HowCouldIForget

My ideas :thinking: Parachutes: Soft rock ARoBttH: Alternative rock X&Y: Electronic rock VlVoDaAHF: Baroque pop MX: Pop Rock/Acoustic GS: Ambient/Pop AHFoD: I'm not sure. This is their most diverse album. I think pop poorly explains AHFOD/Birds/Everglow/AoAL/Amazing Day/Up&Up/Both interludes. I'd say Experimental/Guitar Pop

Building on your guys' lyrics :thumbsup: Standing in the corner Studying the lights Dreaming of escape Keep you up at night Someone puffed their feathers out Got me in a raise So… guess you'd better stay Well c’mon and say It’s a fool’s gold thunder Just the wire and rain Don’t let the fear start what if I wanna see you again I hear in every XXX sleep all night Just not falling in love Stop the ride C’mon rage with me (don't know if that makes sense but that's what I hear :laugh3: ) We don’t need words We’ll be birds Got to make our own key You got this moment You and me Get to you enough and The geography C’mon and raise it C’mon and raise this noise Four million people (LA's population is 3.9 million) :thinking: but not one voice C’mon it’s not over For me sing loud C’mon on, for love And from the underground Away with me We don’t need words Close your eyes and see we'll be birds falling free Holding on in a mystery Feel is feel is free Simple goal Feel this together You can fly... won't you? Would you take me too? In this world so cruel I think you'll circle :thinking:

I have heard it. It makes a terrible song decently good. He can make anything better. Anything. :nod:

Wait wait wait. I was looking at the 2015 album releases page on Wiki and for AHFoD producers it says "Rik Simpson, Davide Rossi." Didn't they originally say Davide was supposed to produce the album? If they ended up choosing Stargate over him that's crushing... these songs could've been so much damn better. :(

I thought Chris said somewhere they planned on going back into the studio next year. He specifically said for every one song Stargate accepted, eight or nine were rejected. Maybe they wanted to do some of those without them? :thinking: I think there's a fair chance for an EP.

There's nothing original about it. The lyrics are quite cheesy, the sound is standard hip-hop/pop fare. There's nothing redeeming and like True Love (for me), if someone hadn't told me it was Coldplay, I wouldn't have thought it was them. They're capable of so much more. It sounds like a throwaway track. But I wonder if the guys made everything sound so diverse and also pop because they knew they had to get it passed Stargate. Maybe they figured "what the hell", they might as well try things (XMtS)they never would've otherwise while they're being restricted by these gates whom decide what will pass. :thinking: If I was a betting man, I'd bet a lot of money that if Coldplay go into the studio again next year to record the better songs that they rejected, we'll get some fantastic songs. :thumbsup:

They are. :nod: But they're also producers who the band was willing to work with and everyone signed off on the album. :thinking: It's hard to blame the problems here like that I feel. They knew what they were getting. Stargate said they didn't feel comfortable producing an album for a band. Chris shouldn't have pushed the issue, he doesn't respect anyone's boundaries. 1) None of that bothers me actually. But I do see what you're seeing. 2) This is the main problem- Up&Up. Other than that I don't notice anything too egregious. My question is- why did they have to produce every song? HFTW, X Marks the Spot it makes sense on. Why not ease them into it? They said themselves they've never worked with a band before. Chris said Stargate, Guy and Will were all uncomfortable. They should've let them do just 2-3 tracks and then meditated on it. You can have a guest producer for a couple songs- that's not uncommon. Timbaland only did True Love IIRC.

X Marks the Spot was a lost cause from the start. I don't hear anything on Everglow and on Fun there's some. I wouldn't call Up&Up ruined, personally. It's not the 10/10 song it should've been, it's merely an 8.5 for me. There's still great lyrics, great guitar and an interesting song structure.

What don't you like about it? :thinking: I'd say it's one of the weakest songs on ARoBttH but it's nowhere near their worst song imo.

What do you mean by production? :thinking: When I think of what disappointed me, a few things come to mind. Foremost is Chris' lyrics/oohs/woohoos on several songs. Next is the suppressing of one of the solos on Up&Up. That's on Stargate and is production choice. The third is how the electronic drums don't work as well on Up&Up and Amazing Day live. But percussion is up to Will, that's not a production aspect as far as I know. He chose to use electronic drums like on GS/Up in Flames/Lost!. I hear next to no production on this album and I've listened to it 10+ times. There are synthy sounds here and there and the disappointing guitar but that's all I can tell.

AHFOD (7.7) Changed a little 1. Birds (10/10) 2. AHFOD (9.5/10) 3. Everglow (9.5/10) 4. Up&Up (8.5/10) 5. Amazing Day (8.0/10) 6. Adventure of a Lifetime (8.0/10) 7. Kaleidescope (7.5/10) 8. Fun (7.5/10) 9. Colour Spectrum (7.0/10) 10. Army of One (7.0/10) 11. Hymn for the Weekend (5.5/10) 12. X Marks the Spot (2.5/10) GS (6.4) for comparison :thinking: 1. O (10/10) 2. Midnight (9.0/10) 3. AiMH (7.5/10) 4. Oceans (7.0/10) 5. Ink (6.5/10) 6. Another's Arms (6.5/10) 6. ASFOS (5.0/10) 7. True Love (3.5/10) 8. Magic (3.5/10) MX (9.0) for comparison :thinking: 1. Us Against the World (10/10) 2. Up with the Birds (10/10) 3. U.F.O. (10/10) 4. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (9.5/10) 5. Major Minus (9.5/10) 6. Charlie Brown 9.0/10) 7. Don't Let it Break Your Heart (9.0/10) 8. Hurts Like Heaven (9.0/10) 9. Up in Flames (8.5/10) 10. Paradise (8.0/10) 11. Princess of China (4.5/10) Never ranked the interludes but they're all great/see them more as apart of the song they lead into since that's what they kind of are.

