This band is huge, but I don’t know anyone who admits to liking them. Discarded copies of their most popular albums are (were) some of the biggest charity shop staples. Evidently, they are still popular, because they can (or could, before their vow to stop touring) sell out enormodomes. Their frontman seems to be widely ridiculed and parodied. The rest of the band is anonymous. You’ll have gathered that I’m by no means a fan, but I don’t dislike their music - it’s listenable and I suppose it’s well-produced. There is an indication of a mind at work. They seem to have turned the trick that most big acts manage - ie, that the key to megastardom in the 21st century is to have a massive casual fanbase.
I think Viva La Vida is an absolute masterpiece, with its sister Prospekts March. Other than that I cannot stand them... very strange...
True, along with U2, REM, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion. I always think it's albums originally bought by women, now cleaning house. Or guys who just separated dumping their exes' discs.
My g/f owns their first four albums, which she bought when she was a singleton. I think your analysis of how they became charity/thrift shop kings is probably spot-on.
I remember the Pink Floyd comparison being made with Radiohead, too, just a few years before. In neither case were they right, though Radiohead have retained interest (and crediblity).
I really liked Parachutes, played it more than almost any other band that year. Then I really enjoyed A Rush Of Blood to the Head, then also X&Y. But then Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends was a “Turning of the tide”... Enjoyable, but showing signs of various other directions that the band was changing towards. I lost interest.
I remember buying Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head when they came out, not really knowing anything about the band. Parachutes in particular was hugely hyped when it was release. I still listen to both of those records a good bit. A Rush of Blood to the Head is still a really, really good album as far as I am concerned. Both of them, really. And the live CD they put out around that time is also top notch. I love the live version of "Moses" on that disc. I also really like most of X&Y and Viva la Viva too, although both of those records are fairly inconsistent to me. I think those are the last Coldplay records I actually bought physical copies of, as opposed to to checking them out of the Public Library and giving them a listen. Most of their records have 1-2 songs I like but a lot of songs I don't care for. I've always thought that this was a band that could put out a huge "best of" compilation, at least 2 discs worth at this time. That's something I definitely would buy and listen to a good bit.
I enjoy a good bit of their music, old & new, but if they and their catalog disappeared tomorrow, I can't say I'd be crushed. So I guess that says something.
Hey, I like 'em...stone me if you must. Initially, I found the song "Yellow" quite annoying when it was being played practically everywhere. But one day I caught a song that blew me away and I had no idea who it was. Not long afterward I learned that the song was Coldplay's "Clocks". Since then I became a fan. I have all of their albums and I've seen them live a couple of times. I continue to enjoy their output. I guess that they're a band that clicks with me in a certain way. I realize that it's become fashionable to dump on this band, but frankly, I have better issues to direct my interests than to be concerned about this type of whining.
Parachutes is a fantastic album full of creative and gorgeous sounds and songs. Nothing else after that captured my attention with the exception of Fix You and What If. They went from great songwriters to having a video where they're computer-generated gorillas prancing around. How the mighty have fallen.
I really like the first two albums. I can't pass comment on what came after, I don't have it, and haven't heard it
I liked Parachutes, Rush Of Blood and Viva La Vida when they were released and listened to the first two a lot while I attended university in the early 2000's, not always through choice but my housemates would have it on all the time so I grew to appreciate the first two albums. Later with Viva La Vida, I was intrigued by the involvement of Eno and I do appreciate the production and songs on that album. I somehow missed X & Y somehow, but of course I am familiar with Fix You. After Viva La Vida I lost interest. They seemed to have found a 'formula' and stuck to it, I find the first two albums where I think you can hear their development as a band, and the songwriting developing too.
I like Coldplay a lot, but I can see why people look down on them. Coldplay came out after a rich period of British alternative rock and BritPop where rock bands were mythical giants. The Smiths and Stone Roses meant something to their fans. Oasis and the Verve were bigger than life rock stars. Blur and Radiohead were artsy bands, way cooler than you could ever be. After all that came a slew of post-BritPop bands that were highly slick and commercial ... the type of music your mother liked. Bands like Travis, Stereophonics and Coldplay were bland and wimpy compared to their predecessors. It's not unlike how after an era of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, came a slew of highly slick and commercial post-grunge bands like Bush, Nickelback, Creed, even Matchbox Twenty.
Coldplay is one of the greatest groups of all time. Fantastic songwriters, on the top of their game and the top of the charts for 11+ years. People hate on them for unknown reasons, people hate on U2 too I guess. Parachutes Rush Of Blood X&Y Viva La Vida Mylo Xyloto I’d put the quality, sales, and singles generated from those 5 consecutive LP’s up against any other groups first 5 consecutive LP’s created in the last 30 years. Go ahead. Try.
Parachutes is amazing debut album. Everything they have done since I am nonplussed about. That said, I do like Fix You.
I grew up in a time (early 2000s to early 2010s) when it was fashionable to dislike them. And any songs of theirs I heard on the radio didn’t really grab me in the same way other artists did. Maybe I should give them a chance again someday.
Although he’s a great artist, a talented producer... What does Brian Eno’s “magic touch” do to bands like U2, The Talking Heads, and Coldplay....?
I haven't thought about this band in years. They lost me at X&Y, but I enjoyed the first two quite a bit back in the day. This thread just inspired me to give a quick listen to Rush for the first time in a long time. There are few really nice songs on that record. Green Eyes, Warning Sign, Amsterdam. Those three tunes all take a nice turn toward the end.
I’ll gladly confess to liking them. And after dismissing their first few albums as Radiohead Lite, it was those thrift shop discounts that got me to take a risk in them. I think the one thing they do better than anyone is take atmospheric alt rock sounds and make them really palatable for pop formats. The also combine various world music influences really well into that format. Although the first two albums are great, I think Viva is the quintessential Coldplay album. Part of it is the willingness to embrace positivity, which is a rare thing in rock music (U2 certainly get mocked for it). Beyond Vida, I’ve followed their albums but generally haven’t bought them - they’re a bit too poppy for my tastes. However, I can hum a couple of tunes off of each having only heard them a handful of times. Their live shows are great too - especially their Glastonbury set. Comparing that to either of Radiohead’s (also great) Glasto sets just highlights how different these two bands are. For me it’s not a question of good or bad, but merely two different bands doing really different things. Also, this past year I did buy their new album, and I think it’s excellent. There are a couple of cowrites with Max Martin and they are great. They take the Coldplay sound but make the songs incredibly catchy, in the same way as his work with any pop star. I’m happy to have Radiohead, and early Verve b-sides, but I’m glad Coldplay didn’t continue aping those sounds and instead found their own path.
