Revision WP2: “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” in Desert Island

The album that I choose to bring with me to the desert island is the fourth studio album of Coldplay—“Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends”. Coldplay is one of my favorite rock bands in the music area. This album was released in the year of 2008 and I like most of the songs from this album. This album is different from others because of the attitudes that this album conveys with the passion for life and also the attitudes towards death. Love, life, and revolution are the eternal theme that people are carrying about. The font page of this album is the famous picture “La Liberté guidant le people” depicts about the July Revolution in France. It has a more universal approach, it deals with personal problem and more with issues of humanity.This album expresses about the musician’s thoughts about life and death and it leaves the listeners large room to consider about this eternal theme.

My favorite rock band Cold play is from Britain and the band was founded in London in 1996. The band members are including Chris Martin, the vocalist/pianist; Jonny Buckland, guitarist; Guy Berryman, bassist; and Will Champion, drummer. Coldplay has achieved the worldwide fame with many songs and albums. Coldplay has released eight albums in total during these years. Till this year, they are still keeping in releasing album. The Coldplay musical style and genre have generally been regarded as alternative rock, pop rock, and pop. I like Coldplay’s music mostly because I like the passions that they passed through their songs and the direct talking about people’s true feelings towards love, death, life, friendships, and the world.

Talking about my personal connection to this album, I may tell you about the story that I have: almost five years ago I have been through the dark time in my life with many bad things happen. One of them was the depression, it was really a hard time. While, during that dark time, I happened listen to Coldplay’s new releasing album, which fresh my mind with a sunlight. The passion for life and the longing for goodness in this world made me began to feel that I need to live better. I love almost all of the songs from this album and I treasure all songs. This album is the one brought me the deep understanding of life, passion, and death. I love the lyrics and the rhythms a lot which makes me feel really different. This album is just like the thing that I could handle in the sinking days. That dark experience is just like the desert island that I have ever been, and this album is the sunlight and the key to my new life. If I would go to the desert island again, I will definitely bring this album with me!

The very first song that I liked most is this famous Viva la Vida, this album set the situation in the French revolution, with the burden of war and death, the dawn and the dawn of hope. The song Viva la Vida is a song full of energy with turning black-and-white images into colorful worlds. This song is not like the typical Coldplay’s type, but with a freer containment. This song celebrates the life and this track is built around a looping string section in unison with a digital processed piano. Besides, it has other layers construct to a whole one. This song directly plucks my chord and it sings about the lush life. I could feel about the handling of the world and the handling of myself with the strong beats and the lyrics in. I could also feel about the isolation of myself to face this world. I like it very much.

“I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning, I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand”

The second song that I want to show you is “Lovers in Japan” and this song features a honky-tonk piano. This song is built around an introductory track piano sound, then followed by chiming guitars and soaring choruses, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany the song’s lyrics. The tempo of this song is fast.  “Lovers keep on the road your on/ Runners until the race is run/ Soldiers you’ve got to soldier on/ Sometimes even right is wrong/ They are turning my head out/ To see what I’m all about/ Keeping my head down/ To see what it feels like now/ But I have no doubt/ One day, were gonna get out”.I think the main theme of this song is about lovers and soldiers with the attitude of insistence “Reign of love/ I can’t let go/ To the sea I offer/ This heavy load”. I could feel about the love always blowing hot and cold to people. I long for love but I think love also get me hurts.

The third song “Lost!” is influenced by tribal music. This song’s musicscape features a church organ riff, tribal drum-circle groove, and minimal handclaps. Towards the end of the track, it builds into a “rhythmically soaring, Edge-like” guitar solo. I have to say that Coldplay’s use of “exotic” instruments for majority of tracks in the album, including in this song “Lost!” was a result of a goal in wanting to present their songs differently, something “which have never been heard” in previous releases. I have the total feelings of “Just because I’m losing/Doesn’t mean I’m lost!/Doesn’t mean I’ll stop/Doesn’t mean I will cross”. Yeah, I’m losing but I’m not lost by myself.

“Strawberry Swing” is special with the psychologically relaxing songs ever recorded from Cold Play. “Strawberry Swing” contains influences from afro-pop and highlife music, and is built around finger-picked, distortion-free guitars with a heavy bassline and psychedelic synths. This song has the track contained both a jerkily funky beat, and a vaguely African-sounding guitar line. What’s more, it has the mid-tempo featuring echoing guitars, piano ballad-inspired melodies and bittersweet, anthemics, falsetto vocals. This song makes me feel about the sweetness of my life and whenever I listen to this song it makes me think about the happy times, and it’s truly suitable to listen in the desert island.

 “Violent Hill” contains distorted guitar riffs and bluesy undertones bring me total different feelings. It utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany the song’s lyrics. A very important thing here is “Violet Hill” is the first anti-war protest song from the group. Martin sings about medieval imagery of carnivals, cathedrals, religion and war, culminating in a soaring chorus with an anthemic theme. One part that moves me most lasts in the end of the song that it ends with Martin playing the piano and singing, and pleading in nearly spoken-words: “If you love me, won’t you let me know?” I do not like bad things happen in my world especially for the sorrows of conflicts and wars even in the desert island.

The rest five songs are “Life in Technicolor” “Cemeteries of London” “42” “Yes”, and “Death and All his Friends”. The song “Death and All his Friends” directly talk about the theme of death. The song begins with Chris Martin singing softly to a piano accompaniment before morphing into an uplifting arrangement featuring drums, chiming guitars, and a choir recorded in an art gallery in Barcelona. All of these five songs depicted different themes to the audience but I could feel about the greatness of the true love and passion for this world.

In conclusion, I like this album very much mostly because of the themes that this albums displays and the songs that I love very much. Coldplay is the rock band from Britain and always bring me good feelings about music and thoughts of our life. Even till now, Coldplay is still releasing albums. Just listen to these songs and this album, you will feel your life and passions are burning. In the desert island, this album could accompany me to feel about passion for life, the attitudes towards death and war, and it builds me the strong confidence in life waiting for rescue.