lennyrott1

Haha :) No need for a band fight. We all know who is going to win on a Coldplay board after all. Like LeftRightLeftArchi says, they really aren't comparable, but what band is in the end? I must just have a different taste in ID songs than most fans hahaha I think ID has great melodies, but yeah, not as memorable (yet). They have a similar strength to Coldplay at making a hella catchy anthem. And it will be interesting to see how ID develop as a band since they are so talented. I don't think they deserve all the hate they get--but they need to make an album that sounds cohesive imo. S+M has so many great moments but they are just sandwiched between really randomly bad ones. I actually am with LeftRightLeftArchi on the AHFOD point too. The album is a bit too much of a mish mash for me and clearly cherrypicks genres. So that is a great point, and we could say the same for almost every Coldplay album. However, ID, I think like Mumford and Sons will fade out of popularity and won't ever win the critics like Coldplay did early on. I still like Mumford and Sons, who much like ID had mixed reviews with their first two albums. Their third was the make or break record and it was incredibly meh imo, other than a few good singles.

(This is all just my opinion, but most critics agree with me about ID) It is true that you can say the same for any band, all bands take influences and emulate them somehow. My main problem with ID especially is that they don't have a distinct sound like Coldplay. Sure, Coldplay sometimes blatantly comes off as Radiohead or U2 wannabes, but they add their own twist or flavor. Every track on Smoke and Mirrors does have fantastic moments and those guys know how to make an epic song with a lot of passion--but good God I can't help but here them emulate somebody on every song. I am not saying I hate ID. They are a really talented band. I really like half the songs on Smoke+Mirrors with their 80's throwback feel--Shots, Trouble, Dream, It Comes Back To You, I Bet My Life, Summer. So I do think they are a good band. But you can't shake the feeling that as a band they have little originality: http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6473071/album-review-imagine-dragons-smoke-mirrors http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/imagine-dragons-smoke-mirrors-20150217 http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/02/album-review-imagine-dragons-smoke-mirrors/ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/15/imagine-dragons-smoke-mirrors-observer-review http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/imagine-dragons-win-ugly-bloated-rock-article-1.2117277 Just wanted to say, I have listened to the album several times and read quite a few reviews! I did do my research, but of course, I just disagree. No big deal mate :hug:And yes, I did cherry pick negative reviews. There were plenty of positive ones too, I just tend to agree with the average to negative!

I don't mean to be a jerk here to fans of One Republic, Imagine Dragons, or FOB, but Coldplay is, and always will be, on a completely different level than those bands. Sure, they have decent albums, especially FOB's earlier work--but today they are nothing but contemporary pop that try to latch on to whatever is popular. I don't want to say that they aren't talented or relevant, but I literally can't make it through their albums without stopping. Imagine Dragons, for example, literally recycles U2, Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, Dubstep, and whatever else they can and tries making it as catchy as possible. Maybe you can argue that they don't conform to genres, but I can hardly even call them pop-rock at this point, same with FOB's latest release. They just want to emulate the success Coldplay has had. Coldplay though is legendary. And they will go down as one of the best bands in history. Will they be remembered as rock? Maybe not. But people don't remember The Beatles as rock either. If you are doubting their staying power compared to the above mentioned bands, just look at the record sales, the number of #1 albums, the sold out stadium tours. Coldplay is one of the last bands that can sell out a stadium. Sure Beyonce and Bieber can do it, hell even Nickleback. But Coldplay is a band that is both critically acclaimed, creative, world-renowned, and universal. These are aspects we can only attribute to legendary bands of the past who wrote countless hits while sticking to their own unique styles: The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, U2, Queen, RHCP. AHFOD isn't aging well, and the band is getting older. But that is okay. By my count, they have 5 amazing rock records under their belt, numerous exceptional, sometimes experimental B-sides, and two solid contemporary pop-rock albums. That is impressive. History will be kind to Coldplay. If you don't think so, check out this amazing 2008 special from 60 Minutes that sums them up at their peak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFvyTDX3OoM

^Well put! I really agree with you, and in terms of AHFOD, it is an album that really depends on the day for me. There have been times where I have enjoyed it all the way through. I am really glad most Coldplayer's like it and maybe in a year I will change my mind again. And yes, the fact that music has sounded less organic (largely due to production) is the biggest villain for me at this point..and we all know that the band is still very capable of writing some amazing tunes. Ambient Rock would be a dream come true since I think all of the boys have such an ear for beautiful atmospheres--one of their strongest suits on their most gorgeous tracks. Indeed, they are getting old, and Chris' voice live sometimes faulters. It is fantastic on most the album though...I think he needs to go back to doing a lower-mid range with a few signature falsettos, much like the first two albums and Viva. But who knows. It is hard to say, and this is a hard time to want to stay following Coldplay since they have reached an age where the music may not be as pure or the fan involvement is not as fun. Another album though could really turn that around--and if I finally get to see them on tour!! :flutterby: (WHEN IS THAT NORTH AMERICAN TOUR GOING TO BE EXTENDED?)

