gentleparachute

On a completely different and more on-topic note... This band certainly have a very good track record of being 'delayed' with their album releases - since AROBTTH, none of their subsequent releases have been 'on time' by record company/ industry forecasts. If we look at all albums after that, they've been either 2-3+ years after the previous album or roughly 18 months after concluding the associated tour... In fact I was very surprised to see movement on the album release / MV front with their trip to India... By my estimates, they were still a good 6-12 months away from album completion, but then I thought "let's be optimistic, they might have started while still working on Ghost Stories..." I do hope I'm wrong and they set a precedent with this album, but we may be asking too much?

@The Adversary @theprospekt ^ What about complexity of sound / layering? Complexity of musical lines? MX is much more complex and richer on both these counts... AROBTTH has beauty in it's relative simplicity however cannot match MX technically in parts. MX also has more variety - in texture, in mood, stylistically... I think the argument about song structure is debatable- there are many more musical motifs hidden within MX than AROBTTH... particularly motifs within songs - how many guitar riffs / lines did Jonny play within the opening track of HLH itself? Again more varied song structures in MX, and also number of musical ideas packed into each song. Lyrics are likely to be weaker... It's harder to write memorable happy, blissful uplifting songs than wounded, sarcastic/ ironic ones. I'm not saying that MX is definitely better than AROBTTH, however if we're gonna compare, there are definitely things that MX can match / even surpass. I think you will find it hard to argue that the musical criteria you use to rank albums is better / more valid than anyone else's! :)

^ I'm always interested in stuff like that... Glad you liked it too :D

Too hard, can't choose! :\

@ I ran away and cp3176 - Just a little extra about our conversation concerning their clean sound and production earlier... I found [video=youtube;MbFmeWFcOCE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbFmeWFcOCE when revisiting their Fearne Cotton GS interview.. Guy talks a bit about how they were consciously trying to 'make one sound really really good...' rather than layering their music for GS at around the 2:15 mark and although he's talking about production there I think it is also relevant to the way they try to play their music nowadays too (at least the trend with their last few albums)... On that note I guess they can't combine clean instrument playing with messy production - it would probably just sound like really bad production therefore they've gone for the clean sound :D

RH have so much talent... Imagine what they could have done if they decided to become more emotionally accessible / do some songs that are more appealing. Although I suppose the main issue preventing that is actually Thom Yorke - I'm sure the other members would manage equally amazing music as any if one day Thom managed 'happy' lyrics and a less snarly / protesty / whiney style of singing... In saying that, bombast doesn't always make for better music... It can often be just as hard to do clean simple lines with devastating emotional impact - CP have a really good talent for that.

^ I didn't mean an endorsement of any sort... Rather just what equipment / earphones they used to produce an album with, so that we can hear what they hear / intend the end product to sound like. It probably would differ from album-to-album. Thats a good way to look at the song, thanks... With a degree of sad irony / cynicism - I can appreciate it in that context. As for Don't Panic, it is just low beat, groovy and an instant classic - no further interpretation required...

^ Totally agree! I really enjoy discovering new aspects to their music that way... I'd thoroughly enjoy it if they sometimes recommended what equipment/ earphones etc the band themselves would recommend be used / their production is geared for... :)

^ hopefully it provides some food for thought :D I'm no expert either, just some insight having played some instruments :P I'm very interested in music and enjoy trying to figure out how sounds are produced, whether instrumentally or with production techniques

I reckon they're just getting better at playing their instruments. I don't know whether you play any instruments but what many musicians do when they master their notes / line is to start polishing up the sound to achieve 'cleanness'... I don't think it has anything to do with production - some of that cleanness in their lines is just because they've improved and now can fully control the sound being produced by their instruments, thus achieving a purer sound with less fuzz. Chris still tries to squeeze out some rawness / vulnerability in his voice most of the time... As for the guitars, they are generally less 'raw' but are still very groovy and pack a lot of punch in their sound - the lines sound more muscular and confident than they used to be :)

:thumbsup: Thanks for this article, I really enjoyed reading it (inaccuracy on the Coldplay 'fact' aside)! And I think the article does illustrate quite well how CP have continued to last for this long... They have virtually resolved all the issues highlighted in the article well before these had an opportunity to become problematic.

