Viva la Vida

Coldplay release their fourth album "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" on Parlophone. The album comprises 10 brand new tracks, recorded in London, Barcelona and New York with producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs. "Viva La Vida" follows the hugely successful album "X&Y", which has sold 10 million copies since its release in 2005.
Customer Review: Why did they paint on the Delacroix?
As with most all uber-hyped pop albums, this one doesn't go deep and raw enough to be fantastic (if it did, it would make too many enemies). However as chart toppers go, this one is straight from the heart, and will remain on my playlist for a long time. Chris Martin singing 'you didn't get to heaven, but you made it close/you didn't get to heaven, but you aaa.... (almost?)' is hard to forget. all songs have a crunchy revolutionary anthem feel that fits Martin like an old leather coat. One that i'll be wearing for a while.
Customer Review: If it wasn't so overhyped, I might be less critical...
Coldplay is good. They're better than most. Most rap, most country, most rock and DEFINITELY most pop. But Viva la Vida is extremely overexposed, and Coldplay have long been riding a tidal wave of mediocrity over the heads of the consumers. Regarding their most recent release, the lyrics are interesting, the melodies pretty, the songs epic in scope, but rather pedestrian when all the synthesizers are stripped away. Chris Martin has a nice voice, but not an inspiring one. But, then again, the same might be said about U2, and look what they've accomplished. At least Coldplay aren't a ripoff (well, yes, they do bear more than a passing nod to U2, but I mean ripoff in the "you've been robbed" kind of way)...at worst you might feel like you spent too much on the CD - you won't be wondering why you bought it in the first place. I probably wouldn't be so critical had I not been expecting considerably more from their new CD. The song "Viva la Vida" was stuck in my head by about the fifth time I saw the stupid iTunes commercial. It's arranged in a way to make it a depaparture from typical pop/rock drivel, and I like its bass pulse: solid without being bombastic. Nice layering of sounds, but it sounds canned overall. There are a couple of tunes that sound like they borrowed a page from Sgt. Pepper (but who HASN'T borrowed a page from Sgt. Pepper?), and a few that suggest to me a hasty trip from concept to final mix. HOWEVER, if you think I'm being overly critical, you should hear my rants about 99.9999999% of the rest of the music that I have been subjected to and tortured with over the years. Overall, I'm pleased by Coldplay's latest. I give it 7 points for every single track being worthy of repeated listens, 1 point for the single "Viva la Vida" having the incredible capacity to get stuck in your head, minus 2 points for the CD as a whole not living up to the hype, but I'm giving those 2 points back as extra credit for still being better than most of what else the recording industry attempts to shove down our throats. 80%. That's a solid B. Good effort.

There I was, knees quaking with anticipation, hardly noticing my partner, whose knees were equally quivering.

Just moments before, our category of the competition was called early; a well-planned surprise attack by the organizers, I'm sure. My partner, figuring he had a couple of hours before being called up onto the ballroom dance floor, had drifted out into the hallway of the classy hotel to drool over the concessionaires' many items for dance fanatics. "Novice Latin!" the announcer exclaimed. I whipped my head around to look at him in disbelief. Cold beads of perspiration dotted my forehead as I listened to the numbers of the couples being called up to the dance floor. "#143!" the announcer bellowed. In shock I sprang to my feet, my partner nowhere in site. Finally, after a few seconds which felt like centuries, my partner raced in to join me. I uttered a sigh of relief but that still didn't quell the flurry of butterfly wings in my stomach. I'm sure my eyes were as large as the taillights of the latest Alero! (as a matter-of-fact they wereshown in photos taken by a wandering photographer hoping to profit from the numerous couples dancing that day.)

And now, feeling like specimens beneath a magnifying glass under the scrutiny of the dance judges strategically positioned around the ballroom floor, here we were, about to embark upon our first ballroom dance competition experience, dazed and shocked at actually being on a competition floor. The myriad of watchful eyes surrounded us from the crowd of people consisting of family members of the competitors, friends, general public, the competitors themselves waiting to be called or just biding their time in hopes of a callback or a win.

"Cha Cha!" called the announcer. "Cha Cha? What's a Cha Cha???" the thought passed through my dazed brain. The beat of the Cha Cha permeated through the ballroom as my partner thankfully led me through the dance without a stumble or without me passing out from sheer terror. With cold, clammy hands we moved from one dance step to another, desperately scanning our memory banks for clues to the routines we had practiced for the last few months in preparation for our very first dance competition. "Oh God, please let this be over soon!" conveyed my subconscious. Finally, after about a minute and a half, the disk jockey ended the Cha Cha and the competitors scattered to find the perfect positioning on the ballroom floor for the next dance to be called.

"And now the Rumba - dancers please take your positions" bellowed the announcer. We waited tensely for that first beat; I glanced nervously around and couldn't help wondering if the other couples felt as stressed as we did. As my partner and I took our first Rumba step I had the strangest feeling come over me - a sense of pride at actually being a good-enough dancer to participate in a ballroom dance competition. We completed the Rumba and as we drifted off the dance floor to take our seats, my partner and I glanced at each other. In a fleeting moment I felt his elation; I knew that whether we won or not, we still had accomplished something that many dance couples never experience in their lifetimes, and from that moment on we would never again experience the fear of the unknown as we stepped out onto the competition dance floor.

Heather creates unique personalized cartoon pictures for dancers of all types, for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations. Fun & personalized with any name or message. Cartoons to fit any occasion, hobby, occupation or personality! Choose one of her designs and request personal changes such as hair color, glasses or even a moustache, or order a total custom personalized cartoon! Everyone loves a gift that's truly unique. Give them something they'll always remember! Free - Personalized gift with any purchase, and be sure to sign up for our free ezine, Dancing On Air for your free gift, The Dancer's Notebook! http://www.whimsies-online.com

80s dance music