on Coldplay
Ah, I never update, and when I do, I ramble endlessly about something random that has very little to do with my life. Ah, well...
I have a strange relationship with Coldplay. When I first heard “Yellow”, I really liked it, but I assumed they would be one-hit wonders. As they stuck around and got more radio play, I noticed that they had a lot of haters. For some reason, people seemed to deride them as sellouts, overwrought and pretentious, right away. Which, upon listening to their music some more, I didn’t really get. I got A Rush of Blood to the Head some time after it came out (probably close to a year after it was released, which is quick for me) and I found that I really loved their music, more the more I heard it. I went back and bought their first record, Parachutes, and found it eerie and strange and wonderful.
Oddly, though, I found I had this stubborn reluctance to let Coldplay into my heart. I came to like listening to them more than just about anyone else, yet I never told people that, or listed them among my favorite artists, until recently. I got X&Y in record time, I think only two or three months after it was released, but at first I didn’t like it. Or said I didn’t, and didn’t listen to it much. But inevitably it grew on me.
Ever since I was a kid, I have taken pride in knowing the exact title of a song, the name of the album it was from, and of course who recorded it, even if I wasn’t crazy about the song or the artist. For example, I pretty much loathe Smashing Pumpkins, but felt that it was important to know that the only song I like by them is called “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, even though the title has nothing to do with the lyrics. With Coldplay, though… well, I don’t know the proper names of half-probably most-of their songs. They are one of those bands who sometimes name their songs something less obvious, rather than just picking a phrase from the chorus, but that’s never made a difference to my remembering the titles of songs by other artists. Just with Coldplay. I have listened to A Rush of Blood to the Head hundreds of times and know most of the lyrics to all the songs by heart, but looking at a track listing for the CD, I couldn’t reliably tell you which song is which. Even more so with X&Y, which I have not listened to as much. It’s like my head just won’t record the knowledge.
Also, I don’t know the names of any of the members, except Chris Martin, and I know him only because of forced exposure through magazines, TV, etc. I wouldn’t recognize any of the others on the street and couldn’t tell you who plays what instrument, or even how many members there are! Knowing this about artists I liked is something that also used to be a point of pride for me; I considered it respectful to the artists. My 15-year-old, even my 25-year-old self would be appalled.
When I saw Coldplay rakin’ in the Grammys, of which I watched only a small part, I felt extremely disinterested and, well… irritated. I love Coldplay, yet I still felt a sort of disrespect for their popularity, a bit of “what’s all the fuss about?” And they themselves, when they went onstage to receive their awards, seemed… well, like tools. Kind of insufferably arrogant and dorky. (Chris Martin, as N and I have discussed, is the definition of the word “spaz”. It makes me tired just to watch the guy perform! But that’s a post for another time…)
I didn’t buy Viva La Vida until a couple of weeks ago (still pretty quick by my standards; a record I like has usually been out for 2-3 years before I purchase it. That’s about how often I buy CDs in general). I thought it couldn’t possibly deserve all the accolades that were heaped upon it. I had only heard the single “Violet Hill” (which I originally thought I didn’t like) until my friend ghostbeads put “Lost!” on a mixed CD for me for Christmas. I loved the song. N and I talked about buying Viva La Vida for a long time, pointing out that we would surely like it, as we always come to love all their records (or I do; N doesn’t have the same reluctance; she pretty much liked them right away). So we finally bought it. I ripped it onto my computer, but didn’t really listen to it for weeks after I had it.
I was listening to music a couple of days ago, with my whole music library on shuffle, and the song “Viva La Vida” (another of those tunes whose title doesn’t appear in the lyrics) came on. And I admit, I was floored. This is a GREAT song. I saw what all the fuss was about! I absolutely loved it. This never happens to me anymore. Lately I’ve been sad that, since Chris Whitley died and even before that, I can’t feel the kind of intense love for music that I used to. I thought it a great loss that nothing really impresses me anymore. But this did. I listened to it three times, then went on to listen to some other songs from the record. They really deserved those Grammys. Their songcraft and amazing production, the unique, beautifully poetic lyrics, are almost unparalleled. They really do deserve their success.
So I don’t know why I’ve been so reluctant to embrace Coldplay fandom. I guess it’s just some resentment I have for how famous they became, and so quickly. I’m sometimes reluctant to like things that are extremely popular. I guess I resent it that so many artists that I think are truly the greatest, the real visionaries of their time, never get the success they deserve. Like my beloved Chris Whitley. I never understood why the world didn’t hear the unique and incomparable beauty in his music that I heard. And N writes better fiction than 99% of what gets published, and makes music that’s better than 99% of what’s on the radio, and it seems impossible to get the world to pay any attention.
But I can’t let something’s popularity deprive me of the joy of listening to it. I know I’ll never get to hear Coldplay in a tiny club with only 20 or 30 other people, as I used to hear Chris. I’ll probably never see them in concert at all, because I have no desire to pay 100 bucks to see Chris Martin looking half an inch tall a half a mile away (and spazzing out distractingly). But I have these amazing CDs, and I’m happy for their success. It’s nice to see success go to art that deserves it. I’m sad that Chris Whitley never got it, and that N isn’t getting it, but still, it’s nice to know that the world sometimes, if something is shoved in their face often enough, has the taste to recognize it as great.
