How does NLOTH compare with Viva La Vida?

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gump said:
Sorry there, but Arcade Fire are in a whole different artistic league than Coldplay.

In addition, I don't get the comparison...
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I agree... Coldplay's prostituting themselves out for the music industry... trying to be the new big band and dressing like St. Pepper's etc. etc. but Arcade Fire has quietly become one of the most respected bands in the world.

I think Arcade Fire is more likely to take over the best band mantle... on the strength of music alone. I am in agony waiting for the next record, which apparently isn't due for a while...
 
zwervers2 said:
Production:VLV
Songs in therms of songwriting:tie
Vocals:NLOTH
Lyrics:VLV
Guitar: Tie
Bass:NLOTH
Drums: Tie
Songs that will be rememberred and adored:VLV
First single of the record:VLV
Overal mood and consistency:VLV
"winner": Viva la Vida but by a inch only. That says a lot about NLOTH

opinion may change in the future.
:up:
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Utter Bo##ucks imo!
 
NLOTH is an amazing record, one of U2's best. VLV is a great album possibly Coldplay's best. NLOTH is much better than VLV, musically, lyrically and vocally in my opinion. But that being said, VLV is definitely a step in the right direction for Coldplay after the awful X&Y, if they can improve on VLV maybe they will be able to one day give U2 a run for their money.
 
I think the difference for me is that NLOTH sounds more spontaneous and also it reflects more the band as a whole.

Both albums came out of a lot of research and work by both bands. There are beautiful sound textures on both albums.

NLTOH is wilder, more messy, live and more "home cooked", whereas VLV is more polished and bright. I prefer NLTOH to VLV in this, although some of the song arrangements in VLV are really great, and I can understand how someone would prefer VLV.

The rythm section in NLTOH is really powerful and funky, whereas in VLV it feels a bit weak (despite some imaginative touches in some songs, like Lost).

I think the songwriting is ultimately what lets VLV down. I really have found it difficult to get into Chris Martin's songs from X&Y onwards. A rush of blood to the head had a lot more soul and less vague songs with the theme "everything's going to be alright, be brave". I find it difficult to be moved by the beautiful music when I have the nagging suspicion that these lyrics are bland and meaningless. Maybe at some point I will get it, but at the moment I don't.

NLTOH however sees Bono escaping "songs about being Bono" for most of the album and trying out characters and stories in a way he had not done since the Joshua Tree.

So overall, I much prefer NLOTH to VLV. However, I think Coldplay are an interesting band and at some point they might really get everything right and make fantastic music.
For me, the closest they've been to that is "In your hands" and "The scientist".
 
Just listened to both albums today - I prefer NLOTH - I definitely think that NLOTH is a much stronger album in most respects - I've obviously had more time to listen to VLV and digest it but I can see myself revisting NLOTH in years to come and believe it will stand the test of time where, overall, VLV won't.
 
zwervers2 said:
Production:VLV
Songs in therms of songwriting:tie
Vocals:NLOTH
Lyrics:VLV
Guitar: Tie
Bass:NLOTH
Drums: Tie
Songs that will be rememberred and adored:VLV
First single of the record:VLV
Overal mood and consistency:VLV
"winner": Viva la Vida but by a inch only. That says a lot about NLOTH

opinion may change in the future.
:up:
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You also said that you've written songs that are better than White as Snow. Until you provide evidence, I hereby impeach all of your opinions. :bonodrum:
 
Viva la crap and all the crap thats crap is the worst album coldplay have ever done. I could barely even listen to it. I like coldplay, first two albums were solid, third was "ehhh..." but had some good songs. viva la crap is just unlistenable. People who like that album are seriously deluding themselves that the "world" music sound is cool. No... its not. Its really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.
 
Kansas and Colorado are both rectangular and are adjacent with each other. I-70 crosses both of them.

VLV is like driving across Kansas. -No Line On The Horizon- is like driving across Colorado.
 
Coldplay's first few records were great - saw them live on the last tour and they were fabulous - actually preferred thier gig to the U2 gig I saw - the crowd was really up for it and the band really embraced them but the thing that Viva La Vida is missing is songs....while there's some clever stuff the joining of two songs to make one is getting a bit tiring...it was great for "Fix You" but is less compelling when you hear it regurgitated for "Cemetaries of London" etc - too much focusing on clever time changes and moods than songs and lyrically it's absent - great songs should move you because you can relate (think of One, Pride, etc) - I just don't know what I'm supposed to feel about Viva La Vida - and while Violet Hill has a great ending again the lyrics kill it for me - I still have it on rotation in the car but I put a rush of blood on the other day and that just kills it - forget the clever production of VLV - ROBTTH has great songs, melodies and heart. As much as I love Coldplay they really need an editor/"no" man who can reign them in a bit - (as do u2 for putting the godawful "white as snow" on an otherwise killer record).
 
VLV's production was great. The actual songwriting was boring and dull as hell. NLOTH as excellent songwriting and production. The latter wins by a lot.
 
I wonder of anyone on this site can take the Coldplay chip off of their shoulder.
It's getting ridiculous.
I have loved and worshipped U2 for 20 years and I also like Coldplay. It's ok, it really is.
Get a grip people.
 
BigMacPhisto said:
VLV is Coldplay's most consistent album and there isn't really a single weak track.

