Pages tagged “coldplay”

Play On
By: Kristina Feliciano

You know you’re in for a different kind of Coldplay experience when Chris Martin ditches his anguished falsetto for a deep, doomy basso profundo, as he does on “Violet Hill.” Has the sentimental frontman finally torn his heart from his sleeve? Not with lyrics like “If you love me, won’t you let me know?” But Viva la Vida—for which Coldplay teamed up with Markus Dravs and ambient-music hero/longtime U2 co-producer Brian Eno—is in fact a major departure for these angst-mongers. At times Viva evokes everyone from T.I. (the pounding “Lost!,” which recalls 2007 summer blockbuster “Big Things Poppin’”) to Madonna (the choppy, synthy opening of the title track conjures “Papa Don’t Preach”). Less surprisingly, the album also recalls U2, whose love of shimmering guitars and epic existential explorations Coldplay has always shared. The sonic deviations may challenge fans who prefer that all of the band’s releases be a shade of “Yellow.” But more daring listeners will be relieved that Martin & Co. are exploring new territory.

Don’t panic. Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” North American tour is definitely still on; it’s just happening slightly later. The trip, supporting Coldplay’s upcoming Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, will now begin with two sold-out shows at The Forum in Los Angeles on July 14 and 15.

Coldplay has added a slew of dates to its Viva la Vida tour, and announced a mysterious addition to its live show.

Coldplay has announced the dates for its upcoming Viva la Vida North American tour, which will kick off in June after two high profile free concerts in London and New York.

The band’s latest, Viva la Vida Or Death and All His Friends, will be released June 17 on Capitol. Viva’s first single, “Violet Hill,” has already been downloaded by more than two million people in a single week after the band made it available for free.

Before the band kicks off its summer tour, Martin and Co. will be playing two free shows: the first at London’s Brixton Academy on June 16, and the second at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 23. Information on how to win tickets to these shows is available on the band’s site in a contest that ends June 1.

Coldplay will also be popping up on your television set with performances on NBC’s Today June 27 (for all of you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed early risers) and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart June 26 (for the rest of us.)

The Viva la Vida tour will kick off June 29 in Philadelphia. Ticket and additional tour information is available at LiveNation.com.

Dates:

June
29 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Wachovia Center

July
2 - Washington, D.C. @ Verizon Center
3 - Hartford, Conn. @ XL Center
5 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
6 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Quicken Loans Arena
8 - St. Paul, Minn. @ Xcel Energy Center
9 - Kansas City, Mo. @ Sprint Center
10 - Oklahoma City, Ok. @ Ford Center
12 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Jobing.com Arena
19 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
21 - Sacramento, Calif. @ ARCO Arena
24 - San Jose, Calif. @ HP Pavilion
27 - Pemberton, B.C. @ Pemberton Festival
29 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
30 - Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome

August
1 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
3 - Omaha, Neb. @ Qwest Center
4 - Chicago, Ill. @ United Center

October
20 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
21 - Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Place
26 - East Rutherford, N.J. @ Izod Center
29 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
30 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre

November
3 - Boston, Mass. @ TD Banknorth Garden
11 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Philips Arena
18 - Houston, Texas @ Toyota Center
19 - Dallas, Texas @ American Airlines Center
21 - Denver, Colo. @ Pepsi Center
22 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Energy Solutions Arena

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace
News: Coldplay working on new album

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When you’re as big as Coldplay, you are granted a series of magical powers. Which ones? Teleportation, for one thing. That one’s useful when you need to buy baby Apple an obscure, handcrafted something-or-other only available in, say, Slovenia.

Another magical power? The power to Take Over the Web. Well, not exactly, but you can bet that there may users of “teh intenets” are currently hanging out at Coldplay.com.

What’s the appeal of a little homepage? This morning, Coldplay began offering its new single, “Violet Hill,” for download. For free. For one week only. That’s one tenth of the band’s new album, Viva la Vida (out June 17th), absolutely free.

In other big news, Coldplay is showing its allegiance to this whole getting-things-without-paying thing, because on June 23rd, the band will play a free show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. There will be no tickets—just some very lucky winners. Check back with Paste for all of the ticket-getting info, and be sure to grab that single before next week, when you’ll have to pay for it. Oh, the horror!

Finally, the website reveals the Viva la Vida album cover, which confirms another important Coldplay magical power: the ability to spray-paint French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, in the name of music!

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace.com
Musée national Eugène Delacroix

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Coldplay recently confirmed the tracklist for its fifth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. As previously reported, Chris Martin and company worked on the project with Brian Eno and Markus Dravs in London, Barcelona and New York.

The album will be released June 17, which means Coldplayers the world over are that much closer to having some questions of high importance answered. Namely, just which translation of “viva la vida” are they referring to? Can this follow up match the 10 million copies of X&Y that have been sold to date? Will they tour soon? Will Kanye come with them (see below)? Will we actually be able to get tickets to the show?