On a completely different note, and I know I partially posted this elsewhere already, does anyone want to speculate what sounds will be in the new album? I think it will incorporate these elements: 1) part of it will have adult contemporary pop elements based on their sound in Miracles, Gone But Not F Cotton and Amazing Day. Think 90's pop eg Elton John, Bryan Adams, film soundtracks, and also touches of Robbie Williams, Train and the Beatles-type vibe /style. 2) I hope to hear some Indian +/- Middle Eastern influences in terms of instruments, rhythmic elements and harmonic structures. They have referenced these in the past but really seem to be pointing towards heavy Indian influences for AHFOD 3) a return to the emphasis on clean lines and beautiful musicianship (even at loud volumes) and less on gadgetry... All their recent songs and performances feature really prominent main lines by each of the lads in their main instruments, eg Jonny's lead and Guy's bass on the GCF Yellow performance, Chris' piano bassline + other's guitar in Amazing Day, beautiful lines in Ghost Story, Miracles etc. I think Oldplayers may have reason to rejoice - while not a return to early era Coldplay, I think this is a progression on the Parachute/AROBTTH sound and follows that alt-rock style too! :D

I thought a lot of the income after a band retires does come from royalties through song-writing credits...

^ I always appreciate that they put in extra effort into their songs, and always listen out for those bits even if it's not apparent initially, that's how it's allowed my relationship with this band to continue and grow.... There's always something more, something deeper, even if it wasn't noticed at first. I then usually find bits throughout the whole song that are special, which then allows me to enjoy it, even if it initially wasn't quite to my taste :) With regards to the word 'O-ceans' in the backing vocal, unfortunately I think it's only said the once, in that instrumental bridge just before 'You got to find yourself alone...' (Best heard in one of the BBC live versions). The rest I'm pretty sure is reverb on the word 'yourself' when the line is sung again... That's what I hear anyway :D

^ Their last few new ones seem to have drifted into adult contemporary... Miracles, Gone But Not F Cotton, Amazing Day (with a bit of their trademark CP twist). Part of their new sound?

Life in Technicolour (I feel LiT ii is the better version creatively speaking) I'm also sad about Chinese Sleep Chant going, RIP...

@AMDB9 I have noticed that, but I find the song too direct / cheesy... One or the other would've been fine, but the combination of that pleading voice + the lyrics with that melody is too much - just makes me cringe! Although it was very brave of Chris to pour his heart out and really show that vulnerability in himself, kudos for that as it wouldn't have been easy...

Does anyone like / love True Love​?

While we're on this topic of waiting eternally... Does anyone actually know where the Boys physically are / has anyone spotted any of them recently? That might give a clue where they're up to album-creation wise

^This!!! Great post, you really nailed everything there... Thanks especially for mentioning DLIBYH in the context of being a great instrumental - I usually tend to skip it (along with the other MX songs after Major Minus) but your post made me listen to it closely and re-examine it... You're absolutely spot-on in your comment - I've finally heard the detailed layering in that tangle of sounds and now I've found a new way to enjoy another song off the album, thanks for that! :D (btw has anyone else found the preceding track A Hopeful Transmission although a good instrumental, actually detracts from the song? I just realized it drowns out the detail in DLIBYH if you follow the album track-listing whereas DLIBYH really stands out if listened to as a stand-alone by itself)

I agree VLV is probably the most musically creative and original of the three, however I find MX far more catchy and joyful / exuberant than any other album - just makes me wanna get up and join in! That immediacy and catchiness rates highly on my enjoyment scale, making it my fav album as it always pleasurable enjoyment... GS is just an introspective album

Watching that made me wanna :bigcry: I've known CP and been a fan since the start but only through their music... Heard Trouble in 2001 and was hooked! Back then the non-album stuff was much harder to come by - I can't believe I've missed all their early interviews etc... The earliest non-music stuff was Live 2003. I see where you Oldplayers are coming from now - there is a closeness and intimacy to their interactions, particularly Chris' innocence and earnestness that is lost - it is quite emotional to compare how they are now to how they were - it is a huge difference! You might find the 'Allplayers' may well just be the earliest fans who've had the longest to grow and adjust to the changes in Coldplay therefore have found the changes the least traumatic and therefore somewhat easier to accept...

Cracking performance! They really could've been a shoe gaze band back then, couldn't they? Thanks for the link, I've now seen a side to them I never would've... :thumbsup:

Can I point out something? Whenever this change happened and whatever the details, it wouldn't have just been CM's decision... I'm pretty sure the whole band had a say and agreed to the change overall - you can't just go out and claim a bigger share of the profits without all the other involved parties agreeing to it first, particularly if you originally only had 25% say ;) Plus everyone seems pretty at ease with the decision... Could it have been some of the band members wanted a bit of a break / to step back their involvement in whatever aspects (eg they've all started having kids) therefore Chris stepped up and took on a bigger role? Also, this change might be temporary - It certainly more suits GS given the personal nature of the album... The question then is, which came first, bigger involvement or bigger share of returns? Also, has PH's return gradually changed the balance within the band? I even wonder whether Chris had much of a choice in this - his life is now more distanced from the band so it might be a matter of being practical with the best way to create music... Also was it a case of him needing to increase band involvement otherwise the band call it quits as too much commitment was required at the time? Just putting out some personal thoughts... Hope nothing offends :)

And I'm looking for an answer just like you...