|
|
Post by glider on Oct 7, 2024 19:09:32 GMT -5
A good quote right there. I always found it ironic that Chris was so stunned by the critical backlash of X&Y, despite the best selling albumsof 2005 and fix you as a mega hit, that it inspired him to make Viva. Yet Coldplay has gotten even worse reviews over the last 10-12 years than X&Y ever got yet he’s never tried to make another huge statement. It’s just doubling down on collaborations and producers. Everyday Life was but a brief revelry. Part of me thinks he gave up any sense of artistry after Viva La Vida. While it got a lot of reluctantly good reviews, there were naysayers who had already made their mind up before hearing it. After that he probably thought 'fuck the critics, I can't be arsed with this' and decided to make music that appealed to the masses more than ever before. Mylo was the last one I think. Big ambitious concept. Animations. There was a vision there. Then he had divorce which inevitably leads to somberness and retreat. However, nothing about the positivity surrounding the Head Full of Dreams era screamed genuine. The radio friendly pop, increase of collaborations (remember that Chainsmokers tune?), a super bowl performance that featured Coldplay instead of being Coldplay, just showed the slow burial of the band element beginning to creep in. |
|
|
|
Post by thespiderandthefly on Oct 7, 2024 19:11:44 GMT -5
I’ve never really gotten past “Yellow”, so pardon the noob question, but did Chris always write on the piano? I could be making this up, but I feel like a different type of song comes out when writing on the guitar vs. piano, and that’s why the earlier stuff works for me and a lot of the more recent stuff feels by-the-numbers. Could be imagining things here…apologies.
Note: “I Am A Mountain” ain’t half bad, but will show up on the soundtrack to the next big, weepy romantic comedy about never giving up on love
|
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 7, 2024 19:21:58 GMT -5
Also, somewhat baffled by the reaction to these bonus tracks. "Man in the Moon" sounds like the background music to a furniture advert. Eunuch-pop. I hate it. "Karate Kid" is fine. It's like to hear a stripped-back verison of "Mountain", but it's still music for an faux-inspirational biopic. The three tracks which redeem this era are still all on the album proper: "Aeterna", "🌈", and "One World". Three glimpses, there, of the more spectral and dynamic era we should be getting, rather than the castrated James-Corden-pop of "Jupiter" or "Good Feelings". You can add those with "People of the Pride" as the most ball-achingly banal things the band have ever produced; every inch of them neutered by Max Martin when they were hardly the new answer to "Politik" to start with. Bile rises in my gut at the thought of this being the vision of such a band's final chapter; all the talent is still there to make the sublime, sincere, band-driven brilliance which made them so gargantuan in the first place, but the kick of inspiration to bring it out has vanished. No-one but Coldplay could push a ten-minute space-ballad to ten million views on YouTube, but who is there to tell them that when their main producer would, by the band's own admission, have hacked it down to four minutes if allowed? I know you should never judge art for what it isn't, but it is hard to resist the thought of what Coldplay's final push in the music industry could be. That latent artiness in their post-2005 music, from the abstract structure of "42" to the ice-cold pulse of "Midnight", from the blissful rush of "Chinese Sleep Chant" to the swampy heat of "Arabesque" - what if they put the hits to one side for a second and went into the studio just to push themselves as musicians, as song-writers, as a band? There aren't many acts in the history of mainstream music with such vibrant variety married to such steady melodic fluency, and it's a shame for that balance to be the rare exception between onslaughts of IKEA-commercial bullshit. I'll always love how they injected that colour straight into the heart of their music in the Eno era ("Cemeteries of London" is a band at their most accessible and most creative all at once), but just for once, I'd like to hear them put the emphasis on their ambition. It's still in there. I hope Chris remembers what he said about their inspiration for the Viva sessions: "We can't get bigger, so we'll just have to get better". The thing that winds me up is the second anyone posts about how they don't like the new material on social media their die-hard fans will reply being like 'yeah but you're not an artist if you don't take risks etc' but that just leaves me baffled cause what they're doing is literally the polar opposite of taking risks Agreed. There are no risking taking place anymore. Everything is engineered to appeal to “everyone”. At least in Chris’ mind. The lyrics are truly sad to hear sometimes. Chris use to come up with clever phrases, interesting deliveries, he kept it intriguing. The generic/bland/cliche lyrics are tough. |
|
|
|
Post by thespiderandthefly on Oct 7, 2024 23:52:40 GMT -5
Just listened to this album start to finish. First Coldplay album I’ve done that for in 20 years, and my reaction is:
Chris Martin is writing for “the algorithm” — not himself.
