gentleparachute

You should have campaigned :p I think everyone forgot your join date was only 6 months ago... You're permanent like the furniture now... :D Even I missed it and I've been keeping an eye out :oops: And congrats Spraycan Soul, your MM contributions is the reason why half of us are here I think :)

^ Your turn to be tough. I really love that beat in 15 Step, but... Paranoid Android vs Creep :P

Aww give the kid some credit (even if it's cheap credit) - he did Tweet to his fans to support the NHS Christmas single, which apparently is now UK No. 1 - what a sad state of affairs when your own national Public Health Service has to resort to selling singles to raise money and awareness for its own cash-strapped state... Take that back to the Gorgeous Chris thread! You're hurting our eyes... :P

I think they are the ones who feel the most "betrayed"... Let's face it - Coldplay started out in classic Brit Rock / Pop territory (with a twist) along with Travis, and had potential to end up sounding as "great" as U2, Oasis, Blur, etc. Now 15-20 years later Travis have landed in relative obscurity, "bed wetter" music (Keane, Snow Patrol, etc) is now accepted as legitimate Brit music (sometimes in favour of more Oasis-sounding and possibly musically better bands) thanks to our band, and Coldplay have decided to leave their roots behind (at least it appears for this album)... I'm sure it feels like a very personal betrayal and slap to the face - even more so because the masses have still responded to their music and stuck with them all these years, and because Coldplay have always taken the time and care with their music and given it the attention to detail and crafting it deserves - so somehow the critics have to find some sort of acceptance for it... So many people "can't be wrong". I'm guessing some of the previously more positive reviews have been written by fan-critics in favour of more established critics to give legitimacy to the masses (I'm sure plenty of the latter are still bitter over that), couple that with having to get behind a band who are moving albums at a time when music sales are declining, and also not being able to directly criticize the masses for 'poor musical taste'... That makes for a very potent, personal and bitter vendetta- almost in a class of its own. So I'm sure the British establishment are really feeling the sting... Particularly when a band they have supported turns around and says "rock music has nowhere left to go".

Paranoid Android vs Everything In Its Right Place

Violet Hill?

Paranoid Android vs There There (one of my RH favs :))

The Beatles - Ballad of John and Yoko

Street Spirit (Fade Out) vs Paranoid Android

Shoes

Street Spirit (Fade Out) vs Subterranean Homesick Alien

Ticking

Ed Sheeran - I See Fire

OT, but an absolute masterpiece! That, and ETIAW... Just mindblowing riff after riff after riff! It's almost criminal how many he put in there lol... He is such a genius. That is such a beautiful rippling, shimmering guitar - one of his signature riffs... So much air and space in there - it just floats... Those Jonny riffs are really what CM is referring to when he says "so high" and "I must be miles up" :P

Jonny really is my fav, but then again that's only because I have a huge thing for that guitar sound! Their sound would just be incomplete without even one of the members for a few bars... They really do mould all their songs until it all comes together and sounds right with all 4 of them... More so nowadays - no more CM +/- JB for the 1st half before the rest fully kick in.

I getcha. It's only more recently since I started fully immersing myself into the spirit of this song that I've really been able to enjoy it... I have to say, I had to let go of a few inner reservations/preconceived ideas before I got there :) As for ASFOS, it's a killer live (less so on the album)... They really have become a proper live band since MX

Aww yeah! That's another classic Jonny killer riff!!! I love his guitars so... And they just get better and better and bolder and more colourful with each new album... Musically, he has really developed and come into his own - he now has his own distinctive and substantial style (and sound) - he's our shy Jonny boy no longer :D

I really like that rippling piano - much better use of it than in Clocks (haha, I know, another fairly controversial opinion)... Then Chris comes in with his soaring voice, and then the beat drops!

Merry Christmas to you Jedi Leo! Hope you get plenty of nice and fuzzy moments throughout the day :) I'm lucky here to be celebrating with my lovely in-laws... Just opened my AHFOD cd - I waited for it coz I already have the digital one on iTunes - it is beautiful! Hope you have a few nice presents to open :)

These are my most played (outside of Coldplay) - Liar (from a wonderful Aussie band called Eskimo Joe - they're what Coldplay would sound like if CM was more unhinged and Coldplay were less positive) - Love Will Never Tear Us Apart (INXS) - one of the most beautiful love songs I have ever heard - Skyfall (Adele) - I love how evocative it is of all the iconic Bond classics! - Meet Me On The Equinox (Death Cab For Cutie) - Here With Me (Dido) - November Rain (Guns and Roses) - This Mess We're In (PJ Harvey feat Thom Yorke) - There There; High and Dry; Subterranean Homesick Alien (all Radiohead)

Depends on my mood... I often do both at different parts of the song, with Chris at the start, but eventually Will's part toward the end. Sometimes if I'm feeling particularly exuberant I'll continue the lead singing all the way to the end or attempt to do both together :D

Merry X-Mas everyone (it's now Christmas in the land Down Under :D)!!! Hope everyone has a good holiday, and loved ones to share this wonderful time with... Thanks again to the team @coldplaying.com for the wonderful interview and early Christmas present yesterday, and for all the hard work you guys put in throughout the year to make this the most informative site for all things related to Coldplay, and keeping the forums alive and well (for hopeless fans like me who would otherwise be lost)! :) To all Coldplayers - thank you for enriching my life, you guys are the best! Finally, to my band... Merry Christmas my 4 lovely guys (and PH) + your families. Viva la Coldplay!

^ A wonderful opportunity for Thalia and Coldplaying for sure... And of course the band are busy now with the recent release of AHFOD. But in the grand scheme of things, surely they could spare some time (eg in their off years) to do a periodic interview with their more serious fan base from time-to-time eg once every era or two? I missed a big chunk of time at Coldplaying in the last few years, but I don't recall interviews ever being done with any of their fan sites / longer-term fans with more than just a passing interest in the band... Sure Debs ran the Oracle for a number of years, but that is quite different to the band directly responding to questions in their own words / expressing their own views or opinions

Not to directly criticize the band (and they've got the freedom to make their own choice too), but I ran away has got a point you know... Maybe she could have timed it and worded it better, but it is an interesting juxtaposition that a band as earnest and genuine as Coldplay don't do a direct interview from time-to-time more routinely with their biggest fan site / any other fan site for that matter. I may be a bit naive, but I would've thought it'd be a delightful and rewarding experience all round... The fans would get to ask (and find out) more than the usual run of the mill questions, while the band get a chance to think about more insightful issues (that they may not necessarily have thought about in their busy lives) and connect meaningfully with their fans

Haha, I know it'll be annoying to some (if not most of you), but I guess that means CM and a bunch of fans (count me in) will be happily sad together with XMTS :D I'm sorry I can't hide my delight, but I really dig this song! It's certainly not a lyrical / musical masterpiece, but I love it the way I love "the Nappies"... How delightful, playful and freeing. I'm glad they got a chance to show a different aspect of their true selves and share that with us, I really am :) EDIT: And I really liked the part where he talks about Adele and how that has affected their album release / sales... Good to see him practice letting go of attachments