gentleparachute

Global Citizen Festival hands down... Much better performance all round :) Major Minus vs Paradise

I dig their chemistry, particularly Chris and Jonny... They have such a unique relationship... I love it, that pure love is so beautiful to behold!

I don't take offense at something being called shit... It is a valid opinion to have if someone feels that way. I do however feel we risk hurting the band's feelings and decisions if too many of us get too busy sending up negative opinions and failing to see the positives / be constructive... You can say 'I don't like the song because...' rather than making it personal and calling it 'shit' - the band has feelings too and I know some of our postings get filtered through... How would you feel if you spent months on a project only to get a snide 'x is shit' when you finally allow other people to have a look at it, never mind whether it's half-finished or not... C'mon guys, be more thoughtful to your ​band. And I totally agree with the second part of your post :D

I also like how you put arguments across, Kid A. You are right - in a sense Amazing Day is bland and lacks creativity. Can I point out that this is probably intentional (along with a lot of other decisions this band makes)? I guess we're all arguing about the significance or meaning of these creative decisions (choosing 'safe' and leaving room to breathe is also a decision lol) Some people interpret it to mean they have 'sold out', or have become a 'tired' band... You may be right, but looking at their track record and background - we all know that can be quite technically capable and creative musicians, I'd say they made a conscious decision to go with the so-called safe sound, which makes the song gentler and more digestible for the masses than it otherwise would be. That would be one way for people to focus on the emotional message of a song (eg through they way it is sung) rather than distracting with technical aspects. Coming to the actual song performance, you might find it does the emotional home run in the perfection of a studio recording (that is yet to be seen either way). Or the guys might well be 'road-testing' the emotional impact it delivers in concerts - some things eg immediate audience response have to tested to be known... They might well be searching for that 'emotional something' that makes the song stand-out - is the song even a final version? The song may yet come alive when everyone has a sing-a-long live... Lastly don't under-estimate the effect of unfamiliar surroundings and technical glitches on a song that relies as heavily on emotional / performance delivery as Amazing Day - it's not as practiced as Fix You or Yellow, therefore will be harder to 'nail' on performance day, particularly if instruments breakdown or the lead singer is emotionally preoccupied/ not at his best (yes I'm winking at you, Chris :wink3:) I'd almost stick my neck out and say they made a very brave (or stupid :laugh3:) decision to debut / try out a song at this stage of their album development/ production... They could have played a sure-fire hit (I'm sure they have a few up their sleeve) but chose a slow, simple number instead... That takes guts as it leaves them open to criticism if the performance doesn't deliver for whatever reason.

The Wiki page has been around for ages... I've visited it a few times

Welcome! Glad you like the band and finally discovered what they're all about... Even better you've come and said 'hi' :) I'm originally from your neck of the woods and certainly share a love of the British bands listed... Don't forget Radiohead! My story's a bit more serious... I know them from Parachutes, initially thought Yellow was meh but loved Trouble... As for the band, I'm eternally grateful - they literally saved my life. I'm not sure I would be around, and I definitely would be less well-adjusted if I hadn't found them when I did... Those were some very dark days in my life.

^^ LMAO :laugh4: Chris and Jonny love are back! Bring back the good ol' days

Just a thought... Has anyone else given it a thought how nerve-wracking a broken piano minutes before a performance, plus doing a new duet with another artist, plus debuting a new song in front of a crowd who are not exclusively fans might be? I reckon there's even a decent chance it might have affected the energy / mood of their performance... I agree with AMDB9 that any studio version will be more powerful emotionally

I know you wrote this on another thread but it seemed the most appropriate to write my thoughts here... I really liked MX, I thought it was their 'happy' album... To this day, I can't figure out why people hate it so much, or even call it empty or soul-less... The lyrics were not particularly meaningful but their lyrics have never been consistently good (think the band who brought us Ode To Deodorant among other gems while thinking about the dood ol' days that brought The Scientist :laugh4:). In saying that I thought the first 8 tracks of MX(up to Major Minus) were all ace! HLH, Charlie Brown, ETIAW all had killer riffs by Jonny and had such a joyful vibe, in addition to being stadium monsters in concert... Major Minus reminded us that they can still be creative and rock their guitars, while Paradise was such a good pop song (I know we like them to rock but can't they be good at both :rolleyes:). I do agree they seem to have overdone the social media bit...

As an aside, can I just say that as someone from a 'classical' music background I used to think that Clocks was quite meh and unoriginal... I played the piano and those arpeggios sounded boring as hell to me, like practicing scales :rolleyes: I think a number of piano players, probably Will included might see that. It's only over the years that I've learnt to appreciate the electrifying driving energy is what makes Clocks unique and a gem :) (Sorry for sort of putting down the song in a thread dedicated to their earlier era, but I just couldn't help myself :P

I love exactly those songs in those albums! They are my favs from the newer albums and add so much colour and some technicality to the proceedings... Forgive them for stuff like PoC, or whatever 'pop' you think they've sold out to... Your album fillers are another popsters' / mindless fan's gems :D C'mon, if everyone's gonna be a fan then I guess we all gotta learn to live and co-exist with one another

Just for the record, who claimed that it was musically as good as anything in the first 3 albums? Most people who said they enjoyed it liked specific bits of it eg Guy's bass, or Jonny's guitar, or found the song conveyed a peaceful / togetherness vibe... Tbh, the lyrics are probably a bit better than a number of GS tracks. Feel free to disagree...

