Parachutes
Coldplay
117. Parachutes - Coldplay (2000) 6.19.26 Variety: 2 Adequacy: 4 Listenability: 3 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 2.4 rounded down to a 2 "You'd kill yourself for recognition/ Kill yourself to never, ever stop" Coldplay is one of those bands that people LOVE to hate on. And maybe with good reason. As much as I try to avoid celebrity gossip and that kind of junk pop culture, when there's so much of it about certain people, some is bound to seep through. Let's ignore all that though and look at these guys as a musical act. While never near the top of any list of mine, I think it's pretty impossible maintain any sort of shock that they were successful. Their hits at least are all pretty melodically forward, very easy to digest, and aimed squarely at the mainstream. As i get older, I find it harder to dismiss something entirely just because it isn't my cup of tea. At least I find it harder to shit on stuff. I also find it entirely worth my time to at least dip in and take a look at these huge acts that didn't necessarily ever gel with me. Yes, believe it or not, when something leaves a giant pop cultural footprint, it's worth investigating why. That doesn't mean you have to like it, but there's a reason it connected with SO many people. THE TRACKS "Don't Panic" - I had thought the only track I would recognize on here was "Yellow", and had assumed all the other hits had come on later albums. But nope. I remember always reading comparisons to Radiohead and Travis way back when, and I can sort of here it in the focus on melody, the slick production and the incorporation some interesting instrumental swings that recall mid period U2. This is perfectly fine, low key sad boy stuff, and is very hummable. "Shiver" - I'll be damned, another one I recognize. I hear a little more Grandaddy and some Doves in here this time. While it doesn't necessarily bother me, I can see how Martin's voice could grate on some people. He seems to vacillate between lazy, almost slurred delivery and his falsetto for the chorus. This is pretty damn catchy as well. "Spies" - Alright, maybe I have heard this whole thing before? My wife might own this actually, I'll have to check ( she does not - so where have I heard all these?). Starting to see some of the criticism of Martin's vocals. If every song you sing is sung like a love song, are they all love songs? Or are none of them? Maybe I'm confusing the permanently dreamy, just woke up delivery for something it's not. This is very middle of the road, and apart from the nice guitar tremolo, not much here I could find to interest me. Also, the "epic" ending felt very unearned. "Sparks" - Another one I recognize! This was a nice bit of a slow hangovery shuffle. Catchy, and pretty in all the right places. Martin's voice serves this pace a little better maybe. "Yellow" - Woof. Ok. I get it. It's super catchy, and a sing-a-long chorus that seems tailor made for big arena concerts. I can see it. I just hate both Martin's delivery here - it presages the baby-doll, "indie girl" or "cursive" singing that people all complain about nowadays. This is the SAME shit. Also the lyrics are the worst sort of placeholder nonsense. I don't mind dumb lyrics, or even nonsensical ones, but this one gets to me in the same way that Elton John's "Rocketman" does where it all SEEMS to make sense until you pay attention. Is yellow supposed to be the color of those stars? Is it some representation of happiness? I guess smiley faces are yellow? Some flowers are yellow? I don't know, but I tend to think disease and decay, decadence, or even urine when I think of yellow. I feel like I'm missing something obvious. Catchy, hooky, good arrangement. Hate the vocals, confused by the message. This is 20/20 hindsight, but the more cynical part of me can also see this as the moment Martin cracked the formula and his eyes briefly turned into cartoon $$s ( or ££s I guess?). His Eureka moment where he discovered the secret of separating millions of wine mom's from $15.98 plus tax. "Trouble" - The hits keep coming I guess. I really thought all this stuff was spread out among 2-3 albums. Another fine arrangement, and a very catchy vocal melody in both the verse, the main piano line, and a sweeping, soaring chorus. Martin seems to have an ok range, so I can't tell if the falsetto he slips into in between even syllables in the same word is a conscious decision of an affect. I think the song would be better without it, but would it be as successful. He's SO EMOTIONAL, you guys - you can really feel it in his delivery! "Parachutes" - Not really worth mentioning other than what a weird choice for your title track to be a nothing of barely an interlude. "High Speed" - Some noodly, much more basic feeling adult contemporary stuff here, more in the mold of a slow motion Dave Matthews. That said, Martin's voice is much more under control here and maintains a mainline feel. I also have heard this one though. Somehow. "We Never Change" - The first real dud on here for me. This one relies almost entirely on Martin and his sub-Nick Drake-isms. There's not much at all going on here instrumentally either. Maybe just a hint of some interesting atmosphere with that echoey twangy "Sleep Walk" guitar. "Everything's Not Lost" - This didn't really work for me either. This felt like a swing into a sort of attempt at a Warren Zevon or Randy Newmanesque 70s, witty piano ditty. Not these guys' strong suit, I have to say. I can imagine this was designed to be the moment the lighters coming out for at the live show. A much better sing-a-long chorus would be needed for that though. Closest thing to a wet fart on this album we've had yet. "Life Is For Living" - The hidden track. Are there any albums from '95-'01 or so that DIDN'T have a hidden track? Or two? "Guys that last track didn't work. We have to out-schmaltz it. TO THE COLD CAVE!" Some sort of weird take on a waltz, this feels less like an outro than a just plain unfinished song, one that also feels well outside their purview. HIGHLIGHTS - "Don't Panic" - "Shiver" - "Sparks" - "Trouble" MIDLIGHTS - "Spies" - "Yellow" - "High Speed" LOWLIGHTS - "We Never Change" - "Everything's Not Lost" - "Life Is For Living" FINAL THOUGHTS I didn't hate this by any means. It was full of a lot of nice melodies, nice production, fine playing, and interesting arrangements. My biggest issues were that it all seemed very self serious and had an aura of "this is important, this means something" that rubbed me the wrong way in the same way that U2's "Rattle and Hum" era stuff did. Martin's vocals also got old pretty fast, and I wish he'd had some more energy on some of these, and had varied his delivery a bit more. Might have to see if I can find any covers that hit me better to verify. I could be wrong though, maybe that just awake at 4Am after a night of heavy drinking voice is more of an integral part of the sound than i want to admit. There just wasn't anything worthy of any hatred, Mild contempt maybe? It's a professional sounding, hook-filled, hit delivery machine. I can look at this in the same way people might have looked at Christopher Cross in the late 70s/ early 80s. Finely crafted music aimed squarely at a particular audience, that was maybe unfairly maligned by the cool kids. Sure, I enjoy a bit of "Sailing" and I won't necessarily kick "Arthur's Theme" out of bed, but by the time "Ride Like the Wind" comes around, I'm a bit weary of the approach. Sure, ALL popular bands are guilty of repeating what works. But the best ones do evolve and provide some variety. Coldplay feels surprisingly fully formed here, and I'm willing to guess I could keep going through their discography without seeing very much development at all. As much as my younger self would hate to admit it, this does not feel like it was undeservedly loved by the masses. At least not in the way that it was baffling or anything. I can totally see why this went down smooth. It's just never was, and remains not my thing. You just won't catch me performatively turning the radio station in disgust or making a snide comment when I hear them. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Those four catchiest ones are worth rescuing, but won't be making it anywhere near my 5-star playlist. FURTHER LISTENING - The Bends by Radiohead - Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan - Urban Hymns by The Verve - The Last Broadcast by Doves - The Man Who by Travis