HowCouldIForget

Was sure they started playing something that wasn't ASFOS at first. Then again, I don't listen to that song much.

Not to be elitist but, their faces during the Viva chorus. Too complex/intelligent for them? :thinking:

I want to be upset but I can't be. 1. Glad for no collaboration with someone awful as the rumor went 2. They played Clocks and Fix You, was definitely not expecting the latter. 3. It was a tease with all they had on stage but they never promised anything to be fair. I'm glad to see the guys having a good time. :)

Exactly. And haha twas quite clever :) Definitely do itttt. But also, every Coldplay cover is so vastly different from the others. :parachutes: :arobtth: :x&y: :viva: :mx: :ghoststories: I admire how they're not so narcissistic like many artists to just slap a random photo of themselves on there and call it a day. Can't wait to see what they have imagined.

Ah, apologies. It somewhat looked like a more amateur/beginner design but I never know with Coldplay. I never would've expected the immense, discombobulated colors on MX's cover. That design looks much more professional and thought out, though. Also, I can't believe it's how many hours before the festival and they still haven't said who is playing when. I've never really been to concerts so maybe it's a standard practice, not sure.

Has anyone else seen this? https://twitter.com/KN28935859/status/643441509623197696/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw What's that top left graphic? It has all the official Coldplay info on it. :thinking:

The last of what the band did for the most recent era is often indicative of the next thing to come. :thinking: The more stripped down songs from PM foretold the sound they wanted on MX but didn't have enough time to implement. Man, I can't imagine how amazing that album would've been if they went through with it, even if we were only just getting it now. And Up in Flames, the last MX song recorded, foretold the kind of music we would get on GS, even if I think it's much better than GS's songs. Which makes me think AYF and GS could be a precursor to what AHFoD is like. I can dream. I hate to be the pessimist but from what I've heard of Coldplay's most recent synth work, especially PoC and what we got on GS (excluding Midnight), I'm not so sure. Plus considering who is producing the album with them, it's not looking promising. All I can hear is EDM and my teardrops. :(

This. Pretty much my entire feeling about Coldplay and music in general. Ghost Stories topped 25+ country's charts! Great. It had maybe three good songs. What good does album sales and charts do if the music is decent at BEST? I can't listen to charts and figures, none of us can. Sure, we want Coldplay to succeed. But I also want artists/albums to succeed that DESERVE it. Hypothetically, if AHFoD sucks and it does well, it only encourages the band/Universal to keep putting out bad music.

It's not great. But it's okay. :thinking: Far better overall than Magic and True Love imo. I also think lyrically it's better than much of GS. The lyrics are a little weird but not nearly as cliche or cheesy. And no copy-cat-Adam-Lavine-vocal-aerobics-NONSENSE. The piano parts are nice and it has somewhat of an 80's vibe to it. EDM is usually far, far more derivative. There are a few interesting things happening here, musically.

Some of those sound very intriguing. Especially 90 Years, reminds me of 100 Years by Five for Fighting. But ~42 minute rule suggests less tracks/a couple would have to be interludes. It's weird. Out of all the artists mentioned on the cover, three (Coldplay, Adele and Macklemore) haven't announced released dates. I wonder if they've agreed to reveal them in this RS issue. Also, the only two with release dates (Keith Richards, Lana Del Ray) are both set for September 18th. Makes me wonder if that's possibly the big day/if we're getting the album sooner than we thought in general. Especially with iHeartRadio Festival the next day (first album stop?). :thinking: All speculation, of course.

Completely agree. :thinking: They need Brian Eno back imo. As his influence on their creative direction has lessened, so too has the quality of their music. Producers like Paul Epworth, Stargate and Timbaland are a disastrous follow-up to one of music's greatest producers. David Rossi producing the album is all that gives me hope. Hopefully his role is the most prominent. While I agree Chris's taste has deteriorated, I think the role of producers is also vastly more important than people give credence. The people who work on AHFoD will probably set the tone for it. Hoping for Brian or Nigel Godrich ;)

I'm not trying to say people shouldn't donate. But it's hard for me to watch this, thinking about how much money NBC and the show's corporate affiliates probably pay their CEOs and lobby for tax breaks but probably don't spend anything on these children. :thinking: They'll benefit from an economic policy that hurts the lower and middle classes while expecting them to donate. Sorry, not to get too off track and get too political. I'm glad Coldplay are on next.

