Visual audio

How much is a good music video worth to the song, I wonder?

There are songs that I first encountered on the television, rather than the radio, that I find almost impossible to separate from the images. Jewel's Intuition is one, partly because the film clip is such a success. I'm not sure I actually heard the song on the radio that much.

But this post is really about Coldplay.

Over the last few years I have tended to regard Coldplay as the most frustrating popular artist around. Not because they're not any good (there are plenty of other examples of that quality) but because they had the potential to be very good indeed. If only they would write songs, or more accurately finish them.

Their first hit, Yellow, used to bore me tremendously. It just takes SO long to get where it's going, despite the fact you know exactly where it's headed from the outset.

The songs from their second album were slightly better, but they consistently suffered from the same defect: some nice (often really nice) idea would be presented, but that would be it. No development, no direction, just a nice sound that kept on going until someone decided that was long enough for a hit record. It's exactly what I dislike about so much dance music that consists of only a couple of bars, over and over. Clocks was clearly the worst offender. I liked those four bars the first time around, maybe even the second, but when I realised that was all there was going to be I quickly grew to dislike the song, except when it was used as backing to a 30-second ad on television. That seemed an appropriate home.

In My Place was a little better, but not much. The Scientist was slightly touching lyrically, but musically it went on too long. In fact, the last part of the song seemed designed only as an excuse to finish off the rather good film clip.

Ah yes, I was talking about film clips, wasn't I? I promise I haven't forgotten.

The only single from that album that I enjoyed was God Put a Smile Upon Your Face. It only had two simple musical ideas, but it was the kind of song that only needed two simple musical ideas - driving and edgy. The second musical idea, with the cry of 'yeah' sliding upwards, was something I would turn the radio up for. Not to hear it go anywhere, just to hear its repeated presentation.

And it had a rather edgy film clip to go with it, of course.

Now Coldplay's quest for airwave domination seems to be hitting a new level with the interest in the first single, Speed of Sound, from their third album. I've heard the song numerous times on the radio without paying much attention at all. It slid by while I was getting out of bed in the morning, pleasant enough but sounding very much like Coldplay being Coldplay.

Twice in the last 24 hours, I 'saw-heard' the song instead and was riveted.

I can't decide why, exactly. It might have been all those flashing lights dancing across the screen like a fairground. Or, it might have been that with the help of rather better sound (a new stereo television is a quantum leap forward compared to an ageing clock radio), I suddenly noticed that Coldplay have finally written a song that logically progresses from beginning to end. Complete with a rather lovely key change between the verse and chorus.

Except it's odd for me to have taken so long to notice. Maybe my prejudices had just got in the way until now. But I'm worried that it really was the flashing light show that changed my mind, in which case I'm a man of lesser musical principles than I'd hoped.