Coldplay Problems

Coldplay [Q Magazine (July 2008)]

THE RETURN OF COLDPLAY

TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION

by James McMahon

Coldplay

Listen their music, We live in such a beautiful world.

Text by Shino Kokawa Interpretation by Erica Yamashita Photos: Tom Sheehan

"“Yellow” is a song about giving your whole self to someone, about being willing to do anything for them. It's not scary for me to admit that I love someone."

Their debut album, “Parachutes,” debuted the UK charts at number one! The most unknowingly miraculous love song “Yellow”, and the sheer purity of Coldplay, the supernova destined to be the saviours of UK guitar rock, is astounding at their pure, unadulterated essence.

Text = Shino Kokawa Interpretation = Erica Yamashita

Observing the circumstances surrounding them, one can see just how desperate the people were for a “saviour of the UK guitar band.” Music magazines vied to champion them, and “Yellow” received relentless heavy rotation on MTV. Consequently, their debut album “Parachutes” debuted at number one in the UK charts and was even nominated for the Mercury Prize, a prize often mocked as the epitome of commercialism. There was a huge uproar, with people saying that they had reclaimed the mainstream, that this was the resurgence of guitar rock. But was that truly the case? Rather, might Coldplay's emergence actually make it harder for “traditional” UK guitar bands to survive from now on?

There's a funny passage in Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity (which has been adapted into a film, due for release in Japan next spring. I recommend it for its incredibly cool soundtrack). The protagonist runs an unpopular second-hand record shop in London. He despises yuppies listening to Simply Red, yet he himself is perpetually half-hearted in everything he does. One day, still floundering through his mid-thirties, he suddenly realises: ‘The reason I'm unhappy now is because I've been listening to nothing but pop music about being unhappy.’ —Hilarious, isn't it? Yes, it is laughable, but hasn't so-called UK guitar rock been the type of music that people, including myself, find most comfortable engaging with? Songs of nihilism, in which the sad find comfort. Or self-pity, infused with every ounce of melancholy. Of course, to reject all that outright would be to deny the profound love we hold for the great pioneers of the past. But to break through the stagnation that exists today, we must first apply the scalpel here.

Admittedly, Coldplay's sound format isn't particularly novel. Lyrically swelling guitar phrases. As they themselves say, a perfectly beautiful band ensemble pouring their whole soul into quality melodies. It's easy to introspect from here. But Coldplay doesn't do that. No, they simply don't understand the ‘meaning’ in doing so. The melancholy their sound radiates isn't an endpoint. It's naturally part of the struggle to transcend it. That's why the melancholy and frustration Chris sings about doesn't leave listeners feeling complacent. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that resilient? And precisely because of that, the embarrassingly earnest love songs – from ‘Shiver’ (‘I'll be waitin' in line / Just to see if you care’) to “Yellow” (‘Look how they shine for you / And everything you do’) – shine with such miraculous intensity.

Right then. Great! You guys are so amazing, I thought as I headed into the interview. Although I felt at ease in front of Chris, whose eyes sparkled with an innocence that knew no suspicion, my attempts at deep analysis all fell flat. Oh dear. Please read on.

●I've been listening to “Parachutes” every single day. 「Really!? That's amazing.」

●It feels like it's revived those pure emotions I had when I first started listening to pop music. 「Hearing you say that makes me really happy. For us, we wanted to make an album that was purely about the songs being good, unrelated to image or dance moves. And, you know, where you can feel a bit of soul in it.」

●Your sound feels incredibly mature in its composition and detail, yet it overflows with this fresh, youthful, raw emotion throughout. 「Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what we wanted to capture. That's lovely to hear. Thank you so much! Though I can't really explain that mystery myself (laughs).」

●Hmm, explain it to me sometime (laughs). So, you guys suddenly achieved huge success and acclaim with this debut album— 「Yeah…… It feels incredibly strange, though. We think we're a good band, but what's happening now is just…… bizarre. I don't get it. It feels like we're cheating somehow. It's not like that, we worked our arses off making the album. But…… it's complicated right now. We're really happy, but also really worried. Anxious, I suppose.」

●Anxious? Like waking up one morning and finding it's all vanished? 「Yeah, exactly. We don't know how we got here ourselves, so we don't know how to keep it going. It's like we've reached a point beyond our control. So the least we can do is just keep writing good songs and play them as well as we possibly can. I really don't know what else is going on.」

●Right in the thick of the chaos, then. So I'd like to ask you a bit about yourself. You're from Devon, aren't you? 「Yeah, that's right.」

●What sort of lad were you back in your school days? 「Hmm…… a bit of a worrywart…… Yeah, I was a worrywart, yet I'd easily get hyped up and rowdy, and also quite…… a happy-go-lucky sort, I suppose (laughs). Even so, ever since I can remember, I've always, always loved music. It took me ages to figure out what kind of music I liked best, though. In the meantime, I listened to absolutely everything. Back then, I'd listen to anything my mates played on guitar. Honestly, any kind of music. Heavy rock too. Come to think of it, back in middle and high school, the seniors in the upper years had a band. It was called Dwarf Narcissi. You know, they were older and cool, so I thought, “Wow, I want to be in a band too.”」

