(no subject)
Humor me in the coming entries for I will be discussing some of my favorite and most personally influential albums (in no particular order).
Volume One.
I have described this album as one of the most perfect albums of all time based on sheer content alone. (I am not a student of recording engineering so I cannot aptly comment on the production quality of the album, but to the untrained album it sounds very solid.) I stand by my claim because as a whole, this album is simply flawless.
The whole mood and feeling of the album evokes so many emotions at once that it's overwhelming, but not necessarily in a negative way. Chris Martin's voice has always been a little bit haunting and curious, at least to me, and I am quite a fan of unique voices. Seeing live performances (or even just lip-syncing in his music videos) always astounds me because of how much he uses his body to intensify his music.
For some reason, my mind links Chris Martin and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. I think that it's a fair association.
Track by track:
1. "Don't Panic" - The first time I heard this track was on the movie Garden State and I remember being impressed by it. I find it to be a great choice for the opening track of the album because it allows the listener to go into the album with a sense of optimism. My favorite section of the song is the very last line of it: " 'Cause, yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on." (I'm not sure, but I think/hope that the title is referencing the book The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Fantastic series of books, by the way.)
2. "Shiver" - This song always struck me as a great opening track as well, but it's a great track in and of itself. The music itself makes the song sound positive while the lyrics are rather stalker-ish. If you get past the stalker feel of it, you will find that it's actually kind of sweet. Take, for instance, this part of the song: "Oh, did you want me to change? Well, I'd change for good and I want you to know that you'll always get your way." Fabulous song.
3. "Spies" - This song is straight-up creepy and feels very urgent to me. I love the dark vibe of it and how his voice sounds almost strained and scared. This portion of the song is what really makes the urgent and scary feeling come out: "And if we don't hide here, they're gonna find us. And if we don't hide now, they're gonna catch us when we sleep. And if we don't hide here, they're gonna find us." This song paints a picture of two fugitives running hand-in-hand, seeking freedom. I love it.
4. "Sparks" - This is one of my very favorite songs on the album. For me, this is a song of promise and care. I could see late nights, curled up with a loved one with this song playing softly in the background. "I promise you this, I'll always look out for you. Yeah, that's what I'll do." Perfect.
5. "Yellow" - I believe that this was the only track off of Parachutes to get much widespread airplay and for good reason. This song was a really good way for the world to be introduced to Coldplay and this song has "single" written all over it. This is a great song to include on a mix CD to a lover because it's very romantic. The closing lines almost leave me in tears because of how most of the background just drops out and you're left with Chris Martin's voice sweetly singing with an acoustic guitar "Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you, and all the things that you do."
6. "Trouble" - I would have to say that this is my second favorite track off of the album. This song embodies all of the things that I sit and wrack my brain over at the end or near the end of a relationship. I always wonder what it was that I did, what I said, and then feel so badly for causing the person grief. "Oh no, I see a spider web is tangled up with me. And I lost my head; the thought of all the stupid things I'd said." Beautiful orchestration and feeling.
7. "Parachutes" - I think that it's funny that the title track to the album is 46 seconds long. This song is short and sweet. "In a haze, a stormy haze. I'll be 'round, I'll be loving you always."
8. "High Speed" - This conveys to me a sense of needing to break free. To calm down. To simply take a breather. I love this song for its content and how in the middle there seems to be a conversation between two people before they take a leap: "Confidence in you, is confidence in me, is confidence in a high speed."
9. "We Never Change" - I feel so saddened by this song because it represents a loss in faith. I've felt a loss like this often in my life and it suits certain moods. It suits when you've just given up because someone just never changes even when you have high hopes. "Oh and I don't have a soul to save. Yes and I sin every single day."
10. "Everything's Not Lost" - I couldn't have picked a better official closing track myself. The album opens with a sort of optimism and closes with it as well. The song is actually pretty well summed up by its title although it is definitely a worthy listen. The song ends very powerfully with a sort of chorus/sing-a-long, which I love. "When I counted up my demons, saw there was one for every day. With the good ones on my shoulders, I drove the other ones away."
11. "Life Is For Living" - This track is a bonus/hidden track shortly after "Everything's Not Lost." This has to be one of my favorite parts of the album because of the way it is produced. It has a very old-time, vinyl, scratchy quality to it and speaks a succinct yet powerful message. "Life is for living, we all know, and I don't want to live it alone."
