When it comes down to it, Coldplay is more bland than band.
No question, Coldplay is one of the biggest rock groups in the universe. The British band, fronted by the ever-political Chris Martin (Mr. Gwyneth Paltrow), rules the charts with everything it releases, from its debut full-length “Parachutes” in 2000 to its mammoth third record “X&Y” in 2005.
The masses love Coldplay, which plays a sold-out Pepsi Center on Sunday, and have pretty much elected it successor to U2’s throne. The band’s sales and popularity are impressive; Coldplay was the second-
best rock seller of 2005, at No.6 with 2.6 million in sales of an album that was mediocre at best. But it got there off little more than a catchy beat, a familiar voice, something with which fans already were comfortable.
What makes Coldplay’s success extra-hard to swallow: It didn’t have to be this way. About eight years ago, the band was contemplating a different, more artistically interesting direction. But unlike more recent success stories, such as Death Cab for Cutie or The Decemberists – both of which recently signed major-label deals – Coldplay took the soulless arena-rock route.
Coldplay’s CD and ticket sales undoubtedly make a good case for radio glory as opposed to individualistic art. But what about its glum-rock, middle-of-the-road songwriting makes Coldplay the appealing behemoth it has become?
“Musically they’re giving the fans a bunch of piano ballads with some anthems thrown in, which we know people buy into,” said Chris Deco, assistant director of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, which wades through thousands of songs and divvies out more than $225,000 every year to professional and amateur songwriters. “With their first couple albums, they developed quite a strong following, specifically in Europe.
“Coming across the last two records, they’ve gone more commercial – but I don’t think it’s that negative idea of commercial that people have when it concerns the path a band has taken,” Deco said. “They’ve kept true to their original songwriting techniques, and they’re still hitting something the masses will understand and relate to.”
Deco makes an excellent point. People love piano ballads and guitar anthems more than truffles on Valentine’s Day, and that is Coldplay’s bread and butter. In a sense, Coldplay is one of the most influential bands of its time – but that is not necessarily a good thing. In typically lazy record-label behavior, the majors all have gone out in search of their own Coldplays.
Epic Records came to Denver to sign its new Coldplay. The Colorado born-band The Fray is enjoying tremendous success, from slots on Jay Leno to national radio exposure, from tours with Weezer to tours with Ben Folds. And critical outlets from NPR to this newspaper have noticed The Fray’s similarities to its English counterpart. On The Fray’s minisite on vh1.com, the blurb reads: “Looking for the American Coldplay? Look no further. This rising Denver band show off their poignant ballads in an exclusive VH1.com session.”
Which is why Mitch Benn & the Distractions’ expertly funny and unfortunately relevant spoof song “Everything Sounds Like Coldplay Now” serves a purpose that is twofold. The little-known track (available on iTunes from Benn, a British comedian) pokes fun at the Keanes, Embraces and Snow Patrols of the world, bands that copped Coldplay’s aesthetic as their own. But it also rightly takes Coldplay to task for its strict, by-the-recipe approach to songwriting.
Most of Coldplay’s catalog, from “Speed of Sound” to “Yellow,” relies upon a giant mathematical formula devoid of emotion, art or depth. It’s Martin’s sugary voice and some sweeping pianos/Muzak guitars and drums that play the background role with obnoxious futility, almost as if they’ve already given up. Add a chorus with Martin abusing his ubiquitous falsetto and … voilà.
In its early days – 1998-2000, when the band was experimenting in a series of a half-dozen EP and single releases – it was obvious Coldplay was an ambitious band in search of a sound. Some of it, especially 1999’s two releases “Brothers & Sisters” and “Blue Room,” showed a band walking the line between a weird, almost funky indie rock and the mainstream rock the group later settled on. These pop artifacts are an interesting piece of the Coldplay puzzle, especially since they’re the places where the Big Decision was made.
“That’s squirrelly territory,” said Brian Rothchild, executive director of the Lennon contest. “That’s the struggle for any artist – to connect with your spirit and also find some commonality with others that says something, that resonates so that others can feel it too.”
The latest culmination of Coldplay’s world domination, “X&Y,” is an abomination of an album that proves people will buy anything. Whereas 2002’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” was at least tuneful, “X&Y” is a toneless act of repetition and habit, an embarrassment – especially given its success.
Diego Garcia writes songs that move people – whether they’re in their room alone or on a packed dance floor. The difference is that his songs, which he writes for his Hollywood Records rock act Elefant, are also artistically intact. One of the keys to songwriting, he recently told The Denver Post, is that unsettling feeling that drives you to that next point, that lack of comfort or stability.
“I actually don’t know what I’d be writing about if I was totally happy and satisfied,” Garcia said. “If you get too comfortable, you start writing like Coldplay – about stars and space and colors – and that would be tragic.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Coldplay
ROCK|Pepsi Center, 8 p.m. Sunday with Fiona Apple opening|SOLD OUT|any last-minute ticket releases will be available via Ticketmaster outlets or at the Pepsi Center box office.