However, there aren't any strong ones either (aside from the opening instrumental) and that in turn makes it a very forgettable record and Coldplay's worst album.
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Wow, there isn't a single weak track but it's their worst album? You must love that band.
 
phanan said:
Another U2/Coldplay comparison thread...

:yawn:

Same old shit.
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While that's true at least this time around there's some interesting comparisons - both have a simular level of success and adoration, both still competing (for relevance) with new entrants (killers, arcade fire, Kings of Leon and the rest) - both records produced by Eno (really tell on VLV less so on NLOTH) I think when it comes down to bare bones songwriting there's some real debate to be had - while U2 have played to thier strenghts (have heard an awful lot of "this harks back to Unforgetable Fire) - Coldplay's songwriting really has evolved - (think back to brothers and sisters or parachutes and compare that to VLV) the problem is (for me) it's just a bit to art school - too trying to be clever without the substance and while there's some odd moments of brilliance for me it's just not complete enough.
 
Iskra said:
I wonder of anyone on this site can take the Coldplay chip off of their shoulder.
It's getting ridiculous.
I have loved and worshipped U2 for 20 years and I also like Coldplay. It's ok, it really is.
Get a grip people.
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Maybe you should tell Bono that aswell!:sexywink:
 
Just out of curiosity, here's somthing

Allmusic: NLOTH 3/5 stars // VLV 4/5 stars
Entertainment Weekly: NLOTH A- // VLV A-
NME: NLOTH 7/10 // VLV 8/10
Q: NLOTH 5/5 stars // VLV 4/5 stars
RS: NLOTH 5/5 stars // VLV 3.5 stars
Spin: NLOTH 3.5/5 stars // VLV 4.5 stars :lol:

VLV is a very good album, but nowhere near as NLOTH, even though some critics don't agree. :wink:
 
The Coldplay bashing in here is ridiculous. Funny thing though: the more irrational the Coldplay bashing, the more irrational the posters love for U2 generally is. The first people to jump up and down about Coldplay are generally the first to explode at any even tiny hint of U2 criticism. You know the kind: “I think they should have switched track 2 and 3 around” “NO you DON’T KNOW what YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! THEY chose the tracklist FOR A REASON and you don’t know any BETTER than THAT!” – they’re also the ones that go most bezerk about Coldplay. A little too sensitive, a little too obsessed. They don’t like that there’s someone else clearly on ‘their’ bands turf.

They're also generally the ones who like U2 at their most base level. They want nothing more than stadium anthems and jingly guitar and oh-so-emotive Bono. In other words, they should probably be getting a lot out of Coldplays music as well.

Really, it’s a compliment that you have what are undoubtedly the 2nd biggest band in the world at the moment, one that is turning over far, far, far more new fans and is considered to be far, far more current/relevant, and they are completely honest and open about U2’s influence on them and their idolization of the band and their career. It's a good thing.

And Chris Martin isn't a dick, he's just embarrassing. Like, say, Bono in the 80s.

Having said that, I think Coldplay need to go get lost in the desert or a jungle or something and blow themselves open. Parachutes was as good a debut as any this decade. Rush of Blood was a smart move to the middle and out of the theatres and into the arenas. X&Y was a pile of shit. I think VLV is a good sign, but just doesn’t quite get them there. If they want to launch themselves up that last level, they need to really nail down a truly brilliant album, or go right off the reservation with something no one expects.
 
U2 ni line on the horizon are more dynamic, viva la vida is more eno, is all eno, you know.
No line is on another level as U2.
 
Earnie Shavers said:
Having said that, I think Coldplay need to go get lost in the desert or a jungle or something and blow themselves open. Parachutes was as good a debut as any this decade. Rush of Blood was a smart move to the middle and out of the theatres and into the arenas. X&Y was a pile of shit. I think VLV is a good sign, but just doesn’t quite get them there. If they want to launch themselves up that last level, they need to really nail down a truly brilliant album, or go right off the reservation with something no one expects.
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that's my big beef with them at the moment too. i like Coldplay quite a bit, but i kind of feel like they've regressed after their first two brilliant albums.
 
VLV is a great album, and I find myself returning to it every once and while. I do believe that Eno used Coldplay as a testing bed for some of the techniques he perfected on NLOTH. Both albums share that electro-organic sound that fills in the empty spaces of each song. Each album also attempted to incorporate new song structures and new instruments into the mix that neither band had used before (dulcimers, cellos, french horns, etc...).
 
.:MrMacPhisto:. said:
Just out of curiosity, here's somthing

Allmusic: NLOTH 3/5 stars // VLV 4/5 stars
Entertainment Weekly: NLOTH A- // VLV A-
NME: NLOTH 7/10 // VLV 8/10
Q: NLOTH 5/5 stars // VLV 4/5 stars
RS: NLOTH 5/5 stars // VLV 3.5 stars
Spin: NLOTH 3.5/5 stars // VLV 4.5 stars :lol:

VLV is a very good album, but nowhere near as NLOTH, even though some critics don't agree. :wink:
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I think by the time all the reviews are in NLOTH will be higher. Remember VLV got a 72/100 on Meta Critic and NLOTH is on pace to be right around where HTDAAB was at 79/100.
 
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