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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: ratioci nation on March 29, 2005, 10:44:00 am
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http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/story.jsp?story=624478 (http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/story.jsp?story=624478)
Sex, Prozac and rock 'n' roll: satirists turn on the 'Glum Rock' takeover of British pop music
By Ciar Byrne, Media Correspondent
29 March 2005
They are calling it "glum rock" - a glut of melancholic young pop stars whose music is providing the soundtrack to a downhearted generation.
At the centre of this sombre gathering can be found Coldplay - the inspiration, it is being claimed - for a new wave of bands determined to reverse Bing Crosby's homespun wisdom by accentuating the negative and eliminating the positive from pop music.
The thesis is being expounded in a vicious new parody by the comedian Mitch Benn in his series Crimes Against Music, which is being broadcast on Radio 4 this week.
In it he identifies four bands: Keane, Snow Patrol, Embrace and the Thirteen Senses, which he says are guilty of sounding uncannily similar to Coldplay, whose dour hits have included "Yellow" and "Clocks". A third Coldplay album, following on from Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, is due to be released this summer - one of the most keenly awaited releases of the year. Others have added a fifth band to the list, Athlete, whose current hit "Wires" is about the singer's baby on a life-support system.
In the new series, Benn laments: "Everything sounds like Coldplay now. No other sounds can be allowed ... Very restrained, not too much row ... This could be Embrace, Keane or Snow Patrol, Thirteen Senses sound like this as well I'm told..."
Benn's conjecture has prompted a flurry of debate in the pop music world where the miserablist tradition can be faithfully traced from Leonard Cohen to Morrissey and the Smiths, to such giants of modern-day gloom as Radiohead.
But according to the NME editor Conor McNicholas, imitation is the inevitable result of Coldplay's runaway commercial success.
"This always happens when you get a very successful band. A&R men will jump on the bandwagon - forgive the pun. The same thing happened post-Oasis," he said. But Coldplay, he believes, will still stay one step ahead of their sound-alike rivals. And while some of the bands - such as Snow Patrol and Athlete - have earned their place at pop's top table, others may be less deserving.
"The Thirteen Senses have never really broken through. They seemed like one Coldplay band too far," he said.
Coldplay's frontman, Chris Martin, is almost as famous for being married to the actress Gwyneth Paltrow as for his music. The band met at University College London in 1996, signing to EMI's Parlophone label in July 2000. Their debut album Parachutes reached number one in the UK, and by the end of the year it had gone platinum four times.
Heart 106.2 FM DJ Harriet Scott said Coldplay have helped return guitar music to the charts and that their new album is among "their finest work".
"The success of the recent South By South West music showcase in Texas only proves that the demand is bigger than ever for guitar-based music," she said. "It was in the wilderness for so long while dance was exploding in the Nineties that it's only natural to see a return."
For the record companies, she argues, it all boils down to the bottom line. "You only have to look at the huge fall in EMI's share price when they announced they wouldn't be able to finish their album this quarter to see how important a band like Coldplay are. It's natural to see a number of bands with the same sound being popular and successful as well. I'm all for it."
The music journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton believes there is life after Coldplay.
"There was a point after Coldplay happened where it looked as if the New Solemnity would dominate A&R, but mercifully we seem to be over that. The current British wave sounds much more 'anything goes', especially in groups like The Go! Team and Do Me Bad Things," he said.
The Record of the Day publisher, Paul Scaife, believes the greater danger lies elsewhere. "I'm more worried about the endless crooners and pop-opera bands," he said.
THE SOUNDALIKES
SNOW PATROL
Born and raised in Belfast, the members of Snow Patrol met during Freshers' Week at Dundee University in 1994, but it was a decade before they had a hit with their third album, Final Straw, which became one of the biggest CDs of 2004, propelled by the hit single "Run".
From "Run"
To think I might not see those eyes Makes it so hard not to cry And as we say our long goodbyes I nearly do
KEANE
The band, fronted by the baby-faced Tom Chaplin, met at school in 1997 and were originally signed to Simon Williams's Fierce Panda label, also home to some early Coldplay releases. Now signed to Island Records, Keane's debut album Hopes and Fears was nominated for the Mercury music prize and has gone gold in the US.
From "Everybody's Changing"
You're aching, you're breaking And I can see the pain in your eyes
ATHLETE
The south London band's debut album, Vehicles and Animals, sold more than 250,000.Their second, Tourist, reached number one in the album chart. The Independent on Sunday described it as "slowing down in the middle of the road to park between Coldplay and Snow Patrol." Signed, like Coldplay, to Parlophone.