Hard to blame Stargate for the electronic drums on several songs though. I saw that somewhere. Coldplay did that before knowing them on GS- and a whole lot of it. :thinking: They work better here because this album exceeds GS in bass/guitar/piano terms by far and lyrics by some, making the drums stand out less. Precisely this. The band chose to work with them (or the label made them like how they chose the first single? :P ) But if we accept the former, remember. Stargate were as wary to work with Coldplay as Guy and Will were to work with them. :nod: Twas entirely Chris' plan.

:whaaat: Shiver, In My Place and Lovers in Japan are all great songs! And Hardest Part is definitely better than ASFOS. But that's just me.

A lot of displeasure/criticism here. :thinking: It's weird being on the other side- usually it's me the one putting the screws to Coldplay and others liking whatever it is. ;) Also not sure if I'm oblivious or the sound quality on what I heard was better, I don't hear much production. Not like MX had. After 5/6 listens: Birds 10/10 (Definitely a Top 10 Coldplay song for me, no question) AHFOD 9/10 (Wish I could hear the guitar more, bass is amazing) Everglow 9/10 (Love Chris' emotion and the piano/guitar, lyrics quite good as well) Up&Up 9/10 (Jonny's solo is A+, I think it's Noel's they made quieter but can still hear goodish) Amazing Day 8.5/10 (the electric drums (UiF anyone?) don't sound as good as the live drums I think) Adventure of a Lifetime 8.0/10 (great music, Chris' lyrics range from good to quite generic (but it is from a book!) and woohoos bring it down) Kaleidescope 7.5/10 (short and sweet, great piano/message/sampling/vocals) Fun 7.5/10 (Chorus reminds me of Next to You by Jordin Sparks which I like, also good guitar) Colour Spectrum 7.0/10 (amalgamation of other sounds on the album. It's just alright. Nothing offensive) Army of One 7.0/10 (I like the electronic voices, AiMH-esque drums and the organ but again Chris' lyrics...) Hymn for the Weekend 5.5/10 (The music is interesting at some points like the chorus but drunk and high? C'mon Chris. Beyonce did fine, your lyrics are garbage...) X Marks the Spot 2.5/10 (Never) I'd give it a 7.5-8. My rankings- T1. ARoBttH (9.8) T1. VlVoDaAHF (9.8) 3. Parachutes (9.3) 4. MX (9.1) 5. X&Y (8.3) 6. AHFoD (7.5-8) 7. GS (6.-6.5) :thinking: I'd just like to add. You can't blame Stargate for being Stargate and yes, the rest of the band agreed (G and W reluctantly) to work with them. But Chris is the one who introduced them. As far as I'm concerned, he's the one to blame for your grievances. :nod: Also how the hell do you go Birds, HFTW, Everglow? HFTW should be by Army of One/X Marks the Spot where it actually fits more.

They took down the Soundcloud link it looks like. :(

Things are crazy around here. :nod:

I absolutely agree on AoAL. :nod: But it was also based on that book. I think the lyrics here are much stronger. It's no Viva, but it's better than nearly anything on GS.

:nod:

Not the best since X&Y. O is far better. I was just comparing this song to X&Y's. :nod:

I was talking about What If and Fix You not being "unique". :) There are great songs on X&Y. A Message, Talk, Square One and Til Kingdom Come stick out to me. I think he uses too much/too intense falsetto on What If, that's what I meant. MX has a good vocal balance. Only high vocals I hear there are Paradise on the chorus, ETiAW and HLH. It is a good album and the space sounds are cool. I just think it was their least adventurous (not their worst though) but to each their own. I have somewhat high hopes for AHFoD after hearing this. Quite a variance in sounds from one song to the next.

Same here. Definitely better than the snippet I thought. But I of course think people have the right to express negative opinions as that was me much of the GS era. :nod: We're all hard to please in our own way.

I appreciate the advice. :) Wise times. What'd you think of it?

Coldplay: Here's a song unlike anything we've done before. It's quite pop and uplifting. Board: WE WANT ARoBttH 2.0! (myself included ;) ) Coldplay: Here's a song a Coldplay fan would love. It's like our older music (minus the drums). Board: WE WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT/UNIQUE! THEY'RE JUST REHASHING THEIR 2000's STUFF! THAT'S LAZY! The guys can't win for losing. :laugh3:

Unique? I mean. :thinking: It's just him singing falsetto the whole song unnecessarily. It's too saccharine. There are plenty of "pop" artists who do that. Melodies? What If is just simple piano and then oooo's and a painful wall of sound. At least he's playing something a little more complex here. Fix You's jam at the end is unusual, I will say that. Still sounds bombastic though as much as I like Jonny's guitar. Coldplay have never operated in a vacuum. And 2000's pop songs are rap and big synth choruses/EDM, not ballads. I know because many songs on the radio make my head want to explode. Piano ballads have been around and popular since the 70's at least. It's not a sudden, new trend. If you want to talk about what was "popular" back in the early 2000's, there were plenty of bands that sounded like Coldplay. Keane, Muse, Travis, Doves, you name it. It's never been a question of them being crazy original (except during Viva) I'd say. It's just what your taste is and I like piano music. The band isn't new to piano-driven songs or ballads.

But there's no woohoos or oooohs and that is great. Besides, it's swell to hear Chris on piano for once and Jonny's little riffs. The percussion is generic as hell, though. Also he only says Everglow twice which is nice. Somewhat. But you could say that about plenty of X&Y songs- the difference being it's "Oldplay" so that makes it forgivable. This is far better than What If and better than Fix You as well imo.