MosesTheMarshmallow

I believe it's "light a fire, a fire a spark"

I would love to hear all these things as well! I don't believe there is an AHFOD-Fix You studio version, no. I'd also love to have studio-quality recordings of all the request songs, especially the rarities like AROBTTH, Amstesrdam, the-new-version-of-UATW, Swallowed in the Sea, Strawberry Swing, a Message... The Everglow single includes Muhammad Ali's speech I believe. :)

A Coldplay + CHVRCHES/Lavren Mayberry (spelling intentional ;)) collaboration would be particularly interesting. Or Coldplay + Lianne La Havas!!! She's one of the most talented and unique musicians right now. Chris and she were great in this duet: As has been mentioned, Coldplay certainly has a way of being inspired by other artists popular at the moment and imbuing their own (in my opinion) improvement/uniqueness/oomph such as Parachutes-Radiohead, AROBTTH-more Radiohead/Oasis/U2, and more recently ASFOS-recent EDM, SJLT-literally the Chainsmokers. I'm not really sure where contemporary music is going next though, so your guess is as good as mine. ;) In terms of unexplored directions that I could see the band going: -I've probably said this before, but psychadelic rock with extended jam-outs. Up&Up is a step in this direction, and live performances of GPASUYF are very rocky, but no Coldplay song has facilitated an endless Jonny solo the way that say, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd lets David Gilmore solo for 10 minutes. -80s electropop, sort of how CHVRCHES is inspired by artists like Depeche Mode, Gary Numan. We almost got a taste of this with Another's Arms. -Dubstep/dubstep-inspired pop, though Muse already did this with the 2nd Law. -Americana/folk/country. The slide guitar on Hypnotised is VERY reminiscent of pedal steel guitar as would be heard in a lot of country music (though that song is dressed up in a more AROBTTH-era piano/drum/bass-scape plus a lot of strings and electronic backing similar to True Love, which I appreciate). This makes me think they could recreate some of those sounds. But still, as the last few posters have noted, Coldplay could certainly branch out along the lines of Til Kingdom Come, Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground, the Goldrush, Green Eyes. I could see them doing something like Jon Mayer's "Born and Raised" album, which is very Americana-inspired. Or maybe even a Mumford and Sons style thing (ironically M+S's 3rd album is a bit Coldplay-like). -Jonny Goes Jazz! But really, a bluesy/jazzy album could be interesting. Something like Esperanza Spalding could be neat!!! And even within this "acoustic album" thing we throw around, that could mean so many things. Til Kingdom Come is a very different song from We Never Change is a very different song from UATW is very different from Oceans, etc. It'd be a cool direction to go, I just don't know what the product would be! A Whisper and Warning Sign sort of drag on and could easily have been B-sides, IMO.

I just want a full band recording of a live version of Hypnotised, since we were denied that during the tour. </3

In the end, there's only love! ... Believe in love!

I like ASFOS and SJLT a lot. :) I think Coldplayers tend to hate on both of these songs for reflecting contemporary top 40 pop of the era - the first reflecting EDM-pop like Titanium by Sia/David Guetta, or songs by artists like Zedd; SJLT obviously sounds like Chainsmokers because it's Chainsmokers. I think Coldplay managed to take those styles and make something unique and cool though...SJLT has an amazing guitar solo for instance! Also, Muse did the same thing on their The 2nd Law by mimicking the dudbstep-pop that was popular at the time. Anyways. :) Overrated: -Foo Fighters. I find Dave Grohl's voice okay, and their music a bit ploddingly heavy. People seem to love Everlong but it just doesn't seem that great or emotional of a song? Underrated: -U2. People HATE U2 but I think they're a brilliant band with great music and talented musicians. The Edge is derided as a crappy guitar player but he has lots of classical-talent AND smart soundscaping. I'll admit I find a few U2 songs to be a bit boring (eg Pride, One) whereas I don't feel ANY Coldplay song is boring.

Ghost Stories doesn't have a perfect name match except for Ghost Story which is a bonus track. Just saying!

