Zanzibar

Isaac is saying it straight. Would we want U2 to have quit changing their sound after Boy, October, or even War? We'd be missing the great classics (such as "Joshua Tree" and "Actung Baby") that resulted when they stretched themselves into the unfamiliar and tried new things. Even though a lot of Radiohead fans still think "The Bends" was their best album, no one can deny that "OK Computer" and "Kid A" will be remembered in history as more important, more daring, and more influential. I loved Parachutes. I loved A Rush of Blood to the Head. I loved X & Y. I'm looking forward to #4.

Yikes. Chris made lots of people upset. I think we all need to calm down. Chris often speaks his mind, even as he's in the middle of thinking through things (sometimes *before* thinking through things, I'm convinced). So he's not committing to anything. Just like he said the band would reinvent the wheel, just like he said that this record would likely be the last (repeatedly), etc. he's just thinking out loud. With all the touring, I doubt they've explored this new sound in the studio much, unless Chris is talking about unfinished songs that they already tried to record and then scrapped for X&Y since they would belong better on another project. (We know there were supposedly quite a few). But either way, no band should sound the same 10 years after starting. Every band should grow and evolve musically, exploring new sounds and themes, trying new things, expanding the boundaries of their craft and their art. If they don't, they'd get bored with it all and burn out (bad for the band, bad for fans). So we shouldn't ge worried about it. Change is good, and change is never permanent. In other words, Coldplay's cd #5 (assuming they make it someday) could be more like Parachutes *or* more unlike anything they've done up to that point, but it *won't* sound like #4. *If* they actually go for a bigger change in sound next time around, we should trust them as a band. They won't do some crazy rediculous hair-metal. They probably won't do some terrible wannabe-rap (I think "Nappies" was too silly and light for them to do rap in a serious way). They're Coldplay. They value and they make good music with infused with heartfelt emotion and meaning. That's not going to change, regardless if they emphasize guitars, pianos, keyboards, or whatever. Let Coldplay experiment. If the result doesn't go as well as they'd hoped, most likely they'd try something else. And if it's different but good, then we the fans will reap the benefit of their hard work and effort. Let's be glad that Coldplay is a band that does well in a lot of different sonic explorations and is willing to put the effort in to refine and explore their sound instead of getting lazy, resting on their past successes, and phoning it in. A quote I remember reading about Mr. Buckland (I believe it was said by Mr. Martin) said that he'd never be the kind of guy to go splurge all his money on extravagent houses and boats and end up broke, performing at bar-mitzvahs for gas money. It's not in his nature. Why? According to the quote, he's too busy thinking up new guitar parts and tones. I liked that quote. It makes me proud to be a Coldplay fan. All the best, Z

Thanks! :) I'm fairly certain, at least. Of course I might be wrong. Pun intended.

It's Mr. Buckland. He seems to be playing through an acoustic effect pedal that makes his electric guitar sound like an acoustic when it's on. Listen to the song again. There's only one guitar. You never hear both the electric and the acoustic at the same time. It's just one guitar switching parts. There are some strings tracks that aren't live, though, on Yellow and some other songs, as well. A lot of bands use backing tracks like that. Chris doesn't have four arms to be playing piano and keyboards at once, you know. :)