lennyrott1

Call me crazy, but All Your Friends as a Ghost Stories' B-Side kind of reminds me of How You See The World from X&Y. Both songs ought to have made the album since they are better than many of the tracks, in my opinon, but their social/war themes didn't quite fit into the mopey, sad relationship themes of the rest of the tracks. So here goes my hypothesizing...If How You See The World (Part II) was a sign of the revolutionary/more slinky rock driven themes of Viva La Vida, then is All Your Friends a potential sign that Coldplay are going to return to some more socially interesting or "rebellious" themed music with LP7??? A VLV2 perhaps. :wink3: I am obviously very bored and desperate for LP7 news... :\

Wow, I think this video just surpasses Magic to be the best video of this era.

If you tossed away all your love for Coldplay, then don't listen to it. There is a world full of wonderful and diverse music out there that we are lucky to have, including the great bands you mentioned, that you can focus your attention on. That being said, you should give it a listen because it is a vastly popular record that balances fun pop and alternative sounds. And IT IS music. It is music that was carefully, if not painstakingly, produced, composed and performed by real artists! For me that is enough reason to give any kind of music a fair try. Sure, MX and even Ghost Stories, in my opinion too, show a decline in quality for the great band that is Coldplay. But these records still mostly contain a lot of great material. There have strong emotional moments, happy sad, sublime, and the songs are filled with layered and musically complex progressions. For Ghost Stories, put on a good pair of headphones, turn the lights low, and mellow out. You will, I guarantee, enjoy a considerable amount of the album.

^^Both very valid points! I will just conclude that they are good buddies and mutually respect each-others music! I suppose since both bands blew up at the same time, they have had a lot of opportunities to bond.

Haha I don't think it is the first time he has said that. I have never known what to think of Dave Grohl. I am not a huge fan of Foo Fighters just because I don't really care for grunge or post-grunge rock as a genre, but he seems like a truly cool guy. Of course I am just judging here, but despite seeming so nice I think he often reeks of pretension. Like in that video when he is talking about how he learned to play all the instruments by himself and single handedly start a band, I dunno, he is so talented bu seems to really like himself, not as much humility as Chris. I also find it weird that he always says him and Coldplay have a friendly little "back and forth." When has Coldplay ever "joked" about the Foo Fighters? I do think Dave Grohl is just joking, and does like Chris genuinely, but in that German TV interview a few years back, someone asked why the George Bush and Coldplay stickers were on the same car, and he said "Well those things go together don't they?" and the whole band laughed. I wouldn't be surprised if he really hates Coldplay's music since it isn't really rock. Thoughts? Am I being too judgy of Dave? I mean he really does seem nice, but that stuff irks me.

I personally thought it was pretty refreshing to be in a new setting. I am not a huge Beth fan, but overall I actually liked the new characters and some of the themes in this one. Excited to see where it will go!

that second sentence doesn't make much sense but I really like the first! Very observant! Good work.

I can't wait! I really hope the song is nice and long and not crammed for time like Atlas. Don't get me wrong, Atlas is awesome, but you can tell the track was definitely rushed to fit into the credit seen. (the verse goes right into the chorus almost awkwardly fast imo which makes it feel both clunky and cheesy.) WOOOOOO NEW COLDPLAY! Hope it is a sign that LP7 is not too far off at all. oh please. Wait...do you guys think there is a possibility that Miracle is an LP7 track, similar to how Atlas was considered for GS? Or am I completely wrong here and the track was just specifically recorded for the film?

^Totally agree, I wasn't excpecting them to get wiped out so quickly, geez! I have liked this season quite a bit so far. The writing and acting is pretty solid. My biggest issue though is how illogical the story arc is. It is firstly a little ridiculous that everyone escaped Terminus unscathed. Secondly, I am really scratching my head with the ending of this weeks episode. Rick's crew has proven to be invincible bad***es that can get through anything, human or zombie, and yet Abraham is so impatient that he can't wait a few days to head to D.C. with the whole group? That is just illogical. Nobody in their proper head would think that makes sense with all the dangers out there. The other big thing is Maggie just totally peacing out with Glenn when her sister is still out there. The writers seem to have completely forgotten the fact that Maggie still has a sister that hasn't been seen since the whole prison incident who she knows is still alive. That is a pretty big plot whole considering it pertains to two major characters....

