MosesTheMarshmallow

Just to settle the notes at the beginning of the song thing - Jonny is plucking a single note guitar line. A synth keyboard is playing the actual melody. It is not until the end when Jonny plays the synth melody on his guitar (after his solo). This is evidenced if you watch the live performance of the song. So in fact the song is indeed NOT guitar driven even though it could have been (and I wish it was). [video=youtube;sx1jg1BCQ_4]

Midnight-like songs would be cool. What I'd like to see is the use of the more traditional Coldplay setup to mimic electronic-ambient and EDM style music. Kind of like what they did with ASFOS but to a wider range of electronic-genres. lolol response of the century. I'm sick of people complaining about the electronic drums meaning not-Will. Sure you can have a stylistic disagreement about it, but it's most definitely 100% Will Champion programming and playing those drums.

Yeah there's a little skip sound but I think it's intentional. Kind of like Life in Technicolor before the dulcimer comes in, there's a weird-sounding repeat.

I can imagine they were wanting MX to be folk given the "acoustic album" thing. I'd like to see them follow through on that and do something that, in the Coldplay style with regard to ASFOS for example, steals today's pop rock styles and make it better. A loud metallic/guitar/drums/bass album would be fun too (but with more pianos). Something with songs like Daylight, What If, Politik, GPASUYF, How You See the World, Twisted Logic, Yes, CSC.

Indeed...I wouldn't mind 45 minutes of fuzzy rainbow man!

Agreed!!! The 2011 version of What If is also quite rocking indeed. I'd die to hear anything on X&Y that isn't Fix You or TKC. If they can do A Whisper, maybe they'll do Twisted Logic, considering that song is also in 6/8 time? :p

I'm not 100% on this but I think it's a sample initiated by Will or Jonny. Chris plays a laser harp to make it look like he's playing the fast flute riff, but I'm not convinced that he's actually playing it note for note compared to triggering it or even just miming it.

How is the tweet worded/ do you have a link? Thanks. Amsterdam Strawberry Swing Us Against the World Ghost Story All Your Friends Death And All His Friends Hurts Like Heaven Love that South Park clip by the way!

One thing I will add though - I really don't like the music video to Charlie Brown. It's just a slew of flashy images of dancing and sexual things. It was close to having a story but instead was just...too self indulgent I guess. It kind of went against my image of the story that the album portrays.

I appreciate this thread/posts so far. I was actually planning to write an extremely long essay in the GS forum about why I like MX better but I'll just summarize since I should really study for exams rather than try to impose an opinion on others. -Cool cohesion, lyrical themes, mythology, outfits, visuals. The lyrics in particular - some people give them a lot of shit about it - but MX is very clever. References to many things, cool imagery, but still heartfelt in many ways. I think it retains the sophistication of the VLV era but takes it in a slightly different direction that's very modern and cultured. The "comma rather than full stop" line is actually really cool when you think about it - it's about continuity and relevance and fighting to the end rather than bowing down to oppression. UATW has fantastic lyrics too. The literary and biblical references in that song + Major Minus are pretty cool. I think all of it is a lot more subjectable to analysis than the pure and simple heartbreak of Ghost Stories, which is a valid direction to go lyrically but not one I enjoy as much. -Best guitar lines in all of Coldplay's discography. HLH, Paradise, ETIAW, Major Minus, DLIBYH in particular. Even the repetitive-not-that-innovative stuff was good - Charlie Brown, UATW, POC. In other words, even though Jonny is a big deal on GS for playing keyboards and things, Jonny does a great job of playing interesting and engaging guitar lines in EVERY song (except for UFO). -Great instrumentals from everyone all around. Guy has good basslines in Paradise, ETIAW, Major Minus. Will's drums are phenomenal in every song. -Great vocal delivery from Chris and Will in particular (UATW, Paradise). -Excellent stylistic mix. We got a couple pump-up rocking songs, a couple synth-poppy songs, a couple acoustic songs. I will also say that I think Up in Flames would've been a great song to have on Ghost Stories. I think UIF fits the mission statement of GS excellently - simplicity, heartbreak, electronic drums. It's very minimalist but has a great piano line, a nice harmony from Will. The bass and guitar parts are not out of this world but they're nice and they add the texture and contribute to an overall build/climax that isn't indulgently cathartic the way Paradise is. In fact, I would've rather had UIF on GS somewhere, and then have MTM on MX.... :lol: -Most of the songs are a bit more coherent with regard to who's playing what. I find Ink to be very all over the place. The fluty-guitar in the choruses, the synths, the "doo doo doos" are all very disparate. Whereas with most of the songs on MX (with the exception of HLH's studio version maybe) I get an easier sense of "this is when Guy will walk onto stage." I will agree with howyousawtheworld's criticisms in a few places though - HLH, CB, Major Minus, and UATW are all way better live due to more clarity in who's doing what. Jonny has more defined guitar lines, MM has a great guitar line in the verses. I will disagree about UATW - I like its hourglass structure. Start with everyone, dial it back, then bring everyone back one by one. It's pretty unique since many a Coldplay is Chris -> then bring everyone. MX is targetable because it seems "overproduced" but I don't find it more produced than any other album let alone Ghost Stories. It's just produced in a way where the production is meant to be visible through synths and vocal effects and things. But I don't think it gets in the way of my enjoyment of the music because the Coldplay I know and love is there and I can tell every decision they made was to make the music better.

