lennyrott1

^Great points. I love the music with GS and MX the band commented on not caring about what people think and making what they want, and I absolutely love the results. That said, the albums and tracks you mentioned have so much more grit, anger, and meaning behind them, and thus are some of Coldplay's best tunes. I don't know if they think they have something to prove anymore, but I certainly love the idea of nightmares. I would be incredibly frustrated if AHFOD didn't at least have a Major Minus or a Midnight that offers up something more sinister and dark. I see it two ways. 1. Dreams are going to be nothing but rainbows and "anything is possible" cliches, or 2. Dreams are going to be hopeful, but sometimes terrifying bizarre and complex. The latter would be very welcome, while the former would be just another MX/GS, full of heart-on-sleeve proclamations of love and happiness, and the occasional song of heartbreak, nothing new, nothing original.

I don't think the band knew what they wanted to be after AROBTTH. They had proven they were a band to be reckoned artistically with on that album, but also knew they were one of the biggest things in pop music. I have been really content with everything they have done since...but yeah, I sometimes get the feeling that this record will be remembered as their most definitively mature sounding, despite its pop appeal, because they decidedly stuck with pop music and changing styles. AHFOD. I really don't know what to expect. My expectations are pretty high, since Chris has already said it is the "end of something," but I also can't see them writing anything that profound lyrically or as musically angry or deep as AROBTTH. The last two records have been wonderful and filled with passion, but really have lacked lyrical depth or emotional resonance on the level with previous records. I just really want them to make music that can still be called weird, artful, alternative, surprising, colorful, passionate. That is all. They have achieved that somewhat on every album, I just fear an all-out pop explosion that leaves little room for novel musical ideas.

I agree with your point for the most part. I don't want to take away from the uniqueness of any of Coldplay's works. I think that X&Y has an awesome overall sound to it that is really unique as far as rock records go in 2005 and Viva, Mylo, GS, absolutely have atmospheres that are really different than most music out there and I love Coldplay for that. I suppose what I mean is that in more general, broad terms, their albums (especially singles as you mentioned) are unique yet fit in nicely to their time periods. VLV and AROBTTH, and Parachutes are particularly unique and very trend setting. I wouldn't, however, call Coldplay only a trend setting band. I honestly think that they deserve more comparisons to Radiohead, U2, Arcade Fire, Travis, Jeff Buckley, etc. Often times it is very clear, and they even mention, wanting to sound like some other artist in a track (not that there is anything wrong with that, that is art). Conversely, countless other bands have been inspired by Coldplay, big and small. They definitely set and follow trends in popular music, and there is nothing wrong with that. I feel it is potentially a useful predicting tool in guessing what AHFOD might entail :) And you are right about some of those tracks. Coldplay has some amazingly original and odd sounding songs. I listen to a lot of music of all sorts of genres, but still have never heard anything similar to 42, Major Minus, parts of Charlie Brown and POC, and even a couple tracks on X&Y.

Maroon 5 Discussion is giving me a theory about LP7. So I was talking to my friend and he kept saying "Coldplay just hops on pop trends to change their sound..." and after he finished his arguments, I totally kind of sort of agreed. Sure, Coldplay also SETS trends, but in 2005 X&Y coincided with a "revival" of rock music of the mid 2000's. Viva La Vida perfectly jumped on with a new wave of indie pop, indie folk, and indie rock that was proudly led by bands like Arcade Fire. Mylo Xyloto found itself in the beginning of the 2010's which as we know is heavily dominated by electronic pop music. Finally, over the past few years chill-wave and lo-fi, minimalist edm, and ambient records are surging in popularity both in the indie and Top 40 which Ghost Stories matches up with well. I am not trying to say Coldplay's records are unoriginal or that they are not really unique in their own right; they most certainly are. However, following this trend, what popular sort of music took over 2014, 2015? In my opinion, the answer is 70's and 80's pop revival. Maroon 5's "Sugar" is a sweet, funky pop song that would have fit into the radio 40 years ago, Mark Ronson has done some great 90's beat-bop funk grooves on his new album and "Uptown Funk." Arcade Fire did the disco-infused Reflektor, Daft Punk brought back disco and 80's synthpop back with a roar on Random Access Memories. Overall, the Top 40 has a throwback vibe to it, so maybe AHFOD will too. Evidence on Coldplay's side: -Wanting to shuffle feet. Could this mean disco? funkiness? more grooviness? -Working with lots of synths again. - Citing a-ha. Could be trying to throwback to synth pop feel of 80's? -AHFOD will be brigher, happier. Perfect for fun 80's dance tunes in my opinion!

