VCV: Coldplay – “Everything’s Not Lost”

Fiona Apple released her sophomore album just over 10 years ago.  Following her peculiar acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, the word was out that our Fiona had a bit of a kooky streak in her.  Those whispers grew louder when she chose a 90-word poem she'd written as the title for that second record.  She said the poem was almost like a letter of encouragement she wrote to herself, something to help buoy her spirits as she navigated her personal struggles and attempted to ignore the outsiders pouring scorn on her.  I thought the title reeked of batshit looniness but I understood the need to take a stab at some self-affirmation (and I really liked the record).

It's been a hard week this week.  I don't plan to lay my tedious troubles on you lot.  I have my struggles, just like all of you.  Some of you struggle more and some less.  None of us are exempt from troubles and they get us down and sometimes we need something or someone to lift our spirits.  Songs often do that for me and tonight I'm going to take a break from the blues.

When I counted up my demons
Saw there was one for every day

It has felt this week like every day there was something different ready to go wrong, a different demon for every day.  I don't want to spend much time counting up those demons because I'm hoping to leave them far, far behind me but there were times it felt like they were around every corner.

'Cause if you ever feel neglected
If you think all is lost
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost

Coldplay's first record Parachutes is a wonderful, acoustic-driven, humble little record.  They've expanded their sound and become quite good since then but I don't think they'll ever make as sweet or small a record as they did their first time out.  "Everything's Not Lost" is what passes for their anthemic moment and it does have enough lift to compel lighters to sway in the air, but in that uniquely earnest Coldplay sort of way.  It's that letter of encouragement we all sometimes need.  I never felt so bad that I thought everything was lost, but reassurance has a regenerative quality that was in short supply this week.

I'm finding my way back.