(That said, I’m A Mountain (lowercase) is growing on me, despite being super corny like much of the material here).
|
|
|
|
Post by niftium on Oct 8, 2024 7:28:47 GMT -5
Also, somewhat baffled by the reaction to these bonus tracks. "Man in the Moon" sounds like the background music to a furniture advert. Eunuch-pop. I hate it. "Karate Kid" is fine. It's like to hear a stripped-back verison of "Mountain", but it's still music for an faux-inspirational biopic. The three tracks which redeem this era are still all on the album proper: "Aeterna", "🌈", and "One World". Three glimpses, there, of the more spectral and dynamic era we should be getting, rather than the castrated James-Corden-pop of "Jupiter" or "Good Feelings". You can add those with "People of the Pride" as the most ball-achingly banal things the band have ever produced; every inch of them neutered by Max Martin when they were hardly the new answer to "Politik" to start with. Bile rises in my gut at the thought of this being the vision of such a band's final chapter; all the talent is still there to make the sublime, sincere, band-driven brilliance which made them so gargantuan in the first place, but the kick of inspiration to bring it out has vanished. No-one but Coldplay could push a ten-minute space-ballad to ten million views on YouTube, but who is there to tell them that when their main producer would, by the band's own admission, have hacked it down to four minutes if allowed? I know you should never judge art for what it isn't, but it is hard to resist the thought of what Coldplay's final push in the music industry could be. That latent artiness in their post-2005 music, from the abstract structure of "42" to the ice-cold pulse of "Midnight", from the blissful rush of "Chinese Sleep Chant" to the swampy heat of "Arabesque" - what if they put the hits to one side for a second and went into the studio just to push themselves as musicians, as song-writers, as a band? There aren't many acts in the history of mainstream music with such vibrant variety married to such steady melodic fluency, and it's a shame for that balance to be the rare exception between onslaughts of IKEA-commercial bullshit. I'll always love how they injected that colour straight into the heart of their music in the Eno era ("Cemeteries of London" is a band at their most accessible and most creative all at once), but just for once, I'd like to hear them put the emphasis on their ambition. It's still in there. I hope Chris remembers what he said about their inspiration for the Viva sessions: "We can't get bigger, so we'll just have to get better". The thing that winds me up is the second anyone posts about how they don't like the new material on social media their die-hard fans will reply being like 'yeah but you're not an artist if you don't take risks etc' but that just leaves me baffled cause what they're doing is literally the polar opposite of taking risks The biggest risk they could take right now is to make an album like the first 2-3. I think they're afraid - they know that that album would be measured against those early successes and almost certainly found to be less than them. But that's a reason to try harder, not to give up entirely. |
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 8, 2024 11:42:23 GMT -5
The thing that winds me up is the second anyone posts about how they don't like the new material on social media their die-hard fans will reply being like 'yeah but you're not an artist if you don't take risks etc' but that just leaves me baffled cause what they're doing is literally the polar opposite of taking risks The biggest risk they could take right now is to make an album like the first 2-3. I think they're afraid - they know that that album would be measured against those early successes and almost certainly found to be less than them. But that's a reason to try harder, not to give up entirely. Not sure why they would be so afraid. Their albums keep selling less. The reviews keep getting worse. Sure the gigs are massive massive sellers but artistically it’s been rough seas for a decade now. |
|
|
|
Post by niftium on Oct 8, 2024 12:53:43 GMT -5
The biggest risk they could take right now is to make an album like the first 2-3. I think they're afraid - they know that that album would be measured against those early successes and almost certainly found to be less than them. But that's a reason to try harder, not to give up entirely. Not sure why they would be so afraid. Their albums keep selling less. The reviews keep getting worse. Sure the gigs are massive massive sellers but artistically it’s been rough seas for a decade now. Wait I've lost track, were we talking about Coldplay or Oasis? |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Oct 8, 2024 14:36:05 GMT -5