Will's used the Reactable in every performance. When you make changes to it (by moving the blocks) it adds or subtracts entire samples rather than individual notes I think. For example, in the special, he drops a block right when Jonny's keyboard part starts, so I think Will is responsible for the various textural noises throughout the song including the pulsating harmonic/xylophone sound at the beginning and the higher keyboard part in the 2nd piano-interlude (before Chris starts doing the oooooooooooooooooooooohhh part). Also, Will plays an electronic drum for the loud part of the song.

Quantity is a tricky game IMO. Don't Panic, Spies, and Trouble have very few unique lines for example. But of course, in terms of quality, the lyrics are a little cheesy. But also, I love Chris's delivery of these lyrics. The "I don't care" has such loud clarity that we don't see from him often. The "youuuuuuuuu" is also very unique. I think ETIAW is a better song lyrically by far as an analogous song on the previous album - jumpy, synthy, guitarry...ETIAW actually has a story (painted within the words) whereas ASFOS is a bit stay-in-one-place with its lyrics.

Indeed - they have enough singles to switch things around. Last tour when they switched Lost out for Lovers in Japan was a great move.

[video=youtube;FBuQDijUme4] If you listen to this version, the piano riff at the beginning = Christmas Lights. The chord progressions are similar. The line "I always loved you and I always will" gets used in both songs. The "ooohhhh" at about 2:20 has the same melody. I think the Oracle may have answered a question about this issue at some point. That said, I agree that Wedding Bells would've been a great song on GS. It has nice lyrics (the "stay still" line is a lot like AIMH) if not better lyrics than a lot of GS. Indeed, Tomorrow had been mentioned from the MX days. Who knows what that might be....roll on LP7 amirite?!

Jaja no not at all. I'm thoroughly impressed by the whole story - a bunch of good luck and smart moves. I can identify a lot because I'm also a university student so I enjoy moments like those though usually for me it just results in free food.

Wow you are good at life.

I think Paradise, Charlie Brown, and ETIAW should be rotated with each other personally. I think Fix You and VLV are are kind of live set necessities though I could also see them going. Clocks for Politik would be a good substitution. I'd also like to see UATW replace Oceans or Fly On every once in a while in future tours. I like how in the MX tour, they closed a lot of sets with Life is For Living...but I think it'd be good if they subbed that for Amsterdam or Swallowed in the Sea.

Indeed - the first few were only an hour I think. Seems kind of unfair IMO - they probably should've compensated Cologne with a few more oldies.

Thanks for posting. It indeed looks pulled together from different things but it was enjoyable.

Love both for different reasons. I think Coldplay does a better job tracklisting and deciding what songs to keep or not; ie, the frequency of good songs is higher. (What's the Story) Morning Glory and Dig Out Your Soul are especially brilliant Oasis albums. DOYS is actually quite dark and rocky in an exciting way. WTSMG has great guitar work. If all of Oasis's songs were sung by Noel, that might put them ahead. I think Noel is a better songwriter than Chris Martin a lot of the time. The Masterplan, Don't Look Back in Anger, Champagne Supernova, The Importance of Being Idle, Waiting for the Rapture and the entirety of Oasis B-sides are brilliant. I like Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds but some of the guitarwork is less stellar compared to Oasis or even Beady Eye.

Anybody going this year?

Be that as it may it seems they always keep a couple things around. In the VLV era, I feel like I saw Jonny and/or Chris playing the VLV era Telecaster thinline but I might be making that up. I distinctly remember Jonny played the VLV era Les Paul on Violet Hill though (though that's not painted in VLV style). Also, you could argue the sunburst Telecaster that Jonny is playing now is an AROBTTH/X&Y keep-over. That said, it could indeed be a clue.

I agree about Ink...but the rest isn't that bad. Midnight is a masterpiece, ASFOS is a clever piece of EDM pop, O is painfully beautiful.

The live version is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jonny makes bird noises with his guitar and Will is playing the MX-era Strat with ebow..........now I know why people who heard it there compare it to Amsterdam. Very similar effect but what amazing atmospherics from Jonny and Will!!!!

Wait.........Atlas, Don't Panic, A Whisper, TKC..........AND THEN THE ENTIRE ALBUM. This is the best setlist for this tour so far and one of the greatest in general (except for when they played Amsterdam 2 years ago...).