My Coldplay.com

DATE : 29th July, 2005 (Fri)
Coldplay, Green Stage, 19:20

It seems these days that saying Coldplay are overrated is a bit like saying the Pope wears a silly hat - it might be true, but you feel you’d be struck down by lightning for saying it. But are we being a wee bit unfair to the ten-million-album-selling, Hollywood-actress-marrying, US-chart-topping, monster UK quartet? Well, when they opened to the biggest crowd of the weekend with “Square One”, it didn’t really matter what you said about them - the crowd (a sizeable part of which had probably come just for this) was mesmerized. Those of us who couldn’t shake the thought that their last album “X&Y” had, somewhere during the creative process, fallen into a vat of vague insipidness were forced to do no small amount of word-eating: when they play live, you can’t accuse these boys of lacking passion (it wasn’t hot enough for Chris Martin to be sweating that much).
They played with a discernible rock edge, gave it just the right amount of pathos for the ballads, did plenty of sing-along crowd pleasers from “Parachutes” and “A Rush of Blood to the Head”, and Martin’s performance was zealous enough to suggest they are trying to live up to their leviathan status. But the enduring question in most people’s minds was: “Is Mr. Martin just a tad bitter at having to play under the Foo Fighters?”, a band who, after all, they beat to the No. 1 US chart position with their last album. Martin twice made quips in his lyrics to former Nirvana kitman David Grohl’s band, notably in “Yellow”, where he crooned: “Look at the stars, see how they shine for you, and the Foo Fighters too”. Salutations or sour grapes? Either way, it was unnecessary. Inter-band banter aside, this was a set that would keep the fans happy; bold and emotional, framed with two songs from the new album (they finished with the majestic, beautifully structured “Fix You”), and not without its inadvertent comedy, when the first words Chris Martin bellowed, with ill-timed enthusiasm, were: “Hello Japan! I believe the word is ’sayonara’!”. Mild guffaws from the ‘Anti-arrigato’s at Fuji Rock’ camp aplenty.

Coldplay’s latest album launched at the top of the charts in 28 countries. We go behind the music to find out the mass appeal of these regular blokes.

Chris Martin, 28, sits down at his piano to play the first few bars of “Square One,” the dreamily melodic first track off of Brit-pop supergroup Coldplay’s newest album. Directing all of his energy at the ivories, he folds his lanky 6-foot-1 frame almost in half, resembling an overgrown Schroeder from the classic “Peanuts” comic strip. As the song gets more intense, he pushes back on his piano stool, kicks his heels at the ground and shakes his body to the beat of the drums being pounded out by Will Champion, 26. It’s a striking image: One almost expects Martin — best known to some as “Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow” — to knock the stool right out from underneath himself. It’s clear Martin is lost in the music, lost in the moment. And, with bandmates Champion, bassist Guy Berryman, 27, and guitarist Jonny Buckland, 27, he brings the crowd (tonight, it’s those assembled at a rain-soaked amphitheater in Baltimore) right along with him.
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Director: Sophie Muller
Year: 2005
From: X&Y

Information

The music video for Fix You, directed by Sophie Muller, was shot at the end of two concerts on 4 July and 5 July 2005 at Reebok Stadium in Bolton, England. The concert goers doubled as extras for the video shoot, which required two takes on each day to complete.

In the first half of the video, Chris Martin wanders the streets of London, while the slogan Make Trade Fair is projected onto the National Film Theatre, using the same Baudot code colour scheme on the artwork of X&Y. The tunnels that Martin is seen wandering within are located near London Bridge station. The bridge that he walks across is Waterloo Bridge connecting the Southbank with The Strand.

As soon as the electric guitar kicks in, Martin darts through streets corners until finally reaching the Reebok Stadium, where he joins the rest of the band for the song’s finale. The metal steps signal the start of the Reebok Stadium scene.

After the video was released, rumours in the United States suggested that, given the location of some of the footage, the video was a tribute following the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Although this is impossible as the filming took place in June, it is suggested this due to references such as the construction site in the background as one scene with a sign for King’s Cross in the corner, which may referring to rebuilding the damage at station. The band themselves have never denied such a connection.