The biggest risk they could take right now is to make an album like the first 2-3. I think they're afraid - they know that that album would be measured against those early successes and almost certainly found to be less than them. But that's a reason to try harder, not to give up entirely. Not sure why they would be so afraid. Their albums keep selling less. The reviews keep getting worse. Sure the gigs are massive massive sellers but artistically it’s been rough seas for a decade now. I think the reason may be entirely down to what clicks with the audience at a Coldplay gig now. The demographics have changed, meaning unfortunately, Let Somebody Go will probably go down a storm while Politik - arguably their greatest song ever- goes down like a lead balloon. My brother was at one of their gigs a couple years ago, said that Politik was the song met with a lukewarm response from the crowd. Sad but true. |
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 8, 2024 16:28:01 GMT -5
Not sure why they would be so afraid. Their albums keep selling less. The reviews keep getting worse. Sure the gigs are massive massive sellers but artistically it’s been rough seas for a decade now. I think the reason may be entirely down to what clicks with the audience at a Coldplay gig now. The demographics have changed, meaning unfortunately, Let Somebody Go will probably go down a storm while Politik - arguably their greatest song ever- goes down like a lead balloon. My brother was at one of their gigs a couple years ago, said that Politik was the song met with a lukewarm response from the crowd. Sad but true. I get it. If you play massive stadiums around the globe, the people want the hits. Oasis will be no different next summer. Having that been said, it was truly awesome to hear Politik open shows during their 2002-2003 tour. That spacey intro, the darker tone, it was exciting. And it went down so well!!! |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Oct 8, 2024 17:51:19 GMT -5
I think the reason may be entirely down to what clicks with the audience at a Coldplay gig now. The demographics have changed, meaning unfortunately, Let Somebody Go will probably go down a storm while Politik - arguably their greatest song ever- goes down like a lead balloon. My brother was at one of their gigs a couple years ago, said that Politik was the song met with a lukewarm response from the crowd. Sad but true. I get it. If you play massive stadiums around the globe, the people want the hits. Oasis will be no different next summer. Having that been said, it was truly awesome to hear Politik open shows during their 2002-2003 tour. That spacey intro, the darker tone, it was exciting. And it went down so well!!! It's more like if U2 played one of their shit new songs (e.g. Get Out Your Own Way) while New Years Day was met with a shrug of the shoulder. Thankfully it's the other way round (although that doesn't stop them foisting new shite literally nobody likes). The problem with Coldplay, or rather us older fans, is we are victims of their recent success. The worrying thing is, by time music has moved on from Coldplay appealing to that demographic, thus potentially allowing them that freedom to explore musically again, they will have long stopped making albums. I do wonder if that time is slowly coming about though, I'm not sure how their new singles are performing in the charts and streaming but I'd be surprised if they're doing the numbers of previous years? |
|
|
|
Post by The Escapist on Oct 8, 2024 18:06:32 GMT -5
I get it. If you play massive stadiums around the globe, the people want the hits. Oasis will be no different next summer. Having that been said, it was truly awesome to hear Politik open shows during their 2002-2003 tour. That spacey intro, the darker tone, it was exciting. And it went down so well!!! It's more like if U2 played one of their shit new songs (e.g. Get Out Your Own Way) while New Years Day was met with a shrug of the shoulder. Thankfully it's the other way round (although that doesn't stop them foisting new shite literally nobody likes). The problem with Coldplay, or rather us older fans, is we are victims of their recent success. The worrying thing is, by time music has moved on from Coldplay appealing to that demographic, thus