You and others were right - I had just never noticed the tambourine in other performances, and it's indeed just a part of natural soundboard variation as to why it's loud in some videos and not others. However, I think the tambourine is either absent or mixed very low in other tours such as this: As for the controversy about backing tracks - I agree that there's a lot that couldn't be done without using extra. I'd however argue that the band has some songs with little to no backing tracks and it still sounds huge. Examples include GPASYUF (no backing track), DAAHF (very small amount of backing track), Everything's Not Lost. Just to name a few. I'll also point out there have been some instances of backing tracks violating the condition you're suggesting. For instance, in GS tour performances of ASFOS, you can see Jonny pretending to play the acoustic guitar part during the 2nd verse; on HFTW, Chris's piano is (likely) on a backing track; there's evidence Chris is lip syncing entirely on Clocks; and many of the vocal tracks for Guy/Jonny/Will are lip synced or a mix of live and backing track. This is when it starts to be getting into the realm of a-little-too-much, IMO, when they're all so talented and don't need the "help".

Interesting now that you all have pointed out - each live DVD has had its own feel indeed! -Live 2003 feels really intimate even though that's probably a reasonably big venue, the Sydney Opera House. -The unreleased X&Y film feels pretty big at some points. I always thought the Square One countdown is so *huge* feeling and really does feel like you're launching into space. Good feels. <3 -Live 2012 has interesting MX style artwork baked into it. It was a pretty cool aesthetic. It feels a little less "realistic" but I appreciate the artistic license at least, with all the rainbows and interesting close-up camera angles (eg the slow-mo during Fix You). It was also interesting how the band interviews were interspersed between songs. That's a different choice too! One thing I didn't like was transitioning between venues for songs, which felt kind of jarring at points. Most egregiously, they switched venues in the MIDDLE OF Major Minus, and it's extremely noticeable to me. Especially because the style in which they performed the song (in terms of instruments and their tone - Jonny switches guitar - and how Chris sings the choruses) changes a lot between 2011 and 2012. I also am sad they cut out Violet Hill from the DVD main video, which means that beautiful transition to GPASUYF is lost. -Live 2014 has a pretty surreal feel, with Chris "flying" on AIMH, and the story arc from Another's Arm through Oceans to ASFOS. The venue itself feels pretty intimate. What will we see with Live 2017/2018? The kaleidoscope/flower of life is an obvious thing. Maybe something with some fan interaction? Kind of like how they stitched audience videos of UATW in Live 2012. I could see them doing something similar for the request songs. Maybe there'll be something fun like on-instrument gopro cameras or something. What other stylistic choices do y'all foresee? Anything is possible!

Maybe they're recording a surprise album in preparation for a surprise tour. :)

I have heard before that DAAHF is two songs mushed into one. Not sure which 2 though. I LOVE IT TOO. The ending being in 7/4 really makes me nerd out. Its rhythm is so flawless and you don't feel that it's irregular, but boy is it atypical! And the shimmering guitar and piano, and Guy has a really nice bassline during the middle third of the song that reminds me a lot of All These Things That I've Done by the Killers. The lyrics are fantastic too - the ending is so powerful, and bearing in mind when VLV came out as an album, it's easy to see how this song and many others on the album are a direct result of the Iraq War.

Any news? :( It'd be nice if this came by Christmas.

Whoa never noticed that look Gem is so charming. <3 I feel like there's been kind of a swing in the art. VLV was pretty classy/focused despite the splatterpaint, MX was very loud and colourful, GS was maximally subdued and VERY classy, and then AHFOD is once again pretty eclectic and colourful. --> Will we return to another simplistic album cover? Maybe something like X&Y? That's where I'll put my money. :p Or perhaps something black and white but VERY intricate like the recent Bon Iver cover: Or the recent Radiohead cover Or now that I've gone and said this perhaps it will be very colourful and not at all intricate. :p

Agreed on all points! It's just a song with piano, guitar, bass, and real drums and a bit of strings...the literal definition of Oldplay. I also totally nerd out at the one bit of the song's climax where the time signature goes from 6/8 to 3/4 on "I always want to feel this way" and it just makes my heart freaking soar. The music video always makes me tear up a little. :) I actually like the album version intro...it feels very wet for lack of a better word. :lol: My only complaint is that in the piano is on a backing track in the normal live version...but it's not even a particularly dancy song the way that HFTW is??? I feel like the performance would've been more heartfelt had Chris sat down to play the piano.