Samesies 1. A Rush of Blood to the Head (9.8) 2. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (9.7) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Parachutes (9.3) 4. Mylo Xyloto (9.1) (if they had dropped PoC and added MtM this would be up with the first two) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. X&Y (8.5) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ghost Stories (6.7) (I don't include the bonus tracks, they're not apart of the album anywhere but here in the U.S. so don't count and stylistically they sound nothing like GS)

That's not Charlie Brown my friend, that's Prospekt's March. I was actually thinking the end of the song reminded me of the chorus of PM but much more up beat oh heyyayy (potentially 3 syllables from how he extends hey) I'm floating up above the world now (9 syllables) Here I lie (3 syllables) on my own in a seperate sky (9 syllables) :thinking: strikingly odd similarity for the syllable times not the beginning of PM imo but still we agree on the same song at least. :)

I certainly don't think it's on the level of Christmas Lights, Moving to Mars or Atlas where it was criminal that they were left off albums. MTM is Top 5 Coldplay songs in my opinion. It'd say Miracles is certainly better than most of what's on Ghost Stories, excluding Midnight and O but probably not better than Ghost Stories, I think. Not thrilled with the opening beat. I don't know why they can't just have Will playing drums. There were two things I most desired from this song. Shimmery, beautiful, melodic Jonny riffs and real drums by Will. I "will" say I like how they're not dead lazy with the beat like in Magic, there is some evolution to be found. My favorite parts are probably the first 20 seconds and the last minute and a half. I will be fair, I am encouraged to hear Will PLAYING in the second half of the song though. I can't wrap my head around why you would toss in throw away R&B rhythms when you have The Champion. I must be missing something. You can't let talent like that go to waste. When they did handclaps on Cemeteries of London it was so cultural and refreshing to the hapless, soundboard claps that dominate popular music today. The beats here aren't as bad as many but they still are so plastic and suggest to me to contribute little more than being more accessible in clubs. I'm just glad they didn't phase out the guitar to background like in ASFOS, that should have been a felony. I'm perplexed by this idea that they, or at least Chris, has that their music has to be dance-y. As if that "soft rock" they used to play as Chris said was piss poor or something. I know they're always pushing new ground and what can I say? I thought Viva and MX were fantastic and GS was just no and I know many people greatly disliked MX and thought GS was a return to form. I think the fact that they take risks, whether we all love them or not, should be applauded because if they kept remaking ARBH that would get old very quick. I personally feel like The Fray is guilty of this lack of musical evolution but that's me. I will concur its nice to hear Jonny riffs back at the fore. I was mainly a Chris fan for a long time but on MX I really feel like Jonny and Will came into their own and, in my eyes, were the most talented members of the band on that album (along with Chris's lyrics which, I will say, were pretty damn fantastic outside of PoC- on par with Viva's). If there's anything I am happy about I think the lyrics have definitely come up in quality. Maybe they're even dipping back into the back of beautiful abstraction. I don't miss the "Magic", "True Love" and "Another's Arms" days, that's for sure. I read someone say they're drawn by the "sometimes the stars choose to shine in puddles of dirt" and I definitely am as well. I wonder how likely this is to be on the new album and truly revealing of the direction they are heading? Because with Atlas, the only other time they did a song specifically for a band, that sounded nothing like the album preceding (MX) or forthcoming (GS). This song is certainly uplifting so maybe it is on the new album. I feel like people could definitely dream about "Miracles" if in fact every song contains a dream, a la how each Ghost Stories song was a 'ghost story.' Just a theory. But the only thing scary about that those ghost stories was how subpar they were. But I digress.

:) I appreciate the encouragement. I was very excited when they talked about how songs come about and Guy really made a point of saying how Jonny sometimes starts it by creating a really great guitar riff. Since they had just come from and were now heading back to the studio, that made me really happy. The more guitar and Jonny awesomeness on the new album, the better! He really hit his stride on MX and Ghost Stories undid it all