potentially allowing them that freedom to explore musically again, they will have long stopped making albums. I do wonder if that time is slowly coming about - I'm not sure how their new singles are performing in the charts and streaming, but I'd be surprised if they're doing the numbers of previous years? They're nowhere near as big as they were before the 2015 hiatus, but I think the band have known that would be the trajectory all along; A Head Full of Dreams was their farewell to being the biggest thing in the world, the end of their hero's journey, and since then they've been playfully chasing the muse of each song wherever it leads them, I think. Sometimes that will be super-pop, like "My Universe" with BTS, which was somehow their first American #1, but other times will lead to whole albums like Everyday Life or Moon Music, neither of which have much desperation to find a hit single to my ears. The issue is that this should be an era of unreserved experimentation, but I fear Max Martin's influence has neutered the band to the point where half the songs are little but Chris Martin demos dressed up with session-musicianship. On the other hand, we all like to put the blame on Chris, but maybe it's the other three who just aren't as motivated anymore? It must be a sweet deal to let Chris make the music he wants, and then go out and travel the world for more surreal amounts of money. On your point about the reaction to older classics live, it's bittersweet, but also something to respect. How many stadium-sized bands who burst onto the scene with classic early material can get the crowds as excited for their newer stuff as for the vintage material, twenty-five years into things? Oasis couldn't. In fact, Oasis hardly made it halfway across that time-span, and were already relegated to Greatest-Hits tours punctuated with the odd new track. Coldplay could come out and play a set 90% comprised of their newer music, and still send people in their millions home fairly satisfied. For all their diminishing returns, they always bring a fresh vibe to each album. On Moon Music, there are some tracks which are growing on me. "🌈 - iAMM - Aeterna - A Wave - One World" is a nice run of songs, if you put it together. Add "Infinity Sign" and "Coloratura" on the end and you get the ending of what would be a genuinely satisfying minor Coldplay dive into space-themes and ambient-pop. But I still cannot get past tracks like "Good Feelings", or "We Pray", which is a fine hip-hop tune but nothing to do with Coldplay and nothing to do with the sound of the album at all. |
|
|
|
Post by Manualex on Oct 8, 2024 18:31:11 GMT -5
The Escapist the song viva la vida was number one in America
|
|
|
|
Post by The Escapist on Oct 8, 2024 18:32:31 GMT -5
I stand corrected!
|
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 8, 2024 20:14:32 GMT -5
I get it. If you play massive stadiums around the globe, the people want the hits. Oasis will be no different next summer. Having that been said, it was truly awesome to hear Politik open shows during their 2002-2003 tour. That spacey intro, the darker tone, it was exciting. And it went down so well!!! It's more like if U2 played one of their shit new songs (e.g. Get Out Your Own Way) while New Years Day was met with a shrug of the shoulder. Thankfully it's the other way round (although that doesn't stop them foisting new shite literally nobody likes). The problem with Coldplay, or rather us older fans, is we are victims of their recent success. The worrying thing is, by time music has moved on from Coldplay appealing to that demographic, thus potentially allowing them that freedom to explore musically again, they will have long stopped making albums. I do wonder if that time is slowly coming about though, I'm not sure how their new singles are performing in the charts and streaming but I'd be surprised if they're doing the numbers of previous years? They are like Oasis 2000-2008. They chart high initially and then drop considerably. They sold more and charted higher consistently 2000-2011 compared to 2014-2024. Their singles don’t really become multiple platform hits unless paired with a popular collaborator. Like Hymn For The Weekend, Something Like This or My Universe. The rest sink fast for the most part. They are still a massive touring band. A legacy act. Always gonna put on an excellent show. |
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 10, 2024 7:43:49 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by niftium on Oct 10, 2024 8:07:02 GMT -5
