After watching them blow up the Space Needle here in Seattle, I spent a quiet New Years Eve at home.
Channel surfing through the various network offerings ringing in the New Year — which included a surprisingly hot Kathy Griffin stripping down to her bra and panties in Times Square, with an aghast Anderson Cooper looking on over on CNN; and the Ryan Seacrest/Dick Clark crapfest on ABC — I finally settled on the Coldplay Austin City Limits concert on PBS.
Now, before you go shrieking in horror at the mention of Coldplay, let's get something straight.
I like Coldplay.
The fact that this brings me considerable grief — both from my friends, and among some of my cohorts at Blogcritics — is really of little circumstance. The fact is, I think Coldplay are a very decent band, that gets nowhere the respect they deserve. That said, I also completely understand the criticism.
"Chick band?" Check.
Chris Martin's whiny falsetto alone virtually guarantees this charge. In fact, one of the funniest things I have ever heard in my life, was listening to a three hour Tom Leykis radio show driving home from work one night, that was devoted to the sole subject of why any real man would never be caught dead at a Coldplay concert. Even though I had no choice but to agree with Leykis, I also couldn't help but admit that I'm one of those ball-less guys who actually likes them.
Of course, on the other hand, I can think of few other bands out there plying their trade today, that draw as many beautiful single women to their concerts since the eighties heyday of Journey.
Food for thought, gentlemen?
But let's get to the crux of the matter, which of course is the music. Tonight's New Years Eve Austin City Limits concert on PBS was a perfect example of why Coldplay actually is a pretty great band — especially in a live setting.
First off, they've recorded some really great songs.
And in A Rush Of Blood To The Head, they also have one certifiably great album. The gorgeous ballad "The Scientist," and especially "Clocks," — which features the single catchiest piano-based riff of the past ten years — solidifies Rush Of Blood's position as one of the best rock albums of the past decade on it's own. And yes, rock it does.
Honestly, there isn't a clunker in the bunch. Track for track, it's a great album. Viva La Vida was also a damn decent record, especially that album's standout track, "Lost."
Article comments
1 - Big T.
Coldplay is such horible music. It's just really weak wussy music. And then they ripped off Joe Satriani. That was the last straw. I wish someone would put them out of their misery.
2 - Paul Pearson
I'm not bowing at the feet of Coldplay, but I can't dismiss them altogether either. They don't quite deserve the venom that's spat their way. I personally liked Xylo Myloto better than Vida La Viva as a whole. It's more that I don't see what's so terribly inoffensive about them. I think reaction against them is more reflexive against their popularity than anything else (which, hate to say it Glen, is my argument against you for dissing Lady Gaga).
I don't think Coldplay is trying to be anything they aren't, which counts for something.
3 - Paul Pearson
I meant, "I don't see what's so terribly OFFENSIVE", not "inoffensive." It's a paid holiday tomorrow. I'm a little tipsy. I'm a fellow Blogcritic, what do you expect?
4 - Christopher Rose
The worst thing about them is that they are seen as such a passionate and emotional band when they are actually really shallow and superficial. No wonder they apparently aspire to be U2, cos they are like that too.
5 - El Bicho
I am guessing U2, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, and even Phish top them for communal feelings.
That unnaturally elongated picture reminds me of the Heart videos when they tried to hide Ann's size in the late '80s.
6 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
At the start of their career, spurred on by a positive review, I had purchased their first album, but was turned off by the offer of a free poster featuring the solitary and brooding intensity of Chris Martin (despite having read a profile insisting that Coldplay was a band, dammit, not a vehicle for the antics of Martin.) I was disappointed by the album, then went on to be less than enchanted by their songwriting methodology when Martin confessed that "Yellow" was used because the word sounds good and rhymes well.
And I'll concede that a TV concert isn't quite a reasonable facsimile of a concert experience, but it might be telling that, in a performance I watched with the camera pointed almost exclusively at Martin, whining out of tune and playing the keyboard one-finger style, their stage show leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps they've improved over the years; I never gave them a second chance beyond the first impression - and am disinclined to do so - because they never showed they had the right instincts or musical smarts.
7 - El Bicho
wow, have suffered through the first 30 minutes of ACL and it's terrible. So lightweight and forgettable
8 - jaywee03
i love coldplay but their music now is not the same as it was before.
9 - Dr Dreadful
That's a relief, because I think people would start to notice if they just kept releasing the same album over and over.