Coldplay - Parachutes
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Free Music Notes for Parachutes
Free Music Review: A fair look at Coldplay to balance some unfair reviews
Hit: 5 Stars
Sometimes I wish Coldplay wasn't as popular as they are now. The main reason for that being that amount of "OMFG!!!!!111This is the worst band EVER!!!" reviews that pollute the album overview pages. Another, closely related reason being that according to the indie guidebook(*coughs*Pitchforkmedia*coughs*), a band which reaches such a status as Coldplay enjoy now, must be immediately derided and snubbed, notwithstanding the quality of their music.
Now on to business. I am a Coldplay fan ever since the piano-led intro of Trouble made it's way into my bedroom on a cold weekday morning, corrupted by white noise from the ether. One cannot stress enough the importance of this album to those who grew up at the time it was released. In 2000, the music world had reached a deep slump. The Britpop era was over, and although Radiohead had released Kid A, they did not carry any meaning for a 13-year-old. Pop trash filled the airwaves, an old cliché, but still true. Then Coldplay appeared on the scene. Their sober, somber stylings and their honest and heartfelt lyrics were quite a change from their overproduced peers. They were a simple band writing simple songs about love gained and lost. They did not rock out. They might've even been 'bedwetters'. It mattered not. What did matter was that Coldplay had a sincerity to them that most other bands don't have, and their music resonated within not just a few of us. There is no objective way to view this. Why should, after all, such a band that does not innovate, that sings about such subjects that would've sounded mundane in the mouth of any other frontman, gain such a huge following? They did not have the image to support them either. Or maybe they did: both in words and in appearance, Chris Martin seemed like so ordinary. But even that does not seem to be an adequate clarification. After all, bands like Travis had a similar college-student fashion sensibilities. They too, were part of the spate of post-Radiohead 'sensitive' bands. By the way, those who STILL insist that Coldplay DO sound like Radiohead are severly deluding themselves. I've always maintained that Coldplay had much more in common musically with the Beatles and U2, and their latest record is more evidence to that. Coming back to the old point, I've never really liked Travis, the Doves or any of Coldplay's other counterparts much. So how DO Coldplay manage to stand out and not get sucked into the quagmire? Gwyneth Paltrow surely could have hardly been enough.
There is no real answer to that question, save that Coldplay somehow seem to have that automatic intuition that so many other artists lack. There is never an instrument or a chord that sounds out of place. All their songs have a vaguely familiar feel. This usually means, like in the case of Oasis, that the melody lines or some of the lyrics have been nicked from some other artist. Not so with Coldplay. Their success doesn't remove anything from the fact that this is certainly a top-class album. It is gentle and warm, and yet musically interesting enough to remain in any collection for a lifetime. Their follow-up is only even better. I have only listened to their latest release X&Y once, but if it is any worse than it's predecessors, that can be hardly blamed on the band, as any other artists would have buckled under the enormous pressure far earlier. And if Coldplay do break up soon after their 3rd album, perhaps we can hope that they will be judged more fairly than they have been until now.
Free Music Review: If you still don't own it, buy it now
Hit: 5 Stars
Parachutes is quite possibly the best album that has been released since Kurt Cobain's death. Prior to the release of the album, rock had become a loud, angry place of personal expression, a place for angst and rage. While these emotions are totally acceptable in my book (in fact, I like a lot of angry music), Coldplay redefined rock when Parachutes was released. I heard Yellow on every radio station in this state, including our thrash rock paradise 93X. The song (and the band) represent a massive reorientation of rock in the new millenium.I'll write a song-by-song review, because its worth it.
Don't Panic: Coldplay could not have started a CD in better form. I wish it wasn't only two minutes long. (Though I would maintain that they start Rush of Blood with Politik just as well.) 5 stars.
Shiver: Could have been the follow up to Yellow. However, the band picked Trouble, probably because the song simply has more artistic merit. This track gets a little obnoxious after a while anyway. 4 stars.
Spies: Totally out of genre for Chris Martin, but it is a great song. One can really almost feel the Bends vibe on this track. Really an underrated song. 5 stars.
