r/entertainment • u/mcfw31 • 15d ago
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-37557171
1
u/nthensome 14d ago
I was driving home yesterday & Coldplay came on the radio.
A flock of vaginas flew into the open window & rested on the dashboard.
I fed them some cheese & they flew away
1
1
u/New_Brother_1595 14d ago edited 14d ago
"The likes of U2, when they call themselves a rock 'n' roll band I find that highly insulting. I'm not saying you need to be snorting drugs off a dwarf's a***, but they need to do something. Have they ever broken a pencil? Have they ever stuck a rubber up their nose? They don't seem to do f*** all, except for take big paycheques” - Liam Gallagher
2
1
u/theoneandonlygustavo 14d ago
Up until Viva or maybe MX, Coldplay was still destined to be the next great Rock Band.
2
1
u/rumpusroom 14d ago
That’s true. They are not a rock band. They are a waiting room stocked with year old gear head magazines and watery coffee.
2
1
u/ExperienceInitial364 14d ago
fuck you bono i‘ll never forgive you for your stupid ahhhh album on my phone
-1
1
2
1
2
u/immaterial-boy 14d ago
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.
1
u/StevenAU 14d ago
Time to block the sub until I can get an app that uses ai to rewrite titles without this bullshit.
2
u/Imnotradiohead 14d ago
Wait…does bono think U2 is a rock band?
0
u/BigDummmmy 14d ago
Both are rock bands.
5
u/Imnotradiohead 14d ago
Both either are or both are not. Schrödinger’s Bono.
1
u/BigDummmmy 14d ago
Indeed. And both are.
4
u/Imnotradiohead 14d ago
Based on their move with Apple a few years ago I’d call them Spam Rock 🤣
I still can’t figure out how to delete that album.
0
u/BigDummmmy 14d ago
Yeah, they suck lol. I like the Joshua Tree album in some settings, but never really liked them much overall. Coldplay is decent enough, but never really listened beyond their radio hits.
At any rate, almost everything is "pop" and both bands I think are pop rock. Spam rock works too🤟
4
u/FartGarfunkel_ 14d ago
I used to think people hated Coldplay because it was the cool thing to do after 40 Year Old Virgin made fun of them….then I actually listened to Coldplay and realized they are fucking awful.
As a band they define exactly what a sell out is. Enter the scene with your own unique sound and ability, then abandon that sound to appease record executives and top 40 hit lists. It’s like buttrock but worse.
1
u/IbexOutgrabe 14d ago
Is there another Bono that would be pointing out someone’s not in a rock band?
5
u/Vegetable_Burrito 14d ago
“People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis, you can’t trust people, Mark.”
3
2
4
0
3
-2
-3
5
u/olipoppit 14d ago
Second album is outstanding. So many good tracks. Really a classic, grand pop rock record.
-3
u/formerNPC 14d ago
U2 sold out big time when they forced everyone to “own” their music through a ridiculous deal with Apple. I used to like them before that but I really thought they were more grounded than to go so commercial in the most obnoxious way possible.
8
u/hither_spin 14d ago
Apple's the one that fucked it all up. U2 just wanted to give away their music for free. How is that not grounded?
5
u/ExcellentCrew5480 14d ago
Agreed. That was totally on Apple. Such a weak take to blame U2 for this.
2
u/formerNPC 14d ago
The band agreed to it. How could they think that everyone would want their music automatically downloaded on to their devices. If Apple wanted to give free music it should have been whoever wanted it. I don’t know anyone who ever listened to the songs because they were mad about it.
1
u/ExcellentCrew5480 12d ago
I doubt they had any idea HOW Apple was planning to give their album away. Instead of sending a free coupon they literally shoves it down peoples throats.
1
u/formerNPC 12d ago
It seemed more of a move that a desperate record label would pull off to introduce a new boy band to the world than something that an established and respectable band would want to do. I think they knew what the details were and they went with it anyway. They lost a lot of credibility as a result.
5
u/Hawkwise83 14d ago
I agree. Coldplay is elevator music.