For some reason, I get the idea that this could really be their last album. It started with how Ghost Stories kind of reminds me of the X&Y era. After all, the album seems to revolve around Chris's personal life and he's at the forefront; I wouldn't even think Will and Jonny were on this album if I didn't know better; the plastic, gross drum beats that ANYONE could have played and little solo at the end of True Love are the only real signs. And well, I thought maybe I was just overreacting. But then again, the band never says anything about problems they've having until after the fact. And then I heard the three interviews tonight; there seems to be tension in every one of them. Especially in the third one with Jo Wiley when Chris seemed offended or insecure that "the band" had gotten on him about revealing the name of the album, or apparently Jonny had at least. And that seems rather unlike him, I feel like it takes a whole lot to get Jonny upset. Will and Chris kind of talked over each other quietly and their voices dissipated after a few seconds, it makes me wonder what must be going on. And at the end Chris kind of had to add in how the band had wanted London Grammar's lead singer to replace him. She asked them about Ghost Stories and he says something like "I think we're all really happy with it...or at least I am." In the Jonny and Guy interview they seem to steer clear of mentioning Chris at all and all of this together just makes me wonder. It's finals week for me and I'm not a fan of the Ghost Stories era so I haven't been on top of all the concerts or interviews but it definitely concerns me. Chris seems to be doing a lot of performances by himself as well if I'm not mistaken and doing things more and more without the consent of the rest of the band, first with Avicii and now with the album title. I just don't know.

1. :arobtth: |9.8| Stylistically, it doesn't get much better. Chris's talented piano playing always blows me away, Jonny's shimmery guitars are lovely and the acoustic guitars are top notch. Lyrically, there are no complaints. The Scientist and Clocks stand out the most to me as they are my favorite songs of all-time. There's not a song here that isn't fantastic and although I'd probably rank it third lyrically, I've never found an album that speaks to me so incredibly on a purely musical level. A Warning Sign is the song I hear in my head when someone mentions alternative/alt rock music. It's amazing this album was made, it's an incredible feat and my favorite album ever. 2. :viva: |9.7| The masterpiece I wasn't expecting at all. X&Y was definitely a step down after A Rush of Blood and I didn't know what to expect. I was overwhelmed at the sheer talent and cultural infusions dripping from the album. It's the most worldly and instrumentally diverse album I've ever heard, it has its own genre as far as I'm concerned. Jonny just started to hit his stride as an amazing guitarist which would carry much of MX. The most lyrically impressive and abstract (which I'd feared I might not like reading the journal entries), I think objectively it's their best album, my personal musical preference puts A Rush just ahead of it though. I can't listen to just one song, I always listen to it all the way through. 3. :parachutes: |9.3| Parachutes is immensely impressive for a debut album, the best one as far as I'm concerned. Chris's falsetto is so fragile and beautiful, as Will's methodic percussion and Jonny's soaring solos create a gorgeous and bittersweet backdrop to Chris's regrets and apologetic tone. Perhaps the most relatable and emotional, it's also the most-important for laying the groundwork for Coldplay's future successes, the sheer honesty and chemistry of the band underscore Chris's somewhat quirky and endearing lyrical style here in particular. No album feels so peaceful, uplifting and composed of raw talent. 4. :mx: |9.1 |This is the most complicated album because it deserves to be higher. But the fact is, Princess of China and (to a much lesser extent) paradise cost this album points. If Christ,as Lights and/or Moving to Mars replaced these songs, it would be A Rush and VlV level which makes it tragic in my opinion. Jonny's blooming into an incredible guitarist is the biggest strength of MX and his work on HLH, ETiaW, MM and DLBYH is mind-blowing, arguably his best performance by leaps and bounds. Will also excels, proving his mastery of the drums, unafraid to pick up speed and tempo and also showcasing some of his best work her (in stark contrast with GS). Chris's lyrics are powerful, especially on UAtW and UwtB, second only to VlV in terms of the album as a whole. The most underrated album and the one with the most potential unrealized. 5. :x&y: |8.6| The first album I heard by Cold play and my first 'favorite' when I became a fan in 2006. For all of it's strengths, namely the ethereal outer space motif and the brilliance of tracks like Talk, A Message and Twisted Logic, the album presents its share of faults as well. Swallowed in the Sea had hands down the worst lyrics of any Cold play song until more than half of the songs from GS beat it this year. Classics like Fix You feel melodically and lyrically underwhelming, while Speed of Sound is still great but far from the perch it once occupied as my favorite Coldplay song long ago. White Shadow's existential and insightful lyrics on humanity and the nature of existence are hurt by the bombast and overwhelming walls of synths- there's almost always a moderate flaw to hinder the greatness of each song on the album. 6. :gs: |6.5|There's "stripped-down" and then there's "removing most of the music, peeling away the talent and acting as though Chris and a drum machine are the only two members of Coldplay." This is the latter. Something about this album is so unlike them. The awkward and forced lyrics, the dumbed-down and even generic (or nonexistent) melodies here and there. That Coldplay soul and reputation for putting effort into every song unlike most artists nowadays seems absent here. True Love and Magic are songs I won't even listen to and ASFoS isn't much better. O is what saves the album, far too mature, gracefully crafted and compelling to fit with most of the album. Midnight is another bright spot and always in My Head is goodish as well. And that's just the problem. When has Coldplay ever been just 'good-ish? ', something that's even rather generous to be said about GS. I hope they can't go any lower but only time will tell. *Note Ghost Story and All Your Friends are bonus tracks and don't count as part of GS. Parachutes had Careful Where You Stand and X&Y had a bonus track or two and I don't see people considering them as apart of those. :P

