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Post by glider on Oct 3, 2024 22:17:06 GMT -5
All My Love - The last Coldplay single from this period or ever? Not sure exactly what Chris meant when he said that to Zane Lowe this week. I know Chris wants this to be a big shining moment for the band like a "Fix You" is but it definitely doesn't hit on that level for me. Not sure it'll reach those heights because its a very paint by numbers Chris on piano power ballad cell phone waver. Wait, what? THIS is the next single? Ok then... |
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Post by Manualex on Oct 3, 2024 22:56:56 GMT -5
All My Love - The last Coldplay single from this period or ever? Not sure exactly what Chris meant when he said that to Zane Lowe this week. I know Chris wants this to be a big shining moment for the band like a "Fix You" is but it definitely doesn't hit on that level for me. Not sure it'll reach those heights because its a very paint by numbers Chris on piano power ballad cell phone waver. Wait, what? THIS is the next single? Ok then... Yes, it is in the Wikipedia of the album (still haven't heard the album yet) |
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Post by Manualex on Oct 4, 2024 0:36:45 GMT -5
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 4, 2024 1:36:02 GMT -5
What a piece of shit Music of the Spheres was. Yikes.
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Post by niftium on Oct 4, 2024 7:19:54 GMT -5
Boss wants to know why I'm laughing, thanks man. |
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Post by Manualex on Oct 4, 2024 9:38:26 GMT -5
Isn't this true love video treatment?
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 4, 2024 10:38:51 GMT -5
Isn't this true love video treatment? His more recent piano ballads just bore me to tears. So vanilla. So generic. And he does them far too often. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 4, 2024 10:43:16 GMT -5
Dreadful. Put aside the fact that it isn't a Coldplay album, this doesn't even succeed as a Chris Martin solo project. It'd be easy, even comforting, to point to the familiar faults: the over-processed production, the cliched lyrics, the old-man-at-the-club collaborations. But there's a new issue here that pains me to realise; it's not that Chris is giving his songs bad production anymore, it's that he's just not writing good songs in the first place. Even on "Music of the Spheres", the only Coldplay album I haven't enjoyed previously, there were hooks and melodic turns that made it clear he could still write, and there was still "Coloratura" to show you that he could still write great. On every album before that, he produced multiple fantastic songs. Through all the changes, Coldplay have endured on Chris' ear for a tune. But that's over, now, too. He's incapable of anything beyond generic Christian-music choruses to give a song a climax. He's incapable of anything beyond syrup-soft and obvious verses, all of which seem to twist in the same couple of ways to shift to the hook. And that's on the songs that actually do feature hooks at all, with a good portion of the record being the kind of your-call-is-important-to-us background music that makes you wonder if Will Champion is aware this record even occurred. And on almost every track, there's a point where Chris gives up on song-writing entirely and pulls out the blandest set of la-la-la's that the instrumental can carry to see the track to a conclusion. It's lazy. It's generic. It's uninspired. And it's not good enough. These guys have so much talent ("Coloratura") and it is being pulled to dust by the growing black hole of Chris' solo impulses. There's not one song on here good enough to merit an individual review and there's not one song here that feels like it was made by the band who made "Viva". In fact, there's not one song here that feels like it was made by a band at all. I don't know if the other members have simply checked out for the fun tours and the cash at this point, but it's clear that Chris needs (has always needed?) the stimulation of vibrant musicians around him to produce his best work. When he was uninspired after X&Y, he came up with his best album through letting "Guy, Will, and Jonny take back the glory". If there is any hope for this final chapter of a once-great band being a fitting conclusion, those three must do the same again. To follow the space theme; the three moons to Chris' planet must eclipse his ever-declining solo tendencies. Coldplay don't need to retire after this album. They need to re-unite. Yeah you nailed it. It’s not the old cliche that “oh he’s writing pop songs now, booo!!!!!” It’s the fact that he’s just writing bad songs period. It’s sad really. Chris is incredibly talented as are his bandmates. Oh well. |
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Post by niftium on Oct 4, 2024 10:55:45 GMT -5
So is this a confidence thing? Does Chris believe he CAN'T write good songs anymore and so brings in "help" (which ends up making it worse)? I happen to like EL quite a bit; I don't think the talent isn't there anymore. Unless MOTS 3 is a turd.
Chris and Noel have this much in common - they do their best work without anyone else's mucky fingers in the mix.
