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Post by matt on Oct 16, 2024 17:05:12 GMT -5
Fun video but would love to hear an explanation as to why Liam would've been there. I know right, he just brazenly popped into RTE Studios in Dublin in front of a load of crew and staff to mouth a few words to Noel. |
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Post by matt on Oct 16, 2024 16:04:39 GMT -5
It's far and away his best solo album.
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Post by matt on Oct 16, 2024 15:39:56 GMT -5
Regardless of its flaws, the new album continues to grow on me. I just find it impossible to dislike. Like a puppy that isn't toilet trained, its overall endearing nature helps you to overcome its flaws. It's a 7/10 album and its overall mood is infectious to me. I can't explain it more than that, but for me there's a sincerity to the music that is lacking on their two other major album releases from the last ten years.
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Post by matt on Oct 16, 2024 15:35:39 GMT -5
If infinite parallel universes exist, there's one of them where this track was The Beatles comeback single. Side note: the Archive Edition of McCartney 2 is ridiculously good. The bonus CS with this, Secret Friend full version.. Yeah he should have stuck to the original plan of it being a double album. That wacky stuff he was doing doesn't really serve a single album given its lack of coherency, and I think madness and versatility is best served as a selection box of some sort. Maybe he just thought it would invite comparisons with The White Album though. |
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Post by matt on Oct 15, 2024 17:43:32 GMT -5
It was to be expected that Everyday Life would not be a big seller. They weren’t gonna tour it. The band promoted it as a “smaller” album……and then Covid came rolling in altering the world for a 21+ month period. That album was a small brief glimpse of the old Coldplay and what they can do when they band together. It’s not perfect, far from it actually, but it has spirit. It has a purpose. Music of the Spheres feels almost like a panic move after Everyday Life and the pandemic. I know it was already pre planned but it’s by far their worst album and I didn’t think anything would steal the crown from AHFOD. Moon Music feels so much more completed and well rounded. It still has the same flaws as its older brother (over produced, band members being MIA, generic lyrics) but it sounds like a solid thread from A to Z. Everyday Life is a lovely record. When Chris just focuses on making meaningful tunes, between true introspection (Champion of the World, Old Friends) racial discrimination and gun violence (Guns, Trouble in Town), or the loss of innocence (Orphans), those generational intangibles are on full display. A well put together LP from beginning to end. It really seems they need to get away from making everything sound so universally appealing. It's sonic melatonin. A great single doesn't need garden variety garnishes and Max Martin production to be internationally successful. Viva La Vida (the song) proved it. It's arguably their most enduring record hit because it was an unorthodox production for a pop song at the time, yet contained that otherworldly hook quality that gets burned in your collective memory for years to come. It's interesting how all the strings on that song are synths. Gives the song that other worldly feel to it. Such a rich, textured album full of variety, the entire album sounds gorgeous. |
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Post by matt on Oct 15, 2024 17:11:31 GMT -5
If there's one thing I was never keen on, it was double tracking vocals of John. I get it that he requested to George Martin to do that as he was always critical of his own voice, but man oh man, if he only knew how great his voice was.
Case in point is the stripped back version of Double Fantasy. Presenting Lennon's vocals in its rawest form is the best way to enjoy it, often superior to the end product.
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Post by matt on Oct 15, 2024 15:32:00 GMT -5
Noel and Liam should do a joint interview with Joe Rogan. F*** that c***. |
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Post by matt on Oct 15, 2024 6:04:35 GMT -5
Beato's fantastic. He's not much of a contemporary dude in terms of his music tastes but it's only ever about the music, he's not interested in sensationalist bullshit. His passion, knowledge and enthusiasm for music makes him one of the few 'vloggers' worth watching. Noel would do very well to be on the show. Incidentally he's friends with Tim Smith, Noels first guitarist in HFB. Edit: Just heard Rick say 'that's going to happen', looking forward to it. |
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Post by matt on Oct 14, 2024 15:06:07 GMT -5
Very true. That said, biggest opening sales since AHFOD. Yeah okay, probably shows how crap Music of the Spheres* is, but the physical sales are higher in the UK too than the last few years. Reminded me that somebody said CDs are starting to see a bit of a lift. I wonder if that's true. *Has there ever been an album so so poor yet contain something so great like Coloratura? It's almost a paradox. Don't Believe the Truth had The Importance of Being Idle after all... Hmm, I think Don't Believe The Truth is a much much better album but Coloratura is a much better song than anything from it. |
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Post by matt on Oct 13, 2024 18:13:53 GMT -5
Much like Oasis 2000-2008, it’s not about debuting high, it’s about hanging around for months and months and months. I’d expect a sharp decline moving forward now that the day 1 physical sales are gone. Very true. That said, biggest opening sales since AHFOD. Yeah okay, probably shows how crap Music of the Spheres* is, but the physical sales are higher in the UK too than the last few years. Reminded me that somebody said CDs are starting to see a bit of a lift. I wonder if that's true. *Has there ever been an album so so poor yet contain something so great like Coloratura? It's almost a paradox. |
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Post by matt on Oct 13, 2024 17:43:22 GMT -5
"Ever Oasis Song Ranked" www.insidehook.com/music/every-oasis-song-rankedThis list is pure carnage with wild placings, but I'll let them off for deservedly putting the dreadful mock-Beatles nonsense like Born On A Different Cloud and To Be Where There's Life there at the very bottom. |