Soooo much going on that we know nothing about :O At least something is going on!

So Global Citizen Festival is on September 26th. I would be surprised if Coldplay didn't perform...anyone else think that is a sign of when we will get new material? Or is Coldplay going to perform their usual popular mini-set: Clocks, Viva, Paradise, ASFOS.

Western Montana, USA 42

I have a couple older siblings who are 6 and 8 years ahead of me. They would buy CD's and burn mixtapes when they were in high school/college and when I was still pretty young. I would pretty much glom on to whatever they were listening too. The first CD I remember from them had lots of slow, pretty songs on it from Snow Patrol, Keane, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other alternative rock outfits. My favourite track was the Scientist, and this was back in 2003, when I was only 9 years old. Later on they would burn their favorite tracks from X&Y which I adored, and when I was 14, Coldplay dropped Viva La Vida, the first whole itunes album I purchased and probably my favorite album still to this day. The rest is history: I bought the rest of their albums and B-sides and was in love with it all. But everytime I think about my first experience, it was being on a family summer road trip through Utah and staring out the window at the beautiful, colorful rocks and the glowing sunshine with Jonny's guitar on The Scientist lulling me in and out of sleep on repeat.

ETIAW is amazing! I don't get why peeps can't like it!? That song was the only MX track to make my local "quality rock" radio station. I love the synth intro, it just fills you up, and when that acoustic guitar kicks, with its folky vibe, I melt every time. It is pure ectasy. Chris' falsetto is imperfect which makes it perfect, and the guitar, drums and bass just propel the track forward. It is pop, but barely, the song does have a non-pop structure after all, just building to a massive crescendo. Another's Arms is great too. Listen to the instrumental and you might be more impressed. Lyrically is it bland? Yes. Does the drumbeat need more dynamics? Absolutely. But the whole vibe is incredible and the finale of that track has a great bassline and guitar solo that really is "slicing." Love it. ASFOS is just incredibly meh. It isn't bad, it isn't great. And that is what makes it so offensive despite its clear strengths: It's conformity to EDM and lack of creativity. Not to mention the fact that it should not have been put on Ghost Stories!

HLH in my opinion is one of Coldplay's great masterpieces. This is a good point. It has a sound entirely unique to itself and has such lush, textured production that the song is super deep and artistic, not to mention the perfect mix of rock instrumentation with electronic "xylobrytes." I don't see them making a track in that vein again though. If they do, I would guess it would be on the dancier side of things with more of a groove rather than a riff. This whole pop discussion does make me realize that we shouldn't worry too much. They have done really great unique pop in the past. Even Paradise stands out as a superior pop song. My concern remains however, what if AHFOD has a great instrumental base to it, with great tracks at the core, but gets watered out and overproduced by the likes of Stargate or another EDM star? BRING BACK ENO!

This is the big question isn't it? But even Will Champion is a sucker for a good pop tune...he loves Sam Smith and his favorite song on X&Y was Swallowed in the Sea (a cheesy, sugary pop ballad). My question for all of you is: has Chris ever mentioned wanting to do pop before? What is his definition of pop music? Is he talking about pop musically (i.e. almost all of Coldplay's catalog is pop structured)? Or is he talking about modern pop music (i.e. Radio pop, heavily produced, studio band: Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith etc)? If he is saying "more pop than Ghost Stories" then that is a bad sign imo, because GS is EXTREMELY POP HEAVY!