So, yeah. I love Coldplay. “Now the old king is dead, long live the king!”
I have a strange relationship with Coldplay. When I first heard “Yellow”, I really liked it, but I assumed they would be one-hit wonders. As they stuck around and got more radio play, I noticed that they had a lot of haters. For some reason, people seemed to deride them as sellouts, overwrought and pretentious, right away. Which, upon listening to their music some more, I didn’t really get. I got A Rush of Blood to the Head some time after it came out (probably close to a year after it was released, which is quick for me) and I found that I really loved their music, more the more I heard it. I went back and bought their first record, Parachutes, and found it eerie and strange and wonderful.
Oddly, though, I found I had this stubborn reluctance to let Coldplay into my heart. I came to like listening to them more than just about anyone else, yet I never told people that, or listed them among my favorite artists, until recently. I got X&Y in record time, I think only two or three months after it was released, but at first I didn’t like it. Or said I didn’t, and didn’t listen to it much. But inevitably it grew on me.
Ever since I was a kid, I have taken pride in knowing the exact title of a song, the name of the album it was from, and of course who recorded it, even if I wasn’t crazy about the song or the artist. For example, I pretty much loathe Smashing Pumpkins, but felt that it was important to know that the only song I like by them is called “Bullet with Butterfly Wings”, even though the title has nothing to do with the lyrics. With Coldplay, though… well, I don’t know the proper names of half-probably most-of their songs. They are one of those bands who sometimes name their songs something less obvious, rather than just picking a phrase from the chorus, but that’s never made a difference to my remembering the titles of songs by other artists. Just with Coldplay. I have listened to A Rush of Blood to the Head hundreds of times and know most of the lyrics to all the songs by heart, but looking at a track listing for the CD, I couldn’t reliably tell you which song is which. Even more so with X&Y, which I have not listened to as much. It’s like my head just won’t record the knowledge.
Also, I don’t know the names of any of the members, except Chris Martin, and I know him only because of forced exposure through magazines, TV, etc. I wouldn’t recognize any of the others on the street and couldn’t tell you who plays what instrument, or even how many members there are! Knowing this about artists I liked is something that also used to be a point of pride for me; I considered it respectful to the artists. My 15-year-old, even my 25-year-old self would be appalled.
When I saw Coldplay rakin’ in the Grammys, of which I watched only a small part, I felt extremely disinterested and, well… irritated. I love Coldplay, yet I still felt a sort of disrespect for their popularity, a bit of “what’s all the fuss about?” And they themselves, when they went onstage to receive their awards, seemed… well, like tools. Kind of insufferably arrogant and dorky. (Chris Martin, as N and I have discussed, is the definition of the word “spaz”. It makes me tired just to watch the guy perform! But that’s a post for another time…)
I didn’t buy Viva La Vida until a couple of weeks ago (still pretty quick by my standards; a record I like has usually been out for 2-3 years before I purchase it. That’s about how often I buy CDs in general). I thought it couldn’t possibly deserve all the accolades that were heaped upon it. I had only heard the single “Violet Hill” (which I originally thought I didn’t like) until my friend ghostbeads put “Lost!” on a mixed CD for me for Christmas. I loved the song. N and I talked about buying Viva La Vida for a long time, pointing out that we would surely like it, as we always come to love all their records (or I do; N doesn’t have the same reluctance; she pretty much liked them right away). So we finally bought it. I ripped it onto my computer, but didn’t really listen to it for weeks after I had it.
I was listening to music a couple of days ago, with my whole music library on shuffle, and the song “Viva La Vida” (another of those tunes whose title doesn’t appear in the lyrics) came on. And I admit, I was floored. This is a GREAT song. I saw what all the fuss was about! I absolutely loved it. This never happens to me anymore. Lately I’ve been sad that, since Chris Whitley died and even before that, I can’t feel the kind of intense love for music that I used to. I thought it a great loss that nothing really impresses me anymore. But this did. I listened to it three times, then went on to listen to some other songs from the record. They really deserved those Grammys. Their songcraft and amazing production, the unique, beautifully poetic lyrics, are almost unparalleled. They really do deserve their success.
So I don’t know why I’ve been so reluctant to embrace Coldplay fandom. I guess it’s just some resentment I have for how famous they became, and so quickly. I’m sometimes reluctant to like things that are extremely popular. I guess I resent it that so many artists that I think are truly the greatest, the real visionaries of their time, never get the success they deserve. Like my beloved Chris Whitley. I never understood why the world didn’t hear the unique and incomparable beauty in his music that I heard. And N writes better fiction than 99% of what gets published, and makes music that’s better than 99% of what’s on the radio, and it seems impossible to get the world to pay any attention.
But I can’t let something’s popularity deprive me of the joy of listening to it. I know I’ll never get to hear Coldplay in a tiny club with only 20 or 30 other people, as I used to hear Chris. I’ll probably never see them in concert at all, because I have no desire to pay 100 bucks to see Chris Martin looking half an inch tall a half a mile away (and spazzing out distractingly). But I have these amazing CDs, and I’m happy for their success. It’s nice to see success go to art that deserves it. I’m sad that Chris Whitley never got it, and that N isn’t getting it, but still, it’s nice to know that the world sometimes, if something is shoved in their face often enough, has the taste to recognize it as great.
So, yeah. I love Coldplay. “Now the old king is dead, long live the king!”