U2’s Bono: “Coldplay are not a rock band. I hope that’s obvious”

https://www.nme.com/news/music/u2s-bono-coldplay-are-not-a-rock-band-i-hope-thats-obvious-3755717

28 comments

  1. > The musician continued: “I should mention Coldplay are not a rock band. I hope that’s obvious. There is something much more interesting going on there like the Isley Brothers or something.

  5. I don’t think Coldplays music is anywhere near as bad as people say it is but in no world are they comparable to the Isley Brothers. Without the Isley Brothers we wouldn’t have The Beatles, and by extension Coldplay. They aren’t a terrible band but they’re nowhere near that influential.

  6. If you read the article it’s apparent that this isn’t a dig at Coldplay by Bono. He’s saying to stop judging them by the rules of rock. I think he’s trying to say they’re a pop band without using that word. Its nice of him to say these things and it’s causing me to have a better understanding of Coldplay. I cannot disagree with Bono on this point, but I still think Coldplay sucks.

  8. I really wish Coldplay did not overproduce their music. They could be a lot better with a better producer, or for that matter, a worse one.

  9. The teenage me fell in love with Yellow and the first album but that’s it

  11. OK … but U2 and Coldplay sound like the same genre to me.

  13. The early 2000’s was a decade of growth for me as I exited college and tried to find my place in a world changed by 9/11. While I don’t like all of Coldplay songs, “Yellow” was definitely a big part of the soundtrack for that part of my life.

    Decades later and I lost a good friend who I had known since birth. One of her favorite songs was “Yellow” and [the live version from 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfBlJ00Df-I&ab_channel=vidalgraziani) played during the movie/slideshow that played for her funeral. The haunting piano intro and lyrics were perfect:

    >

    >Look at the stars

    >Look how they shine for you

    >And everything you do

    >Yeah, they were all yellow

    >I came along

    >I wrote a song for you

    >And all the things you do

    >And it was called Yellow

    >So then I took my turn

    >Oh, what a thing to have done

    >And it was all yellow

    >Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones

    >Turn into something beautiful

    >And you know, you know I love you so

    >You know I love you so

    Absolutely everyone was crying at that point. That aching feeling in my chest was unbearable. Then something wonderful happened [as the song exploded at 2:33](https://youtu.be/TfBlJ00Df-I?t=154). Tears of sadness became tears of joy as all these great moments played on the slideshow of all our happy moments over the years. We all needed that release of joy and sadness. It was the perfect way to say goodbye.

    At 6:14 as the song concluded, much like our time with her, we didn’t want it to end.

    >

    >Look at the stars

    >

    >Look how they shine for you

    >

    >And all the things that you do

    When I look at the stars and hear that song, that aching feeling comes back. But it’s a good feeling.

  14. Post 2008 Coldplay swan dived onto concrete by chasing every pop trend that came along. Those first four albums were great though.

  15. I’m just here to see how many people didn’t read the article

  16. Second album is outstanding. So many good tracks. Really a classic, grand pop rock record.

  19. Me: “U2 *were* a rock band. I hope that’s obvious.”

  21. “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people, Mark.”

  22. Is there another Bono that would be pointing out someone’s not in a rock band?

  24. Time to block the sub until I can get an app that uses ai to rewrite titles without this bullshit.

  25. I agree. The sound of their music does not fit with the genre of rock at all, even with the diversity of sound within the genre.

    It’s pop. And that’s ok. I like pop music and so do a lot of people. I mean, they’ve featured Rihanna, The Chainsmokers, and BTS. They don’t feature rock artists or other bands.

    Also I think Coldplay makes mind numbingly boring music but that’s not relevant.

Leave a Reply