"The production falls completely flat: There are Imagine Dragons songs with harder-hitting 808s" Genuine el-oh-el. 6.0 feels generous, but alright. Feels a bit unfair to pad the rating of the album itself with the superior tracks in the deluxe edition. |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Oct 10, 2024 10:52:20 GMT -5
"The production falls completely flat: There are Imagine Dragons songs with harder-hitting 808s" Genuine el-oh-el. 6.0 feels generous, but alright. Feels a bit unfair to pad the rating of the album itself with the superior tracks in the deluxe edition. To be fair that's only in reference to We Pray. Things like Feels Like... and IAAM deserve the hard hitting production from classic Coldplay. Far too lightweight but that's the way of chart music these days sadly. Pretty balanced and informative review though, finally one that recognises the strength of Coldplay as a complete band that should be brought to the fore again. |
|
|
|
Post by defmaybe00 on Oct 10, 2024 13:35:16 GMT -5
Not sure why they would be so afraid. Their albums keep selling less. The reviews keep getting worse. Sure the gigs are massive massive sellers but artistically it’s been rough seas for a decade now. I think the reason may be entirely down to what clicks with the audience at a Coldplay gig now. The demographics have changed, meaning unfortunately, Let Somebody Go will probably go down a storm while Politik - arguably their greatest song ever- goes down like a lead balloon. My brother was at one of their gigs a couple years ago, said that Politik was the song met with a lukewarm response from the crowd. Sad but true. Yeah but in the end what people want is The Scientist, Yellow and Fix You, not Let Somebody Go. Small sample and all, but I know quite a few people who've attended their latest stadium tour and haven't listened to a Colplay record since A Head Full of Dreams if not Mylo Xyloto came out |
|
|
|
Post by matt on Oct 10, 2024 17:01:58 GMT -5
I think the reason may be entirely down to what clicks with the audience at a Coldplay gig now. The demographics have changed, meaning unfortunately, Let Somebody Go will probably go down a storm while Politik - arguably their greatest song ever- goes down like a lead balloon. My brother was at one of their gigs a couple years ago, said that Politik was the song met with a lukewarm response from the crowd. Sad but true. Yeah but in the end what people want is The Scientist, Yellow and Fix You, not Let Somebody Go. Small sample and all, but I know quite a few people who've attended their latest stadium tour and haven't listened to a Colplay record since A Head Full of Dreams if not Mylo Xyloto came out I think the Glastonbury gig was so well received because it had the best of both worlds. Barring the odd choice like Humankind, it generally played like a career retrospective. Made it their best Glastonbury performance. |
|
|
|
Post by World71R on Oct 10, 2024 21:05:32 GMT -5
Moon Music felt like a step up from Music of the Spheres, but that's like saying it's better that you stepped in a sock-drenching puddle of water than a pile of shit.
The problem with Coldplay these days is there are too many chefs in the kitchen. I read somewhere that they were allocated a £35 million budget for the whole album. And looking at the writers on songs like We Pray and Good Feelings, compared to their earlier counterparts of like Viva la Vida and Charlie Brown, you'd think the band (or Chris should I say) has forgotten that Coldplay is an absolute unit that doesn't much outside influence/guidance. Help, maybe, but they've got the vision themselves. And because of that, they've lost that hard-hitting emotional depth that made them so good in the first place.
Songs even as late as 2019 with the Everyday Life album, or even a song like Adventure of a Lifetime that is a nice progression of the colorful, glossy, electronic-focused approach to their sound (Stargate was a co-writer but you can tell it was a band effort, minus the annoying "Woo hoo"s at the end), or hell even Coloratura, show that.
Moon Music is... fine. The only tracks that hit are the opener, Aeterna, Jupiter, Rainbow and We Pray (which could've been better had it been more band-focused). IAAM could've been a lot better but is too short and feels too familiar. All My Love is sweet but is a played out Coldplay song concept.
The rest of the songs do nothing for me. Especially the closer that feels like it's building toward something it never reaches. I give the album a 5 or 6/10.