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 4, 2024 11:09:21 GMT -5
I'm glad others are enjoying some tracks more than me! matt is right that "Aeterna" is the pick, with it's fuller sound and relentless bliss, but it's no "Sky Full of Stars". "Good Feelings" is barbeque-advert music. "All my Love" is an AI ballad. "Jupiter" is a Glee song. "iAMM" has something going for it, but again, the inspirational-film treatment drags it down; it's a poor rewrite of the "Miracles" song they did for Unbreakable, and that's not a well of inspiration which ran particularly deep to start with. "One World" has a vibe to it, but not much more. Overall: the moon of this album glitters, shimmers, but ultimately wanes hollow. And I cannot believe "We Pray" was released as a Coldplay track. Like with Arcade Fire's WE, though, I don't have any crushing feeling of disappointment around this record; I simply feel that a record has not been made. Moon Music is a Chris Martin solo record in the same way that WE was a Win/Regine one - perhaps the others add a flourish every few tracks, and nod when certain decisions are made, but there's no sign of a band in collaboration, working to create great music. You got that on Reflektor, you got that on Viva. Not here. And without that, there's no cover-up for Chris' balding song-writing ability. At the very least, though, I can prove that my love for albums like Ghost Stories or even A Head Full of Dreams has never been based on blind fandom; those albums had an emotional thrust to them, and brought the hits and deep cuts and memorable aesthetics to make them worthy additions to the band's catalogue. They've stood their first decade well, in my opinion, and just as Mylo Xyloto has gone from "the pop fall-off" album to being appreciated as a filigreed pop explosion, I think all Coldplay's music before Max Martin materialised will increase in reputation over time. The solo-Chris tracks did increase, but that made emotional sense on Ghost Stories and Everyday Life, while A Head Full of Dreams still packed the vibrant bangers to balance things out. Beyond some glittering instrumental work and the ecstatic rush of "Aeterna", there's nothing here to stack up to previous eras. ------- 1. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (10) 2. A Rush of Blood to the Head (10) 3. Mylo Xyloto (8.5) 4. Parachutes (8.5) 5. Ghost Stories (8) 6. Everyday Life (7.5) 7. A Head Full of Dreams (7) 8. X&Y (6) 9. Music of the Spheres (4) 10. Moon Music (3) |
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 4, 2024 11:18:06 GMT -5
Yeah you nailed it. It’s not the old cliche that “oh he’s writing pop songs now, booo!!!!!” It’s the fact that he’s just writing bad songs period. It’s sad really. Chris is incredibly talented as are his bandmates. Oh well. A shimmering, ultra-processed, teenage-party-themed, pop song. But compare the writing to "Good Feelings". A whole different universe. |
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Post by glider on Oct 4, 2024 11:54:43 GMT -5
Did Everything Life not being popular with the new fanbase scare Chris back into safety?
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Post by niftium on Oct 4, 2024 12:10:48 GMT -5
Did Everything Life not being popular with the new fanbase scare Chris back into safety? If that's so, that's unfair. It was a surprise album, untoured and unpromoted, in a COVID era. There are so many asterisks to that album's performance that it looks like a curse word. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 4, 2024 12:32:53 GMT -5
Did Everything Life not being popular with the new fanbase scare Chris back into safety? If that's so, that's unfair. It was a surprise album, untoured and unpromoted, in a COVID era. There are so many asterisks to that album's performance that it looks like a curse word. I thought the band sounded alive again for this album. Granted there were only like 7 full band songs out of the 15-16 tracks but it felt like a group. That has been absent on Spheres and Moon. Lord knows the musical album is gonna feel like Chris solo on steroids. |
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Post by niftium on Oct 4, 2024 12:46:38 GMT -5
If that's so, that's unfair. It was a surprise album, untoured and unpromoted, in a COVID era. There are so many asterisks to that album's performance that it looks like a curse word. I thought the band sounded alive again for this album. Granted there were only like 7 full band songs out of the 15-16 tracks but it felt like a group. That has been absent on Spheres and Moon. Lord knows the musical album is gonna feel like Chris solo on steroids. 40 minutes of la la la's over a Casio preset to bossa nova. Can't wait to buy the deluxe version with the demo. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 4, 2024 12:47:59 GMT -5
Max Martin is bad news bears.
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Post by matt on Oct 4, 2024 15:55:52 GMT -5
Max Martin helping Chris Martin to write songs is akin to Rolf Harris telling Leonardo Da Vinci how to paint.
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Post by glider on Oct 4, 2024 16:42:57 GMT -5
Yeah you nailed it. It’s not the old cliche that “oh he’s writing pop songs now, booo!!!!!” It’s the fact that he’s just writing bad songs period. It’s sad really. Chris is incredibly talented as are his bandmates. Oh well. A shimmering, ultra-processed, teenage-party-themed, pop song. But compare the writing to "Good Feelings". A whole different universe. Not "ultra processed" in any way. Just pure, vibrant, effortless pop rock. I understand what you mean though! |
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Post by matt on Oct 4, 2024 17:03:14 GMT -5
Putting aside the merits of the music itself, there's got to be a personal and professional reason for continuing with the Max Martin bubblegum pop routine. From a professional standpoint, it makes sense why they continue down this road. They received a £35 million advance from the record company to make this album, making it one of the most expensive albums ever made. When so much money is thrown at you to make an album, you're gonna make the album the market expects, not some avant garde album. There's nothing to differentiate their albums since A Head Full of Dreams; all songs could be chucked on one compilation. They're not gonna kill the golden goose.