I too question the reliability of the source. Definitely seems like the source is Coldplaying, which, no offense, is mostly speculation with no proof. If this is true, then I am worried as well. The optimism on this thread that there could be a strong pop-rock/80's rock influence sounds great to me, especially with all those synths that have been talked about, but Stargate...Chris' love for Ariana Grande and The Weekend, ASFOS. All of it is pushing me towards believing that we are in for some Top 40 mayhem. But I think we are worrying too much. Like has been said a million times before: Coldplay will make something that we like and we will all be surprised and happy to some degree.

Really like these articles. They sum up how I feel too. Definitely not perfect album, and I too think that What If and A Message are only okay compared to the rest of the album. I think the Bleach is referring to the cleanness.. Coldplay does have knack for making their very clean, but that gets them way too much flack. Also, surprised this person didn't mention the crappy lyrics in this record too. Sure, some of them are brilliant, but some are dreadful in my opinion. Really glad to see this album getting some respect on its 10th Birthday though :) It really is a remarkable record and this article perfectly sums up what makes it so great!

I like a lot of points being made here. MX has some of Coldplay's best tracks hands down, but a few of their weakest on the tale end, especially when compared to Viva. I don't want to judge too much either about Stargate, and I regret judging POC before it came out, but I think we are justified as well. PoC isn't shit, per se, I think it has great instrumentation and interesting production choices. Lyrically, and vocally (Rihanna drama) it is shit, but they didn't necessarily conform to pure accessible pop, like they did with Avicii on ASFOS. My issue with Miracles is that on skeletal level the song is wonderful, it just got overproduced. Nobody would ever talk down to the beautiful piano and guitar melodies and Guy's, fun bouncy bass. Instrumentally, everything is on point. In my humble opinion, the problem arises when you get the added effects, for which I speculate, Stargate had a hand in. The guitar for example feels really synthetic... I beg you to listen to the guitar on Miracles and then the very similar style in ETIAW. Huge difference: one feeling plastic the other lively and full of gusto. Then there is the electronic drum claps, and the "woo ooo ooo ooo ooo's" in the background that are randomly thrown in. When you listen to other stargate produced tracks, the plastic guitar and cliche beat becomes familiar. Take this Stargate/Rihanna track for example with its overly clean production: [video=youtube;nUOtFHqpRBo] Now listen to Avicii's edit of ASFOS, which I actually really like. At around 3:00, there is an extra acoustic guitar piece that is excellent. It sounds folky, emotional, and down to earth. But then it breaks into the studio style acoustic guitar, which I would once again argue feels kind of fake and without as much soul: [video=youtube;1J6I9V11oAY] So that was too much of a ramble...but my point is that we all want to see real instruments, regardless of genre. My greatest concern is that they do use real instruments, but then those are overproduced and don't feel as organic. If Stargate is truly involved, then that makes me worried. They produce great tracks, but not very instrumentally rich ones. Guess it is too early to judge though :)

^Both great points. I think most of us on here agree that regardless of the critical/award consensus, we will have our own personal experiences that dictate our enjoyment of the album. That said, I think positive critical reception can do a lot to enhance an albums overall feel. For example, Viva and AROBTTH tend to be the best received critically and with awards, and they happen to be my favourite two albums. Coincidence? Maybe, but there is subjective consensus in this world. And I hope that it is an album that blows even the critics away. We are always really warm to what they release but it would be nice to have a vast majority of professional music listeners appreciate something they release on the scale of other bands that are "legendary": Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, U2, Radiohead.

^Coldplay bias runs rampant in these parts! :) After the first month with GS, I truly only thought Magic, AIMH, and Midnight were solid tracks and everything else was subpar. But yeah, after listening to the album over and over I became obsessed with Ink and Another's Arms, and then Oceans shortly after. I think I first gave the album a 6-7/10 and now I would give it a 7-8/10, putting it on the same level with MX in my books. Atleast we have that "bias" cushion if AHFOD is a huge disappointment for everyone else haha Or better, maybe the album will be album of the year in everyone's books and our bias will elevate it to the best album of all time :D In fact, that is a serious question I have for everyone: Do you see Coldplay having another album of the year (or at least another top 10) when it comes to major awards? I am talking NME, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork lists, Grammy best album category, Brit Awards, etc. Viva La Vida and AROBTTH got elevated to a lot of these lists.

