Don't Coldplay With My Heart

Sweet Artwork, dudes!

I think we all oughta know Coldplay by now. With every new release comes scores of promotion and interviews where the artist calls this "the best thing we've ever done," and simultaneously downplays the relevance of their previous material. Have you ever heard a singer say "Well you know, I really loved my last album, this one just doesn't seem to have the life of the one I'm about to release."? Hell, no. It's all part of this dance we participate in, a fantasy world where each subsequent release is supposed to improve upon the last. A universe where an artist is unfulfilled unless they can convince themselves they are getting better and not getting worse.

Coldplay isn't getting better. I know they'd like to think they are and mainstream culture would love to believe the same, but they just aren't. They're older and, presumably, wiser. They brought on Brian Eno to give them a new spin, toured Latin America to get a new snap in their step, and declared a distinctly Hispanic flair to be present in their current recordings. They're getting bigger and bigger, becoming one of the more polarizing bands on the globe, but they aren't getting better. And they're not necessarily getting worse either. I've heard there is less falsetto on Viva La Vida, but I don't really notice a difference. The lyrics are as hit-or-miss as they always have been ("Those who are dead are not dead, they're just living in my head"...wow) At this point, it just comes down to you. Old dogs don't always need new tricks.

Are you fine with two or three above-average songs and an instrumental opener that would have benefited itself and the album if it were an actual song? Are you satisfied with a reverse exponential curve that runs from Parachutes to Viva La Vida and beyond? Or did you see the Apple commercial, buy the album, and convince yourself that older and wiser equals bigger and better. Because I, as much as anyone, can acknowledge the power of the right chord at the right time and can understand if that man-crush on Chris Martin just refuses to let go.

Listen:
Lost!
Viva La Vida
[from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends|buy]