So based on the stats I get on web traffic here and the number of comments both on-blog and via email, I think it's safe to say that my most recent post regarding Chris Cornell and Timbaland (the one with the mp3s), is the most popular entry on ¡VLM! since it's creation. Combined the tracks have been downloaded nearly 1800 times, and to my knowledge it's been linked to by:
NY Magazine's Right-Click
Stereogum
The Official Foo Fighters Forum (in their section on non-Foo related stuff)
And a number of other blogs and such (my tracker only goes back about a week). So to everyone who's linked to that page, and are reading this now in one form or other, welcome!
So, I decided not to post Day 2 of Virgin Music Fest, primarily 'cause I'm gonna wait and see what the other guys I'm going with (among them Matt from Addicted to Vinyl...don't know if I mentioned that) are seeing and might suggest/insist I see. So there's that. But I am gonna post something else that's kind of awesome. Coldplay came through Philadelphia last week, and their tour has been getting press for all kinds of reason good and bad. THe two biggest stories have had to do with the two free shows they put on, one in Brixton in their homeland across the pond, and one in New York City. I am happy to report that below is a link to hear the complete Brixton show from earlier this summer.
If you're knowledge of Coldplay's live show consists primarily of their Live 2003 album, I highly reccomend this so you can clear that from your system. The stuff on Live sounded kinda tired and worn out, most likely because they'd played "Clocks" and "Yellow" about as many times as we had heard it on the radio, so thus both parties were sick of the tracks. Across the board Coldplay sound rejuvenated in this Brixton show. Chris Martin is genuinely joking and laughing with both the audience (who are thrilled to be seeing Britain's new darlings for free) and the rest of his band. The new songs sound as brilliant as they do on the record, and even the classics have a new breath of fresh air about them, like seeing an old friend for the first time since moving out of town. My only complaint is the lack of Viva La Vida ender "Death And All His Friends", which i think would make one hell of a way to end a show. Regardless, if you have or are going to see Coldplay in the near future, I encourage you to give this set a listen. I have three preview tracks posted and the zip file is at the end. I will post individual tracks upon request.
Coldplay Live At Brixton June 16th, 2008
Intro
Life in Technicolor
Violet Hill
Clocks
In My Place
Viva La Vida
Chinese Sleep Chant
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
42
Square One
Trouble
Lost!
Strawberry Swing
Interlude
Yellow
If I Should Fall From Grace With God [Pogues Cover w/ Will Champion on vocals]
Fix You
Lovers in Japan
Complete Concert Here [via Mediafire].
==TJ==
Showing posts with label Coldplay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coldplay. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Take Out the Trash Day
The Chris Cornell song doesn't officially drop until this Tuesday, so I'll have a HQ copy of it then. However, adding evidence to my Timbaland is a thief conspiracy, Tim just announced plans for a follow up to Shock Value. Odds "Long Gone w/ Chris Cornell" shows up on it; 10:1.
In the meantime, some other goodies to make up for my weeklong absence.
Micro-Buttered Popcorn will have a new post later tonight, pretty much centered on the Watchmen trailer that debuted in front of Dark Knight. In conjunction with that, the song that is featured in the trailer.
The Smashing Pumpkins - The End is the Beginning is the End
(Trivia Question of the Day: "TEITBITE" was originally on the soundtrack for what other superhero movie?)
Coldplay currently has a track left off Viva La Vida available for download on their website. "Death Will Never Conquer" is pretty much meant as an exit for the album a la the outro from The Killers' Sam's Town.
Coldplay - Death Will Never Conquer
Last.fm updated their site, and now scrobbling/adding to charts and stats takes place in real time, rather than whatever system they used previously that added things as needed. Thus I can say with certainty that (thanks to another goofy glitch shortly before the update), the Gin Blossoms are the newest entrant in my Top 10 Artists.
Gin Blossoms - Soul Deep [iTunes]
This means I'll be doing last.fm related posts more frequently, including one later today/tomorrow if I get lazy.
