Miggy D
War Child
I posted this in the Coldplaying.com forum, but judging from some of the reactions on this board, I believe I should post it here too.
I've been reading a lot of reactions on this board, from people who have been comparing X & Y to Parachutes and complaining that it doesn't stack up. Many consider Parachhutes superior. Some believe AROBTTH is superior as well. Many people seem to be disappointed. I, on the other hand, really love this new album. I must qualify this by saying that I am a huge Radiohead fan. What do I mean by this?
Coldplay are following a similar trajectory that Radiohead followed in their early career.
Don't necessarily take this statement at face value - I don't believe X & Y is much like OK Computer (Radiohead's third), but the similarity is that Coldplay's albums are beginning to live up to the band's name:
They're getting colder.
Parachutes is filled with raw emotions, but a very simple and stripped down structure. It's basically just piano, a single electric guitar, bass, and drums. It is occassionally accented by Martin's rhythm guitar, but that's about it. The raw emotion of the songs shine through because the arrangement is rather bare.
With AROBTTH, Coldplay began to change. They knew they had to evolve if they were to become something more than the other English bands they were being lumped with in the Post-Oasis/Radiohead Brit Rock scene. Their sound grew more complicated, and evolved, but I believe some of the emotion was lost. Many of the songs on the album retained it, such as Amsterdam, The Scientist, and In My Place. But songs like 'A Whisper' and 'Daylight' left me feeling colder than I had on the previous album. As the songs evolved and instruments and layers were added, something in the music changed. I didn't see this as a bad thing - with a good band, if you lose the emotion of a song you oftentimes gain something else. It all depends on whether the listener minds sacrificing raw emotion for something closer to intellectual introspection.
X & Y sees the completion of this musical arc. There aren't any songs like 'Yellow' or 'The Scientist' on X & Y. Even 'Fix You' doesn't contain the raw emotional bombast that 'The Scientist' has. X & Y is very musically layered. There are synths all over the place, multiple, criss-crossing electric guitars, and ambient noises in the background. Martin's lyrics have changed as well. This album is full of intellectual questions - questions about fate, communication, distance, technology, meaning. Parachutes was basically a collection of love ballads, with few exceptions. I love Parachutes to death - it's a fantastic album, but it should not be compared to AROBTTH or X & Y. Each album is what it is. I see Parachutes as Chris exploring love and the simple things in life, and creating brilliant, catchy ballads like Talk, Everything's Not Lost, and Trouble. AROBTTH sees him digging deeper, and the other bandmates evolve with him - their musical styling becomes more complicated and obtuse as his lyrics and longings become more intellectual in nature. X & Y sees this evolution to fruition.
But I love this new album. It's nowhere near as immediate as Parachutes, or even AROBTTH. It requires repeated listenings. It requires you to reflect on your own thoughts and beliefs. It's not immediately accessible, and therefore not as immediately gratifying. I think this is why people are reacting the way they are. With all of these 'The Next U2' comparisons, some are probably expecting to be immediately moved and emotionally affected ala 'One' or 'Where The Streets Have No Name' or 'Beautiful Day'. But these U2 comparisons are bollocks. Coldplay's music has always been veering, with each new album, towards intellectual introspection, and further away from raw emotional bombast ala 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.' I don't mind in the least bit. I was expecting this, and I was prepared, and I love these songs. I love the album more and more with each listen - it makes me think, it makes me question, and it moves me in ways that simple ballads like 'Yellow' cannot.
Take this album on a drive through the countryside as the sun begins to set. Allow yourself to be consumed by the album's questions, concerns, thoughts, and doubts. Let go of any expectations that X & Y will be 'Parachutes Redux' and take it for what it is - an amazing, brilliant album that yearns to find the answers to the questions residing inside all of our minds.
-Miggy
I've been reading a lot of reactions on this board, from people who have been comparing X & Y to Parachutes and complaining that it doesn't stack up. Many consider Parachhutes superior. Some believe AROBTTH is superior as well. Many people seem to be disappointed. I, on the other hand, really love this new album. I must qualify this by saying that I am a huge Radiohead fan. What do I mean by this?
Coldplay are following a similar trajectory that Radiohead followed in their early career.
Don't necessarily take this statement at face value - I don't believe X & Y is much like OK Computer (Radiohead's third), but the similarity is that Coldplay's albums are beginning to live up to the band's name:
They're getting colder.
Parachutes is filled with raw emotions, but a very simple and stripped down structure. It's basically just piano, a single electric guitar, bass, and drums. It is occassionally accented by Martin's rhythm guitar, but that's about it. The raw emotion of the songs shine through because the arrangement is rather bare.
With AROBTTH, Coldplay began to change. They knew they had to evolve if they were to become something more than the other English bands they were being lumped with in the Post-Oasis/Radiohead Brit Rock scene. Their sound grew more complicated, and evolved, but I believe some of the emotion was lost. Many of the songs on the album retained it, such as Amsterdam, The Scientist, and In My Place. But songs like 'A Whisper' and 'Daylight' left me feeling colder than I had on the previous album. As the songs evolved and instruments and layers were added, something in the music changed. I didn't see this as a bad thing - with a good band, if you lose the emotion of a song you oftentimes gain something else. It all depends on whether the listener minds sacrificing raw emotion for something closer to intellectual introspection.
X & Y sees the completion of this musical arc. There aren't any songs like 'Yellow' or 'The Scientist' on X & Y. Even 'Fix You' doesn't contain the raw emotional bombast that 'The Scientist' has. X & Y is very musically layered. There are synths all over the place, multiple, criss-crossing electric guitars, and ambient noises in the background. Martin's lyrics have changed as well. This album is full of intellectual questions - questions about fate, communication, distance, technology, meaning. Parachutes was basically a collection of love ballads, with few exceptions. I love Parachutes to death - it's a fantastic album, but it should not be compared to AROBTTH or X & Y. Each album is what it is. I see Parachutes as Chris exploring love and the simple things in life, and creating brilliant, catchy ballads like Talk, Everything's Not Lost, and Trouble. AROBTTH sees him digging deeper, and the other bandmates evolve with him - their musical styling becomes more complicated and obtuse as his lyrics and longings become more intellectual in nature. X & Y sees this evolution to fruition.
But I love this new album. It's nowhere near as immediate as Parachutes, or even AROBTTH. It requires repeated listenings. It requires you to reflect on your own thoughts and beliefs. It's not immediately accessible, and therefore not as immediately gratifying. I think this is why people are reacting the way they are. With all of these 'The Next U2' comparisons, some are probably expecting to be immediately moved and emotionally affected ala 'One' or 'Where The Streets Have No Name' or 'Beautiful Day'. But these U2 comparisons are bollocks. Coldplay's music has always been veering, with each new album, towards intellectual introspection, and further away from raw emotional bombast ala 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.' I don't mind in the least bit. I was expecting this, and I was prepared, and I love these songs. I love the album more and more with each listen - it makes me think, it makes me question, and it moves me in ways that simple ballads like 'Yellow' cannot.
Take this album on a drive through the countryside as the sun begins to set. Allow yourself to be consumed by the album's questions, concerns, thoughts, and doubts. Let go of any expectations that X & Y will be 'Parachutes Redux' and take it for what it is - an amazing, brilliant album that yearns to find the answers to the questions residing inside all of our minds.
-Miggy
