"Viva La Vida" Is a Pretty Good CD.

::dusting off my music critic horn-rimmed glasses::

OK, so it's been awhile. But Coldplay just released a damn good CD (album? effort? collection of songs released at one time? I have no clue what to call a music compilation anymore. I'm just going to call it a "CD"), and I feel compelled to write something about it. You see, around the turn of the decade whining in music was pretty popular. It was important for musically-inclined males to show a sensitive side, and to sing in falsetto as much as possible in order to woo female listeners (or, alternatively, hummingbirds). This led to the estrogen-izing of America, the weak dollar, and the first Stone Sour CD. Contemporaneously, Coldplay became a chart-topper based on music which consisted mainly of whining and falsetto singing in Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head. Now I still like both of these CD's. But I've never really tried to be cool, and I love whining. So, I guess this makes sense.

Then came 2005's X & Y, a CD that I've never been able to listen to completely (although it has a couple of singles that I like). There are some people (specifically, some people who write on Damaged, Inc.) who love X & Y, so I'm not going to bash it too much. It just kind of bores me, that's all. After such a middling effort, I had to think twice before shelling out $9.99 on iTunes -- because buying music legally is COOL! -- for Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends (VVDAAHF, for short). Since Tuesday, I've listened to it 4 times. Once in my office in New Jersey, once in my Massachusetts office, once in my car (driving from NJ to MA), and finally on a long run on the beach in NJ. I don't know about other people, but I need to listen to a CD in a number of different places, doing a number of different things, before I decide that I like it. I also never like a CD the first time that I listen to it. Liking music is hard work, but it pays off.

The coolest thing about VVDAAHF is how restrained it remains while still being musically inventive. Perhaps the band was as bored with X & Y as I was, because they elicited a number of different types of music -- there's bluegrass infused throughout "Yes" and "Strawberry Swing", hip-hop on many songs but most notably at the beginning of "Lost!", gospel in "Death and All his Friends," and undertones of 80's dance music in "Viva La Vida" -- in the context of an album that is (as a whole) very reliably hard rock.

Reportedly Timbaland assisted in the production of the album, which by itself is a huge deviation from the art-rock influences (Jeff Buckley, anyone?) that motivated much of their earlier work. For those of you who hold negative attitudes toward art-rock, I must assure you that VVDAAHF is not art-rock. The lead guitar is consistently solid and meaningful, with moments of searing up-tempo bliss, as in the pounding crescendos of "Death and All His Friends" and the halting middle of "Life in Technicolor." I did wish that the powerful, driving music lasted longer, and that I didn't have to wallow through as much slow and melodic stuff in order to get there. This was a problem for me in songs such as "Lovers in Japan," which was one of my least-favorite songs on the CD. (This is a problem with Coldplay, and with pretentious bands in general. They definitely feel that listeners need to earn their way to the best parts of the best songs, and damn us for complaining!).

As a whole, however, I really enjoy VVDAAHF and I encourage you to listen to it (via legally downloading it, or otherwise, depending on your morals and ethics). It's very fun, good music to listen to at work, and the few places where you feel like you're being forced to eat your vegetables are well-rewarded with a delicious, musical dessert.

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Today is Thursday, June 19, and I am embarking on a "Spend No Money Today Campaign." Why, you ask? Because, between gas and going out drinking, I spent $75 yesterday and I'm going to spend another $75 (on the same two objects) tomorrow. Having $150 drained from my checking account over 3 days is far easier to tolerate than some higher number, so as a consequence I'm typing this post from my office, with a can of Chunky soup I've had in my office since last November heating up in the microwave. For the rest of day, I'll eat whatever is in my refrigerator -- I had a peanut butter sandwich and O.J. for breakfast (because I don't currently have much in my fridge), and I will have mac and cheese for dinner. Why would any man ever NOT want to live as a bachelor?

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Below is a random playlist I created and can't stop listening to in my car:

1) Tom Cochrane - "Life is a Highway" (One of the all-time, underrated awf-some songs of all time.)

2) The Proclaimers - "500 Miles" (Another awf-some song; song which attempts to qualify love by saying: "Hey, when I go out, get drunk, and throw up, you're the one I want to throw up WITH, baby!")

3) Rusted Root - "Send Me On My Way" (The hippie-est song that I like.)

4) Gerry Rafferty - "Baker Street" (There's this situation with some of my friends: we're out somewhere, and a song which is incredibly embarrassing comes on. Next, each of us immediately lights up and we realize that we all like the same, embarrassing song. Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" is one of these songs, although I actually think it's kind of a cool song b/c Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters crew covered it about ten years ago.)

5) Eric Clapton - "Layla", Live, MTV Unplugged, 1992 (No substitutions allowed. One of the greatest live performances ever, when I was 9 years old I realized how great this version of "Layla" was and forced my mom to play the cassette over and over again. That's right, cassette.)

6) BB King - "Don't Answer the Door (Parts I and II)" (Perhaps the most misogynistic song ever. Great blues riff.)

7) Bell Biv Devoe - "Poison" (Perhaps the second-most misogynistic song ever, hilarious music video, great haircuts, love the nerd glasses on the dude sitting on the basketball hoop toward the end.)

8) Boyz II Men -- "Motownphilly" (B-B-Boyz II Men! That's right, 'cuz the East Coast fam never skipped a beat, I won't, either.)

9) Sam Cooke -- "Twistin' The Night Away" (The soundtrack to one of the best scenes in one of the best comedy movies ever -- "Animal House" -- an undeniably smooth and soulful song by one of the coolest cats to have ever purred.)

10) Huey Lewis & The News -- "Power of Love" (Don't lie and say you don't bang your head a little to this song. It's a good song, no question.)

11) Def Leppard -- "Hysteria" (I must be in love.)

12) Bruce Springsteen -- "Spirit In The Night" (The most opaquely drug-riddled song of the 1970's, and because The Boss is so damned wholesome and nice, nobody ever calls him out on this. I will be honest. This song is about getting housed -- no, no, worse than that, obliterated -- on just about every drug imaginable, and then doing ridiculous things thereafter. Throughout the song, he mentions people as if they went on some physical trip with him. These are people who don't exist; they're just different kinds of drugs that he took. This fact doesn't make me like Bruce any less (or any more), it just kind of is what it is. He may be an evangelical Rock God, but I believe in fair and balanced music criticism, and this is what you get. If you really want to be critical of Bruce, look at the lyrics to "Backstreets." Eh? Eh?)

13) The Clash -- "London Calling" (Because every self-respecting mix CD should end with a punky song. The best mix CD I ever created ended with Green Day's "J.A.R.", a song that doesn't get played nearly as much as it should on the radio and that, when played, inspires me 100% of the time to play that scratched, semi-warped mix CD I created years ago. Yeah, every mix CD deserves a punk rock song. No question about it.)

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OK, that's enough for me. Stay classy.