I thought long and hard about the subject of my first post. After much consideration I've decided to address something that has bothered me for years.
Apparently Coldplay had become the biggest rock band in the world. This is odd to me since Coldplay is not a rock band. I am not a music critic or a musician. I did master the recorder in third grade and played a mean clarinet for a few years in middle school. Also I can operate most CD players and tune a radio. That sadly, is the extent of my musical expertise. I'm sure there are certain criteria that must be met in order for a song to be classified a rock song. Undoubtedly these involve time signatures, chord progressions and the wearing of leather pants. However, when it comes to classifying songs I tend to disregard literal definitions and base my judgments on feel. And to me, with few exceptions, Coldplay does not feel like a rock band.
As far as I can tell, Coldplay has done everything in its power to emulate U2. Chris Martin is earnest to a fault, he wears tape on his fingers and believes in fair trade and whales. Most Colplay songs can be described as either anthemic or ethereal and sound quite lovely in a stadium setting. Yet for reasons unknown to me, the members of Coldplay have not yet figured out how to harness their collective testosterone long enough to write a rock song. On each CD U2 manages to write at least 2 or 3 straightforward rock songs. You don't even have to listen to the music to know which songs are the rock songs. All you have to do is look at the titles: Bullet the Blue Sky, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Elevation, etc. When you look at the titles of Coldplay songs you see things like Yellow, Clocks, and Fix You, which has nothing to do with cars or robots. Sadly, the best Coldplay "rock" song ever written is called City of Blinding Lights and it was written and performed by U2.
I actually like most of the Coldplay songs I've heard. I don't dislike the music Coldplay makes, I simply don't understand the way it is classified. I like to listen to Coldplay when I am tired, and I have a feeling that if my cat ever ran away Chris Martin's falsetto warblings would help soften the blow. People need music that brightens their outlook on life and helps them to fall asleep. James Taylor and Cat Stevens built entire careers writing songs that do just that. I don't remember anyone calling them rock stars.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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Mitchell, I have to say that I agree with completely. However, I'm happy to inform you that whales are real, at least as long as we don't spear them to extinction. As for U2, yes, I'd consider them a rock band, but sort of a wussy one at that. I think U2 tries way too hard and only succeeds because of their unexplainable immense popularity.
ReplyDeleteI'll concede to you that U2 has written a few noteworthy rock songs, such as the above mentioned Bullet the Blue Sky and Sunday, Bloody Sunday. However, to be a true rock BAND, anger and hatred must consistently permeate a band's lyrics, guitar riffs, chord progressions, drum lines, etc. Just because a band sounds like a rock band, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are. If this was true, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, and Creed would all be considered rock bands. If you don't fell depressed and enraged while listening to a band, unfortunately, the band simply isn't a rock band. Thus, although there are a few exceptions, U2 simply does not qualify as a rock band...nor does Coldplay. U2 and Coldplay need to spend more time listening to Tool, Metallica, and Rage Against the Machine, and less time kissing babies and groveling at the feet of the Pope.
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