics didn't awake my imagination. I don't know what to do with this. Eminem read dictionary to enrich his lyrics. I'm sure Chris reads a lot, but the fact is, he has to stop going for easy choices and obvious rhymes. It doesn't work. So, the major point I think most of fans would agree, is that MX was overproduced, it lacked that raw, real and honest feeling to it, that used to justify all the weaknesses of Coldplay's songwriting. Though the melodies were good, as is obvious from live performances, what they made out of it, that kind of "sugary" production only harmed them. Waiting for LP6, as I think that they went for something new, it didn't really turn out well, but I believe they are capable of better.

Wow, he is fast. He managed to change hats exactly in a split second. Unique skill :cool:

Oh, alright :) I thought that I missed some important changes in Coldplay camp. Good to know that everything is as always.

Just random thought: When did anyone see Jonny without a hat for the last time?

The Return of the Hair. We waited for it for such a long time. To me he finally looks like himself. Curls are wonderful, and I guess that his stubble makes him look thinner and maybe more gaunt than he usually is.

Who's Oracle now?

Perhaps the only Coldplay song I don't like at all and probably never will is A Whisper.

Hm.. I don't really understand the concept of "getting the girl". If she's in the relationship, she's probably content with the state of it. Even if for you the guy seems to be dick, maybe from her point of view he's normal. As strange as it may seem, some people like their partners to be domineering or bossy, for example. I don't know why exactly you think he's dick. Anyways, she's grown up, she can judge for herself and if she choose to be in that relationship - that's what you have to live with. But, if you really think you'd be great together, you can wait for her to end that relationship and ask her out then. That's all. Doing anything besides friendly talk to a person in a relationship is not something you should do. And is there really something you can do besides being yourself? Just be yourself, and if she is able to value you for what you are, you'd be happy with her and this relationship will work out. If she's not - you'd have to pretend and be unhappy with her.

I Ran Away

Is she 21? She looks like 35 at least. Might be lying about her age...