Time will tell.

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends:

1. Life In Technicolor
2. Cemeteries Of London
3. Lost!
4. 42
5. Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love
6. Yes
7. Viva La Vida
8. Violet Hill
9. Strawberry Swing
10. Death And All His Friends

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace
News: Kanye West launches travel site, hangs out with muppets

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

One last round of mixing is all that stands between now and the release of Coldplay's next album. With production assistance from Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, the group plans to release its fourth studio record sometime this summer.

Chris Martin and Co. made pop-chart history when their last LP X&Y (2005) became the first worldwide top-selling album of the century. As reported at Billboard.com, Coldplay will release the as-yet-untitled album through Capitol Records despite issues at the label's parent company, EMI, which was recently bought out by Terra Firma.

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace
Paste: Coldplay working on new album

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

A month and a half ago, we told you about progress in the happy world of Coldplay. Today, we provide you with some more scraps of information.

Recently, a new hand-written (Although with that handwriting, “hand-scrawled” may be more accurate. We kid!) message was posted on Coldplay.com. The message reveals the names of two more songs: “Famous Old Painters” and “Glass of Water.” The two song titles confirm Paste’s suspicions: the new record is definitely a concept album about Paul Cézanne’s still lifes. You heard it here first.

The message also describes the as-yet-untitled album’s sound and substance: “It feels like a very dense record. There are so many melodies and colours packed into a relatively short space (42 mins). As you’d expect with Brian Eno, there’s experimentation and exploration. But the music still has integrity. It’s real and it’s honest. There’s no posturing or bombast.” The album should be out in the first half of 2008, and after a message like this, no one needs to write a press release.

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace.com
Fondation Paul Cézanne

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

The music business has certainly changed over the last few years. Not that long ago, a little band could truly get a break and ascend to the big time, but with media consolidation, the decline of CD sales, and the dangers of file-sharing, it seems harder and harder to break through. So consider this news item to be a bit of altruism on Paste’s behalf. We want to let you know that a tiny band from England called Coldplay is putting together its fourth album.

Coldplay’s first album since 2005’s unheard X&Y is currently untitled, but the band recently updated its blog with some new information that will, unfortunately, probably go unnoticed. The band’s new album will be only 42 minutes in length, probably because Coldplay recognizes that people will not bother to listen to something so esoteric for long. Song titles include “Cemeteries of London,” “Leftrightleftrightleft,” and “Lost!” Apparently, the band is also arguing about the tracklisting, though it seems ambitious to worry so much about the order of songs on such an obscure release.

At any rate, the band soldiers on, despite being “a few months off from finishing.” Once completed, the album will be released without a marketing campaign, and will exist sadly as just another lost gem in the ongoing deluge of the music industry.

Related links:
Coldplay.com
Coldplay on MySpace
U2.com(the official site of another little-known group)

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

When Coldplay’s www.talkthetour.com was launched Monday, within 51 hours the site was forwarded approximately 384,000 times and the 26 dates of Coldplay’s Twisted Logic tour were revealed.

Talkthetour.com, developed by the band and tour promoter Clear Channel Music Group, marks the first time a tour has been virally announced.

The site includes a video message from the band, buddy icons, forwarding capabilities and a map of the United States with tour dates.

Fans who register at the site and forward alerts can pre-order tickets and view the online premiere of the “Talk” video—the third single off Coldplay's X&Y.

Supporters also have a chance to win front-row tickets and behind-the-scenes passes, with chances increasing the more times users forward the site to others.

Coldplay will appear on Late Night with Conan O’Brien Dec. 7. PBS’ Austin City Limits will air the band’s hour-long performance Dec. 17.

X&Y debuted at #1 in 32 countries after its June release. It has since sold 2.3 million copies in the U.S. and the album’s first single, “Speed Of Sound,” has been certified Double Platinum.

Dates for the second leg of Coldplay’s Twisted Logic tour:

1/25 Seattle WA * — Key Arena (on sale: 11/19)

1/26 Vancouver BC * — GM Place (on sale: 11/21)

1/30 Sacramento CA * — ARCO Arena (on sale: 11/19)

1/31 Oakland CA * — Oakland Arena (on sale: 11/19) American Express pre-sale 11/14 -18

2/1 San Jose CA * — HP Pavilion @ San Jose (on sale: 11/19) American Express pre-sale 11/14 -18

2/3 Las Vegas NV — MGM Grand Garden Arena (on sale: 12/3)

2/19 Denver CO * — Pepsi Center (on sale: 11/19)

2/20 Omaha NE * — Qwest Center (on sale: 11/19)

2/22 Detroit MI * — Palace of Auburn Hills (on sale: 11/19)

