Tryptophan

Up With The Birds for the moment, although UATW comes so fucking close. How about worst song starting with a P? I think I see a pattern here.

Damn, I hate the site this comes from, because I really think the critic has some very good points. A bit too bitter perhaps. He doesn't sound like a long-time hater, more like a disappointed long-time fan, like me. Read again, you will understand what I mean.

Wow, very well done. :D Though I dislike the graffiti art on its own, I really like it when there's that kind of sleeve over it, like with the "MX" cover.

Wow, this review reads like my thoughts exactly, only a lot more harsh and negative. Very true. Though it could have been more elaborate about Up With The Birds, which is one of the best things Coldplay have ever done in my opinion. @Samuel: It's not the change or evolution per se, it's what they changed into that matters. Nobody will disapprove of change per se, but some might disapprove of the result.

I can't find the review. I'd agree with a 5/10 (as compared to the high Coldplay standards), but I'd like to see why.

Lol, you're probably right. I saw other people doing it and I didn't know where else to put it. :shrug: You shouldn't be afraid, you will probably love it, like most people. This is just my personal view, and I wanted to check if I really was the only one who has these thoughts. You're probably very right on the last paragraph. I can't blame the guys just because I don't like it. The only thing I can blame them for is they are too obviously going for crowdpleasers, singalongs and instant hits, as if we're not going to like it if it doesn't get to us from the very first second. They should have been more like, fuck it, we do what we want regardless of whether the radio will constantly play our songs. About Charlie Brown, it's very close, I actually love it, but it just seems too obvious, see previous paragraph. Because you are obviously very intelligent and good looking and all-around brilliant, just like me. :p You know, the problem with Major Minus is not the vocal effect, rather the other bells and whistles that drown the song. And because I miss Jonny's first bridge solo, and the echoes are gone, leaving a weaker impact (so yep, we agree again). It's still a brilliant song, but I also don't like where it's placed, it's as if it doesn't belong there. Up In Flames is not bad, just not eh, not for me, a bit like Fix You. Oh I really hope they continue, they will continue, I'm positive about that, can't wait till their next album is there! :D About the direction that fllows from Viva: Viva just feels more adventurous than MX, MX feels too eager to instantly please. It's as if the best things from Viva have been abandoned and my least favourite bits on it have been expanded on MX. And really, if Paradise was as brilliant as its :elephant: video clip, and if Princess Of China was not on it (too bad it will ruin Coldplay's public image when it's out as a single, it will portray them as a commercial sellout band and teens will love them for all the wrong reasons), and if ETIAW didn't have the synths, and if the allround lyrics weren't so dull and shallow, it could have been *** three stars easily, that would still be tied with X&Y as my least favourite. But eh, I can live with it. I <3 Up With The Birds :D And by the way, Hurts Like Heaven studio version isn't really that bad at all, still prefer the live version.

Princess of China and Charlie Brown are obvious. If there will be more singles, possibly, they might also release Up In Flames or something, dunno.

It's brilliant. Probably the best video they have ever done, maybe second to the one for The Scientist. Still don't like the song though, but it fits the video well and it's enjoyable. Note: I gave it a 9 because I hardly ever give 10s. Could have been worth a 10 though, but now it's too late.

