#473 Coldplay- A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

I don't remember when I first heard Coldplay.  Was it their breakthrough hit Yellow, was it Clocks?  I mean, when they came out there was no escaping them really.  Before giving this album (Coldplay's second official release) a full listen, I need to state that I'm torn about them.  There's times that I fall hook, line, and sinker for their...well for their hooks.  And then there's times that the repetitiveness of the theme, the motif, it turns me way off much the way an over-pedantic teacher does.

I recently watched a Ted Talk that discussed the difference between a sermon, and a lecture.  In much the same way I'm often turned off by dogma, the hooks, the catchy underlined, highlighted, and boldfaced hooks that I identify Coldplay with, I fall for them; I get in bed with them, let them comfort me, ravage me, and then I wake up the next morning feeling cheap and manipulated.  No need to say a prayer for me--I'm more than ready to jump back in bed with A Rush of Blood to the Head (pun intended).

Politik-  like the rest of the album, the opening song was recorded in the weeks following 9-11.  The lyrics might not be about the attacks, but the gravity of the song, the sentiment lends itself quite well.  "Look at earth from outer space, everyone must find a place"

In My Place-  a song that spilled over from their first album, it was the carrot that lead them through writer's block to their second album.  It was the lead single from Rush of Blood, and garnered them a Grammy.  It's a song about a man wasting away while waiting for an unrequited love to change heart.  An interesting spin is to hear the song from the perspective of a blocked writer to his muse. "How long must you wait for it?"

God Put a Smile on your Face-  sonically... wow, so clean, full; especially in headphones it's like wine.  But I get that metronome feeling, a mechanical skeleton underneath the fleshy soul.  It reminds me a little of Radiohead, but lacks the chaos deep in the DNA... I feel pretentious saying that, because it really does sound great.

The Scientist-  the second or third single released (depending on what side of the pond you were on).  Of course I have a bias on songs lead by a piano.  The protagonist has lost his lover; is he retracing the events that led him here?  Seems like he's clueless as to what happened, "I was just guessing at numbers and figures, pulling your puzzles apart".  Einstein could have told him that Science and Love have few shared equations.

Clocks- The piano motif lead mega hit for Coldplay has been used in dozens of movies, television series, commercials, pro-wrestling, rap songs.  One use that I'm almost 100% sure was unique to my band, was when we mashed it during a Greek Fest performance into "Opa Nina Naj".   Can you hear the 123-123-12 rhythm? (No that's not my band in the link)

Daylight-  seems to me to be a metaphor of love.  "ooh and the sun will shine, yeah on this heart of mine"  It's as if musically, there are these individual loops, or patterns, let's call them building blocks.  And the song is built from layer upon layer of these colored blocks, cleverly shaped, but still displaying the jagged corners.

Green Eyes-  starts out guitar and singing, and for a minute I think there might be a song that's not going to fall into the structure, fit into a template.  But it does, and I'm feeling a little smug.

Warning Sign- The singer took someone (or something) for granted, and realized it almost too late. "I realized that you were an island and I passed you by, when you were an island to discover".  Luckily a warning sign turned him around in time.

A Whisper-  I haven't heard this song before, but right off the bat I dig the funky 3/4 time vs. 2/4 polyrhythm or hemiola.  Maybe the meter (much like in Clocks) is enough to distract me from the repetition.  "Who remembers you when you are gone, I hear the sound of the ticking of clocks"  Some musical Carpe Diem?

A Rush of Blood to the Head-  I hear the lyrics, and I can't help think of Forrest Gump and Jenny's House.  "I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn, do back the things it did to you in return."  Sometimes there's just not enough rocks.  I'm positive the song isn't about Forrest, but more so about acting impulsively, emotionally.  Surprisingly, I didn't notice a template at all for this song.  I don't dare listen again for fear of finding one.

Amsterdam- the album ends with another piano formula song:  Start with lone piano, add singing, then layer more keyboards.  Cue the rest of the band to crash in until the end... where it probably breaks with only the piano and singing again (I'm writing this before the song ends).  Is it that predictable?  Smug smile.

I won't pass judgement on the person who falls victim to the one night stand; or those who have a friend with benefits--that person they can count on to fill a need.  But after awhile, the one-nighter loses its appeal, its comfort, and becomes cliche.  Am I calling Coldplay musical-fuck-buddies?  I'm saying their songs individually are worthy, more than worthy of "getting in bed with."  They are beautifully written, almost perfect sounding, and you can count on them.  But maybe that's it--after awhile, you want something more, something spontaneous, flawed, unpredictable.

Next up #472  Def Leppard- Hysteria (1987)