[This is just a little thing I'm gonna try and do weekly; I'll pick either a song, album, or aritst I've been digging all week and let you guys know about it. Hopefully there'll be something for everyone sooner or later.]
Coldplay: 53,561,902 plays on Last.FM
Viva La Vida: 53,028 plays on Last.FM
So, if you’re reading this blog, you should know that Coldplay’s got a new album coming out on June 17th titled Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (Because Death is obviously a guy) and naturally, being a humongous CP fan, I can’t wait. The album’s so amazing that it’s already won an award: Longest Album Name of the Year. But that’s a whole different subject. The first single from the album was Violet Hill, a free download for a week back at the end of April, but what I’m here to talk about is the iTunes preorder bonus, Viva La Vida.
Just like VH, VLV is very different from any music Coldplay’s recorded in the past; instead of guitars, drums, and a piano, Viva La Vida utilizes some truly amazing violin work and an electronic drum machine. They work both of these together to make a bouncing, poppy tune that really makes me wanna get out of my seat and dance around the room. And I hate dancing. The song also happens to be a good way to cheer someone up; I know it’s worked on me quite a few times already. It’s different, but it still sounds like Coldplay thanks to Chris Martin’s vocals.
And the second part of the song, which is miles ahead of any of CP’s past work, is the lyrics. That’s been one of the band’s goals with this album; to make their songs deeper and more poetic, and if VLV is anything to go by, they’ve really done it. The song tells the story of a king who falls from power and realizes what it did to him while he was on the throne and how he’s glad to be rid of it, even though he knows he won’t make it to Heaven after all he’s done.
“I hear Jerusalem’s bells a-ringing,
Roman calvary choirs are singing:
‘Be my mirror, my sword, and shield,
My missionaries in a foreign field.’
For some reason I can’t explain
I know Saint Peter won’t call my name
And there was never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world”
It might be just me, but I love songs that have lyrics that I have to think about (instead of simple by-the-books love songs), and VLV has one of the most incredibly woven stories tangled up in its poetic lyrics, so I’m in love with it. There are some great harmonies at the end with the other members of the band, too. But without further ado (Yay for rhyming), I give you Viva La Vida:
ColdPlay still does nothing to me except bring sleep.
Good to see you’re at least trying to post something, heh. Try grabbing some memes too.
:O But Coldplay’s amazing! Some of their new stuff might change your mind when it’s on the radio, it’s actually pretty rock-y.
And yeah, I’m gonna pick up a meme or two tomorrow