"Higher Power" by Coldplay, Saturday, May 8, 2021

 

Back in 2010 we learned that yes, a pickle can get more likes than Nickelback, a band that had become the most hated "butt rock" band in the mid-'00s. In fact, the conclusions of the social media study found that a pickle had more likes than Oprah Winfrey or other beloved figures. It turns out that internet users' hate outweighs Internet love, or the terrible outweighs the good. In 2014, the most hated rock band would become U2 after their release of Songs of Innocence was forced into every iTunes users' library. People tried everything to scrub the songs from their shuffle. Today, people have mostly forgotten about Nickelback, and Apple Music no longer comes standard with that U2 album, so people have other musical axes to grind. Justin Bieber has grown up and is no longer blaring in our cultural continuousness. So who is the most hated band these days? After the 2019 Super Bowl it was Maroon 5, for taking to the stage when the NFL was in the middle of racial controversy around Colin Kaepernick's taking a knee during the National Anthem and many other musical acts refused to play that year. Or is it the "rock groups" who take the name of rock 'n' roll in vein? Imagine Dragons (we'll talk about them later) or Coldplay, who has garnered a lot of hate due to their pop sound and supposed generic sound?  

THIS JOY IS ELECTRIC. "There's not much to hate about Coldplay. But every time I hear one of their songs I kind of don't realize I'm listening to anything," my coworker once said. Many listeners have also come to this conclusion. In the video "Where Coldplay Went Wrong," critic Frank Furtado, of the YouTube channel Middle 8, argues that Coldplay is the commercialized version of more talented, authentic bands more hidden in the scene. He also argues that lead vocalist's Chris Martian's avoidance of personal details in his lyrics make their songs mediocre at best. Finally, he argues that sing Viva La Vida, Or Death and All His Friends, the band has been virtually producing the same record over and over again, watering down their lyrical and musical depth in the process with the exception of 2019's Everyday Life. One thing Furtado doesn't talk about, though, is the danger of working with the same producers album after album. Perhaps Coldplay's relationship with producers Brian Eno and Rik Simpson is to blame. Essentially, Coldplay is using the same ingredients and mixing them differently. 

GOT ME SINGIN' EVERY SECOND, DANCIN' EVERY HOUR. Still, I admire Coldplay for their use of the recording studio as a musical instrument. Bigger than Coldplay is the production of Brian Eno, the producer that created three of U2's most iconic albums The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and All That You Can't Leave Behind,  worked with Genesis, Devo, Toto, and David Bowie, and scored The Lovely Bones--the soundtrack making the movie watchable. But for their latest single, Coldplay turns to a producer with a  "Higher Power," Max Martin, the producer with the second most Hot 100 number 1 hits under his belt, second to The Beatles’ producer George Martin. Starting with Ace of Base in the early '90s and then writing and producing for the Backstreet Boys, Martin would score his first number one hit with Britney Spears in 1998 and then again with "It's Gonna Be May," I meant, "It's Gonna Be Me" for *NSync He cultivated Katy Perry to become a hit producers, then took P!nk to the top of the charts. He replaced the banjos for EDM with Taylor Swift taking her from the top of the country charts to the top of the pop charts. He introduced the pop charts to dark R&B singer The Weeknd. The question is, what can he do with Coldplay? And if he takes them back to the top of the charts, is the concept behind their new album--an alien language developed since Viva La Vida complete with its own planet--enough to revitalize their career?

Performance Video:

Official Dance Video:

Official Music Video:

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