I'm posting this reluctantly since it's my primary source of music income right now, but JamsBio is hosting a contest where you can win $10 iTunes gift cards and enter to win an iTouch. I'm already up 30 bucks in gift cards and thanks to unlimited entry probably have like 15 entries to win an iTouch. Go check it out.
Back later.
==TJ==
In the meantime, some other goodies to make up for my weeklong absence.
Micro-Buttered Popcorn will have a new post later tonight, pretty much centered on the Watchmen trailer that debuted in front of Dark Knight. In conjunction with that, the song that is featured in the trailer.
The Smashing Pumpkins - The End is the Beginning is the End
(Trivia Question of the Day: "TEITBITE" was originally on the soundtrack for what other superhero movie?)
Coldplay currently has a track left off Viva La Vida available for download on their website. "Death Will Never Conquer" is pretty much meant as an exit for the album a la the outro from The Killers' Sam's Town.
Coldplay - Death Will Never Conquer
Last.fm updated their site, and now scrobbling/adding to charts and stats takes place in real time, rather than whatever system they used previously that added things as needed. Thus I can say with certainty that (thanks to another goofy glitch shortly before the update), the Gin Blossoms are the newest entrant in my Top 10 Artists.
Gin Blossoms - Soul Deep [iTunes]
This means I'll be doing last.fm related posts more frequently, including one later today/tomorrow if I get lazy.
I'm posting this reluctantly since it's my primary source of music income right now, but JamsBio is hosting a contest where you can win $10 iTunes gift cards and enter to win an iTouch. I'm already up 30 bucks in gift cards and thanks to unlimited entry probably have like 15 entries to win an iTouch. Go check it out.
Back later.
==TJ==
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Coldplay on The Daily Show
Coldplay played a pair of songs from Viva La Vida last night on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. For those of you who thought that Chris Martin's absurd dancing was restricted to the usually-absurd iTunes ads, I've got news for you:
"42"
"Lost!"
There you have it. And yes, Jon Stewart is THAT short.
I'll have MP3s of these for the weekend (Audacity was acting up and I ran out of time)
==TJ==
"42"
"Lost!"
There you have it. And yes, Jon Stewart is THAT short.
I'll have MP3s of these for the weekend (Audacity was acting up and I ran out of time)
==TJ==
Friday, June 6, 2008
¡Viva La Mainstream! Likes Viva La Vida. What A Shock.
(For the record, Blogger effed up the old template so it looked a little ugly, hence the new one. Hoping they fix it/something better comes up soon. Sorry for the otherwise subpar look for the time being)
A couple of people at EMI must really have dreaded coming into work these last couple days. Coldplay's rabidly anticipated fourth album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends leaked last night, 13 days before its official June 17th release date. I have a lot to say in this review, but if you don't have time to read the whole thing, know that this album (despite being only 10 tracks) was the meatiest, most interesting album I've listened to all year.
The album opens with "Life in Technicolor", an instrumental track that more or less serves as an overture to the rest of the album, which brings me to my first piece of praise; the instrumentals on this LP are a cut above anything I've heard Coldplay do. I don't know if credit for that goes to Chris Martin, producer Brian Eno, or the band as a whole, but credit is due nonetheless. If EMI wanted to try to double-dip on this album, I think releasing an entirely instrumental version of the album would go over nicely. Coldplay run a musical gamut on Viva La Vida..., from the Justin Timberlake influenced "Lost!" to the Phish-meets-an-ice-cream-truck* "Strawberry Swing", while still making sure fans know that this is still the same band (more or less) with piano nods in "42" and campfire-y acoustic guitars in the closing "Death and All His Friends", which had me singing along only 30 seconds in.
*Yes, I actually wrote that in my notes.