This is interesting to see! I am a follower of pitchfork because they are great at introducing underground/indie music that is still accessible and enjoyable, but I often do become frustrated with their hate for pop music. Afterall, the scores are determined by a single reviewer as far as I'm concerned, and not a more general consensus. I think that coming generations are going to look back on Coldplay as more of a "classic band" and that is the reason for this article. It is easy to dislike certain artists whilst they are active, and some bands don't receive all of their praise until after they have left their prime. Coldplay might be this way for a lot of stingy reviewers. I think a lot of us love X&Y because we grew up with it, whereas the folks reviewing it back in 2005 were more enamored with the other incredible albums that came out that year, therefore throwing Coldplay under the bus: Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Kanye, White Stripes to name a few.

I know people have issues with double albums, but I think it would be amazing if we actually got over 20 tracks, even if half of those were officially B-sides (similar to Prospekt's March). I wouldn't be concerned in the least about the quality of tracks if they pumped a bunch out. Some of Coldplay's best tracks were written and produced quickly, and I personally think the simpler and more raw the better. Over 12 Tracks means more variety of sounds, old and new, which would please the most fans and stretch the band's creativity. Obviously Davide is joking around here, but how cool would it be if we actually got that many tracks? I was just looking over roadie timeline entries and watching old Coldplay tracks on youtube that never made it. As much as I want to hear a new album, I almost want them to release studio versions of all their old demos instead....such amazing stuff...

^Good call! Really glad this thread is here to keep things down to earth!

#1: We have no confirmation that it is actually Stargate, though it probably is since they worked on Miracles as well (which was received very well on this forum!) #2: Even if it is Stargate, I am sure they won't produce an entire album for Coldplay, Coldplay will have diverse production and sounds as always. #3: Stargate has produced some damn good pop songs in the past. As much as I dislike many of the artists they have worked with before, I find the production on many of those tracks to be unique with interesting elements. #4: Like said somewhere above, this doesn't mean Stargate will be forcing crappy pop down Coldplay's throat. They have never really worked with a band before, and being a band, Coldplay will be the principle song writers that are just looking to sharpen up their songs with outside talent (for better or worse). All of this is to say we don't know anything, and we don't know what the music will be like. Poppy? Most likely. But the quality or extent of that pop remains unknown. Lets just try to sit back, relax, and wait for some announcement :daisy:

Coldplay have utilized a lot of different instruments over the years, from xylophones and strings to hand drums and harmonica's. What new instruments does the band want to experiment with in the future? Any in particular that a member wishes he could play?

Alternative rock is just as broad a term as "rock." Basically what it means is that the song or group in question doesn't fit into the traditional rock formula as neatly as the popularized "rock n' roll" genre that dominated the seventies and sixties. That means alt-rock could be britpop, punk rock, emo, grunge, electro-rock, even metal. It is a vague term that pretty much includes most kinds of music that isn't clearly of one genre. In short, the "categorization" is convenient for bands like Coldplay who often switch genres and styles. You could arguably throw anything that has a guitar, bass, and drums under alt-rock category nowadays :) haha That is my interpretation of it, but others could see it differently. I personally hate when things get categorized, but it can be useful to some degree.

^I want to say it is a AHFOD teaser, but yeah, it can't be. I once wore the same hat every day for like 5 years. It becomes a part of your identity! haha AHFOD won't have such a simple (or lame) theme. Just a hat.

Ah good catch on the twittersphere! Then perhaps the "rainbow" theme is a hint? Seems in line with the end of the True Love Video and with a happy album. I am just being hopeful that there are some secrets here, but maybe not.

So just some speculation here. Notice that there are 7 of those cute little button designs on the Coldplay timeline. The last six arethe six albums we know and love. The first one, however, is out of the mix, a flower being fed. I think it is reminiscent of the Yellow Single Cover, but a hint at AHFOD cover art? Flowers involved. Or simply just a symbol for "the album is growing and we are working on it right now.?" Thoughts?