To know Coldplay is love them, and to hate them, and to love them and to - once again - hate them. Only, that is, to turn right back around and love them one last time before you invert your decision for what is positively not the last time. And if there is one band in the world right now who needed to redefine themselves without actually redefining themselves - it’s Coldplay.
In Viva la Vida they attempt it.
On The Downside
The lyrics in most songs are mediocre. Not only that, but for most of the first half of the CD you almost want to cut your wrists for Chris Martin (who, by the way, is married to Gwyneth Paltrow) because he creates such a self pity vibe in the music. For instance, in “42″ Martin sings: Those who are dead are not dead/ They’re just living in my head/ And since I fell for that spell/ I’ve been living there as well.
The lyricist never tells you what exactly that spell is, nor does he even hint. Then unexpectedly, the song turns upbeat for no apparent reason which invokes a response only my notes can accurately depict: WTF?
Then comes the realization of the theme of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends: death. Don’t get me wrong, death can be a perfectly good theme for an album - when pulled off correctly. However, on occasion Coldplay plays leapfrog with that line. “Cemeteries of London” is a song that is on the good side of that line:
At night they would go walking ‘till the breaking of the day/ The morning is for sleeping…/ Through the dark streets they go searching to see God in their own way/ Save the nighttime for your weeping…
You continue listen to the album however, and once again in “42″ you’re greeted with the line: You thought you might be a ghost/ You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close (which is a great line, but overdoes the death theme). You do realize however, that after those lyrics are sung, the transition to cheerfulness in “42″ makes sense.
On The Upside
For every instance Chris Martin (who did I mention is married
to Gwyneth Paltrow? The lucky devil) and Coldplay fails, there’s a success waiting in the wings.
The first song on the album “Life in Technicolor” has 0 lyrics but invokes a connotation of a concert in space. The song begins with pulses and you feel as if you’re in a space suit floating along listening to sounds that you in actuality wouldn’t be able to hear.
Next, you come upon “Cemeteries of London” which transmits a catchy coo of la la las that you find yourself humming while walking down the street.
“Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love” is in essence 2 songs, playing as one. “Japan” evokes inspiration with it’s lines: Lovers, keep on the road you’re on/ Runners, until the race is run/ Soldiers, you’ve got to soldier on/ Sometimes even right is wrong. Which then transforms into “Reign of Love” that if played at a wedding
you could see the bride and her father waltzing to.
The strings in this album are astounding. In “Yes!” the song begins sloppy, droopy and leaky sounding when astonishingly it is all pulled together by an orchestra playing a Persian tune. Martin’s voice really shines in the song, but then the song implodes to a Chinese lullaby chant and Coldplay lulls us as he tells us ’sleep satisfies’.
The orchestral strings once more shine in “Viva la Vida” as well as the lyrics: I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing/ Roman cavalry 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/ Never an honest word/ But that was when I ruled the world.
Violet Hill is a good song as well. The lyrics could use work, as in most of the songs but in this case it works. While listening to the song and going over the lyrics I could help but wonder if the beginning of the song was a political statement: Clearly I remember/ From the windows they were watching/ While we froze down below/ When the future’s architectured/ By a carnival of idiots on show/ You’d better lie low
(Does anybody else sense a poking at an out-of-touch government?)
Now, for every overtone of death and ghosts the band erases it all with “Strawberry Swing” and replaces it with a quintessence of puppy love and childhood. As guitarist Buckland plays a harmonic riff you can’t help but imagine swinging on your front porch with your love watching kids play with a frog in a puddle.
Finally the band tones it down with “Death and All His Friends” with soft melodies telling us not to worry, as the song slowly transitions back into “Life in Technicolor” and you ask yourself: “Do I have time to listen to the album again?”
In Conclusion
It’s worth your money. The lyrics, once again, are less than ideal. Yet it is pulled into one by Martin’s voice and the instrumentals. Viva la Vida is no doubt admirable, no doubt better than X&Y but still not better than Parachutes.
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