Can I also make an observation that it must be difficult for the band to carry on the way they used to (in their earlier days) now that they all have families to take top priority. It must be crap for them that 3 members are in the UK and Chris is spending his time on the other side of the Atlantic where his ex and kids are. I also wonder about his emotional state... It may be 'making excuses' and a moot point to make, but we can't unscramble the egg so to speak. The band have always so relied on Chris as their emotional centre that when he loses his emotional centre / is 'not feeling it' they all get lost. It may be inevitable that AHFOD is the 'end of an era' - they probably need to re-evaluate everything and either find a way to reconnect and reconcile everything pulling them apart, or possibly consider a 'parting of ways' of sorts, I suspect their integrity calls for it

That would be the dream... Provided it didn't meander into over-indulgence. They did seem to be better able to tell that once (make sure that they sounded fresh musically)

It's hard to tell sometimes... :laugh3: Some days I think this site's haunted by bitter old ex-es, and I'm not talking about ex-wives :wink3: There was a time when CP fans were 'better than this'.... I miss the respect and camaraderie

I second that! Like Chris Martin said somewhere, they're not an autocracy, people can listen to whoever and whatever they want, switch off if they don't like... Everyone's also entitled to their own views and opinions eg liking / not liking a song or album era or what direction Coldplay are heading... But can we be mindful that we're talking about a group of people here, most likely four musicians that have touched our lives in ways that are unique and meaningful, and I guess that's why we're all so passionate about them... They need space to breathe, and grow, and make mistakes. Given how much CP have given us over the years and the effort they put into crafting their music, can we at least try and temper some of the hurt and disappointment rather than just bashing them with generic descriptions like 'crap' or 'sellout' or 'uninspired'... How about more thoughtful comments like 'commercial-sounding' or 'reminds me of...'? I'm sure they suffer from enough guilt and self-bashing already

What If Speed of Sound

The song's a grower for me... Heart sank at first listen after all the hype and excitement - felt a bit disappointed that it wasn't a grander song. However now that I've had a chance to calm down and listen to it and absorb it, I feel the vibe is really beautiful and peaceful, kinda meditative as well... A good way for them to say they're at peace with the world :D

:laugh3: :shocked2: Does that make me bad???

Twisted Logic Tour just because I got to go to their concert during that tour... On my birthday too! :D Fix You or ETIAW (as concert closer)?

I'm pretty sure that's a company linked in the news to the Kids Company charity (that recently ran into financial difficulty in the UK)... JJ Van Mars bought properties to be used for charitable purposes, one of which was the Treehouse for the Kids Company. I'm sure they had the best intentions with setting up the company as their charity arm, but sometimes you can't fully control how your contributions are used - it must be frustrating... Kudos to them for trying to do what they believe in! As for the other companies, they probably all serve to support the main business, which is Coldplay of course! Not to be cynical but I suspect there may be tax incentives at work that make it worthwhile for them to form so many companies... May even give CM's dad a bit of a side interest when he goes on tour with the band (I read somewhere he may have been an accountant) - make them as tax-efficient as possibe :sneaky:

Has anyone's opinion of this song changed since hearing about Chris and Gwyn? I know I felt this song (and most of what I'd heard so far of the album) was quite meh when I first heard it, but it took on a new meaning and just hit me right in the guts when I replayed it again after finding out... I did find it quite strange that the lyrics are less opaque and beautiful than they usually are... Also that the whole band let it pass (rather than say "this is not good enough, let's start again")... I'm much relieved (music-wise) that it's related to the recent emotional events and the whole album certainly is very personal - all very sad of course that two beautiful people are now heart-broken :( Thanks to Coldplay for writing this, and allowing us to share in the beauty of your songs and musical + emotional landscapes... I for one always appreciate the emotional honesty you guys bring. Time to let us fans "lighten the load" and give back to you :)

Their most unique, original song in ages... Well done boys! They've certainly matured and grown - there's more vision and purpose now :D This album will be their best to-date... the depth's gone to a whole new level! And has anyone noticed that Johnny's guitar stabs are reminiscent of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday where they're meant to mimic the bursts of rapid gunfire (read that bit in an analytical piece about the symbolism at play in the latter song)? Fits perfectly into VH's revolutionary aspect obviously...

I've seen only 2 my whole life... Coldplay The Cat Empire... They both rocked! The Cat Empire must be one of the best live bands around... I'd rate them as good as Radiohead... which is the one band I'm aiming to see next :D

Don't know about "massive" and don't know about new album... But one band that I hope will become massively well-known and sure deserve to be big are The Cat Empire. Their tag of one of the best live bands around is much-deserved. Boy do they know how to cook up a party...