On a personal level, it might be an acceptance from Chris Martin that he's found his most appreciative audience ever, largely younger pop music fans in their millions around the world. I wouldn't blame him if he got tired of being beaten about by the alt rock/indie press's sneers, self-indulgence and sense of superiority. Reading it as a fan can be unbearable, and I can't imagine what its like for Chris who's efforts like Viva La Vida are quite clearly a labour of love. Criticism might be easier for a band to share with multiple known personalities, but he's the only focal point of the biggest band in my lifetime and there has to be pressure there. I recognise that millions of alt rock and indie fans loved and love them but it is an environment full of edgelords who love to dictate the agenda on what they perceive as quality. Chart music and the pop world is more sociable and forgiving, heck you can even see that in the fans (e.g. Swifties would be more fun to hang out with than some dour pretentious jerk at a Father John Misty gig). So with versatile songwriting talents, why not effortlessly shapeshift into the genre that appreciates you most?
My own personal take is I think they should take risks again. Regardless of the criticism they still receive, their music and sustained appeal of the last 15 'poppy' years has released them from the shackles of the sneering indie press. Their appeal goes way beyond that now. They've got a quarter of a century of massive hits and more behind them, and people of various generations and tastes will pick up on what Coldplay they like best. They've catered to everything and the music will outlast the edgelords and come round to general appreciation in time, like what happened to ABBA and Queen. So be comfortable with your legacy, screw the naysayers and push the boundaries again, rather than sticking in the comfort zone and stagnating. Because there's no point, you've already won and proven your point. They progressed dramatically from Parachutes to MX, and there was the expectation they'd always do something different from the previous record. Go back to that ethos, god knows its a waste of talent if not.
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Post by defmaybe00 on Oct 5, 2024 9:08:38 GMT -5
This was shit, don't think it was as shit as Spheres, but nothing sticks
The opening tracks and Little Simz are the only things I can take away from it
Not even the epic, feel-good closer this time ffs
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Post by matt on Oct 5, 2024 16:05:13 GMT -5
Honestly I don't think it's that bad an album.
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Post by GlastoEls on Oct 6, 2024 10:51:47 GMT -5
Putting aside the merits of the music itself, there's got to be a personal and professional reason for continuing with the Max Martin bubblegum pop routine. From a professional standpoint, it makes sense why they continue down this road. They received a £35 million advance from the record company to make this album, making it one of the most expensive albums ever made. When so much money is thrown at you to make an album, you're gonna make the album the market expects, not some avant garde album. There's nothing to differentiate their albums since A Head Full of Dreams; all songs could be chucked on one compilation. They're not gonna kill the golden goose. On a personal level, it might be an acceptance from Chris Martin that he's found his most appreciative audience ever, largely younger pop music fans in their millions around the world. I wouldn't blame him if he got tired of being beaten about by the alt rock/indie press's sneers, self-indulgence and sense of superiority. Reading it as a fan can be unbearable, and I can't imagine what its like for Chris who's efforts like Viva La Vida are quite clearly a labour of love. Criticism might be easier for a band to share with multiple known personalities, but he's the only focal point of the biggest band in my lifetime and there has to be pressure there. I recognise that millions of alt rock and indie fans loved and love them but it is an environment full of edgelords who love to dictate the agenda on what they perceive as quality. Chart music and the pop world is more sociable and forgiving, heck you can even see that in the fans (e.g. Swifties would be more fun to hang out with than some dour pretentious jerk at a Father John Misty gig). So with versatile songwriting talents, why not effortlessly shapeshift into the genre that appreciates you most? My own personal take is I think they should take risks again. Regardless of the criticism they still receive, their music and sustained appeal of the last 15 'poppy' years has released them from the shackles of the sneering indie press. Their appeal goes way beyond that now. They've got a quarter of a century of massive hits and more behind them, and people of various generations and tastes will pick up on what Coldplay they like best. They've catered to everything and the music will outlast the edgelords and come round to general appreciation in time, like what happened to ABBA and Queen. So be comfortable with your legacy, screw the naysayers and push the boundaries again, rather than sticking in the comfort zone and stagnating. Because there's no point, you've already won and proven your point. They progressed dramatically from Parachutes to MX, and there was the expectation they'd always do something different from the previous record. Go back to that ethos, god knows its a waste of talent if not. Great post this, even if I don’t quite agree, as I like the pop stuff. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 6, 2024 12:44:12 GMT -5
Sad seeing those clips of Coldplay on SNL last night. Chris looks like that sad uncle trying way too hard to be cool and young at the family BBQ.
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 6, 2024 12:48:40 GMT -5
I’d love to know why Chris is obsessed with this space concept. It really didn’t catch on during the last promo cycle. Fake planets? Fake universe? Alien heads? I don’t think fans really care about this kind of shit, especially from Coldplay. Spheres is their worst reviewed album, worst selling album, lowest streamed album. Not sure I’d be like, “you know what? We are gonna run it back!!!!”
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Post by glider on Oct 6, 2024 12:56:08 GMT -5
Why are they pushing this All My Love song? It's the most phoned in musical work they ever did at this point.
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Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5