Neat topic! Chris: AHFOD, because of his eternally positive outlook Jonny: MX, because there's a mix of atmospheric guitar, guitar solos, and big guitar lines/riffs. I like to imagine he had fun making this album. He has some great stuff on AROBTTH though - with era defining riffs like in In My Place and GPASUYF. I feel like Jonny's musical personality has changed a lot through the years though, with more and more songs where he's front and center with each album. Guy: Ghost Stories, because of Magic and the laser harp in Midnight - he must've felt like such a boss! Guy also seemed to play a big role in the production of GS, and I feel like he must've had the opportunity to nerd out a little fine tuning everything. Will: VLVoDAAHF. This was the first time we got Will singing lead (on Death Will Never Conquer) and of course he totally shines on songs like Viva la Vida and Violet Hill. In fact there's not a bad song on this album when it comes to drums - they're all bangers. :D Speaking of Will as the quality control gatekeeper, that's definitely also an argument for VLV since it's such a tight album with songs that are universally liked. On the other hand, I think Will probably had a lot of fun doing all the electronic drums on Ghost Stories. I enjoy how he hybridized the approaches on AHFOD, with songs like Birds and Up&Up having a very interesting mix of electronic and acoustic drums. Phil: Parachutes through X&Y - there from the beginning, and supposedly Swallowed in the Sea is his favourite song.

It's interesting how many changes the song has undergone - the 1st verse is much different in Argentina. Curious!

Why do people hate Amazing Day so much???

I agree that the live version is better but sort of for the opposite reason. The album version is actually a lot cleaner because the piano has been taken out from much of the such, and a lot of the strings and stuff seem tighter. Either way, I think various production decisions went the wrong way for AHFOD for songs that seem amazing live.

Speaking of horns, I think there are neat ways to use them that are unconventional and surprisingly atmospheric. Noel Gallagher and Bon Iver are good examples of this:

My dream would be more psychadelic Pink Floyd-ish stuff. Ie lots of songs like Moving to Mars, AICTAIY, Hypnotised. I wouldn't mind more songs like Up&Up. Even songs like Magic I quite like, just because it so heavily features another member of the band like Guy. I'm keeping an open mind certainly. :) I think the band makes the music they want to make because they want, regardless of record deals or anything else at this point. I think Stargate wasn't the best decision, but I can see why they did it.

MUST. AVOID. SPOILERS.

Interesting! The ending reminds me of DLIBYH, with some nice atmospheric guitar and synth! The new verse guitar is indeed more generic Coldplay but it does stand out more pleasantly. The pre-recorded backup vocal sounds like some kids. That's kind of cool I guess! Kind of like the kids in 15 Step by Radiohead. One irritating thing - I think the acoustic guitar is on a backing track in these performances. You can clearly see Chris at certain points in the performance NOT strumming even though you can hear the acoustic. Same thing happens in some performances of Birds. :/ REALLY EXCELLENT THINGS: the bassline!!!!!! It's got so many notes....reminds me of DAAHF!!!!!!! The DRUMS. Definitely has an MX feel to it. The way the bass stops and the big drum fill brings in the last chorus has so much energy - I love it! Also the synth arpeggiator thing in the background I quite like! Kind of MX-like. Also reminds me of some songs by Chvrches.

Very Bossa Nova with epic jazzy piano by Jon Hopkins. You might say Jonny went jazz! Good recording here:

It needs a bigger guitar solo anyways. :p

Wow what an informative chat. I was particularly surprised about Paradise having different tempos throughout. That explains why it's so hard to play on piano without someone also playing drums. :lol: It was both cool to hear about all the backing tracks but also kind of sad that they're just so okay with having that level of backing tracks. Also fascinating that the click track is shaker and tambourine. Who would've known!? It also makes me wonder if that explains the random tambourine that's audible in videos like this. Note how when the drums come in, there's a pretty prominent shaker/tambourine. I wonder if someone accidentally sent the click track to the concert speakers instead of only Will's ear monitors. Though it also stops when the drums stop...so maybe they were just playing with having a tambourine/shaker track in this song for that show or tour.