It is pure heaven, that one. It should be staple at their live set. Plus the live version has Jonny doing some atmospherics with his guitar which gives me shivers.

This is hopefully true for AHFOD, but alas. I was one of those GS bashers when it was released, but after a few months it quickly became one of my favorite albums front to back. Almost every song, barring ASFOS, grew on me to the point where I simply loved them all. The problem is that AHFOD has been with us for two months now, and frankly my feelings have gone from "this is pretty good" to "skip...skip...meh...skip..." I pretty much only revisit Birds, AOAL, AD, and Up&Up... Which is really depressing for me. It is the first Coldplay album I can say feels just fine but not special. So I don't think this album will grow on me. If they can release a solid EP or a few B-sides my mind might grow fonder of this era, but so far we have an okay album with three decent music videos. Dare I say, this album might be one of Coldplay's most forgettable if they produce more, which I pray they do...It is time for them to "pull a Viva" again and shift their sound. AHFOD feels like the pop element of their music wore thin...none of the singles made it big in the charts or are getting airplay where I live. They need to strip back their production and go simple I think, or maybe return to their roots a bit.

Such a tough question.... For me I can barely pick between I Bloom Blaum, Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground (criminally underrated), and Postcards From Far Away. My vote goes with Postcards From Far Away--it is brief, but undoubtedly one of the prettiest things to ever come out of Chris Martin's mind. It feels so classical and melancholy. That sound needs to get revisited.

Hahaha I mean, I will take it, but this is really dumb. It pretty much just bashes Kanye, who, last time I checked, is WAY more creative with his music than Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, and Adele. If anything this article is kinda disturbing that it is profiling employees based on their taste in music. And as much as I love Coldplay, they are basically pitting white bread music against Kanye's Hip-hop African American, and abrasive music. In conclusion, Coldplay fans are the best in the world...but liking Kanye West and hip-hop which most people assume to be "sexist" doesn't make you stupid. I adore Kanye's entire discography, and like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent person. :artist:

I will be the devil's advocate here, well sort of. As an album that demanded more of a rhythm, I think Will and Guy really stepped up to the plate...but they didn't necessarily hit it out of the park (sorry for the lame baseball metaphors). Coldplay has never been an impressive percussive or bass band... Usually Guy and Will just set a nice, fitting backdrop onto which Chris and Jonny can put down an award winning melody. So AHFOD is really refreshing in that it attempts to have a more pop/rhythm driven feel, and for the most part, it really works: Birds, AOAL, HFTW, Up&Up X-marks the spot But would I call Will's drumming and Guy's bass amazing? No. Diverse? Yes. But amazing? No. I love the intro to the album, but the song just doesn't come full circle with that great funky opening. The bass is way to dull and heavy on Everglow--it doesn't captivate me. HFTW turns into a literal 4x4 kick drum with a clap. Army Of One has no dynamism and gets old quickly. Amazing Day and Up&Up is mixed so poorly that the bass STILL hurts my ears on the final mixes. I don't blame the mixing on Guy and Will. AHFOD is a great Jonny album too but he gets really drowned out on tons of tracks too.... I don't know. I guess to end this rant I will pose another question: is the mixing of the drums a problem for anyone? And if so why? Or am I crazy?

I think it will be a stunning halftime show! My prediction is this: 1. Opening with AOAL Riff which reveals the stage. They play that for about a verse and in the middle of the jam, Chris says: hello everyone! 2. Now the stage starts doing crazy sh*t and there is an instrumental change up into Viva La Vida which gets the whole crowd chanting and being like: Oh yeah, I know this one. 3. As the song reaches its peak, Beyonce starts chanting along and comes out of nowhere and everybody loses their sh*t. 4. This leads into Hymn for the Weekend. And because this song isn't that big in the U.S. right now, or anywhere, they upthrust the excitement by bringing out Bruno Mars (and maybe his band?) which could add some brassy elements to the performance. 5. Halfway through that song it turns into Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson makes an appearance). This is explosive and fun and everyone leaves stage when it is over. 6. Coldplay jump into Clocks which has a lovely, reflective moment into Fix You. Which can easily be accompanied by fireworks etc. EDITS(?): I also want to point out that they could open up with Yellow. This way they could get that stadium rock vibe going and throwback to one of their most popular songs. Also, if there is enough time, I think they could end with ASFOS. With those edits in place, they will have represented 7 songs from 7 albums in like 12 minutes, which could be really cool. Thoughts? :)