1. Violet Hill 2. Major Minus 3. Talk 4. Viva La Vida 5. Clocks 6. Trouble 7. The Scientist 8. A Message 9. Parachutes 10. Us Against the World 11. A Warning Sign 12. Prospekt's March 13. U.F.O. 14. Atlas 15. Moving to Mars 16. Twisted Logic 17. Cemeteries of London 18. Amsterdam 19. O Since Parachutes and U.F,O. together aren't even the length of a full song, it's lengthwise only 17 or 18 songs really. :)

:shocked2: THIS IS HERESY! You CAAAAAAN'T. This should be a punishable offense! :angry: How dare you mix the unabashed culture and melodic brilliance of VlVoDaAHF with the utter sod that makes up much of Ghost Stories. :cry: Only "official" way is to buy the bonus edition from target. I'm sure you could download it from sharing sites or what have you, though.

1. O (10) 2. Ghost Story (9.0) 3. All Your Friends (8.5) 4. Midnight (8.5) 5. Oceans (8.0) 6. O (Part 2) (8.0) 7. Always in My Head (8.0) 8. Ink (7.0) 9. Another's Arms (7.0) 10. A Sky Full of Stars (6.0) 11. True Love (3.5) 12. Magic (3.0) MX for Comparison 1. Us Against the World (10) 2. U.F.O. (10) 3. Up With the Birds (10) 4. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (9.5) 5. Major Minus (9.5) 6. MX/Hurts Like Heaven (9.5) 7. AHT/Don't Let it Break Your Heart (9.5) 8. Charlie Brown (9.0) 9. Up in Flames (8.5) 10. Paradise (7.5) 11. Princess of China (3.5)

That's not really correct, they never were really a "rock band"; I'd say alt rock at best. Personally I've never heard the last two complaints, ever?

I want Coldplay to be successful and it's not a terrible album but in my opinion it is definitely their worst album, so I think it deserves their lowest critical reception, the same way I think ARoBttH and VlVoDaAHF deserve the highest. :thinking: To each his or her own. Ghost Stories makes me yearn for MX- Chris's deep lyrics, Guy's fantastic basslines, Will actually playing real and complicated drum beats and Jonny gracing every song with amazing riffs. I don't care about album production or stripped down vs grandure- it's not a matter of philosophy. To me melody, effort, talent and lyrical strength are what matters and it seems it's not even close with, as NME said, Ghost Stories as much more of a "Chris solo album". Just remember, there's no all-encompassing hate for MX here. :nod: Some of us do love it, to me it's a masterpiece the same way ARBH, VLV and Parachutes are.

Rd 1: Life In Technicolor ii vs. Always in My Head Rd 2: Postcards from Away vs. Magic Rd 3: Glass of Water vs. Ink Rd 4: Rainy Day vs. True Love Rd 5: Prospekt's March vs. Midnight Rd 6: Poppyfields vs. Another's Arms Rd 7: Lost+ vs. Oceans Rd 8: Lovers in Japan- Osaka Sun Mix vs. A Sky Full of Stars Rd 9: Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground vs. O Prospekt's March- 6 Ghost Stories- 3 :P VlVoDaAHF's misfits every daaaay

Rd 1: Square One vs Always in My Head Rd 2: What If vs Magic Rd 3: White Shadows vs Ink Rd 4: Fix You vs True Love Rd 5: Talk vs Midnight Rd 6: X&Y vs Another's Arms Rd 7: speed of Sound vs Oceans Rd 8: A Message vs A Sky Full of Stars Rd 9: Low vs O Rd 10: The Hardest Part vs All Your Friends Rd 11: Swallowed in the Sea vs All Your Friends Rd 12: Twisted Logic vs Ghost Story + O (Reprise) Rd 13: Til Kingdom Come vs Ghost Stories + O (Reprise) X&Y- 10 Ghost Stories- 3 Neva had a chance bro :rolleyes: