Coldplay Paper..

Though flash-in-the-pan bands mark today’s music industry, one band remains an eclectic constant. Coldplay is considered one of the most popular bands today. They are known for their alternative rock English style of music. Lead singer, Chris Martin, considers them to be “not the heaviest of rock bands,” but more of a “limestone rock band.”

According to All That is Cold Play, in September of 1996, Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland met during orientation week at University College London. Durint their freshman year, the two banded together and started a band called Pectoralz. Guy Berryman soon joined the group, becoming the third member. The name Pectoralz was soon changed to Starfish. The trio took part in a few shows until Will Champion came into the picture. According to Coldplaying.com, Champion originally played piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle, but he quickly learned how to play drums for the band. The group played a few gigs, until they finally decided on the name: Coldplay. The complete band consisted of Martin: lead singer, piano, and guitar player, Buckland: lead guitar, Berryman: bass, and Champion: percussion.

The band began writing songs instantly. Safety EP was their first release, but they only had 50 copies to sell to the public. In the spring of 1999, the band signed a five-album contract to Parlophone. Coldplay’s debut album, Parachutes, was released in July of 2000 in the UK, including the hit singles: “Yellow,” “Shiver,” and “Trouble.” The album had a unique acoustic style. During this time, they went on their first headlining tour. The next album that Coldplay released, A Rush of Blood to the Head, in August of 2002, also produced many successful singles. These consisted of: “Clocks,” “In My Place,” and “The Scientist.” During their A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour, they travelled throughout 5 continents. The following album that was released by the band was X & Y. This album was a little less popular than the previous albums, but it did have various popular tracks. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was the most recent album that Coldplay unveiled. This was more upbeat than the others, including “Viva la Vida,” “Violet Hill,” “Life in Technicolor II,” and many other popular songs. They went on their Viva la Vida Tour in June of 2009, and toured throughout Europe and the United States.

Coldplay is known for their energetic concerts. They rely on enthusiasm more than actual ability. “Whatever you do, do enthusiastically, and people will like it more,” says Martin. This has been made very clear in each of their concerts. Martin is always jumping around and dancing as he sings, along with the rest of the group as they wholeheartedly play their instruments. This demonstrates that the band tries it’s hardest to get everyone to enjoy what Coldplay is doing for them. Throughout the concert, there are many different light/laser shows. During several songs, items, such as confetti butterflies and giant balls stream through the crowd.

Many famous bands have inspired Coldplay. According to contactmusic, the band a-ha, was a favorite of Martin growing up. A Scottish band, Travis, was claimed to be a big influence to Coldplay in their earlier years. As said by Rolling Stone, Martin considered Coldplay to be “incredibly good plagiarists” by taking someone else’s song, and redoing it in a completely different way. The songs that they “redo” are mostly just inspirational to them. U2 and Radiohead have also been important influences. U2 and Coldplay both had similar styles of music, and possessed a love of concern for charity.

Coldplay is involved in numerous charity organizations. Martin is a strong advocate for Oxam’s Make Trade Fair campaign. This is an association established to create fair trade and justice amongst governments. During concerts, he will usually write different variations of Make Trade Fair and an equal sign on his hand to promote this. Coldplay has also been known to donate 10 percent of all of their earnings to charity. Amnesty International is a charity supported by the band as well. This is an organization that was created in London to end mistreatment of human rights and order justice for any person whose rights have been violated.

One thing that makes Coldplay as a band unique is that they are timeless. They are not a band that is streaming colorless words and profanities together; instead, their songs tell stories and speak to people’s souls. Most people can relate to at least one song written by them. From love to politics, Coldplay says it all.

Unlike many other rock bands in the past, Coldplay has never split up. There has only been one time when a member was removed from the band. The article written by Fuse.tv mentions that Martin and Champion did not get along preceding the release of Parachutes. Martin kicked Champion out, only to beg him to return. Champion concurred, as long as Coldplay would run as a democracy. The rest of the band agreed, and made a list of rules, including a pact with one another to never do hard drugs, or they would be kicked out of the band. Many rock bands in the past have been highly influenced by drugs. Coldplay is different from this, showing that they have higher values.