Going back to the instrumentation on the album, I felt like every song would work well on a soundtrack to some movie somewhere. "Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love", one of three 6-minute-plus opuses on the album, between the incredible strings and Chris Martin's subdued vocals could provide background music to any one of a thousand movies and do nothing but enhance the scene.
Now onto the lyrics. Here too there's layer upon layer of meat and subtext to be found, not the least of which in "Viva La Vida". The steady run of Biblical and religious allusions are as interesting to read and look at as they are to hear Chris Martin sing. And across the board the album wonderfully balances themes of life and death, as the album title would suggest (more on that later). I can't even really give an accurate analysis of it, since doing so from memory wouldn't really do it justice. It's that good. Just like his comrades, Chris Martin made a huge leap on this album with both his singing (check out the lower register on "Yes") and his songwriting (the hook and chorus-free "Cemeteries in London").
When Coldplay announced that they were experimenting with their sound on Viva La Vida, the first thing I thought was "Coldplay's going Radiohead". Based on this review, that's not entirely accurate. The sound is distinctly different from Radiohead. But make no mistake; Viva La Vida is to Coldplay what OK Computer was to Radiohead. In making this album, the whole game changes for Coldplay. The Coldplay that made millions off "Clocks" and "Speed of Sound" isn't really here on this album. On Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends Coldplay finally fill the huge sound they've hinted at on their first three albums. And now that they've filled those shoes, the next logical step is for them to break the hell out of them. When that happens, I'll have some cash set aside so I can be there to hear it.
One more thing; a lot has been made about the album's title. Tons of people think it's absurd. I liked the notion of Viva La Vida from the getgo (maybe because of how close it sounds to the name of this blog), and was willing to accept the extended title, but after hearing the album, I can do one better; the album title makes sense. Depending on how you look at it, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is either a joyful celebration of life and existence or an upbeat transcendental meditation on death and the afterlife (think Black Parade without the suicide controversy). Thus, the album is either Viva La Vida, or the album is Death and All His Friends. Coldplay leaves it up to you. And they said they weren't pulling a Radiohead. Needless to say, EMI shouldn't worry too much about a leak hurting record sales. Coldplay's making sure their label lives to see another album...or at the very least another few weeks out of bankruptcy.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Coldplay - Viva La Vida [iTunes]
Coldplay - Lost! [iTunes]
Pre-order Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends on iTunes
==TJ==
PS: Check out the new guy on the block at Polar Bear Stole My Coat
A couple of people at EMI must really have dreaded coming into work these last couple days. Coldplay's rabidly anticipated fourth album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends leaked last night, 13 days before its official June 17th release date. I have a lot to say in this review, but if you don't have time to read the whole thing, know that this album (despite being only 10 tracks) was the meatiest, most interesting album I've listened to all year.
The album opens with "Life in Technicolor", an instrumental track that more or less serves as an overture to the rest of the album, which brings me to my first piece of praise; the instrumentals on this LP are a cut above anything I've heard Coldplay do. I don't know if credit for that goes to Chris Martin, producer Brian Eno, or the band as a whole, but credit is due nonetheless. If EMI wanted to try to double-dip on this album, I think releasing an entirely instrumental version of the album would go over nicely. Coldplay run a musical gamut on Viva La Vida..., from the Justin Timberlake influenced "Lost!" to the Phish-meets-an-ice-cream-truck* "Strawberry Swing", while still making sure fans know that this is still the same band (more or less) with piano nods in "42" and campfire-y acoustic guitars in the closing "Death and All His Friends", which had me singing along only 30 seconds in.
*Yes, I actually wrote that in my notes.
Going back to the instrumentation on the album, I felt like every song would work well on a soundtrack to some movie somewhere. "Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love", one of three 6-minute-plus opuses on the album, between the incredible strings and Chris Martin's subdued vocals could provide background music to any one of a thousand movies and do nothing but enhance the scene.