They've gotta break away from this Mylo Xyloto format because it is stale and shit at this point. And Max Martin needs to be more of a producer than a writer. The band can do it themselves.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 10, 2024 22:37:48 GMT -5
Moon Music felt like a step up from Music of the Spheres, but that's like saying it's better that you stepped in a sock-drenching puddle of water than a pile of shit. The problem with Coldplay these days is there are too many chefs in the kitchen. I read somewhere that they were allocated a £35 million budget for the whole album. And looking at the writers on songs like We Pray and Good Feelings, compared to their earlier counterparts of like Viva la Vida and Charlie Brown, you'd think the band (or Chris should I say) has forgotten that Coldplay is an absolute unit that doesn't much outside influence/guidance. Help, maybe, but they've got the vision themselves. And because of that, they've lost that hard-hitting emotional depth that made them so good in the first place. Songs even as late as 2019 with the Everyday Life album, or even a song like Adventure of a Lifetime that is a nice progression of the colorful, glossy, electronic-focused approach to their sound (Stargate was a co-writer but you can tell it was a band effort, minus the annoying "Woo hoo"s at the end), or hell even Coloratura, show that. Moon Music is... fine. The only tracks that hit are the opener, Aeterna, Jupiter, Rainbow and We Pray (which could've been better had it been more band-focused). IAAM could've been a lot better but is too short and feels too familiar. All My Love is sweet but is a played out Coldplay song concept. The rest of the songs do nothing for me. Especially the closer that feels like it's building toward something it never reaches. I give the album a 5 or 6/10. They've gotta break away from this Mylo Xyloto format because it is stale and shit at this point. And Max Martin needs to be more of a producer than a writer. The band can do it themselves. Some of the songs from the sketch book version of the album sound a lot more interesting. I Am A Mountain could have gone in a half dozen cool ways but Chris and Max picked the most boring road to take (commercial). You are right. Coldplay the band are an absolute unit. I’m tired of them not being allowed to shine anymore. I’m sure the massive paychecks they get and low pressure make them go along with whatever Chris fancies. |
|
|
|
Post by glider on Oct 10, 2024 23:06:43 GMT -5
Chris's current songwriting reminds me alot of Bono/U2's around 2004-2015. Generic garden variety radio pop that plays in department stores. Some of it is passable easy listening and somewhat interesting, the rest just bores you to death with a thousand "oh this rhymes with this!" and wooahs.
"Feelslike" is a perfect microcosm of this sound. If I heard the final 45 seconds of the song and didn't know it was Chris Martin singing, I would've thought it was The Fly himself!
|
|
|
|
Post by matt on Oct 11, 2024 5:11:03 GMT -5
Chris's current songwriting reminds me alot of Bono/U2's around 2004-2015. Generic garden variety radio pop that plays in department stores. Some of it is passable easy listening and somewhat interesting, the rest just bores you to death with a thousand "oh this rhymes with this!" and wooahs. "Feelslike" is a perfect microcosm of this sound. If I heard the final 45 seconds of the song and didn't know it was Chris Martin singing, I would've thought it was The Fly himself! Hot take, as much as I wish Coldplay would stop trying to appeal to today's charts, they're still far superior to the awful singles U2 have released in recent years. |
|
notsally
Oasis Roadie
I'm not electric but I'm in a family full of eccentrics nevertheless
Posts: 172
|
Post by notsally on Oct 11, 2024 5:32:17 GMT -5
I pretty much stopped following Coldplay after Mylo Xyloto, but it's impossible to run away from their singles if you listen to radio (which I do).
I am listening to Moon Music now and WHY ON EARTH is the tune called feelslikeimfallinginlove instead of plain and simples Feels Like I'm Falling in Love?
I have heard this one on radio and it is kinda nice, not the kind of music I usually listen voluntarily but nice, but I never noticed this thing about the song title and I'm just wondering... why??
|
|
|
|
Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 11, 2024 8:44:59 GMT -5
I pretty much stopped following Coldplay after Mylo Xyloto, but it's impossible to run away from their singles if you listen to radio (which I do). I am listening to Moon Music now and WHY ON EARTH is the tune called feelslikeimfallinginlove instead of plain and simples Feels Like I'm Falling in Love? I have heard this one on radio and it is kinda nice, not the kind of music I usually listen voluntarily but nice, but I never noticed this thing about the song title and I'm just wondering... why?? Just be thankful Chris didn’t use an emoji for the title. |
|
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5