I'm a chronic late blogger. It's either I blog about something way before it becomes generally known , or long after the hype has died down. One example was when I posted a short but overly excited blog on the movie Cloverfield after accidentally stumbling on it's web site http://1-18-08.com/ middle of 2007. And then ending up not watching the movie at all when it finally hit the theaters because of overwhelming bad reviews. Bummer.
And so here I am blogging again on an album that has been released for 17 weeks already. The fact is, when the album, COldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends dropped on 06-17, I hurried to a music store but was disappointed to find out it's not yet available locally. After 3 years of waiting for this album, I had no choice but to have it downloaded in mp3 format. And here's the part where I should explain about this unexplicably late blog:
a. I had been so pre-occupied/stressed-out with work that I couldn't calm my mind enough to write down a coherent 100-word blog.
b. I just finally admitted to myself that I'm a certified couch potato and would engage in hours of dvd marathon while wolfing down whatever food is at hand. Now, there's something liberating about that. At last, I can indulge in my favorite past time without the barest hint of guilt.
c. It dawned on me about 2 weeks ago that all my movie marathon activity - or inactivity, for that matter - is being paid for dearly by my now non-existent waistline.So I went to a gym, signed up, and started working like crazy ( notice how when you're in front of the tv, time seems to whizz by faster than you could say "House". But in the gym, you might as well be staring at an hourglass with the sand dropping in real slow motion. And so blogging about the album was further pushed into the recesses of my now cobwebby mind.
d. But perhaps the biggest reason of all was that I felt I sincerely needed more time to listen to the songs before throwing in my two-cents worth into cyberspace. This simply isn't your typical Coldplay album. Having refrained from reading pre-launch reviews, imagine my surprise after hearing Violet Hill - devoid of piano and Chris Martin's falsetto, sounding more political than heart-wrenching. Track after track - Viva la Vida, Cemeteries of London, Strawberry Swing, Yes, Chinese Sleep Chant - I might as well be listening to an entirely different band. None of the thing that I loved about Coldplay were present in this album, which is more riff-heavy with Asian-flavored sounds and as diverse as one album can get - spin Chinese Sleep Chant, 42 and Lovers in Japan.It's almost as if the band took no chances and put out a platter of hors d'oeuvres aiming to please the global palate. Don't take me wrong though. I'm not bashing this new album, far from it. I love it! I think it's genius and brave for Coldplay to totally take a different route this time and gamble on the road less travelled. I can't imagine other bands abandoning their trademark sound and still make it out alive. I'm so happy coz it only means one thing - Coldplay is here to stay for a loooong time. So blogging about the album this late is also, in a way, intentional. Coz unlike the first three albums, this one wasn't love at first sight...er.. listen. It's more like wine, it gets better with time. Sooo looking forward to December now, reportedly they'll be releasing some tracks that didn't made the album's cut. can't hardly wait.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Userr for the great pic! http://www.flickr.com/photos/userr/1799660374/