Now onto the lyrics. Here too there's layer upon layer of meat and subtext to be found, not the least of which in "Viva La Vida". The steady run of Biblical and religious allusions are as interesting to read and look at as they are to hear Chris Martin sing. And across the board the album wonderfully balances themes of life and death, as the album title would suggest (more on that later). I can't even really give an accurate analysis of it, since doing so from memory wouldn't really do it justice. It's that good. Just like his comrades, Chris Martin made a huge leap on this album with both his singing (check out the lower register on "Yes") and his songwriting (the hook and chorus-free "Cemeteries in London").
When Coldplay announced that they were experimenting with their sound on Viva La Vida, the first thing I thought was "Coldplay's going Radiohead". Based on this review, that's not entirely accurate. The sound is distinctly different from Radiohead. But make no mistake; Viva La Vida is to Coldplay what OK Computer was to Radiohead. In making this album, the whole game changes for Coldplay. The Coldplay that made millions off "Clocks" and "Speed of Sound" isn't really here on this album. On Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends Coldplay finally fill the huge sound they've hinted at on their first three albums. And now that they've filled those shoes, the next logical step is for them to break the hell out of them. When that happens, I'll have some cash set aside so I can be there to hear it.
One more thing; a lot has been made about the album's title. Tons of people think it's absurd. I liked the notion of Viva La Vida from the getgo (maybe because of how close it sounds to the name of this blog), and was willing to accept the extended title, but after hearing the album, I can do one better; the album title makes sense. Depending on how you look at it, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is either a joyful celebration of life and existence or an upbeat transcendental meditation on death and the afterlife (think Black Parade without the suicide controversy). Thus, the album is either Viva La Vida, or the album is Death and All His Friends. Coldplay leaves it up to you. And they said they weren't pulling a Radiohead. Needless to say, EMI shouldn't worry too much about a leak hurting record sales. Coldplay's making sure their label lives to see another album...or at the very least another few weeks out of bankruptcy.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Coldplay - Viva La Vida [iTunes]
Coldplay - Lost! [iTunes]
Pre-order Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends on iTunes
==TJ==
PS: Check out the new guy on the block at Polar Bear Stole My Coat
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Coldplay album leaks; review ASAP
The title of the entry pretty much says it all. Obtaining it now, will have a review of it in the coming days. Just posted this as a means of encouraging all ye who would do such a thing to check your torrents and music forums to see if they've gone up.
And no this will NOT affect the project in the previous entry.
==TJ==
And no this will NOT affect the project in the previous entry.
==TJ==
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Cloverfield Score Finally Available!!! Oh Yeah, and that new Coldplay Track
A word to my father regarding his comment on the last entry; lead singer Chris Martin has gone on record saying he is useless with naming things, hence the ridiculous postmodern album cover/title. Remember everyone; this is the same Chris Martin who had a child with Gwenyth Paltrow and named her Apple. Why are we surprised by Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends?
In addition to the Coldplay song, there was one other release that I picked up as soon as I saw it was available this week. I think we all know that I was sold on the movie Cloverfield about 10 minutes after seeing the infamous no-name trailer. The movie came out on DVD last week (don't own it yet; holding out for the FYE/Suncoast Steelbox version, assuming its still available), and this week became available for download via iTunes and Amazon. Also available through iTunes was Michael Giacchino's ****ing brilliant score for it. "Roar!" only played during the end credits, and was truncated at that, but iTunes has the full 12-minute score available now. It's a bit over priced at $1.99 and you have to dig through the store to find it (Apparently iTunes thinks the soundtrack to 27 Dresses is a worthier purchase; do an artist search for Michael Giacchino and it should pop up), but its well worth it.
On to the Coldplay song; The song takes a more straightforward rock approach than previous Coldplay singles. The piano on "Violet Hill" seems more like an accompaniment than a core part of the song. Reports that Chris Martin was dropping the absurd falsetto on Viva la Vida aren't entirely accurate; the verses are certainly in a lower register than, say, "Yellow", but the chorus is still the sweeping high-pitched Coldplay we're used to, complete with slightly dischordant piano banging and guitar crunching (see: "Politik"). If the stories that the rest of the album are going to depart from Coldplay of old are true, then "Violet Hill" will be an excellent lead-in for fans and casual listeners alike.
