Hear me out: I was the first to call ZZZ on X&Y, it was a snoozer. That doesn’t change how good Coldplay was before that record. Yes, I said it, Coldplay was a great band pre-X&Y, and anyone who tells you differently loves hating, hates pop music, or both. Anyone who can look you in the eye and tell you songs like Green Eyes, Whisper, & Amsterdam, or Spies, Sparks, & Don’t Panic are “boring” or “over-polished” or anything else is a liar.
This is why I am optimistic for Viva La Vida (or Death & All His Friends):
A.) They got bored of themselves. They realized they were too lazy on X&Y and brought in Brian Eno to produce this one (almost always a good move).
B.) Song titles like Cemeteries of London & Lost! (I sure hope it’s about that Lost) just sound promising.
C.) The Sufjan-esque extended title makes me hope & think that just maybe things lean more towards Can or Talk Talk than Oasis.
So that’s that! I just lost half of you, but that’s just silly. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe this will make look X&Y look like the most daring and beautiful piece of music ever created, but I sure hope not.
[mp3] Coldplay – Whisper
[mp3] Coldplay – Spies
Hard to Find a Friend - A Music Blog 
April 11, 2008 at 3:54 pm |
See Please Here
April 11, 2008 at 4:07 pm |
I can’t wait. I think people hate them because they go with that trend of being anti-coldplay almost for the sake of it. They’re a great band with some really epic songs, X&Y was just a blip in that record.
April 11, 2008 at 8:02 pm |
the first record was brilliant!!! it is on my top 10 desert island list.
April 11, 2008 at 8:04 pm |
I actually like X&Y. Granted, it took me several listens, but I think it’s a great record.
April 11, 2008 at 8:52 pm |
Good band, terrible lyrics.
April 12, 2008 at 12:26 am |
rush of blood record is brilliant. amsterdam gets me everytime.
April 12, 2008 at 6:05 pm |
100% agree! Though I wasn’t innitially impressed with X&Y, it did eventually grow on me. I do liek the album, but the previous ones are much better. To this day may favorite to listen to start to finish is Parachutes.
I am very excited for the new one!
April 12, 2008 at 7:30 pm |
X&Y is an okay album. not my favorite and not the worst thing ever. i guess it can be tough when a band takes off like they did and then feel the need to save the world and solve all its problems in five minutes or less (see tracks like “fix you” and “talk”).
i did see them live pre-X&Y and i thought they were quite good.
April 16, 2008 at 6:47 am |
Viva La Vida along with Albert Hammond Jr.’s new album are the albums I’m looking forward to the most. X&Y is a dissapointing album but I liked “Talk”, “X&Y”, and “Swallowed in the Sea”. The first 2 albums are perfect though.
April 23, 2008 at 4:55 pm |
I hope that Viva la Vida will be better than X&Y.
X&Y was an okay album, but certainly not Coldplay at its best. Hopefully Brian Eno is the catalyst that Coldplay needs to successfully reinvent/revitalize itself.
May 1, 2008 at 10:51 am |
I agree with the majority of the commenters above. “X&Y” was by far not a terrible album: very listenable, catchy, miserablist (as Coldplay’s tradition goes). However, it did not live up to the reputation that “Parachutes” established and “A Rush of Blood to the Head” confirmed. “X&Y” was something of a diversion; it wasn’t quite Coldplay, at least not the Coldplay that we loved and lamented to.
I find myself now, post-“X&Y”, listening much more to singles from “Parachutes” and “A Rush of Blood to the Head” than from “X&Y”. The former albums have the Coldplay classics that always go and never become jaded. They had a very specific sound back then, which was beautiful and unique. With “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” it seems like Coldplay is returned to its roots, if “Violet Hill” is anything to go by …
Anyway, before I get into a great big essay about it all, I’ll just say thanks for the MP3 and optimism. GO COLDPLAY! I’m proud to be their fan, even through the quagmires of “X&Y”.