I call it a must have.
Volume One.
I have described this album as one of the most perfect albums of all time based on sheer content alone. (I am not a student of recording engineering so I cannot aptly comment on the production quality of the album, but to the untrained album it sounds very solid.) I stand by my claim because as a whole, this album is simply flawless.
The whole mood and feeling of the album evokes so many emotions at once that it's overwhelming, but not necessarily in a negative way. Chris Martin's voice has always been a little bit haunting and curious, at least to me, and I am quite a fan of unique voices. Seeing live performances (or even just lip-syncing in his music videos) always astounds me because of how much he uses his body to intensify his music.
For some reason, my mind links Chris Martin and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. I think that it's a fair association.
Track by track:
1. "Don't Panic" - The first time I heard this track was on the movie Garden State and I remember being impressed by it. I find it to be a great choice for the opening track of the album because it allows the listener to go into the album with a sense of optimism. My favorite section of the song is the very last line of it: " 'Cause, yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on." (I'm not sure, but I think/hope that the title is referencing the book The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Fantastic series of books, by the way.)
2. "Shiver" - This song always struck me as a great opening track as well, but it's a great track in and of itself. The music itself makes the song sound positive while the lyrics are rather stalker-ish. If you get past the stalker feel of it, you will find that it's actually kind of sweet. Take, for instance, this part of the song: "Oh, did you want me to change? Well, I'd change for good and I want you to know that you'll always get your way." Fabulous song.
3. "Spies" - This song is straight-up creepy and feels very urgent to me. I love the dark vibe of it and how his voice sounds almost strained and scared. This portion of the song is what really makes the urgent and scary feeling come out: "And if we don't hide here, they're gonna find us. And if we don't hide now, they're gonna catch us when we sleep. And if we don't hide here, they're gonna find us." This song paints a picture of two fugitives running hand-in-hand, seeking freedom. I love it.
4. "Sparks" - This is one of my very favorite songs on the album. For me, this is a song of promise and care. I could see late nights, curled up with a loved one with this song playing softly in the background. "I promise you this, I'll always look out for you. Yeah, that's what I'll do." Perfect.
5. "Yellow" - I believe that this was the only track off of Parachutes to get much widespread airplay and for good reason. This song was a really good way for the world to be introduced to Coldplay and this song has "single" written all over it. This is a great song to include on a mix CD to a lover because it's very romantic. The closing lines almost leave me in tears because of how most of the background just drops out and you're left with Chris Martin's voice sweetly singing with an acoustic guitar "Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you, and all the things that you do."
6. "Trouble" - I would have to say that this is my second favorite track off of the album. This song embodies all of the things that I sit and wrack my brain over at the end or near the end of a relationship. I always wonder what it was that I did, what I said, and then feel so badly for causing the person grief. "Oh no, I see a spider web is tangled up with me. And I lost my head; the thought of all the stupid things I'd said." Beautiful orchestration and feeling.
7. "Parachutes" - I think that it's funny that the title track to the album is 46 seconds long. This song is short and sweet. "In a haze, a stormy haze. I'll be 'round, I'll be loving you always."
8. "High Speed" - This conveys to me a sense of needing to break free. To calm down. To simply take a breather. I love this song for its content and how in the middle there seems to be a conversation between two people before they take a leap: "Confidence in you, is confidence in me, is confidence in a high speed."
9. "We Never Change" - I feel so saddened by this song because it represents a loss in faith. I've felt a loss like this often in my life and it suits certain moods. It suits when you've just given up because someone just never changes even when you have high hopes. "Oh and I don't have a soul to save. Yes and I sin every single day."
10. "Everything's Not Lost" - I couldn't have picked a better official closing track myself. The album opens with a sort of optimism and closes with it as well. The song is actually pretty well summed up by its title although it is definitely a worthy listen. The song ends very powerfully with a sort of chorus/sing-a-long, which I love. "When I counted up my demons, saw there was one for every day. With the good ones on my shoulders, I drove the other ones away."
11. "Life Is For Living" - This track is a bonus/hidden track shortly after "Everything's Not Lost." This has to be one of my favorite parts of the album because of the way it is produced. It has a very old-time, vinyl, scratchy quality to it and speaks a succinct yet powerful message. "Life is for living, we all know, and I don't want to live it alone."
I call it a must have.