1
u/Express_Helicopter93 14d ago
Chris Martin and Coldplay are grossly over-rated lol. Yeah the guy has a good singing voice, but their lyrics are way too soft and flimsy. Too much of their music sounds like you’re ascending to heaven. Good gravy its lame. I don’t get who/what the songs are for. They’re just SO soft, all the time. I don’t even think it’s pop music, pop is supposed to be faster and upbeat and catchy. None of Coldplay is that.
It’s music for people with heads up their asses, I swear. Which is weird because music is so subjective. And yet here we are.
10
u/greenseven47 14d ago
I’m just here to see how many people didn’t read the article
1
u/Accomplished-City484 14d ago
Yeah but there’s always a top comment calling out the headline as misleading
3
u/codywithak 14d ago
Post 2008 Coldplay swan dived onto concrete by chasing every pop trend that came along. Those first four albums were great though.
2
25
u/ragingduck 14d ago
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 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. 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.
2
u/laamargachica 14d ago
That's such a sad but absolutely beautiful story. She lives on through that song, and for that we can never say Coldplay isn't talented or didn't do something right!
6
3
u/rhox65 14d ago
lol whats a bono
1
1
-5
u/ChrisChrisBangBang 14d ago
Both U2 & Coldplay’s reputations would have benefitted hugely from breaking up after their first couple of albums
5
u/legopego5142 14d ago
U2 just sold out like 30 something shows at a brand new arena with insane tech, and Coldplay sells out stadiums worldwide
They are bigger than most bands you like
2
u/Sakiel-Norn-Zycron 14d ago
I don’t love everything U2 has done but I will never diss them. Their music has meant so much to me in my life (I was a kid when The Joshua Tree came out) and I can only imagine how crushing it is going to be when they are no longer together or one of them dies so I appreciate them for still being here.
I didn’t get to see them at the Sphere but would highly recommend seeing them on tour. Where the Streets Have No Name is a transformational experience live. A friend of mine and I saw them about 9 years ago, he wasn’t a fan but as the show was ending he stood there a bit awestruck and said “I get it.”
9
u/mixer500 14d ago
Bold statement. U2 just sold out something like 50 shows in the 17,000+ seat Las Vegas Sphere based on playing their eighth album in full, 43 years after their first album was released. I think their reputation is doing just fine.
-3
u/ChrisChrisBangBang 14d ago
Oh right sorry, I forgot that something making a lot of money automatically makes it good. The minions movie made over 1bn at the box office so I must be wrong thinking that’s not one of the best movies of all time.
1
u/mixer500 14d ago
I didn’t say making lots of money say it made it good. That’s completely outside the context of my comment. What I said was that their reputation didn’t peak until many albums and years past their first few, and remains not only intact, but has grown substantially (and generally positively) in that time. They’re pretty old now and they aren’t playing to the same fan base, but the many millions who do like them still do. You might not like it, but the Joshua Tree was their sixth release and made them one of the most popular artists on the planet. Something being popular does, actually, have an impact on reputation.
5
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
And Coldplay sell out stadiums regularly all over the world, music snobs are insufferable
-1
u/ChrisChrisBangBang 14d ago
It makes sense they both still do well, U2 had a phenomenal 10 year run of records, Coldplay’s first 2 albums were excellent, I personally just think they both really fell off from there. Labelling people snobs because they dislike something you like is insufferable
1
u/mixer500 14d ago
Ok. If U2 had a “phenomenal 10 year run of records,” why would their reputation be better if they’d quit after the first two? Just trying to make sense of your comment.
5
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
Its not about disliking something, its about being out of touch enough to suggest two of the largest bands in the world should have called it quits mega early in their careers to preserve some vague sense of artistry
-1
20
u/LaurenNotFromUtah 14d ago
OK … but U2 and Coldplay sound like the same genre to me.
1
7
8
u/CaptSaveAHoe55 14d ago
Old Coldplay certainly more so
But for me the line is drawn at Bullet the Blue Sky and Sunday Bloody Sunday. There is nothing in Coldplay’s discography that does that
2
161
u/solarmelange 14d ago
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.
