KidA

Miracles It's a miracle it's lasted this long, sounding like something on Reverend Lovejoy's "rock-out" playlist.

F**king head full of f**king dreams? F**k me, I hope I'm getting paid well...

This is a strange phenomenon that I've weirdly only ever come across here. Most people realise it goes without saying that what everyone's posts are their own opinion and there is no right or wrong. Clearly people have different tastes and all are valid but it's kind of the point of discussion to call other people's into question. If we all just sat here going "I disagree but whatever, happy days :) :) :)" it'd be very boring indeed (IMO). My point was that a 10/10 score signifies a classic, a perfect song in he highest echelons of music (btw I said Like a Rolling Stone, not The Rolling Stones -never get Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger mixed up lol ;)) and that it blows my mind people think Adventure of a Lifetime belongs there too. Obviously it's their opinion and totally valid but so is mine and I should be allowed to post it. Just imagine an IMO after every sentence. Subjectivity is the reason we're all here, it becomes amazing when we can discuss other people's ideas - which, when done meaningfully, means questioning them too. To clarify, by no means do I hate this song. I think it's a pretty good dance track - but I expect more from Coldplay than decent dance-pop. Maybe that expectation is misplaced these days.

The fields of the First World War, where all the soldiers died, eventually became poppyfields (hence the Coldplay song about war). To remember them people in Britain wear Poppy's around the 11/11.

Great to see how much excitement Noel Gallagher causes in the Coldplay camp. I reckon the song will be like this: ;)

Plenty has been said about Amazing Day, but I generally agree with a poster on an Oasis forum who described it as "Ed Miliband set to music". It's so bland and inoffensive it is offensive. Ridiculously cliched and unimaginative, it's the sound of a band who've ran out of ideas. AOAL is a step up from that, but a 10:00 recording of baboons being tortured probably would be too.

I can't believe there's actually people who think this is 10/10...That means this song is on the same level as Like a Rolling Stone, Tomorrow Never Knows, Bohemian Rhapsody etc... It's a decent dance track, nothing special. The obligatory bass drop and return is nice enough, riff is ok, bass is cool. Utterly forgettable though. Can anyone seriously say this song has as much depth and power than their old album tracks - never mind lead singles. Warning Sign, Death and All His Friends etc blow this away. To clarify a MAJOR misconception, Oldplayers don't want Coldplay to make music with the same sound and style as they used to, just to put as much ambition and emotion into it. What's wrong with their work post-2009 isn't necessarily that it's pop, but how generic and superficial that use of pop has been. AOAL isn't offensively bad like Amazing Day, but it's the very definition of mediocre for me. The definitive sound of a band going through the motions, with enough talent for it not to be awful but not enough ambiton or artistic depth left for it to be memorable. If HFTW is the same, then I would say this will be looking like their worst album. 6/10

People still saying the almost obnoxiously stupid "If Coldplay did the same album again and again it would be boring" argument. We know. It's the change in quality, not style, most people don't like. Anyway - here's my pros and cons for the day: Pros: The baseline of AOAL is great, funky and danceable. When the music come back on "alive again", it's a great dance moment. Noel Gallagher! Can't wait to hear the chief on a Coldplay record. Some of the tracks sound pretty cool, much better than their average title these days. The artwork is growing on me. Cool to hear more prominent use of rock instruments, even in a dance song. Cons: The song, while nice, is completely forgettable. Can't see myself having any desire to listen to it in the future and it's easily the weakest of their lead singles. The lyrics are awful, yet again. Beyoncé? Really? Titles like "Fun" and "Birds" The simpler cover would have been better. Chris' singing seems completely manufactured in this song, especially compared to the emotion he used to be able to convey. Amazing Day is on the album. If you can hear a slight clicking sound, that's me skipping it in the future. Mixed bag today.

I'd argue the pattern of the second single being bigger on the first goes right back to day one: Yellow > Shiver The Scientist > In My Place Fix You > Speed of Sound Viva la Vida > Violet Hill Paradise > Every Teardrop is a Waterfall A Sky Full of Stars > Magic If there is going to be a hit single on this album, history suggests it will be the second one released.

Wow I actually....really like it. Big time curveball...

It looks like what you'd get if you gave a 5 year old a design software. Abominably bad IMO. Still really like the simple one though. I suspect the zooming-out theory is correct and the flower of life will end up being a small symbol in the middle...

