I noticed a bit of love for Coldplay on the Survivor thread, and it’s a band hasn’t been the recipient a lot of discussion on this forum (though, maybe there’s a reason for that.) Nonetheless, I was just wondering what the general consensus on the band is, among my fellow dotcomrades. Thoughts/feelings/opinions/predictions?

Coldplay were massive here in the UK from the second 'Yellow' hit radios in 2000. I bought the first album when it came out, and at the time thought it was brilliant (I was 12), and subsequently when AROBTTH came out I also loved that. Now that isn't to say I don't still think they're great records, I do, even if every single is hugely overplayed (here anyway). Songs like Spies, Everything's Not Lost, Politik, Warning Sign and Amsterdam are all excellent album tracks in my opinion, hugely underrated.

I bought X&Y, and was disappointed. Can't quite put my finger on it, I mean, it's not like they got more slick and poppy, cuz AROBTTH is those things anyway. Meh, not sure what it is, but I reckon they won't make an album that will rank with the first two. Most people I know would condemn any Coldplay fan for being 'naff' or just dangerously uncool, but that's by the by.

Their first two albums were pretty good. Anything after that is pretty bad.

Plus, I was working as a music director at a college station when Parachutes came out (we received a very early release) and I claimed to everyone that they were going to be huge. That's first and only time I was right about something like that so they hold a special place in my heart!

Parachutes and especially AROBTTH are fantastic albums. X & Y a little less so, but still quite good. I absolutely love the bonus track on X & Y, Til Kingdom Come. That song alone makes the album worth it.

So John, what you're trying to say is, that Coldplay is 'your' discovery. My brother did a similar claim with U2, when they performed in Hattem (village close to Zwolle), back in 1980, shortly after Boy's release.

It's true, that Coldplay might seem a bit over the top, X&Y is still nice and okay, but not like Rush of Blood, one of the highlights of this decade so far.

Parachutes has great songs, but as a whole Rush of blood brings a better composition. Martin's singing is in better balance with the guitar playing and the Coldplay's typical drum repetition. On Parachutes his voice sometimes seems a little dark or low. X&Y has not much new to offer, sounds even a bit mainstream once in a while.

Let's see what the next album will bring, hopefully the comparison with U2 will hold here: Unforgettable Fire was pretty good too, but just a tiny bit disappointing after War. Luckily, there was still much more great stuff to come from these Irish guys.

Beige. Yawn.

I’m in agreement – A Rush of Blood is their best, and Parachutes is a decent debut. As for X&Y, I was really disappointed by it. After the success of AROBTTH, they seemed to be onto something really good, and I figured their third album was earmarked for “classic” status. But they didn’t keep pushing; instead, they made sort of a lateral (or maybe backwards) move into this quasi-MOR territory, and X&Y was the result. A few good tracks I suppose, but when I heard “Speed of Sound” for the first time, what I instantly heard was the sound of “Clocks” being recycled, and I thought “oh no…”

Their fourth album is slated for sometime within the first half of next year, and the band has called it something like “the album people will remember them by.” Well, we’ll see about that. A part of me still thinks they have a classic in them, but after X&Y, my optimism is at a low.

Have any of you checked out the AROBTTH b-sides? If not, try and get “One I Love” and “Crests of Waves” (which is my personal favorite.)

"One I Love" is also on their 2003 live album. I wonder how Ian McCulloch would like this song, for it can easily compete with the better Echo & the Bunnymen songs.

Apparently, Ian McCulloch hung around the studio frequently during the AROBTTH sessions. Wouldn't surprise me if he had a hand in writing that song.

Nah, I wasn't saying that DrDre. I'm just saying it was the first and last time that I was right about the upcoming popularity of a band. Plus, they were already pretty big overseas but over here they hadn't even reached MTV2 yet... That said, I wish it wasn't Coldplay that I was right about. I've proclaimed the "next big thing" for much better bands!

"And don't get me started on their bastardization of Kraftwerk's brilliant "Computer Love"!"

This comment from Moonbeam came from another thread, but refers to "Talk" from X&Y.

I hadn't listened to Kraftwerk for a long time, but tonight I re-listened to the Computer World album and the song in specific. Amazing, Coldplay should get sewed for copying that!

Nah, they got permission. Chris Martin wrote them a letter asking to use it.

Chris Martin's first plan for music stardom was to form a boy band called Pectoralz. That says a lot about Coldplay's shmaltzy/melodramatic/nauseatingly boring side.

Ha! Didn't know that jonmarck.

But here's some tidbits... the first song they released was called "Ode to Deodorant". And did anyone see that pre-AROBTTH website video, featuring Coldplay as "The Nappies" - with a George Martin cameo!?

Whether or not they got permission, Coldplay still took a genius Kraftwerk song and watered it waaaaaay down, taking out everything that was so striking and beautiful about "Computer Love". I actually get angry when I think about it!

I find them flimsy and lacking spunk. Beige or watered-down are also good descriptions. Some of their actual tunes are quite good but there needs to be more going on. The opening track on the second album is a good example of a song ticking all the boxes, but there's something missing so there's no rush of blood to the head or anywhere else for me. Their music is largely bloodless and is certainly not dripping with sex like most of Radiohead's records. There's no spunky funky 'Bitches Brew' influence on any Coldplay recording I've heard. Still, they're not as wet as Travis who somehow cite Jeff Buckley as an influence...