"Violet Hill" will be available as a free download for a limited time at coldplay.com, and goes on sale digitally next week.
And since I feel bad about nearly going 2 full posts without an MP3, I'll be nice and post "Roar!" since it's already DRM-free.
Michael Giacchino - Roar! (Cloverfield Overture) [iTunes]
(Be advised: file is HUGE. Be patient!)
==TJ==
In addition to the Coldplay song, there was one other release that I picked up as soon as I saw it was available this week. I think we all know that I was sold on the movie Cloverfield about 10 minutes after seeing the infamous no-name trailer. The movie came out on DVD last week (don't own it yet; holding out for the FYE/Suncoast Steelbox version, assuming its still available), and this week became available for download via iTunes and Amazon. Also available through iTunes was Michael Giacchino's ****ing brilliant score for it. "Roar!" only played during the end credits, and was truncated at that, but iTunes has the full 12-minute score available now. It's a bit over priced at $1.99 and you have to dig through the store to find it (Apparently iTunes thinks the soundtrack to 27 Dresses is a worthier purchase; do an artist search for Michael Giacchino and it should pop up), but its well worth it.On to the Coldplay song; The song takes a more straightforward rock approach than previous Coldplay singles. The piano on "Violet Hill" seems more like an accompaniment than a core part of the song. Reports that Chris Martin was dropping the absurd falsetto on Viva la Vida aren't entirely accurate; the verses are certainly in a lower register than, say, "Yellow", but the chorus is still the sweeping high-pitched Coldplay we're used to, complete with slightly dischordant piano banging and guitar crunching (see: "Politik"). If the stories that the rest of the album are going to depart from Coldplay of old are true, then "Violet Hill" will be an excellent lead-in for fans and casual listeners alike.
"Violet Hill" will be available as a free download for a limited time at coldplay.com, and goes on sale digitally next week.
And since I feel bad about nearly going 2 full posts without an MP3, I'll be nice and post "Roar!" since it's already DRM-free.
Michael Giacchino - Roar! (Cloverfield Overture) [iTunes]
(Be advised: file is HUGE. Be patient!)
==TJ==
Monday, April 28, 2008
New Coldplay In T-Minus 13 hours
Earlier today Coldplay announced that their first single in 3 years will be available as a free download on their site at 7:15 AM EDT tomorrow. "Violet Hill" has long been rumored to be the name of the first track from the ridiculously-titled new album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, but todays announcement is the first confirmation of that story. Also released today is the album artwork for Viva la Vida...
Mixed feelings about the album cover, but I kinda get the meaning behind it. Anyway, guess Coldplay is deciding to do whatever it takes to make sure EMI doesn't fuck this one up. Being at best a casual Coldplay fan, I'll pick up the single and let that determine whether I buy the album.
Wait...isn't that how the music industry wants things to be done?!?!?!? Horrors...
Check coldplay.com tomorrow at 7:15 EDT for "Violet Hill". For my readers on the west coast, it'll be up by sunrise for you. For readers abroad, get it on your lunch break. I'll be sure to review it once I've heard it.
==TJ==
Mixed feelings about the album cover, but I kinda get the meaning behind it. Anyway, guess Coldplay is deciding to do whatever it takes to make sure EMI doesn't fuck this one up. Being at best a casual Coldplay fan, I'll pick up the single and let that determine whether I buy the album.
Wait...isn't that how the music industry wants things to be done?!?!?!? Horrors...
Check coldplay.com tomorrow at 7:15 EDT for "Violet Hill". For my readers on the west coast, it'll be up by sunrise for you. For readers abroad, get it on your lunch break. I'll be sure to review it once I've heard it.
==TJ==
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