Sparks: Soft, unnotable music. It's very good, it just doesn't fit between tracks 3 and 5. 4 stars.
Yellow: Everyone's heard it, and knows what they think of it. My opinion: it's a great rock love song. I haven't yet heard a better one. 5 stars.
Trouble: Really morose, arguably more so than their later Scientist. In my opinion, that is not the case, but this track is certainly musically and lyrically more creative than the Scientist. 5 stars.
Parachutes: Only about a minute long, but it's really pretty. Should have been a full length track. 4 stars.
High Speed: The first track they recorded for this album. Actually, it's kind of a stupid song. 2 stars.
We Never Change: Kind a sweet, slow piano ballad. If that's not your cup of tea, then it would make sense. Otherwise, its a good song. 4.5 stars.
Everything's Not Lost: The title alone has a warm, reassuring tone to it. After you hear this song when they're in concert, you go home and listen to it for days on end. Unquestionably 5 stars.
Hidden Track/Life Is For Living: I wish they'd replaced High Speed with this. They play this in concert, too, and even though you could teach a two year old to play in on the piano in about twelve seconds, it's a great tune. 5 stars.
Obviously, these sentiments are all based on my own personal opinion. A lot of people disagree with me. But the things I am drawn to in music are real attempts at art; at something really meaningful and emotional. That doesn't write off thrash rock or any other genre of rock. In fact, it lets you really appreciate the diversity of music. What I'm getting at is, even if you're someone who hasn't turned your Metallica down in over six years, you should still, go out and buy this album, because it's still the best rock album of the nascent century.
Free Music Review: Coldplay is a Breathtaker
Hit: 5 Stars
No matter how hard I try, I can't steer away from Coldplay. The alternative rock band from Britain has completely changed my world and I don't know how it happened. The first time I heard about these guys was when I was watching some music channel on TV and saw the music video for "Yellow." I totally ignored it, and now. Years later, I became a Coldplay fan. After officially declaring myself a Coldplay fan, I went to the nearest and cheapest record store and bought Parachutes, Coldplay's first effort other than an EP.The album starts with a calm and relaxing theme "Don't Panic." Here Chris Martin uses his soothing voice to tell the listener how lucky many people are to be alive. It quite short, only about three minutes long, but it conveys the message well. The music is excellent, with an acoustic guitar in the background and a soothing electric guitar to provide the melody.
The next track, "Shiver", immediately starts with an electric guitar and goes into a fast intro, then Martin sings about how his love ignores him. It's a wonderful song, with the instruments and Martin's voice blends together perfectly.
The third track is "Spies" is not one of my favorites, but it's a little haunting and creepy. Martin's voice turns into a haunting voice, a voice that sounds like a person that is a little enigmatic. Then the electric guitars kick in and the song turns into an amazing ride and will make the listener feel satisfied.
"Sparks" uses the bass as a harmony, which is used well. Martin's voice sounds a little scratchy, but other than that, it's a calming song,
"Yellow" is probably the most famous track on this album. It's a lot faster than the other songs, but it is done well. I didn't know this at first, but I found out that Martin might be singing about premature birth babies. When a child is born prematured, then its skin might be yellow and it can be healed by light. Therfore, the lyrics "Look at the stars / look how they shine for you" "Your skin and bones" and so on.
"Trouble" is one of my favorites on this album. Martin's voice comes out great and the piano melody is amazing. I love this song.
"Parachutes" is really short, about 45 seconds long. If you blink, you will miss it. It's a good acoustic song and takes a break from the other songs. At the end, you wish it would continue...
"High Speed" is my favorite song on this album. It has a long, but great intro, with guitars and everything. And Martin's voice is amazing. I can't stress how good this song it is. Its amazing.
"We Never Change" is a great song in which Martin is singing about how we still wish for the same desires that we wanted even long ago.
The amazing album concludes with "Everything's Not Lost." As you can judge by the title, it is song that ends in a hopeful kind of tone. There is a short pause then an inspiration verse that concludes one of the best albums of the year. Don't be the one to miss it!!
Free Music Review: Spiderweb Indeed
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a great indigenous effort by Coldplay.Very often when people talk about bands they forget the other band members and focus attention on the vocalist but I must add at this point that the whole band seems to be in a great groove. Its one of the best first albums you'll ever hear. Its nowhere near being the best Debut though.
