Coldplay concerts have not only been some of the best concerts I've seen and heard, they've been some of the best times in my life: driving down to San Francisco with my wife and seeing Coldplay at the HP Pavilion Center in San Jose, going over to the White River Ampitheatre in Auburn, WA with my friend and most recently, this July at the Gorge. Perhaps there's something mysteriously uplifting about Coldplay's music that comes to the surface during live performances and creates a sense of euphoria. I think it can be heard in their studio recordings too; even the slow, somber songs sound hopeful. Their concerts also benefit from the fact they're fantastic performers who know how to put on a show. At the Gorge, giant yellow balloons floated across the crowd during "Yellow" and tiny paper butterflies flew over the audience during "Lovers in Japan", Coldplay left the stage to come in to the crowd to perform a few numbers including "The Hardest Part" and a cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.
1. Warning Sign - A Rush of Blood to the Head - my favorite song of theirs to play on the piano. One thing I like about Coldplay's music is how simple their melodies are - they do an amazing job of orchestrating the different instruments to make the songs sonically interesting - one melody line may be played by a piano, guitar and sung all at different times or as harmonies at the same time. The piano parts aren't difficult to play, which allows me to enjoy their music in yet another way.
2. Shiver - Parachutes - This song is somewhat difficult to play on the piano, I don't know about the guitar parts, but I've never seen this song performed live and I really want to. I love the last minute of the song where you think it's going to end and Chris gives us one more verse.
3. The Scientist - A Rush of Blood to the Head - Simply a classic (you can watch the music video at the end of this post).
4. Clocks - A Rush of Blood to the Head - Regardless of how many times I've heard this on the radio, it's still one of my favorite songs. There's also this cool latin version by Coldplay and Rhythms del Mundo Cuba on iTunes - very, very cool.
5. Life in Technicolor II - Prospekt's March - Loved the original, love the extended version even more.
6. Don't Panic - Parachutes - So, so simple, and so, so beautiful. The poetic lyrics are perfect: "Bones, sinking like stones, all that we've fought for. Homes, places we've grown, all of us are done for. And we live in a beautiful world."
7. Yes - Viva la Vida - I love all the parts of this song from the strings at the beginning, to the haunting vocals and the electric guitar shift midway through. Probably some of their best songwriting.
8. Politik - A Rush of Blood to the Head - A classic by my books. This is about as "hard" as Coldplay gets (which incidentally is very, very soft) and I especially like the change of tone about 3 minutes in.
9. Brothers and Sisters - Trouble (B-Sides) EP - Great guitar part and another gorgeous melody.
10. Low - X & Y - This album is a bit more electronic sounding than their other albums, but it still offers many unique and enjoyable tunes, including "Square One" and "Swallowed by the Sea". Ironically, I think "Low" is one of the highlights of this album.
The Scientist (Edit) - Coldplay
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