●Couldn't you imagine any path other than music? You were all at good universities, with promising futures ahead of you, right? Did you never agonise over your future path during your student days? 「Nah, my university days were the best. We met at uni, you see. We played all year round. Because there was so much to do. Well, I did study and got decent grades, but there was heaps of free time to play music as much as we wanted. Plus, we had loads of mates who all came to our gigs, so they were always packed. You know, student gigs are like a social gathering where mates just turn up. They were absolutely packed. If we hadn't been at uni, I doubt we'd have got signed. The gigs wouldn't have had that great atmosphere. I mean, just because they were friends, everyone gave us huge applause. Honestly, even if we were rubbish, it would still cheer us up.」

●How carefree (laughs). Speaking of which, I read your bio and was a bit surprised to see your likes listed as ‘cricket, Sherlock Holmes, and Greek and Roman sculpture from before 300 AD’. I wonder if you can't fit in with the lad culture, like going wild at football matches and guzzling beer at the pub? 「I don't drink, so that kind of thing doesn't really appeal to me. But I think it's fine, and I have nothing against it.」

●Hmm. But British university students are always off to the pub and getting properly drunk, aren't they? What were you doing while your mates were out? 「Ah, well, that's why I was playing music back then. If I drank, I wouldn't be playing guitar so much. That's the one thing I can argue logically – that it's better to avoid alcohol. Because it would give me extra time to play songs. That said, I don't mind at all that everyone else drinks. It's just that I don't like the smell of alcohol, so I can't drink.」

●By the way, about that song “Yellow”. It's a love song so straightforward it's almost embarrassing. Lines like ‘For you, I'd bleed myself dry’ – there's not a shred of nihilism in it. I wonder how it is that someone can sing about love to someone so honestly and defencelessly. 「I don't know myself, those lyrics just came out of nowhere. I don't know, but I really like that song. It's the least miserable track on the album, that one. Having that song on the album was incredibly important. I wanted to make an album that produced songs that evoked joy. Yeah…… Anyway, it's a song about dedicating your whole self to someone, about being willing to do anything for that person.」

●Well, these phrases might seem overused, but don't you think it actually reflects that nobody has the “courage” to say things like that outright these days? 「Yeah, maybe. Could be. But admitting you like someone isn't scary for me at all. Whether it's a friend, a lover, a relative, or anyone. I was raised from childhood to be honest about my feelings. Thankfully, my parents were really straightforward about that sort of thing.」

●I heard you learned piano before you started playing guitar. Did that background influence your songwriting at all? 「Hmm, not really, I don't think so. Or rather, I wouldn't know myself. I wonder. I started playing the piano because we had one at home. My mum used to play. We didn't have a guitar at home. So there you go. But I don't think it particularly influenced me…… I reckon it's much easier to write a good song with a guitar than with a piano.」

●Really? But take “Everything's Not Lost”, for instance – it sounds just like John Lennon playing it on piano. It makes me feel there's more to your potential than just rock pedigree. 「Wow, that's really kind of you to say. I hope so, anyway. We absolutely love John Lennon. “Imagine” is just an incredible album. Incredible. When we were recording “Trouble”, I was seriously picturing “Jealous Guy” in my head. How that song was recorded and all that sort of thing.」

●Right, there's a very symbolic lyric in “Everything's Not Lost”. It goes, ‘And if you think that all is lost / I'll be countin' up my demons / Hopin' everything's not lost.’ 「Well, I don't even understand the meaning myself. Or rather, it just came out when I was singing it. And I thought, “Oh, that's it, that's exactly it.” Honestly, I wouldn't say it makes sense. It just means that even though there are all sorts of unpleasant things inside me, it's still alright.」

●Right. I thought these lyrics symbolically show that you're naive, but at heart you're a strong optimist, fully aware of the bitterness of reality and the exhaustion of life, yet never letting it get you down. 「Ah, yeah, yeah! That's it! That's the most astute interpretation of the lyrics I've heard so far. Yeah, fundamentally we're optimists, but we're fully aware terrible things are happening. That's who we are.」

●So, if you feel like everything is lost, but something still remains, what do you think would be left for you? What would ultimately save you? 「It could be anything. Friendship, music, delicious food……」

●But let's say you can't choose all of those things (laughs). 「It's okay, there's always something that will make me happy. Why do I think that? Well, I tend to get pessimistic easily, but if I were completely pessimistic, I wouldn't even be able to get out of bed in the morning. My dad always told me to keep trying no matter what. If you do that, you'll eventually find happiness.」

●Ah, I see. You hate being pessimistic and depressed. 「Hate it, hate it, I absolutely hate it. Everyone gets down sometimes. And when that happens, I feel like I really hate myself. But if I keep a positive outlook, things start to look better, and I feel happier too. That said, sometimes it's nice to just immerse myself in The Smiths. After all, when it comes to truly great music, there's more sad music than happy music out there.」

Translator's Note: I was wondering why Shino Kokawa's attempts to get some deep analysis from Chris all fell flat. But as I translated and read the text, I was starting to understand what she meant by that. It might as well be like trying to dig down deep to see what's hidden under the dirt, only to immediately hit bedrock as soon as you push the shovel down by a few inches lmao

COLDPLAY [INROCK (August 2002)]

Awww, I love this. Have a happy Christmas! ❣️