Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

[Jae]

Rarely am I eager to buy a CD by any band who happens to be signed with a record deal.. I have a lot more respect for independent artists.. but Ive been literally WAITING for Coldplays new CD, Viva La Vida

Now, I've loved Coldplay for a long time but hearing the singles Viva La Vida and Violet Hill awhile ago I thought this new CD might give them a run for one of my favorites. I cant say for sure, but on an initial listen I think I may have been right. :smallsmile:

To start, though, I think I might have to say a few negatives.. I do feel that a few songs swallow up Chris Martins amazingly original voice (refer to "Lovers in Japan"). A few songs are very U2 (I love U2, but thats why I listen to them). I'm dissapointed to say I again think that the record company pushed them to be a little catchier and they complied a bit. It's unfortunate, but I've still fallen head over heels for a few songs.

I think I might have to say my favorites are both Death and All His Friends and the hidden track that plays immediately after..which, is not actually the only hidden track on the album. (I love hidden tracks. they are like..an extra suprise! :smallbiggrin:) Coldplays lyrics, once again, impress me beyond recognition. I wish I could think about that song more in depth but anybody I've talked to about it has given me the whole "oh yesyes living your life! isnt it perfect for viva la vida?!" I think it goes a little further than that, but what do I know??

I havent gotten to listen to it thoroughly yet, and Im sure I wont turn it off within the next few days, but any other thoughts/opinions??

[Jibar]

I must admit, some parts of the album just don't sound right.
It's a good album, sure, but compared with their other works it's just lacking in so many areas.
Eh. I'll give it some time. It took me a while to warm up to Athlete's third album, so maybe I just need to let it soak in.

[Warpfire]

I liked Viva La Vida, Violet Hill, and Cemeteries of London, especially Viva La Vida.
But the rest of the songs were kind of 'meh'-inspiring for me. Though I think I would like Death and All His Friends more if I was less impatient, if that makes sense.

[Jae]

I kind of kill-played Viva La Vida before the CD actually came out so I havent even listened to it since I bought it. But I do like Cemeteries of London, as much as I can. And Life in Technicolor.

I think I can somewhat understand where you're coming from, but I was fortunate enough to fall for even the long instrumental bits of the song...soft beginning to even jumpier end, I like everything about that song. :smallsmile: Im trying desperately not to over-play it.

[Warpfire]

Yeah, I've just never really been a fan of songs with long instrumental bits. Or any really long song, generally.

That's why Don't Panic has to be my favorite Coldplay song. Only 2 minutes, but awesome the whole way through. :smallbiggrin:

[VForVaarsuvius]

My brother has it and most of the songs I've heard, I've really liked. There's something very awesome about Coldplay's music.

[BooTheHamster]

I'm obsessed with Viva La Vida and Violet Hill, especially that guitar solo(so simple yet so perfect, personally, though I also really like Lost and Strawberry Swing.

There seems to be more experimentation than anything in this CD, which works really well for some of the songs, but a few just don't sound like Coldplay. Still, the thing about Coldplay for me is that I may be indifferent to a song at one moment, and then one day it'll just click for me and it's like the most brilliant thing ever. So I'll most likely be obsessed with the more obscure songs at some point in the future.

Still, I respect that Chris pushes the envelope with each new album, instead of getting stuck in a rut. There's originality in Coldplay's music that's difficult to find in other bands.

[Warpfire]

So I just saw Coldplay on The Daily Show, performing songs from Viva La Vida. Unfortunately, they did 42 and Lost, the first of which is really not any good in my opinion, and Lost is only a bit better. On the plus side, Chris Martin made me feel good about my dancing abilities. :smallamused:

[Jae]

There seems to be more experimentation than anything in this CD
Chris admitted that they were very scared for Viva La Vida because they thought they were out of old tricks, and were just trying to find new ones :smallsmile:


they did 42 and Lost
uck yeah im not a fan of 42. Lost I can forgive a bit in the acoustic version because I do find myself liking the lyrics...
Im liking "Yes" more and more, just for that...really original sound it's giving off. i hate it in some parts and in others its kind of mesmerizing.

I'm obsessed with Viva La Vida and Violet Hill, especially that guitar solo(so simple yet so perfect, personally, though I also really like Lost and Strawberry Swing.
Like I think I may have said, I already overplayed Viva La Vida and Violet Hill...although I still love that bit in Violet Hill where instead of "let me know" it goes "If you love me, why'd you let me go?" i think they should've ended with it, though. Strawberry Swing is alright, though. Nothing sticks with it for me...

[BooTheHamster]

When I first got the CD, I played Violet Hill on a continuous loop for 5 hours... Same with Viva La Vida...

Strawberry Swing is a good background song, in my opinion, which is why I like it. It's nice and melodic enough that it's enjoyable, but it wouldn't be a song to build a playlist around, more like the supporting cast. I will say that the lyrics don't seem to go anywhere, which kind of bothers me, but I rarely notice anything other than the nice little swing guitar riff in the background, so meh. Excellent CD filler and transition song, though. Keeps a playlist moving right along without being too intrusive, so that a mix can rise and fall in a pleasing manner.