Coldplay: The Pros and Conservatives

The world seems to have a love/hate relationship with Coldplay. Let us first dish out the love.

The Guardian says Coldplay is "the biggest band on the planet." I wonder if that means biggest band dead or alive, because I have to say that I believe that title would go to The Beatles, hands down. But if you're talking about current bands, maybe Coldplay is.

Simon Garfield, apparently a writer for The Observer, talks about how protective Parlophone and Coldplay have been about their first album, distributing early copies of their new CD X&Y under the name Album by The Fir Trees. Album is sealed and cannot be played in computers. If you figure out how to copy it, your personal information will be encoded in the file so you can be prosecuted. That's pretty intense security if you ask me. Surely they must be a huge band if they have to keep an album that far under wraps. Incidentally, now that everyone knows The Fir Trees Album is really Coldplay, doesn't that mean the secret is out? Hmm... Apparently this whole thing isn't working anyway (see downloads below).

Garfield goes on to show how much they impressed Parlophone with their continued strength with the release of their second album. I have to say that, whether I like Coldplay or not, I must admit that they are very good at releasing solid albums. At last, Garfield introduces X&Y as an album with "grand aural ambitions."

So yeah, I read the article, and to be honest, I don't see that much substantial proof that they are, in fact, the biggest band in the world, but it does accurately suggest that Coldplay produces solid music. We'll have to wait and see what happens when the album is released in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is getting himself on the bad side of conservatives who think he shouldn't be criticizing EMI. One hater, Vilmar, calls for a boycott of Coldplay's music, calling Martin, a "maroon."

Maroon:
Transitive verb
Inflected forms: ma·rooned, ma·roon·ing, ma·roons 1. To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon. 2. To abandon or isolate with little hope of ready rescue or escape: The travelers were marooned by the blizzard.
Noun
1. often Maroon a. A fugitive Black slave in the West Indies in the 17th and 18th centuries. b. A descendant of such a slave. 2. A person who is marooned, as on an island.
Etymology
From French marron, fugitive slave, from American Spanish cimarrón, wild, runaway, perhaps from cima, summit (from runaways' fleeing to the mountains), from Latin c*ma, sprout ; see cyma.
3. A dark reddish brown to dark purplish red.
Etymology
French marron, chestnut, from Italian marrone.

So either Martin is a slave from the 17th centuries or he's shipwrecked or he's reddish-purple. I like the latter, myself.

My opinion is this: who cares?! Really, does it matter what he thinks about EMI? Does that make Coldplay a good band? I listened to the new single on the radio and I liked it. It doesn't matter to me what he believes or thinks. His ideals don't make him a good or bad musician. Heck, Liam and Noel Gallagher are pretentious pricks but few question the fact that Oasis was highly influential and are still somewhat talented. Let's face it, guys. Politics do not decide how good a band is.

In other news...

Do you remember Charlotte Church? I do. My grandma has her first CD, and I think I saw her on Touched By An Angel a few times. The adolescent opera singer is now nearing 20-years old, but little has been mentioned about her recently. At least, not in America. While I was reading through some news, I came across this article about Church, which opened the door to a plethora of news I hadn't heard about. First, she inherited the money she made off of her albums at the age of 18. Then she dumped live-in boyfriend Kyle Johnson, who she had previously suggested she would marry. A week later she set her sights on rugby star Gavin Henson. Then she beat up Johnson for spreading rumours about their intimacy. Then she denied that she'd been sleeping with Henson. Church's mom then said she approved of Henson. Then she lashed out again at Johnson. She revealed that she might be in need of singing lessons due to the strain she had put on her vocal chords due to drinking and smoking, then revealed that she and Henson were a couple. Then a fake picture of Church spread around the internet. Then she got mad at the press, like every celebrity. It keeps going, but as you can see, she's not the girl she used to be. So much for the "voice of an angel."

It's been nine years since the Spice Girls exploded onto pop charts. What?! It's official. I'm old. I can't believe it's been that long. If you miss them, though, you only have one more year to wait until they perform their 10-year reunion concert. So far it sounds like it's just a one-day thing, but here's hoping for a tour!

Travis Morrison, formerly of The Dismemberment Plan, is going back on tour. Columbus last saw him open for Death Cab for Cutie last fall, and they were weird. The keyboard girl looks like a man. But if you like that kind of thing, looks like he'll be coming back.

Play the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy flash game at BBC Radio!

And lastly, Nike asked 20 bloggers to submit designs for a new Nike shoe. Vote for your favorite online here. The winner gets 100 pairs of his or her shoe. At first glance, I think I like Sensory Impact's "Sense This."

Upcoming Columbus Shows

5.27 - The Killers w/ Hot Hot Heat and Robbers on the Street - Promowest Pavilion
6.01 - Gang Gang Dance - The Wexner Center
6.02 - The Wrens - Little Brothers
6.03 - Tokyo Rose - High Five
6.08 - Modest Mouse - Promowest Pavilion
6.13 - Iron and Wine - The Newport
6.15 - Travis Morrison - Supraphonic Studios (Where the heck is that?!)
6.16 - Comets On Fire - The Wexner Center
6.29 - Black Eyed Peas w/ Talib Kweli - Promowest Pavilion
8.11 - Ben Folds w/ Ben Lee and Rufus Wainwright - Promowest Pavilion
8.31 - Coldplay w/ Rilo Kiley - Germain Ampitheater
9.06 - Of Montreal - TBA

Daily Downloads
from regnyouth:

Tegan and Sara - This Business of Art (link, mp3)
Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (link, mp3)