Atlantica - 01.11.2001, Side 21

A T L A N T I C A 19
And his response comes as no surprise,
since all of the evidence that exists to
date suggests that it would be highly
unlikely that these lads would respond to
that same question with an abrasive “Yes.
I’m sick to death of you and your kind.
Now bugger off”. Indeed, when the now
defunct British music mag, Melody
Maker, published a series of attacks from
the seemingly attention-desperate
Creation Records boss, Alan McGee (the
least offensive of which labelled
Coldplay’s output as “bed-wetters
music”), the band’s singer, Chris Martin,
shrugged McGee’s tantrum off with a dis-
missive, “It doesn’t matter”. Right
enough, since his label (which signed
Oasis in its heyday) closed, McGee didn’t
matter so much either. His off-the-cuff
press statements didn’t sound like those
of a man still acting in his capacity as
youth advisor to Tony Blair (McGee had
argued in favour of musicians being enti-
tled to unemployment benefit and influ-
enced more accomodating policies in the
welfare system). And perhaps a dwin-
dling readership tempted the publication
to print his vitriolic spew, but whatever
the reasoning, the magazine is out of cir-
culation now leaving its print-peers to
pick up the goading baton and run with it.
A PERFECT LIFE
So, I’m still there, perched on my seat,
and there Will is, perched on his, ready
for another question. “Do you miss any-
thing about life before Coldplay?” I won-
der. “It’s not too different to be honest. I
still get to play a lot of music, which is
what I love doing. The only thing is just
being away from home.” He rambles on
for a moment, as you do when you’re
exhausted, and then sums it up with, “I
think my life now is about as perfect as it
could be”.
I’m taken aback. I knew this band liked to
answer in the affirmative, but I didn’t
imagine such a glowing report at the end
of a trail of tours and a tussle with the
British press, who it seems have had dif-
ficulty swallowing the niceness of
Coldplay. Their university educations and
unbroken family backgrounds have all
been hailed as a sign that they are not
qualified to rock ’n’ roll. At a time when
Guardian columnist Julie Burchill pooh-
poohs further education, labelling it “an
intellectual sausage factory for dullards”,
it’s easy to see why being in a band (the
traditional out of the working class lad
with no hopes beyond blue-collar inden-
tureship or the dole) adds up to a role that
is unbefitting of these graduates of
University College of London.
But what care have they for the hang-ups
of their homeland, where it seems having
an opinion is more significant than hav-
ing a brain in your head to support it?
Well, the most evident answer is that they
are, after all, only human. Add to that the
fact that their mothers and brothers (and
the like) will probably not enjoy reading
the likes of Alan McGee’s anal sex drivel
in print. But Coldplay have ventured way
beyond the territories of their not so
United Kingdom in the last year, includ-
ing a tour of the US and Australia. Is the
rest of the world so hung up on your CVs
then Will? “No,” he responds before ven-
turing, “I think it’s just...they [the British
press] seem to need to pigeon hole you
or tag you with something.” Won’t that
change though with the onset of Napster
and Napster-like facilities? Is it possible
that the music industry will be altered
dramatically with acts becoming more
faceless and punters bypassing the
press? Will believes that’s an unlikely sce-
nario. “I think people will always want
their rock stars and their pop stars. It’s the
process of buying a record that’s special
to me. It’s having your own personal copy
that’s been given to you by the band or
bought from the band that makes it spe-
cial. It’s not about having it in your hard
drive or whatever.” – a statement that
betrays a working relation between the
band, and their label Parlaphone, a divi-
sion of EMI, one of the world’s five
biggest labels and consequently one of
the companies most likely to suffer from
the free distribution of music on the
Internet.
The chat forum on the Coldplay site
brings the debate to its consumer roots
with fans wondering if their consciences
should be troubled after downloading
some of the newer material – free of
charge of course. Writes one fan under
the pen-name ‘wickedwicked’:
“Regarding the free music available on
the Net, well Friday night I was called a
thief. But I think there are a lot more
aspects to look at besides seeing it as
stealing or not. It’s a little more complex
than that I think. When we met Chris,
Mimi and I made a point of telling him we
had downloaded their new songs on the
Net. We just wanted to see how he’d
react, so we told him in a very innocent
way to really get a genuine reaction.
What we got was just a simple ‘ah...the
Internet’. He was caught off guard
though...”
THEIR BIGGER ISSUES
And so, you will begin to get the picture
of four young men who, when unable to
answer in the affirmative, will not labour
their point unless they believe it worthy.
So what is worthy? “There are hundreds
of things that need people’s attention
today,” begins Will, “like all of the tyran-
nical big business practices. People pay-
ing themselves tremendous amounts of
money when there are people who can’t
rub two pennies together, so there are
just so many things that we can divert
people’s attention to. We realise that
we’re in a position now where, for some
reason, people may listen to us more
than they would listen to someone else,
and I think we’re starting to feel the
responsibility and want to put that influ-
ence to good use. One of the things that
C O L D P L A Y “...I think we’re starting to feel the responsibility
and want to put that influence to good use.”
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