2/23 Louisville KY * — Freedom Hall (on sale: 11/19)

2/25 Houston TX * — Toyota Center (on sale: 11/21)

2/26 Dallas TX * — American Airlines Center (on sale: 11/21)

2/27 Oklahoma City OK * — Ford Center (on sale: 11/19)

3/2 Washington DC * — MCI Center (on sale: 11/19)

3/4 Orlando FL * — T.D. Waterhouse Centre (on sale: 12/3)

3/5 Tampa FL * — Ford Pavilion (on sale: 11/19)

3/20 Cleveland OH + — Quicken Loans Arena (on sale: 11/19)

3/22 Toronto ON + — Air Canada Center (on sale: 11/19)

3/25 East Rutherford, NJ + — Continental Airline Arena (on sale: 11/21) American Express pre-sale 11/14 -20

3/26 Uniondale, NY + — Nassau Coliseum (on sale: 11/21) American Express pre-sale 11/14 -20

3/30 Chicago, IL + — United Center (on sale: 11/19) American Express pre-sale 11/14 -18

4/3 Manchester, NH + — Verizon Wireless Arena (on sale: 11/19)

4/4 Uncasville, CT + — Mohegan Sun Arena (on sale: 11/19)

4/6 Philadelphia, PA + — Wachovia Center (on sale: 11/19)

* Fiona Apple supports.

Details on Los Angeles area concert dates will be released at a later date.

(pictured above: Coldplay's Chris Martin)

For most bands, getting bodies through the door for a show can be a problem. Coldplay was no exception last Wednesday night, but not for lack of fans—for lack of traffic cops. Some concertgoers were stuck in traffic for over two hours as they approached Columbus’s Germain Amphitheater, due to a combination of construction and understaffing that led to insufferable bottlenecking. Still, the venue was packed when openers Rilo Kiley hit the stage. The band turned in a well-received but short set, and as night fell, the crowd settled in, anxiously awaiting the main event.

Coldplay arrived to a thunderous cacophony of cheers, launching the set with “Politik,” followed by “Yellow.” There was an exceptional cohesiveness to the music—the clean, crisp packaging of each song, delivered on Chris Martin’s soaring, at times mournful falsetto. Jon Buckland’s sure-handed slide guitar provided the distinctive atmospheric backbone while the wide-screens and light show enhanced the experience without overshadowing the music’s simplicity.

Mid-set, Martin and his bandmates broke down for several acoustic numbers, cantering passionately through Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and their tribute to the Man in Black, X&Y’s “’Til Kingdom Come.”

After an energetic performance, the band returned for a “Swallowed in the Sea” encore, the show’s virtuosic highlight—a lush, gorgeous slow build of a song. Last was “Fix You,” a benediction from the church of Coldplay, a service that had seen Chris Martin everywhere from the upper decks of the pavilion amongst his apostles to contorted backward over his piano bench. The breathtaking finale climbed and climbed until Martin stumbled over a lyric in the song’s last line. But Martin chuckled over his blunder, which came at the show’s apex. By that point, it didn’t matter much—the scores were tallied, the votes were in, and Coldplay had won just about every heart in the place. And it seemed like no one minded the traffic much on the way out.

Coldplay’s X&Y debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts, selling 737,294 copies in its first week. In addition to its success stateside, the album charted at #1 in 20 additional countries.

On Aug. 2, the band will launch a 38-date North American tour. For complete tour dates, visit www.coldplay.com.

Coldplay graduated from “intriguing” to “important” with 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, a musically and thematically bold statement as fully realized as any album to come along in the post-album era. As it turns out, they weren’t finished upping the ante—not by a long shot. “Speed of Sound,” the first single from their big-stakes follow-up, X&Y, reveals the hand they’re playing: a piano riff as memorable as the one in “Clocks,” ringing guitars, martial drums, orchestral pomp and, in the center, Chris Martin’s keening vocal, so vulnerable and yet forceful enough to stand out from the mass of sonic detail. But “Speed of Sound” is just the tip of the iceberg.

Exhibiting a level of ambition rarely encountered these days, Coldplay’s third opus takes on the reigning champ U2, and doesn’t so much dismantle Atomic Bomb as blast right through it, like a mile-wide meteor, hurtling across the heavens toward The Beatles themselves. Rush of Blood’s dynamic involved the interaction of Martin’s propulsive piano riffs and viscerally employed strings, right along with Will Champion’s drums and Jonny Buckland’s electric guitars. On X&Y, the band again features Martin’s piano and makes strategic use of strings, but the dense arrangements expand the scope to incorporate synthesizers, Mellotron and the album’s secret weapon, a Hammond B-3, melding these overlapping sound pads into the rich aural backdrop in front of which the foreground elements are set.