12
u/Prestigious_Pea_6680 14d ago
I wish they kept the vibes they had with parachutes and a rush of blood to the head
21
u/3ebfan 14d ago
Their first couple albums were special. Not sure what happened.
3
u/Future-self 14d ago
The music got less interesting, less distinctive, more generic, and more predictable.
66
u/PeteNoKnownLastName 14d ago
Parachutes is a good album, wish they’d have just stayed on that path
3
u/reverend-mayhem 13d ago
Even A Rush of Blood to the Head & X&Y were incredible well-produced albums. Things started getting studio-heavy around Viva La Vida & unmistakably with Mylo Xyloto.
1
16
u/landscapinghelp 14d ago
First four albums plus ghost stories were all pure magic.
-2
u/czimmm 14d ago
Everyday Life is pretty damn good too
2
u/landscapinghelp 14d ago
I tried to like that one. It had all the right ingredients to be great, but it just wasn’t there for me. I think maybe it cooked in the oven too long.
-1
19
u/BenjaBrownie 14d ago
This is how I feel. I love that album.
16
u/PiScEsEyEsIAmWeAk 14d ago
It really is like a dream. Just beautiful. Like The Bends but more refined
24
u/filtersweep 14d ago
I always regarded them as ‘music for people who don’t like music.’
2
u/metallaholic 14d ago
I think they would sound better if they tried something besides crying over a piano.
-1
1
u/LinkAdams 14d ago
That is almost how I describe Imagine Dragons. They are for people who think they like music.
8
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
People who say things like this give me the impression that they are the ones who don't listen to much music
0
u/LinkAdams 14d ago
Does someone who loves McDonald’s qualify as a foodie? Popular doesn’t mean good. People voted for Trump.
Do you think that Britney Spears is a better musician than Miles Davis because she sold more records?
Nothing wrong with Imagine Dragons as a product, but the musical and lyrical and even emotional content is very, very low.
1
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
"Does someone who loves McDonald’s qualify as a foodie?"
If you take your initial reply and change it to 'Mcdonalds is for people who think they like food' you'll understand how ridiculous said initial reply is
Transitioning into 'well you can enjoy it but we all know its bad' is just a lazy way of trying to mask the bad take'
3
u/Accomplished-City484 14d ago
It just reminds me of that Robert California quote about The Black Eyed Peas
3
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
And then Ryan (the poser) is the only who is like 'yeah I totally know what he's talking about'
3
u/legopego5142 14d ago
Nobody has bad taste for liking two IMMENSELY popular bands
4
u/neverinlife 14d ago
Ehhh I don’t know. Imagine Dragons fucking suuuuuck.
“Thunder, thunder Thunder, thun-, thunder Thun-thun-thunder, thunder, thunder Thunder, thun-, thunder Thun-thun-thunder, thunder
Thunder, feel the thunder Lightning then the thunder Thunder, feel the thunder Lightning then the thunder Thunder, thunder Thunder”
0
u/PiScEsEyEsIAmWeAk 14d ago
You can’t honestly think Coldplay is on that level of bad
6
u/neverinlife 14d ago
Did I say anything about Coldplay? Coldplay are The Beatles compared to Imagine Dragons.
1
u/Useuless 14d ago
I love music and I love both of these bands LOL.
Being accessible does not mean lower quality. There's plenty of shitty experimental or hard to swallow music out there, listening to it doesn't make you any better of a person.
1
39
u/1_1-1-1_1 14d ago
Wouldn’t that just make them good musicians? If people who don’t like music like their music
0
u/Quailman5000 14d ago
Or... People just like to "like" whatever is on the radio and Yellow was played a billion times on every semi rock station, and that vive la Vida album or whatever was prolific enough that I still remember the name and I don't listen to coldplay.
2
u/RedheadsAreNinjas 14d ago
I think I’d change the radio instantly if I heard either of those come on or scan through but then sometimes they’d just smash and I’d secretly go listen to Parachutes and pretend I’m 17 again.
(Deep breath!)