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Post by matt on Oct 12, 2024 13:56:39 GMT -5
I was reading how much Finneas (Billie Eilish's brother and songwriter) says Viva La Vida influenced his career. We're in that time where a lot of modern/contemporary songwriters were inspired by that album and period. It's just astonishing how much apparent disregard it is given by Coldplay. If they and Chris Martin knew of its impact, they'd deliver something as ambitious and musically brilliant as that album. Don't know of any other band where their best album is kinda ignored in such a way. A super deluxe edition of that album would be the dream. I think I've watched video on this subject so the idea is not all mine. I think it was Rick Beato. Coldplay and acts like such won't get critical acclaim with a new Viva La Vida and they probably realized that. It might sound pretentious, boring etc. Another Viva La Vida will probably not fill stadiums across the globe. Between taking risks for critical acclaim and achiving commercial success with less effort, it seems clearly they went for the second one. Edit: let me add that I don't think at all that commercial success is bad and failure is good. Artists winning their money is what allows them to be professionals and therefore work professionaly with music. But it's also known that the balance between commercial success, quality and critical acclaim is harsh When was the last time an album was released that got widespread commercial appeal with critical acclaim yet was just the pure product of just the band/artist themselves and a producer? It's not so much a rhetorical question, I genuinely would like to find which artists/bands have done so. Because as far as I can see, all these critically acclaimed 'artists' that have released commercially and critically successful albums recently all have an army of producers and songwriters. |
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Post by matt on Oct 12, 2024 13:00:42 GMT -5
I was reading how much Finneas (Billie Eilish's brother and songwriter) says Viva La Vida influenced his career. We're in that time where a lot of modern/contemporary songwriters were inspired by that album and period. It's just astonishing how much apparent disregard it is given by Coldplay. If they and Chris Martin knew of its impact, they'd deliver something as ambitious and musically brilliant as that album. Don't know of any other band where their best album is kinda ignored in such a way.
A super deluxe edition of that album would be the dream.
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Post by matt on Oct 11, 2024 17:39:49 GMT -5
If infinite parallel universes exist, there's one of them where this track was The Beatles comeback single.
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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. |
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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. |
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Post by matt on Oct 10, 2024 14:27:36 GMT -5
See Noel has finally spoken... but just shite about Man City, spewing a paranoid victimisation complex because the authorities are trying to clamp down on their corruption. Quit the divorced dad energy and chat about the music please.
Typical man of the people, he's obviously been hanging around tin foil hat wearing serial sex offender Russell Brand too much.
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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. |
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Post by matt on Oct 9, 2024 18:11:00 GMT -5
I've grown to really despise Waiting For The Rapture. Such a dirge, and how many times did Noel write about some mysterious spectral figure he'd fallen for from here on? Became a cliche with his songwriting. If Oasis plan on recording a new album, and this is their benchmark, then forget it. Something a bit more energetic and fast paced would be good. The album version is a plodder, but I love the High-Flying-Birds-esque alternative version: Brings out all the romantic melody of the original, while losing all the flat-footed stomp. Yeah that one is far superior, although I do wish they'd mix up the pacing a lot more with their tunes. |
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Post by matt on Oct 9, 2024 18:05:06 GMT -5
maybe it's not a bad idea to avoid awkward situations or forced friendships on camera in the sick era of social media in particular I heard from someone recently they saw two social media 'influencers' in a high end London restaurant. They were a couple and dressed to the nines for a swanky night out. Well apparently, the entire evening, the pair of them sat sullen faced glued to their own phones with no interaction whatsoever. The minute the waiter came with their dinner, it was like a light switch and they posed all massive pearly white smiles. Waiter leaves, and they return to their doomscrolling with faces like smacked arses once again. All the happy clappy stuff uploaded to Instagram or whatever, get millions of 'likes'. The reality behind all of it is sad and pathetic. These shallow people, they have everything yet nothing. But I digress, if we're dying for a bit of authenticity from our celebs, I suppose we just let the Gallaghers do it their own way. |
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Post by matt on Oct 9, 2024 16:27:52 GMT -5
I've grown to really despise Waiting For The Rapture. Such a dirge, and how many times did Noel write about some mysterious spectral figure he'd fallen for from here on? Became a cliche with his songwriting.
If Oasis plan on recording a new album, and this is their benchmark, then forget it.
Something a bit more energetic and fast paced would be good.
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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? |
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Post by matt on Oct 8, 2024 14:40:05 GMT -5
 Betty Carter - This Is Always In My Ass Talk Talk - New Grass In My Ass |
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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. |
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Post by matt on Oct 7, 2024 18:58:42 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". 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. |
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