Mylo Xyloto: My personal review Mylo Xyloto: Heartbreak with a sparkle of hope (Rating: **) inb4 tl;dr This might be a bit early for a full and long review, I am aware of that. But I've listened to the album plenty of times now, both through earbuds and boxes. I would have waited until next week, but I feel like it's time to judge it already, so I can get that out of the way. First off, I'm just going to say that I'm not impressed. The album just doesn't do it for me. There's been a long build-up that's been characterised by disappointments for me, starting off with the first single, and gradually getting bigger after that, still with grains of hope scattered around. Anyway, first thing we hear is the already recognisable Mylo Xyloto, an okay intro to Hurts Like Heaven. The latter provides the first letdown of the listen-though. I really liked the live versions of it, but there's quite a difference with the studio version. It feels so artificial and processed. It's as if they wanted to throw in all possible instruments and effects, and the result is underwhelming. Jonny's guitar doesn't come through, and it seems like some of his solos have been replaced by synths. Overall it's just weak sounding if compared to its live counterpart. On to the next track, the well-known Paradise. I'm going to be honest: I never liked the song, and I never will. Not sounding like Coldplay at all, not appealing, repetitive, lacking serious lyrics, and most of all an overload of whoa hoas and ooohs. Again, it sounds very unnatural on top of all that. Fortunately next up is the first highlight of the album, Charlie Brown, familiar with all of you. A nice tune to bounce and jump around at. Too bad Jonny is pushed in a corner again by a layer of synths. Too bad the lyrics sound pretty meaningless to me. Too bad there is a part that goes "All the boys, all the girls". Not so keen on the string part leading up to the finale. But let's not be too negative, it's a great tune, although nothing more than that. It's not the new Clocks or anything. The outtro is simply gorgeous, one of the best parts of the album. Surprisingly, it does not lead into classic Life Is For Living, of course, but into Us Against The World. Slightly different from the live version, slightly better perhaps. Beautiful song, very poetic. Would not fit on Parachutes, unlike many say. But I'm very glad the producers kept their hands off of this one. M.M.I.X. is nothing special, it leads perfectly into summer hit Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. Oh well, it has a sunny vibe and it's uplifting since I accepted its existence. It's not even the worst song on the record. It's still bad though. Next is Major Minus. My favourite from the summer shows, hands down, but, as I already knew, the studio version takes a lot, if not everything that makes it so damn brilliant, away, and replaces those things by unneeded and annoying production and effects. Too bad. It's annoying to listen to it with earbuds, but it's really okay when it's coming from the boxes. Still, no goosebumps or anything with this version. U.F.O. is a very gorgeous acoustic song without bells and whistles. Gorgeous chords. impeccable singing. It's great. Still it's nothing special compared to anything they did before. Very reminiscent of Prospekt's March and Now My feet Won't Touch The Ground, for example. The outtro is epic, too bad it leads into... Princess Of China, the dreaded song featuring Rihanna. To be honest, it's not even her fault that it's a horrible song. Chris' voice is the only thing Coldplay has to do with it ("Rihanna featuring Chris Martin" would have been more correct). Worst song ever by Coldplay, full of cheap whoas and lalalas just to make it a hit. And it will be a hit. And bad lyrics (e.g. "You stole my star lalalalalalalala", "You really hurt me", etc...). Very disappointing. I never expected Coldplay to fall this deep and to milk these tricks. Oh well, it all gets better after this. Although I'm not keen on Up In Flames. The Massive Attack/Portishead-esque drumbeat just doesn't fit the song at all. But I can't really blame them, they are constantly trying new stuff and sometimes it doesn't work out. Anyway, the song itself is very simple, which is not really a bad thing. I strongly dislike the repetitive falsetto chorus though, it hurts my ears. The song doesn't move me at all. It means nothing to me. Lovers gonna love. The best things are coming at the end of the album. A Hopeful Transmission is brilliant. Love the "spoons". It's the only perfect track of the album. Love the way it leads into Don't Let It Break Your Heart. Cheesy title aside, it's a great song. Full of energy, Coldplay as it should be. I simply love the guitar fantasy by Jonny. A bummer there's the last minute or so, I don't like the long oooooooh and the way Chris sings the title at the very end. Solid song though, not one of their best. The closer, Up With The Birds, is a masterpiece. It took me dozens of listens, but now I realise. Especially the second part. A song to listen to with eyes closed. A good thing we can end this album on a positive note. Unfortunately it's really the only memorable thing about MX. So, all in all, the album as a whole doesn't please me. It's overproduced, often feels like it's made of plastic. A lot of different songs and types of production, to me it just doesn't fit well together. There is no flow. Even without the production issue, it would be incomparable to A Rush Of Blood To The Head or any other album in terms of quality. The lyrics are often poetic but mostly tacky and cheesy, and aren't raw and honest like Parachutes, for example. Next to that, it's as if they're trying too hard to make hits that please right from the start, with all the oooohs and stuff. Trying to please all kinds of people by blending all types of popular music genres, including the performing artists of those genres into their songs. The result is disappointing. Instead of just making music that's as good as possible just like they used to do. I'm not falling for this. I thought they knew better. I listened to Parachutes once after listening to MX, and guess what, Parachutes is just so much better. "Go listen to Parachutes then, you hater!" I'm not a hater, but yes, I will go and listen to Parachutes. "You're just against evolution". I'm not, Viva was a lot different but it was still world class, daring and adventurous. MX just has that will to please, this will to use every instrument and effect there is and to overwhelm, just like their recent live shows with confettis and fireworks, not at all as honest and modest as they used to be. I desperately hope this is just a phase and they will not follow this direction, but I'm afraid there's no way back. I cannot really blame them for doing this, I guess. They're nice guys. I'm just afraid that the public image of Coldplay will change (it already has), they will be that hit band with their cheap whoas and quickly appealing tunes. To me they'll always be that band that sends shivers to my spine with epic slide solos, intimate performances and modest, raw and earnest compositions. Less and less people will understand me. Oh well, I'll hold on to the few things I like about MX, continue to love and listen to everything that came before it, and I'll count down to LP6. Of course there are more important things in life anyway, I won't let it break my heart. Just wanted to get this all off my chest, I won't do this again for a while. If you've read all this, you have no life ;)