The motif is established right from the top, as opener “Square One” enters with a wash of strings and/or string-like keyboards before the clouds part at the one-minute mark with the thrilling entrance of Champion’s pummeling drums and a bass line from Guy Berryman that nervily quotes U2’s “New Year’s Day.” The track incrementally expands to a mind-blowing climax before receding, as an acoustic-guitar coda appears out of the haze. Martin’s naked piano introduces the following “What If,” which enlarges at each sectional transition, with strings appearing at the start of verse two and the band erupting at the first chorus. These aren’t songs so much as the aural equivalent of suspension bridges, at once massive and graceful—constructions perfectly suited to Martin and Buckland’s metaphysical ponderings about the unanswerable questions of existence. At this point it’s apparent what’s in store, and we wait for the next moment of grandeur to arrive—anticipation of the Big Moment is a key ingredient of the dynamic—as Coldplay proceeds to fashion one monument after another.

The album’s sheer size overwhelms its particulars on first listen, but over time a few tracks take on lives of their own: With its clarion electric riff rising from what sounds like a wind chamber and Martin’s aching voice musing about the basic questions of existence, “Talk” stands out as an anthem in an album full of them; “Low,” which gallops along on a relentless bass line, serving up a Cure-like instrumental transition, offers the record’s most intoxicating groove; and the concluding “Twisted Logic” moves from “Strawberry Fields”-like backward strings through symphonic forcefulness worthy of Richard Rodgers’ “Victory at Sea” before its intricate structure opens into vistas that recall Abbey Road, right down to the volcanic guitars of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).”

This is not easy listening; on the contrary, it requires a real commitment from the listener. But it’s a commitment that’ll be amply rewarded. Coldplay is a band with the audacity to aspire to greatness and the talent to achieve it.

Coldplay will headline the first day of the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, Calif., on Saturday, April 30. Following the release of the band's new album, X&Y, Coldplay will embark on their biggest world tour yet, beginning with dates in Europe, the U.K. and Ireland. Plans are in the works for a 40-city North American tour, which will commence in late July and continue through late September.

X&Y will be released by Capitol on June 7. "Speed of Sound," the first single, will be released worldwide April 18. The album was produced by Coldplay, Danton Supple and Ken Nelson.

TOUR DATES:

4/30 – Indio, Calif. - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
6/15 – Hamburg - Volks Park
6/17 – Koln - Fuelinger
6/19 – Berlin - Wuhlheide
6/22 – Dublin - Marlay Park
6/27 & 28 – London - Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
7/1 & 2 – Glasgow - Bellahouston Park
7/4 & 5 – Bolton - Reebok Stadium
7/7 – Arnhem - Gelredrome
7/9 – Munich - Coubertin Platz
7/10 – Vienna - St Polten Open Air
7/11 – Verona - Open Air

Some were willing to chalk up the success of Coldplay’s 1999 debut, Parachutes, to the one-hit wonder status of "Yellow" and the band’s Bends-era Radiohead vibe en vogue at the time. The question was and still is worth asking: Does Coldplay simply tread the well-worn ground of "Thoughtful Rock Band" previously broken by U2 and Radiohead, or do they have something worthwhile to say?

On their sophomore album, Chris Martin and Co. have resisted the temptation to prove that they can rock. Rather than build a bigger sound in the vein of "Yellow"-style pop anthems, they’ve constructed gently cascading soundscapes, and the average track on A Rush of Blood to the Head is more like an epic lullaby than a sing-along hit. The leadoff track "Politik," displays a dynamic contrast rarely found on Parachutes, another sign that Coldplay has honed its craft. The production is both warm and full, and cuts like "In My Place" shimmer with subtle power.

Lyrically, melancholy pervades much of the album, at times conjuring up bleak, almost arctic images of isolation. Any sense of ennui is tempered by a cautious optimism, however; as the ominously swirling strings of "Daylight" build, Martin sings, "I am nothing in the dark / and the clouds burst to show the daylight." For a record that addresses loneliness and world-weariness, there is a light at the end of Coldplay’s tunnel.

The thing that sets Coldplay apart musically from many of its contemporaries (like Travis and Starsailor) is the band’s ability to create space within songs. Even the most epic numbers on A Rush of Blood allow the listener room to breathe, realizing Martin’s articulated goal of being "catchy without being slick." The songs are stripped down to bare-bones elements in all the right places, like the hushed introduction to the title track, beginning with Martin’s vocals and a washed-out acoustic guitar, eventually surging into a reverb-drenched symphony.

Coldplay might have reneged on the pop-anthem promise of "Yellow" in favor of a more intimate sound, perfected in sparse numbers like "The Scientist" and "Amsterdam." Too quiet to be the next U2, and too in love with guitars and melody to be the new Radiohead, the band has instead cemented their identity as the first Coldplay -- not a bad thing at all.

See the rest of our 20 Signs of Life in 2002.