Indeed, there is no reason to be too somber my comrades. Yes, I think it is fair to say Coldplay peaked with Viva and declined ever since in terms of artistry. But we can all at least admit their last 3 albums have been pretty stinking good even if they aren't masterpieces. AHFOD has issues, and it doesn't feel as passionately made or well crafted, but it has flashes of brilliance. But Coldplay does need to take a look at themselves now and decide what kind of band they want to be. With their modern era music they have pandered a bit too much to different pop flavors to remain relevant. And look, I legitimately believe they had fun and put loads of work into AHFOD and that they all really enjoy the pop sounds they were pursuing. Unfortunately the music feels stale; like sub-par pop music married to sub-par alternative rock. They need to return to making music that is more organic and takes longer to simmer. They need to commit to simpler ideas and FOCUS ON THE SONGWRITING NOT PRODUCTION. Coldplay's best music is stripped, simple, and beautiful. I really hope they just return to the studio and make something acoustic with little extra production. They have dabbled in every kind of music now. They should return to their roots.

The fact remains that the forum is very dead though... and that has to speak to some reception/excitement of this album. At this point I am just waiting for a possible B-side. This era has felt weird. And while I enjoy a lot of elements, it is undoubtedly my least favorite... Also of course the Superbowl. I grew up in a family that watches the Denver Broncos play every Sunday, so we are all very excited to see them play in the big game! Plus I got my favorite band stepping up for the halftime show!! Should be a good Sunday! Really excited to see what got cooked up for this year. No doubt they have Beyonce come out, then Rihanna. I would also guess another more "classic rock" star might join. I would also guess that the setlist includes another song that they cover.

Depends on what you define as pop.... Technically AHFOD has some songs that don't stick to a traditional pop song structure: AHFOD, Birds(kind of), Kaliediscope, Up&Up, but the rest are about as formulaic in verse chorus, verse chorus, bridge, structure: Birds, HFTW, Everglow, AOAL, Fun, Army of One, X-Marks The Spot, Amazing Day..... So the majority IS pop I would argue, along with albums like X&Y. But we can also look at it another way: in terms of sound not structure. Here AHFOD is even poppier in my opinion than any preceding Coldplay album: Piano's and acoustic guitars are mixed down. Drumbeats are mixed up. HFTW goes for thumping EDM party themes. Fun has a very sappy, basic pop-rock sound. Everglow's drums are practically R&B, interesting stuff is turned down. Army of One is hopping on the synthpop resurgence (see Chvrches or Taylor Swift's Out of the Woods), X Marks The Spot is dance hip-hop with trap influences. Amazing Day is basic pop-rock and Up&Up has very accessible brit-pop influences. It is, without a doubt, Coldplay's most accessible album. There are indeed alternative moments, but seriously. Even listening to GS, which I thought was extremely pop driven, feels like an alternative experience compared to AHFOD....

