Coldplay charted with "Clocks"

Clocks Coldplay

Writer(s): Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin (see lyrics here) Released: December 10, 2002 First Charted: November 30, 2002 Peak: 29 US, 21 RR, 4 A40, 115 AA, 9 MR, 9 UK, 7 CN, 28 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK, 1.70 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.4 radio, 419.18 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Coldplay haters are a dime a dozen” LR and much of why the band is criticized rings true: “they’re boring, Chris Martin writes lyrics that are meaningless at best and embarrassing at worst, they’ve inspired a generation…that tries to soar and mostly just whines.” DS However, on songs like “Clocks” “there’s something to the construction of the song that can be admired.” DS The song taps into the “atmospheric English rock of the early ‘80s” TC with “dark melodies against the soaring strings.” TC It is “built around one of the most compelling piano riffs of the entire decade.” AB’00 It “burrows deep into the brain as it runs throughout the song and possesses a haunting, concerto-like beauty.” SS It “doesn’t progress like a standard Romantic melody, it interlocks and shifts with the tides.” DS “It’s almost unnerving, how Martin’s voice gets more delicate while the music gets more strident.” LR The song wasn’t initially intended for A Rush of Blood to the Head, the band’s second album. Martin “had a crisis of confidence about the proposed release” NME’09 “en route to filing the tracklisting to label Parlophone” NME’09 and requested a two-month delay on the album’s release. At the suggestion of the band’s manager Phil Harvey, recorded “Clocks.” NME’09 The title alludes to “the world’s obsession with time” AMG while the lyrics pose the big question regarding our purpose for being here. Martin has said British rock band Muse served as the song’s inspiration, AB’00 and critics have noted how the album as a whole and this song in particular “drew upon the art-rock group Radiohead’s atmospherics.” SS However, U2 is the biggest band at play here since “Clocks” marks the moment when Coldplay thought “they could challenge U2 as The World’s Biggest Band.” PD Resources: AB’00 About.com (2009) “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s” AMG All Music Guide TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 596. LR LowResolution.blogspot.com (1/4/2010). “Retrospecticus: 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade” NME NME.com (11/11/09). 100 Tracks of the Decade PD PopDose.com (11/24/09) The Best Songs of the Decade SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 505. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 190. Related Links: Last updated 4/12/2023.

Coldplay released A Rush of Blood to the Head

A Rush of Blood to the Head Coldplay

Released: August 26, 2002 Peak: 5 US, 13 UK, 1 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 4.8 US, 2.96 UK, 15.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Politik In My Place (7/20/02, 17 MR, 2 UK, 2 CN, 23 AU) God Put a Smile Upon Your Face (7/14/03, 100 UK, 43 AU) The Scientist (11/4/02, 18 MR, 10 UK, 16 CN, 40 AU, sales: 0.5 m) Clocks (11/30/02, 29 US, 9 MR, 9 UK, 7 CN, 28 AU, sales: 1.0 m) Daylight Green Eyes Warning Sign A Whisper A Rush of Blood to the Head Amsterdam Total Running Time: 54:08 The Players: Chris Martin (vocals, piano, synthesizers, guitar) Jonny Buckland (guitar, backing vocals) Guy Berryman (bass) Will Champion (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.028 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “In the early ‘00s, starry-eyed Brit-pop boys doing a cuddly version of Radiohead were a dime a dozen…It was Coldplay’s second album that showed they were true contenders.” RS’11 Coldplay burst on the scene in 2000 with Parachutes, their “wonderfully assured debut.” AZ The album topped the UK charts, but its #51 peak in the U.S. coupled with minor pop hit “Yellow” (also a top ten at alternative rock) certainly didn’t suggest the group would some day compete for title of Biggest Band in the World. That song “didn’t follow the rock formula… similarly A Rush of Blood to the Head might not instantly grab listeners, but it’s not tailored that way.” AMG Others saw the band’s dominance coming. The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis said, “It sounds like an album ready to take on the world, and win.” WK Coldplay had “advanced to a stage where they outshine nearly every one of their rivals in terms of imagination and emotional pull.” AZ There was actually noise in the U.K. press after the debut that they might call it quits after just one album. The group was exhausted after touring to support Parachutes and frontman Chris Martin “insisted he was dry; …he hadn’t written a song in months.” AMG However, “somewhere lurked the beauty” AMG of “the delicate, shimmery classic” AMG In My Place. The spirit and soul of this ballad allowed Coldplay to pull it together to make a second album.” AMG As Martin said, “It was the song that made us want to do a second album. It kept us going and made us think we could still write songs.” WK The album is “initially inaccessible, but that’s what makes it intriguing.” AMG “Echoes of early post-punk showcase Coldplay’s ballsy musicianship…It’s not exactly rock & roll, but Radiohead, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the Smiths aren’t exactly rock & roll either, and they’re well-loved.” AMG “The disco haze of Daylight” AMG and the “hushed tones” AMG of “lovedrunk ballad Green Eyes” AMG “are divine examples of solid lyrical arrangements.” AMG The latter, along with The Scientist “brought back the comforting melodies of ‘Yellow’ but revealed a band that was restless and hungry: The twinkling sonics suggested prime Smiths or U2.” RS’11 “Coldplay exude an honest passion” AMG on this “soulful, exhilarating journey, moving from the cathartic” AZ The “U2-esque epic rock of…Politik” WK projects “a nervy edge to the band” AMG as does the “stunning guitar-driven” AMG “OK Computer-worthy God Put a Smile Upon Your Face.” RS’11 Darker stuff like that and “the austerely beautiful death meditation Amsterdam…showed the group had more than arena anthems on its mind.” RS’11 “Acoustics are drowned out by Jon Buckland’s riveting guitar work, and vocally, Martin has sharpened his falsetto, refining his haunting deliver…You can feel, hear, and touch the blood, sweat, and tears behind each song, and that’s exactly what Coldplay were going for.” AMG “Lush melodies and a heartbreak behind the songs are there, but also a newfound confidence.” AMG “Martin takes his voice on soaring flights, reaching places only Jeff Buckley previously dared to go. And the music is nearly flawless, a persuasive cross between Pink Floyd and the Verve…This is exquisite stuff.” AZ “Regardless of the band still being in their mid-twenties, they’ve made an amazing record…A Rush of Blood to the Head didn’t sugarcoat anything.” AMG Rush garnered Coldplay its second Grammy for Best Alternative Album and “In My Place” landed a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The group also landed the prize for Record of the Year for Clocks. A BBC listener poll in 2013 ranked the album the best of all time. WK

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Coldplay AMG All Music Guide review by MacKenzie Wilson AZ Amazon review by Aidin Vaziri RS’11 Rolling Stone (7/8/2011). “100 Best Albums of the 2000s” RS’20 Rolling Stone (9/22/2020). “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 5/1/2022.