From "Wires"
You got wires, coming out of your skin There's dry blood, on your wrist
EMBRACE
The Huddersfield band Embrace sold half a million copies of their first album, The Good Will Out, in 1997, but then disappeared from view and were dropped by their record label. Then a good friend Chris Martin, whom the members met when Coldplay supported Embrace in 2000, brought the band back in from the cold when he wrote "Gravity", which was a huge hit last year.
From "Gravity"
Can you hear my heart beating Can you hear that sound Coz I can't help crying
THE THIRTEEN SENSES
The Cornish quartet have supported the Charlatans and Embrace, but are yet to break into the mainstream, although there are positive signs for their debut album. The Invitation went into the Top 20 when it was released in January and has gone gold. The band have also had a Top 20 single with "Thru the Glass".
From "Saving"
My skin is cold, it's turned to ice And everything I do, I want leaving me.
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I've never listened to a Coldplay album, so I'm asking from a place of ignorance, but does Snow Patrol really sound like them? Take "Run" out of the mix and I dont' think S.P. are all that glum. I adore Snow Patrol, but am left completely cold by the few Coldplay songs I've heard and Keane. It might be telling that "Run" is also one of my least fave S.P. songs.
Also, don't you think we could find similarly dour stanzas from nearly any bands repertoire?
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It just amazes me how Coldplay has suddenly become the standard. I listen/liked parachutes when it was fresh. Fought my way to the rail at HFS 2001 in the middle of the afternoon. Thought they had some potential. Rush of blood turned me away. A bunch of Radiohead wannabes with pr stunts like marrying famous people... just so tacky. In the meantime, they became huge. Headlining Coachella? I hope they close HFS so I can make a quick and easy early exit.
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Originally posted by myuman:
A bunch of Radiohead wannabes
From one standard to the next....
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Originally posted by myuman:
HFS 2001
Was that the year they were pelted with water bottles/shoes/etc...
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Originally posted by Bags:
I've never listened to a Coldplay album, so I'm asking from a place of ignorance, but does Snow Patrol really sound like them? Take "Run" out of the mix and I dont' think S.P. are all that glum. I adore Snow Patrol, but am left completely cold by the few Coldplay songs I've heard and Keane. It might be telling that "Run" is also one of my least fave S.P. songs.
Also, don't you think we could find similarly dour stanzas from nearly any bands repertoire?
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Sorry, another lame-brained maneuver...I agree Bags. I have two Cold Play CD's - and one Snow Patrol...Other than some very mopey lyrics, I see no similarities. There's a trend, however, with many rock reviewers to compare EVERYONE to Coldplay...I've never seen Coldplay in concert, but I've seen Snow Patrol three times...their shows are upbeat, rockin' with little shuffling around between sets and no shoe gazing...go figure. BTW: Should we compare the Doors to Coldplay?...ever seen the lyrics to "the end?"
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Originally posted by ratioci nation:
EMBRACE
The Huddersfield band Embrace sold half a million copies of their first album, The Good Will Out, in 1997, but then disappeared from view and were dropped by their record label. Then a good friend Chris Martin, whom the members met when Coldplay supported Embrace in 2000, brought the band back in from the cold when he wrote "Gravity", which was a huge hit last year.
From "Gravity"
Can you hear my heart beating Can you hear that sound Coz I can't help crying
Shouldn't they be forced to change their name to "Embrace UK" or "The London Embrace"
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Shouldn't they be forced to change their name to "Embrace UK" or "The London Embrace"
I actually sent an email to the folks at Dischord about this a couple months ago. They said they definitely had the right to do something about the name, but they decided not to. I guess they figured there wouldn't be much confusion over it.
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Originally posted by Bags:
I've never listened to a Coldplay album
Why?
They are O.K.
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No reason why, I just never have. I don't have friends in to them, and it just hasn't come up.
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Originally posted by Bags:
No reason why, I just never have. I don't have friends in to them, and it just hasn't come up.
stay strong, i still havent seen titanic ...
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You really should. Kate Winslet looks quite yummy naked...or at least I used to have that thought when I was single.
That being said, no reason to listen to a Coldplay album. I know I haven't.
Originally posted by HoyaSaxa03:
Originally posted by Bags:
No reason why, I just never have. I don't have friends in to them, and it just hasn't come up.
stay strong, i still havent seen titanic ... [/b]