ee = ee ee r “Life in Technicolor” (2008) By Greg Waldock Web Editor lhe opening song to Coldplay’s superb Viva Ia Vida album is my all-time favourite Coldplay song and one of my favourite songs in general. Its quick build from a mellow jam to a full-band crescendo is nothing short of inspired. Despite being totally without lyrics, it also manages to be one of the most emotional songs in a very intense album—not the sombreness of “Cemeteries of London” nor the drama of the eponymous “Viva la Vida,” but an upbeat happiness that Coldplay only ever dabbles lightly in. It’s an enthusiastic, dynamic little song that never fails to put me in a good mood. Its poetic symmetry with the last track “Death and All His Friends” is a perfect bookend to one of the best albums Coldplay has ever produced. “Strawberry Swing” (2008) and Frank Ocean Cover (2011) By Isabelle Orr Entertainment Editor A Imost every single adult human in North America has, at one point, heard a Coldplay song (this esearch was conducted by myself, using a sample size of one person: me). Their discography of music has it all—happy songs, sad songs, songs for car commercials, and songs to make you want to get down on the dance floor (I am, of course, speaking about “The Scientist”). Coldplay has something for everyone. Because of this, it is entirely reasonable to think that Frank Ocean, who musically (and physically) exists in a social sphere entirely separate from Coldplay, would be such a fan that he would cover “Strawberry Swing.” Ocean’s cover, on his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, is oddly surreal, like listening to the song as sung by a friend. The original version from Viva la Vida never fails to relax me and boost my mood—to say nothing of the music video, which has Chris Martin flying through the air and fighting crime through stop-motion animation. Ocean takes a beautiful, nuanced song and adds a twist. Versatility and broad appeal—what Coldplay is all about! “Prospekt’s March/Poppyfields” (2008) By Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief “Prospekt’s March” is an incredibly underrated song on an incredibly underrated album. Prospekt’s March, released after the culture-defining Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, is an EP that expanded on some pieces and added a few more from studio recording sessions for that album. All the songs off Prospekt’s March are wortha listen but for my money, “Prospekt’s March/Poppyfields” really carries the heart and soul of the EP. a el J * ie eae Fs oy Both Viva Ia Vida and Prospekt’s March touch on epic themes of love, war, and humanity, but “Prospekt’s March’ feels like an appropriate coda to the most well-known anthem off the former album, “Viva la Vida.” Where “Viva la Vida” feels like a sweeping biblical epic of power gone mad and the loss of an empire, “Prospekt’s March” is far more sombre and humanizing. The song describes a quiet aftermath, a helpless kind of loss in the face of futile human struggles. It captures shock and grief with simple storytelling, such as in the lines “I ask somebody what the time is / But time doesn’t matter to them yet.” It’s a beautiful piece of music and a perfect epilogue to an incredible album that I feel often gets overlooked. “Paradise” (2011) By Caroline Ho Assistant Editor } | earing the opening orchestral, sweeping synths of “Paradise”, the second single off 2011's Mylo Xyloto, never fails to evoke a sense of staid idealism. i I'll admit, about 80 percent of my fondness for this at, song is nostalgia for the simpler days of seven years ago, ed before I was plagued by banalities like paying rent and = . . “ ton” “a running out of toilet paper. Nevertheless, “Paradise os ; 5 remains a powerful song about holding onto hope and an finding one’s own personal paradise in the sacrosanct — i space of one’s dreams. aes —_ The lyrics speak of the uncomplicated optimism of youth confronting the tempered indifference of reality. “When she was just a girl / She expected the world,” frontman Chris Martin croons at the start of each verse, an all-too-relatable sentiment. Then the rest of the world kicks in, as captured sombrely in lines such as “Life goes on, it gets so heavy / The wheel breaks the butterfly.” Yet the subject of the song keeps her spirits high throughout by closing her eyes and escaping to her imagination, where paradise is always real and waiting. Simple yet poignant lyrics ring against majestic, effervescent harmonies in an idyllic soundscape. _—— fi! Ri ae The music video stars an elephant—or rather, a person in an elephant costume (spoiler alert, it’s Chris Martin) —escaping from a zoo and setting off on a perilous, cross-border journey to find others of his kind. The video's a little perplexing at first, yet oddly and charmingly fitting for this quietly ambitious, inspirational tune.