I heard "Yellow" a long time back and dismissed it off as a silly POP song. Never gave it a chance to grow on me. Then sometime in 2003 I heard the song again and I was just broken. Its like a love anthem you'd sing for the one you truly love. There's no one person who the song really belongs to because it
holds a great spark of emotion in its intriguing sound. Yellow brings a smile on my face each time I listen to it. I downloaded the video then and I saw what I could hardly believe. "Look how they shine for you..." I can safely say that way into time I'll look back at my life and this is one song that will remind me of those cold winter nights and the silly happy for no reason summer days. God Bless Yellow.
"Dont Panic" Used to amaze me until I heard it 100 times.Its an average opener.
"Shiver" has this rapid emotion building melody to it which is smooth but a little incomplete.Good song though, one that will remain in your mind.A definite strong point of the album are the groovy hooks and chain of "Im better than the last one" Kinda tracks."Spies" is a song you'll often find playing in my
room. It seems to make my incompletely complete room look complete."Sparks" is something I wont do the foolishness of describing in mere words.
"Trouble" is my favourite song on the album and its just the perfect song to hear....nevermind its just beautifully depressing yet uplifting.
"Parachutes" never ceases to amaze me with its 46 seconds of control and absoluteness in terms of words and melody."Here I am and I take my time , Here I am and I wait in line always...always" A Tearjerker! A Marvel!
"High Speed" is super fantastic. "We Never Change" is something that makes the album look (or sound) Like a wall of emotions , all complete in themself. These are all winners mind you. Coldplay are here to stay.
"We Never Change" is a song that lazily highlights the feeling of waking up late on a morning you were supposed to be awake earlier."Everythings Not Lost" is just unbelievable but wears out on you soon if your impatient.(Im not) "Careful where you stand" is a moody groover.
This album is close to being perfect. Beware of the song "Trouble" because it can make or break you.
Free Music Review: They Live In A Beautiful World...
Hit: 5 Stars
Coldplay conquered their UK home territory when "Parachutes" was released there in July 2000. The album "officially" arrived in the US in November, and is finally making some headway due to the exposure of the hard-rocking singalong track "Yellow". Coldplay's "Paracchutes" is the logical extension of Travis' "The Man Who" of a year ago, and is equally compelling, mixing hard to resist melodies (at times rocking hard, at times very intimate) with touching lyrics about love, regret, hope, life."Don't Panic" is a stunning album opener, with the immortal line, and pseudo-motto for the band, "We Live in a Beautiful World". (An earlier version of this song can be found on the "Blue Room EP, without that guitar riff during the "Beautiful World" chorus.)
"Shiver", in the UK the first single from the album, starts off with a great riff and then showcases an interplay between vocals and guitar. One of the "harder" songs on the album.
"Spies" starts off with the electric guitar whaling away, to give room to the quiet vocals of Chris Martin, with the rest of the ban then joining in. One of the better songs on the album. (It also is the opening song on their current US tour: with the stage still dark, opening music of Ennio Morricone, yes he of the "spagetti westerns", eventually giving way to the band coming on stage and starting "Spies". If you have a chance to catch them live, don't hesitate! Go! Run!)
"Sparks" is a quiet song, with Chris leading on accoustic guitar and leading to a haunting chorus. It reminded me of Fiona Apple's most "desparate quiet" songs.
"Yellow" is the track that put the band on the US map, and while of course not bad, I find it to be one of the less compelling songs on the album. But a good "singalong" rocker, for sure.
"Trouble" is another piano-led, softer song. Then comes the title track "Parachutes", lasting all of 41 seconds, with Chris on accoustic guitar. After that, the album loses direction for a while, till we get to the closing track "Everything's Not Lost", which is a fitting finale as it nearly sums up what Coldplay is all about: strong melody, touching lyrics, emotions all around.
"Parachutes" is the best album of the year, so far... I know it is technically a Year 2000 album, but oh well... (Incidentally, the album's music samples which you can click on at the top of the page, are pretty good and representative of the album.)