Overall, Coldplay possesses a well-deserved popularity. The band is very hard working and talented, as it easily shines through them in an album or concert. They have good morals and do a large amount of charity work. They are unique in very many ways. Through their high standards and dedication to charity work, Coldplay has remained the epitome of rock bands. This group will be remembered for many years to come.

Works Cited

Scaggs, Austin. “Coldplay’s Quiet Storm.” Rolling Stone 25 Aug. 2005: 40-46. Print.

Jollett, Michael. “Planet Coldplay.” Filter Summer 2005: 54-63. Print.

“Timeline.” coldplay.com. Coldplay. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.

“Origin and Early Years (September 1996 – October 1999). Coldplaying.com. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.

“Coldplay’s Slow Burning Success.” News.BBC.co.uk. BBC News, 5 May 2005. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.

Ali, Mehreen F. “All That is Cold Play.” dawn.com. Dawn the Internet Edition, 26 Nov. 2005. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.

J, Regan. “Coldplay.” fuse.tv. Fuse. 13 Aug. 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2009.

“Coldplay - Martin: I’m a Fan of A-Ha.” contactmusic.com. Contactmusic.com, 20 April 2005. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.

My Amazing Life with Good Friends, and Hands Down it is an Adventure!

Throughout my life, I have always loved music. It has helped me through the rough times, and made me even happier during the good times. I feel that music is like a friend that is always there for you. I have compiled a list of a few songs that have inspired me and stood out throughout my life. It was very hard to narrow this list down to 14 because if I could have chosen, it would have been 100 songs. I just love music. Well anyways, here it is: MY annotated mixtape!

01. “Dear Prudence” by The Beatles

When I was a little baby, my mom had a Beatles tape that she would play every night for me as I went to sleep. One of my first memories was when I was laying in my bed, and this song was playing. The only way I know it is because I remember hearing “…won’t you come out to play?” I loved the Beatles growing up, and I would like to thank my mom for that.

02. “MMMBop” by Hanson

My first tape was Hanson. I loved this song and the boys. They were my first crushes, especially the younger one. One time that I remember this song was significant to me was when I was 6 or something like that. I had just learned to ride my bike without training wheels. I fell, and came in crying. My mom played this song for me, and it inspired me to get back on my bike again. It is pretty cheesy, but it worked.

.03 “Clocks” by Coldplay

I first heard this song on the trailer for Peter Pan, and as soon as I heard it, I searched for it on the Internet. I fell in love with the piano. I used to listen to this song on repeat. For some reason, it made me want to fall in love so bad.

.04 “Amazing, Because it is” by The Almost

This was an important song in my life. There was a period of time in my life when I was just confused about religion. As much as I hated it, I would doubt God’s existence. My friend told me about this band, and gave me a copy of their CD Southern Weather. I didn’t really listen to it, but one day, this song was playing in her car. I suddenly stopped doubting God in my life, and realized that this was Him calling me back.

.05 “Hands Down” by Dashboard Confessional

I always think about my first boyfriend whenever I hear this song. I used to be obsessed with it. When we broke up, I would not let myself listen to it because it reminded me of him. It’s all pretty silly now that I think about it, but at the time, it was important to me.

.06 “Friends” by Michael W. Smith

This song could probably easily make me cry. In the summer of 2007, a family that was very close to mine had to move away to Atlanta due to their dad losing his job. It was a terrible experience for both sides. We made a video that went along with this song and watched it with them before they left. There wasn’t a dry face in my house. The video still makes us all cry.

.07 “Good’s All in Your Head” by Mates of State

Back in the beginning of my junior year of high school, I was always so happy. I used to listen to this song in my car on the way to school, especially if I wasn’t in a good mood. Every time I hear this song, I think of back then because everything was just so easy, and I pretty much did whatever I wanted, to an extent. I remember feeling like that would last forever.