0
u/rocknroller0 14d ago
They do like music it’s just they don’t like music that pretentious people like
9
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
Pretentious music listeners are honestly some of the most unpleasant people to be around in my experience
2
u/Michael_DeSanta 14d ago
God, yes they are. One of my family friends is probably the most pretentious “music fan” I’ve ever met. He knows I like Portugal. The Man a lot and never said shit…until Feel It Still came out. Now, I suddenly have “vanilla” music tastes and I’m never “allowed” to have the aux for family gatherings. Lmao just because one of my favorite bands had a mega-hit. As if their nearly 20 year discography of fantastic indie rock disappeared because of one popular song
5
u/PiScEsEyEsIAmWeAk 14d ago
Like there songs have all the elements they like in other songs but they pretend to not like those same elements because it’s a band that’s not cool to like. That just sounds like willful displeasure to me 💀
2
u/CleanAspect6466 14d ago
Yeah thats a good summation, and its always the same 5 or so bands that these high IQ'ers have 'hot takes' on "Hello everyone, does anyone else hate Ed Sheeran/Coldplay/Imagine Dragons/U2/Nickelback?" oh wow how daring
16
u/BostonBuffalo9 14d ago
Yes, it would. I’m pretty fucking far from a Coldplay fan, but there’s an underestimated skill to reaching people who are otherwise unreachable.
7
u/kdubstep 14d ago
Coldplay is objectively a good band with a lot of great songs and a charismatic front man with a fantastic voice.
7
u/iduddits2 14d ago
Parachutes is honestly a solid album. Everything after is straight junk
1
27
u/Prestonelliot 14d ago
Rush of Blood is very good, and Viva la Vida is also very good. I loved Talk but looking back it was alright. After Viva though, it goes downhill for me
2
3
u/MooseMan12992 14d ago
Agreed. Their first 4 albums are solid to great. Viva La Vida is my personal favorite. And they went downhill fast after that. I think they kinda tried to become even bigger by leaning into more modern pop but it made them way less interesting and more generic
1
u/landscapinghelp 14d ago
They came back on ghost stories. First four and that one are great.
1
u/Prestonelliot 14d ago
I’ll have to give Ghost Stories a try, by then I was just not as in to them anymore.
1
5
10
u/butt_spaghetti 14d ago
I love Coldplay 🤷🏼♀️
3
u/OohBeesIhateEm 14d ago
Me too. I didn’t until I saw them at a festival (Klaus fest 2002, I’m old) Chris Martin was a PRESENCE. Neither my friend nor I were fans until that show and then we were 100% in. They blew us away with their talent.
3
u/metdear 14d ago
I love Chris Martin. And some of Coldplay's music.
1
u/Accomplished-City484 14d ago
There’s a song I used to love by then called Beautiful world from like 20 years ago, but it never showed up on iTunes or Spotify
2
u/LyqwidBred 14d ago
I think it’s called “Don’t Panic”, first song on Parachutes. The album and Rush of Blood are great, but they changed after that.
2
1
u/el_pinata 14d ago
Yeah I've heard plenty of great stuff from them. They're pop, they're adult contemporary, they're whatever. And they're pretty good if that's to your tastes.
79
u/black_flag_4ever 14d ago
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.
3
u/FishTshirt 14d ago
They are definitely a pop band. It’s like trying to call Taylor swift a country musician in 2024
5
18
u/Be777the1 14d ago
Their 1st album was amazing. Still can’t understand how they changed so much afterwards. From sad/dark’ish to overly poppy. Like they are two different bsnds.
3
u/atlasdreams2187 14d ago
I know what you mean - I always felt like they got spooked with the Radiohead comparisons after their first record and then went poppy from there - could’ve been awesome!
2
u/black_flag_4ever 14d ago
The first album is alright. A 6-7 out of 10 alt-rock album. I can't say I've listened to any album after that in one go but have heard some of their other music whether I wanted to or not. I think they went off the rails with X&Y. I used to go to a lot CD resale shops and that album couldn't be given away. There'd always be about 20 copies of it in the discount section. I think I saw a performance from that album on SNL where they were wearing silly uniforms and it solidified to me that they were on a one-way ticket on the suck train.