Colour Spectrum

Parachutes: That it clearly is a debut record with sleepy, indie flavor. The album has some real alt-rock bangers (Yellow, Shiver) Some super well done radiohead impressions (Spies, High Speed) and a number of lovely acoustic tracks to roll yourself up in. Love each song and its somewhat introspective self-deriding lyrics. AROBTTH: Dramatic, beautiful sound. Simple hard hitting songs with emotional peaks and addicting pop singles scattered throughout. Songs like Politik and the title track are uncommonly powerful for Coldplay, while Clocks and In My Place offer up catchy sing a longs. Some of the best tracks will hypnotize you with dark, moody guitar and piano: Daylight, A Whisper, Amsterdam. X&Y: Space rock and newfound atmosphere! This album is a bit too long and has a few duds, but I love the grand space symphony production and Jonny's really stabbing guitars. This album has great alt-rock in Square One, White Shadows, Low. It has great pop songs with Speed of Sound, Hardest Part, A Message, Swallowed in the Sea. It has huge love songs too that we all chant along with: Fix You, Til Kingdom Come. A unique album with great tracks and atmosphere. (ORGAN!!!!!) Viva: Everything. The commitment to experimentation and new production on Yes, Chinese Sleep Chant, 42, Reign of Love, and LiT. The amazing pop sensibility of Lost!, Lovers In Japan, and VLV. The sheer beauty and magnitude of Strawberry Swing, Violet Hill and DaAOHF. This album is incredible on all levels. MX: I think this is easily Coldplay's funnest album (and also weirdest). The concept is just bonkers, and the lyrics are sometimes cringe inducing. BUT the sound definitely comes through. The first three tracks are so explosive, catchy, and fun. All are creative, lush, amazing pop songs. The first half of this album is a pop-masterpiece in my opinion, and even DLIBYH and UWTB are great closing tracks that stand as wonderful Coldplay tracks. Even PoC is fun to some level :) GS: I love that the album is consistently downbeat and mellowed out. I like the commitment to glitchy, twangy sounds, the sheer beauty of some tracks: Oceans, O, AIMH. The short and sweet pop tracks are instantly catchy too and have great production: Magic, Ink, AA. Finally, the ambience that comes through is my favourite part of GS, from Midnight to the end of Oceans, to the opening and closing of the album, to the guitar finale of True Love. AHFOD: I like the commitment to new danceable sounds on this album. It also has the feel of a Coldplay compilation to some degree. Amazing Day and Up&Up are very meaningful and lovely. Birds is fantastic, one of Coldplay's best. AOAL has one of Coldplay's (and pop's) best riffs of 2015. But honestly, I can't say there is much more I love about this album.

It has to be Viva La Vida for me. A lot of critics weren't ready for Coldplay to try to be artsy with a pop-record, but they totally went there and nailed it. My reasoning is this: Every single track stands out as completely unique and fantastic in Coldplay's discography. After their previous 3 albums which had similar alt-rock sounds, Viva just showed that Coldplay could be really diverse and inspired by different genres. The album flows wonderfully, addresses grandoise themes of love, life, and death. It has massive choruses and weird subdued moments of experimentation. It it textured, layered, swimming in really cool atmosphere. The guitars are sharp, the melodies sometimes off-kilter. It is an experimental/art pop album with solid alternative rock and radio-ready catchiness. Quite frankly this era was everything I wanted from Coldplay and this album just takes the gold for me. I hope that in 3 years folks will look back and admit that VLVODAAHF is one of the best pop records of the 2000's.

For me I would say one of these two things would have helped the album a lot: 1) Pick new producers and influences. This is obviously very difficult. My criticism of this album is largely based upon the fact that the songwriting is generally weaker and that certain musical choices are just uncomfortable at times. I partially blame stargate. The band members have said a few things about them: a) that they made the band audition demos to them b) that they helped get rid of unnecessary noise and create space (i.e. getting rid of textures for a more accessible sound). Firstly, Coldplay should not have to audition to Stargate...they are superior music makers in every field. Losing tracks so Stargate will work with you is self-defeating. Secondly, getting rid of texture or the "wall of noise" issue is very dangerous. Viva and MX had such amazing textures that made them so good. With AHFOD, on tracks like Army of One or Everglow--the guitar, bass, reverb is all turned down so the drumeats and synths can take over. This leaves the songs feeling empty and not very interesting or as beautiful as they should be imo. But you also need to blame the songwriting in general. I frankly don't think it was as good as past albums. Plus, Will has been loving drumbeats, and Chris has been eating up pop tropes. We do need to blame the band here too. If they wanted to make a soulful, colourful album, why not go with Eno again or some other famed producer? Coldplay should be working with LEGENDS, not pop producers who are focused on the catchiest thing. 2) Stick with a few core themes and ideas for the record: While I love individual tracks on AHFOD, I feel they don't fit together at all. People were upset with MX about being too many singles, but sonically and in terms of album flow, they worked well together. AHFOD is so so so random. They go from synthpop to hip-hop, then to alt-rock to disco to sappy rock ballads. There are themes of life, love, break-ups, the world at large (?) the meaning of life (?). It is all over the place and not well refined. They should have taken X-Marks the Spots and put it as a fun B-side. I also think HFTW and Army of One simply don't match anything else on the record sonically and feel out of place and therefore dull (which they just are anyways). Coldplay has always brought in tons of influences, and boiled them down to accessible, pop/alternative music for the masses. I think this is the first album where they failed to really please anybody because it is so all over the place. They should have just ran with a few themes: like loving someone and dreams/aspirations in life. Instead we get: Everglow--happy break up song. Fun--sad break up song (?) Up&Up--lets save the world together. Amazing Day--Don't you love everything? Kaleidoscope--Emotionslife are a gift. Some themes get through to me...but on the whole I am like WTF.