.08 “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd

There was a period of time in my life where all I listened to was Pink Floyd. I thought that they were really cool and just different from the mainstream stuff that everyone else was listening to. This was my favorite by them, and still is. It is also the first song that I learned to play on guitar.

.09 “High Together” by Shwayze

I’m not too proud of what this song reminds me of, but it is a song that I always used to sing with my best friends back when we used to smoke pot. I don’t do it anymore, but it definitely brings back hilarious memories from all of the weird stuff that we did together.

.10 “The Adventure” by Angels and Airwaves

I listened to this song all of the time during this past summer. It described it perfectly. My favorite part was when it said, “life’s waiting to begin.” I liked it because it was true since I was about to be starting on my new adventure in college, but right then, I was just having fun and waiting.

.11 “Amsterdam” by Coldplay

This song reminds me of this summer also, but more towards the end. I got into some trouble, and I felt like my life was going to be over, especially with my boyfriend. My parents wanted me to never speak to him again, and I was completely devastated because he was also a great friend of mine. It was a very depressing time.

.12 “Going Away to College” by Blink-182

The title should give the significance of this song away. The song is actually about a guy and his girlfriend that he has to leave behind because he’s going to college. The song basically consists of the couple keeping in touch throughout the process. The song matched my boyfriend and I perfectly, except it was opposite because I was the one leaving for college, and he was left back in high school. The song always reminded me of him.

.13 “Be Somebody” by Kings of Leon

This song definitely is not one of my favorites by Kings of Leon, but it is kind of noteworthy to me because as my parents were taking me to Tech on move-in day, I was listening to my iPod in the back. When we were getting off onto the entrance for Tennessee Tech, this song began to play. I thought that it was pretty cool because the gist of the song is pretty much to “be somebody,” and that was definitely what I needed at the time because I was pretty intimidated at the sound of being on my own with people I had never met before.

.14 “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve

I figured this would be a good final song to my mixtape to my life. Life is basically a bittersweet symphony. There are ups and downs, good times and bad times, and everything in between. I think that life is really weird because we’re all just here doing our own thing, trying to be successful, famous, popular, smart, or whatever else it is that someone wants to be.

To Andy:

In case you check, I did do my blog. I don't know why, but it isn't at the top of my postings. I think it was because I started to do it, then stopped. I was reading over them this morning, and noticed it, but I did do them, you just have to go down a few blogs!

working on my mixtape...

Okay, so I'm working on my mixtape right now. For the subject, I'm either between my summer before my senior year or just like the day in the life of me for my senior year or now. Idk. The only thing that I wouldn't like about the summer before my senior year is that i alllllwayyys listened to All Time Low, and I don't like them at all now, like I don't even know why or how I liked them, so I wouldn't really want to put them into my mix tape.

Okay I'm tired of typing this.......

What the heck...

So in class the other day, the subject of sororities came up. I don't think many people in there know that I'm in one I guess. Someone said, sarcastically, "Well to be in a sorority you have to be smart..." What the heck.. Well first off, I'm going to say that yeah you DO have to be fairly smart to be in a sorority because there is a GPA that you have to maintain, and you have to have a certain amount of library hours if your GPA is not a 4.0. I hate when people automatically stereotype sorority girls as the girls from Legally Blonde. I am in a sorority, and NOOO I am not like that at allllll. I'm like the total opposite of that. Most of my sisters in my sorority are also. I mean, I'm sure that there are some girls that are like that, but there are everywhere. I also hate when people say that when you're in a sorority you "pay for your friends." This is not true at all. Anyways, if you wanted to be friends with people in sororities, you could just talk to them. It's not like we're just friends with ourselves. True, it is a good way to make a lot of friends, but that is not what being in a sorority is all about. We help out the community in so many ways. Our philanthropy is the Ronald McDonald House. We are constantly collecting pop tabs to donate to them, and we have many visits throughout the semester where we prepare a meal for them and interact with some of the kids. All sororities have a philanthropy week. Ours is called diamond heist. Throughout the week, we hold many events that the fraternities participate in to raise money for the RMH. At the end of the week, we host a concert. We are also supposed to have a certain amount of service hours each semester. Being in a sorority is a lot of work, and yes, you DO have to be smart to be in one. ;)

A few of us at Pie-at-a-Pi during diamond heist

Thanksgiving Brizzeak

I'm actually kind of excited about this next assignment for English that we have coming up. I absolutely love music, so this mixtape thing that we have to do should be pretty cool. I just have to pick a good theme and narrow down a list of songs for it.