Via Coldplayzone.it

Chilly winds whipping mercilessly into a crowded outdoor arena and a ceaselessly melodramatic Chris Martin on stage, leading Coldplay out for its second sold-out night at London’s Crystal Palace National Sports Centre last Tuesday seemed like a dreadful combination. Wet night it was, but for whatever the reason, the worries of this gig soaking out to be a soggy granny jumper of a disaster proved to be unfounded as Coldplay unswervingly held up its unforgettable fire and refused to allow the elements to rain on its parade.

Once again, the confidence received from its hotly-received new album X&Y was telling, but the raw energy of the masses locking into the band’s live intensity spoke volumes of the upward gradient that favours Coldplay these days.

“Impossible is nothing” could well be the band’s backstage mantra.

Two weekends ago, it bowled over the masses at the Glastonbury festival; last week’s pair of London dates only served to underline the fact that Coldplay is navigating and also overshadowing the arena rock reputation of U2 with each concert conquered on its Twisted Logic world tour.
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LIVE8 RULED! Best gig I’ve never been too. The TV coverage was awesome. Thank gawd for my Sky+.

I thoroughly enjoyed U2, and Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ brought tears to my eyes. Razorlight were awesome, so were The Killers [although, they only played one song] and Velvet Revolver. I loved Keane and Snow Patrol. The Who just blew me away. Those guy sure know how to rawk!

Robbie Williams was awesome, as usual, but I miss Yolande Charles [who I went to school with] on bass . What’s happening??

Speaking of bass players, here’s my joint first favourite bassist [alongside Keanu]. Mr Guy Berryman, of Coldplay, who did an excellent set and a great duet of ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ with Richard Ashcroft [formerly of The Verve]. I had the priviledge of hearing them rehearse this last monday at Crystal Palace.

Let’s hope the concert has an impact on Wednesday’s G8 Summit…

Are you going to Edinburgh?

An inventive stylist who rarely repeats himself, Mark Romanek has found ways to amplify pop music on film in quirky, personal ways. He’s done it for Beck, David Bowie, Jay-Z and Johnny Cash. Recently the director reached a little further, mixing filmmaking with live concert showmanship in a clip for Coldplay’s ” Speed of Sound.” The result is a cinematic light show that pushed Romanek’s crew to get big performances out of a lighting board and a room full of light emitting diodes.
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Chords:

D   G/D   C/D   A/D   G 

Intro: D, G/D, C/D, A/D

Version 1:

         D                      G/D      C/D       A/D
When you try your best, but you don’t succeed
  	 D                      G/D          C/D   A/D
When you get what you want, but not what you need
	 D                  G/D         C/D        A/D
When you feel so tired, but you can’t sleep
              D     G/D       C/D      A/D
Stuck in re - ver - er - er - erse.

Version 2:

         D                    G/D       C/D       A/D
When the tears come streaming down your face
         D                  G/D       C/D       A/D
When you lose something you can’t replace
         D                    G/D      C/D      A/D
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
             D    G/D       C/D      A/D
Could it be  wo - oo - oo - orse?

Chorus:

G              A/D           G
   Lights will gu - ide you home
G            A/D       G
   And ig - nite your bones
G             A/D        D
   And I will try to fix you

Instrumental:       

D, G/D, C/D, A/D  x 2 

Version 3:

    D                G/D     C/D     A/D
And high up above or down below
            D              G/D    C/D    A/D
When you’re too in love to let it go
       D                      G/D     C/D     A/D
If you never try, then you’ll never know
                 D     G/D        C/D        A/D
Just what you’re wor - or - or - orth

Chorus:

G              A/D           G
   Lights will gu - ide you home
G            A/D       G
   And ig - nite your bones
G             A/D        D
   And I will try to fix you

Instrumental Bridge:

[Strum “D” fast about 12 times as it sounds in the song
and then hammer on the little E
string with your pinky on fret 6 for about 5 quick strums
and repeat.
Its not perfect,
but its a way to keep strumming cords
while adding in the catchy little solo in the
background. ]

Vocal Bridge:

D  G   D   A/D   (x4)

D                G
  Tears stream,    down your face
D                         A/D
  When you lose something you cannot replace
D                G
  Tears stream,    down your face
    D      A/D
And I………

D                G
   Tears stream,   down your face
D                          A/D
   I promise you that I’ll learn from my mistakes
D                G
   Tears stream,   down your face
    D      A/D
And I………

Outro Chorus:

G              A/D           G
   Lights will gu - ide you home
G            A/D       G
   And ig - nite your bones
G             A/D        D
   And I will try to fix you