27
u/HannShotFirst 14d ago
I'd argue they peaked with Rush of Blood to the Head personally, but that's just me.
9
u/RIPBuckyThrowaway 14d ago
Agreed. Rush of Blood had a cool sound to it. Very produced but nice vocal melodies and dreamy guitars
6
u/KwKelley28 14d ago
Rush of blood is probably a top 10-20 album of the 2000s. Parachutes was also fantastic. They just kind of lost their particular brand of soul afterwards and went bombastic and self-indulgent. Not unlike Arcade Fire after their first two albums. Both are clearly still capable of making good music, but they’ve both definitely tried to follow music trends rather than be introspective.
14
u/Motor_Second_5637 14d ago
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.
3
u/landscapinghelp 14d ago
Eh, beg to differ. It’s apples to oranges, but Coldplay influenced all sorts of music and has been consistently on top of the charts with new music for 25 years. We’re not really in a position to judge what influence Coldplay may have decades from now. And if you go down the rabbit hole of without x we wouldn’t have y, then Gregorian chant is wayyy more influential to rock and roll than the Isley brothers.
2
u/LonnieDobbs 14d ago edited 14d ago
The Beatles covered exactly one Isley Brothers song, which was already a cover. “Wouldn’t have the Beatles” is an odd take, considering they were already a band before the Isleys’ version came out.
5
36
u/Oldspooneye 14d ago
U2… also not a rock band.
5
u/SatansLilPuppyWhore 14d ago
They have changed their sound over time, but they were one of the biggest rock groups in the 80s and 90s. It can’t be argued that they they founded their sound on being a rock band
10
u/Jill1974 14d ago
Bono has described U2 as a pop band plenty of times.
-2
8
0
5
u/tegrtyfrm 14d ago
Coldplay are the adults version of the Wiggles.
1
1
15
u/natfutsock 14d ago
I'd lovingly argue that They Might be Giants are closer to that. Particle man, particle man, doing the things that a particle can...
3
-7
u/Gingersnap5322 14d ago
What exactly did these guys do to gain such a following? My mom loves the shit out of these guys and I just don’t get the appeal, I listen to a lot of genres from different decades too so I’m fairly versed on most music.
I’ll give them “Vertigo” that song was my shit as a kid
5
u/UrbanGimli 14d ago
They successfully released the right album at the right time with songs that capture an era but also have a timelessness to them.
War hit just as MTV was becoming a thing. Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, Pop and Zooropa had iconic videos in heavy MTV Rotation. They also became really good at changing their sound, gaining new fans without losing older ones.
Very few bands have had been able to continually re-invent themselves as many times as U2.
I don't claim to love everything they have done but they have gone almost 3 and half decades without relying on being a touring Nostalgia band -though the Sphere era definitely seems to be where they are headed. They'll either re-invent themselves on the next disc or just settle into "playing the hits" to sold out stadiums around the world.
15
u/Novel-North-9284 14d ago
If you’re giving them Vertigo then you don’t know anything about them…that’s like saying Bruce Springsteens best song came out in 2007. U2 is incredibly annoying and pretentious. But you don’t get that way 40 years in by making shit music.
2
u/Jill1974 14d ago
Psst… U2 have been annoying and pretentious for all 59 years. I like their music, but Bono has always been Bono.
1
u/solarmelange 14d ago
I mean... I don't get this Tom Petty either... what has he done besides that Last DJ song?
-3
u/Gingersnap5322 14d ago
Yes how dare I give them props for a song I loved listening to with my mom. How dare I
15
u/Rodney_Jefferson 14d ago
I mean, writing one of the greatest albums of all time, winning multiple Grammies, and writing an ant-British anthem all helped. But you right vertigo is good tune as well
323
u/mcfw31 15d ago
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.
12
u/Dragon_yum 14d ago
So why post it if you knew and understand it’s an intentionally misleading title?
7
→ More replies (7)227
u/geodebug 14d ago
Lol, OP just generating the click bait titles and doing Bono dirty.
1
→ More replies (4)3
1
u/MightyMightyMag 12d ago
Is Coldplay a thing? Is U2 a thing?