Autodance is some song that features a Coldplay sample (disproven) A Man for All Seasons was for the GoT musical. Just checked ASCAP. All the AHFOD songs are up. Nothing out of the ordinary there...no B-sides. Yet.

Is anyone else perplexed by the lack of explanation for some of this new era's themes?? I feel like with Viva and MX and GS we got really elaborate explanations for the artwork that made a whole lot of sense considering those eras' overall goals and stories. Now with AHFOD there is just randomness everywhere....which also plays out in the lyrics and song styles. There is Indian inspiration everywhere (though barely any in the music). There are crazy shapes and colors. There are moon phases, the flower of life, cut outs of their childhoods, Kaleidiscopes... I mean, all these things individually are really neat and kind of fit together aesthetically....but sonically or thematically? The album isn't psychedelic enough for Kaleidoscopes, nor does it ever mention the complexity of the flower of life. It feels like the band just said: alright that is pretty cool. Let's just toss that on there. I mean really? If the video for Hymn for the Weekend is that India shoot then that will be disturbing if anything--Coldplay running around with cute children singing "Feeling so drunk and high" haha. That would be laughable.

He never said Rock is dead. They just mean that it is a genre that is pretty saturated. Which is totally true...there have been a hundred different genres stemming from rock since the 1950's. Rock will always be alive and well, but whether or not that rock is interesting anymore to Coldplay is another issue entirely. But yeah, of course we have loads of great rock acts nowadays.

I think all Coldplay means is that they are sick of trying to write rock music, It just has become boring for them so they want to explore other genres you know? There is nothing wrong with that. I mean imagine being Coldplay and effectively writing 100's of rock songs for ten years of your career. Eventually you have to say: okay lets try disco, hip hop, straight pop! Why not? So for us fans, we are disappointing because we technically only got 5 era's of different styles of rock and now 2 era's of pop/experimenting. But for Coldplay those 5 era's were filled with thousands of hours of working on rock songs...that has to get dull. Now in my personal taste, I don't think they have done a masterpiece job on these last two albums, and that is largely because they are accepting pop production and more reserved song writing. But I admire them just accepting that your sound has to change.

Needle Drop hit it right on the spot again. I respect him because 1. He will listen and give everything a fair chance and 2. He doesn't hate Coldplay like other indie critics do, which is pretty cool.

A negative review from my favourite magazine, the Atlantic. I don't totally agree, but this author makes very good points about the way this album feels. http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/rhow-coldplay-became-even-more-boring-on-head-full-of-dreams-review/419439/

This is Coldplay's worst album. I just have to come out and say what I feel. I am really glad people like it, but I am shocked that people like this more than any previous album. This is sort of my eulogy. I have listened to this album over and over and it gets worse every time...Now I am not saying it is bad...I still would give it a 7ish out of 10. But I am incredibly disappointing and honestly sad for the band. I am glad they are happy with it and think that it is uplifting--but I am not uplifted by this music at all. The album sounds like a middle of the road, mild tempered playlist of Coldplay trying to be things they are not. Now certain tracks are fantastic: Birds, AHFOD, Everglow. But honestly, Up&Up is so slackly produced that I don't want to sing along. Fun is so milktoste that I don't remember it. AHFOD ends as soon as it begins. I don't want to dance or sing along to Hymn For The Weekend. It isn't even top 40 ready, it just is too middle of the road. I may take a break from the forum for a while. I just don't know what to say about this album.... All the reviews I have read I agree with. It has high points, but it also just sounds kind of meh. GS grew on me. MX grew on me. Viva and all before were instant classics. I think the metacritic is right. This album just isn't anything special nor does it commit to something that is interesting. It is just all over the place. Messy production. Too sugary. Diluted down. Why? Chris martin maybe can't write as good of songs anymore? Because Stargate tampered too much with the raw demo's? Because Rik mixed it awkwardly? Because the band doesn't work on music like they used to? Because the rest of the band has settled and doesn't care anymore (Will and lame drumpads/clap tracks?). I don't know. Once again. I don't hate this album. I will always love a lot of these songs and hope we get a big EP with some better tracks. Somewhere in there, we had a true classic on our hands. But it failed to really leave a lasting impression on me. So yeah. Sorry to be negative but that is the reality.

http://livetvcafe.net/video/8UUHUYR3HNX5/CBS