X & Y

Customer Review: The first mild disapointment from coldplay
If Coldplay is generation Y's U2, that would mean "Rush of Blood to the Head" is its Joshua Tree. In turn that would mean that the next list of albums will turn out to be minor disapointments. It may also mean that due to Gen Y's short attention span, Coldplay will not last nearly as long, and have fewer good albums. It really is too bad, as they have taken over the artsy british rock crown from Radiohead. Now, there are two kinds of fans who will buy this album. Those who want to listen to Coldplay, and Chris Martin lovers. I myself am a coldplay lover. Don't get me wrong, Chris Martin is the perfect vocalist for this band and without his piano work Coldplay wouldn't be what it is today. But the problem with this album is the focus is drifting too much on Chris Martin and not the music. Sure, its good for business to have a sex symbol being the main focus of a band, but the art will struggle because of it. Before, in Parachutes and Rush of Blood to the Head, there was a perfect balance between Coldplay and Chris Martin, between the Music and the Man. Now that balance has completely gone askew. It shows in the slower songs that a certain pretentiousness is arising, and a naivity that is far more blatant than before. I guess the thing that really bothers me is Chris Martin singing without any music, which to me seems silly, and very self-important in contrast to a good supporting cast. 3 stars, however, is not enough. I wanted to give it 3 1/2, but 4 would have been pushing it. Some of the music has amazing flows. The drumming is solid, and the guitar distortions are exceptionally effective. The lyrics, are very hit and miss. Some of them, are simply stunning. Others are extremely naive, or even pompous. The best songs, the music flows pleasantly, and works surprisingly well. If every song followed a similar logic, this album would be stunning, but it would also be harder for singles to be released. Again, good for business, but bad for art. 1. Square One: 4/5 One of the better songs on this album, it starts off well, has some good parts, but the ending is almost spoiled by shoddy and naive lyrics. 2. What if: 3/5 Very inconsistent in terms of both instrumentals, and flow. A bad introduction, with occasional parts of brilliance. Unorganized, flawed, and naive, with promise however. 3. White Shadows: 5/5. The best song on this album, amazing use of distortions, back-up vocals, and overall instrumentation. This is another perfect balance between Coldplay and Chris. Lyrics are boarderline strong, and some of them are very well done. 4. Fix you: 2/5. Allright, i dont watch the OC. This is the worst song on the CD, and released as a single. The opening is simply cheesy, as are the lyrics. This is sadly the new direction of Coldplay, or should i say Chris Martin. Even the vocals at the beginning, the vocals are strangely poor. This song is almost completely done by chris, at least the 1st 1/2. It does finally pick up about 2 mins in, which is far too long. If you are a coldplay fan, fear this if it is the future(Think of the last several U2 albums). When the group sings together it is unnecessary and doesnt really add to this song, it just sounds cheesy. 5. Talk 3.5/5. A better song on this album, is very inconsistent. The lyrics aren't that great, and there are sections that are poorly done. But the chorus is somewhat well constructed and has instances of being enjoyable, even some of the lyrics are great, but overall mediocre. 6. X&Y 3.5/5 Another poor introduction, but this song does in fact get better. The rhythm is simple, but effective. Lyrics, again mediocre. Good guitar work, and drumming is flawless. 7. Speed of Sound: 4/5. This single released from the album is good, the only thing preventing itself from being amazing is the fact that at parts it is nearly identical to clocks. Amazing guitar distortions, and the bass gives a good heartbeat to the song. Above average lyrics, and a good balance between focus on the band and chris martin, at least relatively. I think maybe the piano, though good could have been toned down a bit. 8. A Message: 4/5. A newer version of sparks, but there is nothing wrong with that. At least the music doesnt suffer. As for chris martin this is a good use of his talents, and his band backing him up. 9. Low : 4.5/5. One of the far better songs on this CD. The lyrics are above average. The riffs are basic, but good nonetheless. Perhaps what is so good about Chris Martin is that the lines between his singing and talking are very blurred. He has a very good voice, he can raise an octave without any noticeable difference, seemingly completely calm, talk-singing, and then belt out a high pitched sound with great flow. It can also come down with equal fluidity. This song showcases it, but not at the expense of the band. 10. The Hardest Part: 3.5/5, I don't have any significant complaints, of things that havent allready been heard. It has good flow, and balance. I love the guitar about 1:20 into it. But at the same time, it is nothing special, and as far as coldplay goes, its not up with their other music. 11. Swallowed in the Sea: 4/5. Allthough it is guilty of the general complaint i had about this album, the lyrics are stunning. The sounds backing up chris' voice, create a mystical fairy tale feel to it. The band slowly comes back into it, first guitarist then bassist and drummer. The pace gets faster, which works. 12. Twisted Logic 3.5/5. Still guilty of the main complaint. But instrumentally becomes something much more. Perhaps you can see what i mean in my major complaint. With a strong instrumental, why do we need to hear Chris Martin sing by himself? Why should the spotlight solely be on him? It just seems silly. Now here him with his band, isnt it so much better? 13. Kingdom Come: 5/5. Another song i like. It is a very good ballad, lyrically it is very good, and musically very well written. Nothing spectacular, but very well put together instrumentally. It is simply effective, that is why it is so good. The album could not have closed on a better song, kind of unorthodox for coldplay but that does not matter. I know, i may get a lot of responses, and that this will be a very controversial. If you are a coldplay lover, not a chris martin lover, then listen to my review after hearing the entire CD for a while. The overall flow of the CD is marred slightly by some of its poor songs, but a good effort, not just what i expected after Rush of Blood to the head.
Customer Review: Xcellent & Y
This album is great. It's hard-hitting, lacks pretension when pretension could have been easily inserted, and has generally good songs. The only reason I am giving this album four stars is because Coldplay's sophomore studio album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head" is a classic album. It is a five-star effort, and X&Y, although good, falls short of greatness in comparison to "Rush of Blood". I wouldn't recommend this album to new Coldplay fans, but rather, to die-hards who know what to expect from the band. It's spacey, it's cool, it's another consistently good Coldplay album.