It all is a matter of taste, you are quite right. After a while I came to love MX for its production style. The xylobrytes, the constant layers being thrown on almost every track really elevated each song for me. That being said, it sometimes went too far. DLIBYH, for example, is a beautiful uplifting track, but the production drowns it out, and Up In Flames is one of Coldplay's weakest songs ever, I think. Every album has its ups and downs. X&Y had some great mixed songs. Low and Square One I think are amazing, whereas X&Y and What If feel over the top. I would say they were nearly perfect on VLV by mixing layers of instrumentation and electronics without giving up atmosphere and natural, raw sound. I think GS's production is on par with MX. Most songs were really maturely put together: AIMH, Ink, Magic, Midnight, AA. My only issue is that of MidnightSpies. In my listening experience, and I completely understand people feeling different, the album is just too clean, which is what I consider a way to overproduce. The piano on O doesn't echo naturally, Chris' voice is too flawless. Of course, the album was supposed to sound a little glassy and sparse, and maybe that is why they chose that style. Whatever the new sonic themes of LP7 are, as long as it isn't a Top 40 playlist, I am betting will be a return to more balanced style. Take the best elements of GS and combine them with past efforts!

Yeah I always hate to criticize too much but the truth is, if X&Y didn't get such scathing reviews for its lyricism and overlong nature, we may have never got the masterpiece of VLV. Now I don't think GS or MX or even X&Y was a disaster, but criticism is important because it pushes bands to improve. I know they say they don't, but Coldplay tends to take reviews to heart and try to ameliorate their sound, at least historically they have. It sounds mean, but I hope Chris can look at the critical reception of his overall lyrics on GS and songs like POC, and realize that a lot of his lines are cringe worthy for adult listeners. We need the strict rule of Will Champion again! He is usually the one that isn't afraid to call out a song for not being as good as it could be. How Chris convinced him to let ASFOS be the way that it is, I don't know. That song to me just feels underdeveloped and adolescent in many ways. So finally, I really really hope that they can pull together their most mature effort yet. The whole breakup album is over, so lets get to some new themes in the mix! Hell, why not a redo of Ode To Deodorant?

I totally agree. My favourite Coldplay moments to this day was during the Viva era where they would all jam out on acoustic instruments. Such great songs emerged: Death Will Never Conquer, Don Quixote, Famous Old Painters, their Billie Jean cover!!! Give Guy back that Mandolin/bass, Will a banjo/drums, Chris on guitar/keyboards/harmonica and Jonny and guitar and throw in some fresh production and electronic atmospherics elements from the last two eras! That is my ideal album. It might end up drawing comparisons to more Bon Iver, or War on Drugs or even Radiohead again but that sounds pretty amazing to me!

I totally agree! They have done a really good job with taking iconic comic book moments and incorporating them into the show in somewhat unexpected ways! I still find myself surprised even though I know the basic story line. I am interested in seeing how this whole Hunters story line pans out. Seems to me like they need to take a risk and kill some major character off. It has been a while since the core group has been lessened, but honestly I like most of those characters and will be sad to see any go.

^ You might want to refer to the LP7 thread for news on new developments, but mostly it is all speculation. As a brief summary: yes, they are working on a new album, or at least will be soon. Most hypotheses and estimates put the release of the album perhaps in early to mid 2015, with a world tour to follow. Most recently, Chris said in an interview that they will try to go as many places as possible for their next tour, so I think it is safe to say that there will be another concert coming near you! So don't fret. The last rumours I read suggested that Coldplay might be headlining some big summer festivals in 2015 like they did with MX in 2011, so we will just have to wait and see!

^^^For shizzle. We know Chris is way better than MX and GS. I really liked how parts of MX mixed things up. I mean overall, now that I think of it, the album has serviceable lyrics. I particularly like lines on HLH, ETIAW, MM, DLIBYH and UWTB. The problem is that every other song was super cliched and mostly unimaginative. GS was a bigger offender. I mean, I like AIMH, and Magic is a really fun and interesting dichotomy when you think of it. Midnight and Oceans are overall good too. All those songs show that they are perfectly capable of having decent lyrics. I am not saying any of them are poetic masterpieces, in fact, I hardly think any Coldplay song is really all that poetic, but on LP7 they need to get rid of that repetition and love/loss themes. Plus, no more fire, birds, smoke, sky, star cliches. Really over those.