If the "psychedelic" cover is the real one, it'll be the worst one they've ever done by some distance IMO. However if the simpler, not-god-awful, design is would rank thusly: ;) 1. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends 2. A Rush of Blood to the Head 3. Ghost Stories 4. A Head Full of Dreams 5. Mylo Xyloto (graffiti version) 6. Parachutes 7. Mylo Xyloto (MX version) 8. X&Y

Miracles. Didn't think they could make a worse song, and then Amazing Day came along.

I can't be the only one who thinks the faux-psychedelic stuff is shit and completely ruins the sleek beauty of the first? PLEASE let the original be the album cover...

Can we all take a moment to appreciate how Coldplay clearly got the idea for lots of bright, intricate colours over a black backdrop from my avatar? Thanks.

I'd definitely take that as the album cover, very sleek and cool. Colourful in an understated way, exactly like I hope the album is (besides unrealistic shoegaze dreams of course). I think it will be too, very unlikely they'd put this much promotion and effort into a single artwork.

Christmas Lights, a song that peaks in its first 6 seconds.

UFO

First time I've ever seen him, or any of the Gallaghers. Don't Look Back in Anger live in MANCHESTER could be magical indeed. Also hearing the superb Chasing Yesterday should be a treat.

Going to see The Chief in December, can't wait! Congrats Noel, cool that it was Chris who awarded it to him...

1. Kid A (10/10) 2. Ok Computer (10/10) 3. In Rainbows (10/10) 4. = Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (9/10) = The Bends (9/10) 5. A Rush of Blood to the Head (9/10) 6. Parachutes (8/10) 7. Amnesiac (7/10) 8. The King of Limbs (7/10) 9. Hail to the Thief (7/10) 10. Mylo Xyloto (6/10) 11. Ghost Stories (6/10) 12. X&Y (6/10) 13. Pablo Honey (5/10)

Bullets fly, split the skies But that's alright, sometimes sunlight comes streaming through the holes. VERY rarely does Chris manage to express sentiments in prose so striking and elegant. Underrated tune. Up in Flames

Cool how people have different histories for the bands discography, I think mine is closely allied with music fans in general more than the Coldplay fan base. I'd write it like this: They started brilliantly with the guitar-pop gem of Parachutes, clearly heavily influenced by The Bends (as everyone was around that time) but providing a distinctly more melancholy, less paranoid tone. They then expanded on this to provide the quientiseential Coldplay album, A Rush of Blood to the Head with a rockier, more fleshed out sound and some all-time classics. After this, however, they tried too hard to replicate that formula and made an overwhelmingly mediocre album in X&Y. Realising they could not stay with piano/Rock-pop music any more, they had a surge of creativity and made their most expansive yet cohesive album, Viva la Vida. However they decided not to expand on this experimentation but move into more standard pop music, resulting in a pair of albums that were great for style but not substance - Mylo Xyloto and Ghost Stories. I wonder in a few years what I'll write for A Head Full of Dreams - hopefully: But then they reversed their downward trend with a record that tied up their discography with a triumphant blend of rock, pop and acoustics in the classic "A Head Full of Dreams"

You'd have to ask the people who started the conversation, rather than myself. I get what you mean, but I meant objective factors such as variety, experimentation etc...as compared to subjective factors such as the vocals you mention. To clarify, I didn't mean Radiohead simply ARE better than Coldplay, but if you look at it from an objective musical basis they're superior. Doesn't make them better of course, I love Oasis and objectively speaking they were pretty poor compared to many bands I dislike.

I think objectively speaking Radiohead are better than Coldplay; their lyrics are more striking, musicianship far superior, extreme experimentation combined with remarkable consistency etc...but Coldplay have a large amount of talent as well, they just haven't used it as well as Radiohead I think. Melodically they can't be touched and their streak of hits is amazing - for a band that started as one of the Bends-impersonators to still be the biggest band in the world 15 years later is stunning. But, similar to what you said, Radiohead will always be my favourite band and I'll always have a not-very-well-hidden slight crush on Jonny Greenwood ;) PS. Kid A is the best album ever! As to I Ran Away's question about whether Coldplays peak is behind them - basically, yep. I think Coldplay are still capable of great music but I just can't envisage them making another album of the quality of AROBTTH or Viva again. On A Rush, we got Politik, In My Place, GPASUYF, The Scientist, Clocks, Warning Sign, A Rush of Blood to the Head and Amsterdam - all among their very best and supported by a host of strong album tracks. I'd love them to make something of that brilliance again, but I just don't think they will. Obviously hope I'm dead wrong!