Three times in the last month Ive been asked the question, what do I need to do to organise a gig? In reality, when this question is asked it can mean several things: How do I find a venue? How do I sort out the PA? How do I get an audience? And so on.

But there is a stage before all of this: the budget. I would suggest that the moment you start thinking about organising an event you should write a budget. This budget spreadsheet informs you of most things that you will need to consider and will also show you the risk, projected profit and the breakeven point. A sample spreadshhet is available to download from this address http://www.josaka.com/features/2005/Organise-A-Gig/Event-PandL.pdf

If the budget numbers dont look like they are working perhaps the event is not the right thing to be running. If you dont like the level of risk, perhaps you arent cut out to be a promoter.

So the start point is a spreadsheet. This should include all costs and all incomes. The key headings for costs should include: performer cost, PA, lighting, venue hire, marketing, box office costs etc. The income is likely to be largely ticket sales but dont forget the opportunity to add a sponsor to the event.

The spreadsheet will help you work out the breakeven point for the event i.e. how many tickets you need to sell to cover all costs. Every sale beyond breakeven is of course profit (exluding any box office commision). The added bonus of creating an event spreadsheet is that helps define all the key tasks to be performed.

The realisation of the forecasted numbers becoming actual figures suggests that all parties have got the deal they were looking for or agreed to. The sample speadsheet also illustrates that everyone else involved in the gig is largely earning a fixed fee and therefore the only person taking a financial risk is the promoter.

So if you are thinking of organising a live event I coomed you to work on the numbers first. This will help ensure you deliver a great show and have control over the money.

Kevin Harrington is the founder of josaka http://www.josaka.com the site that supports live music in Berkshire, UK. He is also director of marketing for Arkade http://www.arkade.com the mp3 distribution business.

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