I love Britpop...I was way into Blur, Oasis, the Charlatans, Travis, etc. I still enjoy a lot of that music. However, Coldplay does nothing for me. Why? Chris Martin. I don't relate to him, I don't like the sound of his voice. That part about the yelp/hiccup thing is priceless. Coldplay isn't a bad band, but I just really don't feel the need to own their music because it doesn't translate into what GREAT music should be to my ears. They are inoffensive, but they also lack that certain something that catches my ear and makes me actually ENJOY them.
This is the thing. You can have an artist (for example) like Elliott Smith, who taps into a subconscious. There are some musicians who are great at being the sensitive guy/girl who sighs a lot and would rather sit with an acoustic guitar and let you peer into their sad, hollow souls. But the thing is that their lyrics and music are so vibrant that you realize there is no faking or b.s. happening.
In Elliott's case, his visions and alienation come through, his songs connect into that part of the human psyche where it seems as though life revolves around love, hurt, beauty, pain, relationships, interactions, experience. In other words, there is a rawness that isn't always nice, but we can truly feel what he is telling us and we RELATE. For example, when Elliott sang "why would you want any other when you're a world within a world?" it spoke volumes...his images were striking because they never seemed contrived and he never insulted our intelligence.
I get the impression that Chris Martin wants to be that kind of songwriter that we connect with and swoon for, but he also wants to spoon feed us. From what I've heard of Coldplay, they're the type of band that water down the ugliness in an effort to appeal to more folks, and as a result the music loses that realness. Life ain't always pretty or nice, but when someone tries to be nice it comes across as dull. It's a double-edged sword. How do you be earnest without being boring or whiney? The ultimate mistake a lot of artists make is when they start believing they're great and then they stop making music for themselves...instead, they start making what they THINK people want to hear, and that's the kiss of death. (Moby being a perfect example...and I remember seeing an interview with Peter Frampton where he said this was true.)
My guess is that Chris Martin is under a lot of pressure, it doesn't help that he's putting himself in the spotlight by marrying someone like that Paltrow girl. It's tough when everyone wants you to sell records and then become the next U2 or whatever. I don't envy Coldplay because what happens to them with this record determines their long-term success. They're not an evil horrible band by any means, but they definitely are one that I feel complete indifference towards.