^hahaha it is pretty popular! I think that they have broken several records with viewer ships a few times. It is addicting, what can I say. The story sometimes is kinda silly and the acting is often spotty, but zombies, evil people, action, and cliffhangers! What else do you need?? And I should also mention that the show does occasionally have a really emotional or though provoking episode. :)

If you have read the comics, you might know what is coming, a good twist! Poor Bob! The whole episode you knew something bad was going to happen to him because he got so many lines and happy moments haha

To a certain extent I agree with you. Some of that cleanness was really refreshing. Perhaps the ideal sound is a mix of clean production and raw instrumentation, which in many ways is what VLV was. MX and X&Y sometimes didn't always feel mature, but I really enjoy some of the musical styles they embraced. Were it not for a few tracks on both albums, I think they would be masterpieces.

I was just listening to Ink and Oceans live and have now come up with one single desire for LP7: Please let it sound natural. GS has really grown on me as a record, but I can't get over the fact that it sounds so damn clean and crispy. There is never any harshness coming from guitars, and Chris' voice sounds way too pure! Listen to Oceans for example. The song is incredibly beautiful and haunting, but the acoustic guitar feels like a computer whipped it out rather than having some nice, imperfect strumming. Same with Fly On, the song is so damn lovely, but the piano feels like it was recorded in a room that is void of anything organic. Anyone else have this problem with the record? MX occasionally had this same problem, but I think some of the rawness of certain tracks saved it. GS live is going to be such a great album because the tracks will feel more natural, so I hope that LP7 sees the guys record TOGETHER in the same room, and the amount of added production kept to a minimum so it doesn't feel too shiny and pieced together.

^My girlfriend still insists that CD's are the best. She was a huge My Chemical Romance fan and so she wanted Gerard Way's new CD. It has been out for over a month and she only bought it yesterday at the record store, but still won't listen to it until she has a good CD player. She won't even use her computer!

My ears are ready. I will plug them and take a vow of deafness.

^ I agree with you, but I wonder if this fact truly does have an effect on their songwriting. Certainly a large amount of pop music nowadays is whipped up fresh in record label labs and then given to the artist that will make it most successful. The result is a pretty repetitive and monotonous radio-sounds cape as far as many pop artists are concerned. Some bands break the mold though, and produce clean, honest, (mostly)original pop. Coldplay is in this category in my humble opinion. I mean, at this point, and unfortunately we will never have an answer, we have to ask: Does Coldplay's label ever come to them and suggest they produce certain songs and do they listen? I really don't know... I am sure that the label has made requests before, but songs like ASFOS really just sound like Chris wanted to them because he likes that genre of music, whether it is popular or not... So it is hard to say. This reminds me of alt-j recently though. On their new record, which is pretty good, their label wanted "more rock." So the band sarcastically came out with Left Hand Free, which is, as they described, the most cliched, cheesy rock song possible! In conclusion though, I personally think it shouldn't, and doesn't, matter how Coldplay interacts with their label. Coldplay is a band that sells a lot of albums no matter what. At this point if they did something crazy and unexpected it would only get them more attention and cred. At this point, their label probably asks them to write songs for them haha.

I completely agree. The alternative audience (which includes myself) has been shrinking :( Hopefully they will get out of this spot! As far as Radiohead goes check out these more pretty and less crazy tracks, once you get into those it is easier to like some of their more strange stuff: All of "In Rainbows." Pyramid Song, Optimistic, National Anthem, Ideoteque, Karma Police, No Surprises, Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Thinking About You. All of these tracks either inspired Coldplay or have Coldplay elements in them!!

Let's be honest here gang, LP7 is with 90% certainty is going to be another pop record. The only question I have is what other genre(s) will be incorporated? MX had indie rock/arena and dance pop. GS had indie-pop, dream pop, EDM. VLV had bits folk-pop and piano-ballads. So LP7 has what? Acoustic pop? Punk-pop? Straight EDM? I want some educated predictions/desires here.