Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

As many of you may know, I am quite the admirer/fan of Coldplay. And so it may not surprise you that I’m going to tell you a little about what they’ve been up to lately.

Martin and the gang have finished recording their 4th LP titled Viva La Vida, a 10-track record that is sure to delight and outrage many. Coldplay has always been rather polarizing from their music to their U2-like affect, that surely listeners will either hate this album or love it.

The first single “Violet Hill” from Viva La Vida has been released into the internerd, and I couldn’t be happier. “Violet Hill” has the same magical, mystical darkness of their previous efforts, but the experimentation and the semi-aggressiveness seem fresh and enticing. I’m always amazed by the way Coldplay is able to somehow make each album feel like a completely alien experience compared to the last. X & Y seemed like such a change in direction from A Rush of Blood to the Head (I’ll throw it in the running for the greatest record of all time), and yet it was equally enjoyable and intriguing. Such looks to be the case for Viva La Vida.

As an extra goodie, I’m including a Latin edit of “Clocks”, which is so different and enchanting from the original, that you’ll be flipping out of your rock-em-sock-em robot-boxing-gloves.  Though I must admit, the original is infinitely better.

Listen to “Clocks (Latin Edit)” (4.9/5)

Listen to “Violet Hill” (4.8/5)

In one of the most interesting re-imagining of songs, jazz-funk-soulman Mark Ronson has created a wonderfully captivating cover of Coldplay’s “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face.”  Enjoy!

Listen to Mark Ronson - “Got Put a Smile Upon Your Face (feat. Daptone Horns)” (4.8/5)

Rounding up this feature of “Songs That Have Changed My Life”:

My Morning Jacket - Gideon

This song has actually appeared as part of the anthems feature I did last month, but this song is just so incredible that it simply cannot be omitted here. When lead singer Jim James belts out the words “listen” and “c’mon” over the psychadelic rock riffs, I feel as though I have been transferred to the same other-wordly fantasy realm created by the band.

Coldplay - Clocks

I have always been fond of Coldplay, and no matter how many times I have heard this song on the radio, this song still has hypnotic power over me. It’s perhaps the most magical song I have ever heard, that so effortlessly induces a top-of-my-lungs sing-along every time it is queued. This may very well be one of the greatest songs ever made (of course, subjective….please rip on me at will).

Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young - Helplessly Hoping

They are one person. They are two alone. They are three together. They are four for each other. Do I really have to say more?

Now that we’ve laid down the basics for what makes an anthem, an anthem, I think it’s time we got down to some more specifics in our final segment. I hope you’re enjoyed this segment of anthems, and my pseudo-intellectual approach to dissecting its instant appeal. You might think this all a bunch of BS–that’s fine–but trust me on the sunscreen.

5) Case in Point: Art of Fighting - Eastbound

Yes, this song has been featured on this blog before, but it’s awesome enough to show up again. This is a perfect example of the slow-ballad-anthem. It works through gentle repetition of the chorus or certain verses. This track also happens to retain that quality of a dream-like opening that expands into a heartened chorus (a la My Morning Jacket’s “Gideon”). And the harmonies are incredible.

6) Case in Point: Tobias Froberg - What A Day

I was thinking about placing this song under the sing-along factor, but it is equally applicable for the head-bopping/finger-tapping factor. Resistance to any kind of physical gesturing with a song such as “What A Day” is futile–don’t fight it, embrace it!

7) Case in Point: Coldplay - Fix You

Much the same way that U2’s “Pride” was an anthem by virtue of its U2-ness, so to is Coldplay’s “Fix You” an anthem due to its Coldplay-icity. But what really makes “Fix You” stand out is the ability of lead singer Chris Martin’s incredibly infectious falsetto (falsetto factor is a subset of the sing-along factor) and the band’s harmonies to produce the collective-experience effect. This refers to the song being an experience, a journey to be shared by those listening to the song at the same point in time. This effect is perhaps the hardest to identify theoretically, but it is instantly recognizable in the moment.