Now, is the Japanese version different from the leak we had yesterday? If so, how?

There isn't a single song on MX that's better than any song on Viva. Okay, maybe the three best songs of MX (for me that's Us Against The World, Up With The Birds and UFO) are better than the worst song of Viva (Lost!). But that's it.

Okay, the beginning of UWTB (part 2, I can't help but see this as two seperate songs) gave me goosebumps. It's great. Still not sure about most of the other songs.

I should have voted for A Hopeful Transmission. Love the spoons! Mylo Xyloto 6/10 Hurts Like Heaven 6/10 Paradise 2/10 Charlie Brown 6/10 Us Against The World 8/10 MMIX + Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall 3/10 Major Minus 6/10 (for the studio version) U.F.O. 7/10 Princess Of China 1/10 Up In Flames 5/10 A Hopeful Transmission 9/10 Don't Let It Break Your Heart 7/10 Up With The Birds: I can't rate this one yet. Might be a masterpiece. Then again, might be not. Maybe an 8/10 For the album as a whole, I'd give 5/10 for now. It's just not good enough.

After a first two listens, I'm not impressed. Princess of China is atrocious, and it's not even Rihanna's fault. I hope I will ever be able to forget that this song exists. Us Against The World is actually better on the album than live, which surprised me in a positive way. I was also surprised by DLIBYH (barring the last minute of the song). It's not that bad. But it feels a bit like an inferior Glass of Water. A Hopeful Transmission is awesome. The spoons are fantastic. Period. UFO is gorgeous, but I can't help feeling that they have done it before, and they called it Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground. Up With The Birds is odd, but I think I like it. I'm not very keen on Chris' singing in the second part though. But overall, it's definitely their worst album yet. It doesn't flow like I hoped it would. It's just a patchwork of different things. Full review coming soon, maybe next week.

If that's true, it doesn't really matter. We will all buy the real album next week anyway. Right guys?

Oops, my link is gone indeed.

:nod:

I have the album but I will do half an hour of school work before listening. Cause I have balls of steel.

Can anyone, eh, PM a link to me?

It's like there's been an explosion or a meteorite crash on this site. Everything is different now.

If anyone could send me a link please... I've been following this closely all weekend, now that I was gone it leaked... :p I will definitely buy the CD next week, don't worry.

Don't say a word. It leaked?

Damnit, this is going so fast, I can't follow. I miss the cosiness of yesterday's conversations. It's not fun anymore. Plus, it's seriously lagging now.

No, don't! You'll miss the leak!

Same for me. We've heard enough tracks already. It's time for the whole album to come.