Thanksgiving break was pretty cool. I had to stay in dumb Cookeville until Friday, unlike most people, because everyone had cancelled class on Wed except for my algebra teacher. <.<

When I got home, I just chilled with my family for a while because it was my parent's anniversary. My mom and dad decided to go out, and Anthony came over and took my sisters and I to go rent a movie and to get pizza and ice cream. He's a sweetheart. We watched Land of the Lost. It was pretty weird. Will Ferrel was funny though. He's one of my favorite actors.

On Thanksgiving, my grandma came over. My whole family used to come over, but that doesn't really happen at all anymore. We ate tons of good food that my mom had made. I ate wayyyyyyyyy too much. I always like the food. I think I've changed a lot since I've started college. I feel like I am more grateful than i used to be. When I was in high school, I think I was more spoiled because I still lived with my parents, so they were always there whenever I needed anything, and I had tons of money always because I worked a lot more than I do now. I would usually get about $150 a week, and spend it all on clothes and food i think? I honestly don't know where all of that money went. Now, I hardly have any money. Right now, my bank account is at $16.08 and I have a check that I wrote last week for $27 that still, thankfully, hasn't been put through. I am always so tight on money. I've spent most of it on sorority stuff.

On black Friday, I went shopping a little bit with my sister. We didn't go till like 8 because I didn't feel like getting up early then having to work 9 hours. I got some boots and two movies for $3.99 each, and they were originally $19.99. I bought Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I had to work from 12 to 9. I was pretty glad that I didn't have to close. It was pretty busy, but TJ Maxx is too cheap to have sales on Black Friday or any day. I had fun though actually because I worked with a bunch of my friends that I hadn't seen in a while. My mood at work always depends on whether or not my friends are there, which is pretty bad I know, but when my friends are there, I'm always upbeat and happy, and when I'm by myself, I just walk around all bored and depressed. After work, I just hung with friends.

On Saturday, I worked again from 12 to 9. It was a little more boring that day. After work, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Anthony. Then, we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at his house. On Sunday, I had to work 9 to 5, but I thought it was 9:30, so I came in late. Sunday was pretty uneventful.

Overall, my weekend was alright, even though I worked a toooooonnnn.

Reviewing..

Today, I read several different reviews that were assigned for English. The Harry Potter review was okay. It seems like a movie will be easy to write about. You can watch and experience movies over and over, to make sure that you are writing everything right. I may actually blog about a movie. I am not sure yet.

Another review that I read was the one about the restaurant. I liked the example a lot, and it was helpful in case I want to write about a restaurant. You can review different things like: food and tastes, appearance of food, restaurant, and the servers, and if the service was bad or not. The only thing about reviewing service is that it may be different each time because I have gone to a favorite restaurant many different times, and the service has been great, but there have also been the slight few times that it could be terrible. I think it mostly depends on the server and whether or not he or she is busy. A good thing to blog about is the appearance because that is sometimes even more important than the food itself. Many people judge food based on how it looks or just where it came from in the restaurant. If the food looks gross then someone may not like it even if it tastes good because many people "taste with their eyes." I think that the only thing that may be hard about reviewing a restaurant is to not make it a summary, and I feel that I could not make the review very long.

The review for Dawson's Creek was interesting. I had never seen that show before, even though I actually wanted to as a little kid, but I kind of know the gist of it now. The writer wrote about the controversies and the main plot of the show. I feel like it would be hard to review a TV show because there are so many different episodes. Some may be good, and others may not be so good. I probably will not do that one. I do not really watch much TV either. I did like the review though. It was pretty helpful, in case i want to review some TV show.