Let me preface this with a simple statement: I am not normally a music critic, and I don’t normally go out of my way to promote this musician or that (although I will frequently go out of my way to denounce every musician on the planet.) I guess this is a roundabout way of saying I am picky when it comes to my music, but damnit every now and then an album or song will come by that I feel I must expend a certain amount of energy to share my emotional experiences. So without further adieu, Coldplay.
Wait, first, here’s another disclaimer. Yeah, I’m prepared for the shit storm. In fact, here you go, so you don’t have to quote it.
Alright, now with that out of the way, I would just like to say, this new album, Viva La Vida, is absolutely fucking amazing. It was amazing last night, and this morning after I woke up, yeah, it’s still just as amazing.
I’ve never really been able to say that about many albums.
If you listen to radio you may have heard the album-titled single, "Viva La Vida", already. Here’s the video:
And here’s the first album on the track, "Life in Technicolor," the intro of which is mind numbing. Sorry, the video is a live concert taping with altogether way too much whistling, screaming and clapping, but the musicality by 1:15 is enough to account for it.
After watching 40 Year Old Virgin, and having been forced to listen to "Yellow" over and over and over again by mainstream radio, I never gave Coldplay a second chance. I mean, really, "Yellow" was just a very annoying song after the 10th time listening to it.
But at my job we’ve been increasingly selling more popular CDs, and this one arrived and sat in the back for a couple days so I had a chance to look at the cover and the song list. These alone overcome my powerful aversion to this band and sold the CD to me before even hearing a second of it.
As it turns out, though, Coldplay, as most of their fans have said time and again, is a band in possession of a great mass of musical talent. The piano lines in certain parts actually made my spine tingle. Let me repeat that again for the emotionally numb: My spine tingled. And that’s just the beginning of the emotion rollercoaster that is Viva La Vida.
I realize at this point that it’s rather futile to try to describe this to you. If you’re willing to give Coldplay a chance, then by all means open up the iTunes Store and preview some of the tracks. If you’re anything like me, you won’t even have to debate it (although I personally did call my bank and check my funds first…) Two clicks of a lambs tail later, the download begins and like a child waiting in line for Harry Potter you eagerly begin prancing around from foot to foot.
And, of course, if you’re already a Coldplay fan, then I’m preaching to the choir, so to speak.
Tags: Coldplay, music, Shit I don't normally do
