I've quite liked reading the posts on this thread... Especially the long ones.. both for and against Coldplay (which let me state for the record IS my FAVOURITE BAND) :smug:
I don't know U2 too well. Only know their later songs (with the exception of Vertigo and maybe a few others). Have All That U Can't Leave Behind album and that's about it. They're good, but like Victaniac said, Coldplay are the ones that produce the music that really gets to me.
As for Coldplay, I'm not worried about whether they'll surpass U2 in terms of size... that looks certain given how fiercely they've moulded X&Y into a commercial album to capture the masses. They are certainly capable of it if they want to be. The only thing that concerns me is their ability/willingness for musical evolution... I felt a bit let down by X&Y because it did not expand / stretch the band musically as much as I would have liked... Maybe the band couldn't, or maybe they just wanted to be more commercial-sounding... but I think this is basically the point this thread was trying to make and what maybe Dejan is trying to say... That there're a small section of ardent CP fans out there who are still coming to grips with what could've / should've been with X&Y... A bit of a reality problem maybe, but we're definitely fans who're trying hard to convince ourselves that Coldplay is still worth all our time and emotional investment. I worry whether they'll produce anything as original as Parachutes ever again.