Tahun lalu 50 Cent bersaing dengan Kanye West dan kalah!. Kedua rapper ini merilis album pada 11 September 2007. Album West terjual 950.000 kopi di pekan pertama sedangkan 50 Cent hanya 900.000. Mereka tidak akan beradu lagi, “8o8s & Heartbreaks” West akan rilis 25 November sedang “Before I Self Destruct” rilis 9 Desember. Single pertama Get Up di produseri oleh Scott Stroch. 50 Cent berkolaborasi dengan Dr. Dre dan Eminem. Tiap CD akan disertai film panjang dimana MC bertindak sebagi penulis naskah, sutradara dan sekaligus bintang. Dia berperan sebagai pemain bola basket yang kurang cerdas dan berpotensi masuk NBA, dengan adik remaja lelaki jenius yang akan masuk kuliah. Sukses buat 50 Cent….

Hal yang menarik dengan album ketiga Franz Ferdinand adalah instrument yang mereka gunakan, seperti tulang manusia yang mereka dapat dari sebuah lelang untuk menjadi perkusi!. Pemberian judul “Tonight” pada album ini disebabkan karena lagu-lagu di album ini menghasilkan suasana malam hari.
Sejak “You Could Have It So Much Better (2005) liris, para personil Franz Ferdinand sulit beristirahat hingga mereka beristirahat sejenak dari kegiatan mereka, setelah empat bulan mereka mulai masuk dapur rekaman kembali, tepatnya di Glasgow. Menariknya stok lagu-lagu lama muncul kembali, “Can’t Stop Feeling” dari album pertama, riff-nya sedikit dirubah sedang “Turn It On”dari album kedua lirik dan aransementnya sedikit dirubah. Single pertama Franz Ferdinand Ulysses, lagu yang mencakup keseluruhan dari album ini. Selain tulang manusia Paul Thomson, Bob Hardy, Alex Kapranos dan Nick McCarthy juga menggunakan instrument seperti synthesizer, polivox dan simbal yang Nick beli dari Bali! wah keren…

Tiga belas tahun setelah album terakhir dan tujuh belas tahun setelah kematian Freddie Mercury sang vocalist, Queen kembali lagi dengan vocalistnya yang baru Paul Rodgers yang tidak lain adalah mantan vokalist “Bad Company” dan”Free”. Band dengan album terlaris dalam sejarah Inggris ini akan mengadakan tur 20 negara. Queen mengawali konser pada bulan september dengan salah satu konser terbesar dalam sejarah umat manusia di Kharkiv, Ukraina yaitu sebuah konser amal AIDS yang disaksikan lebih dari 700.000 pasang mata, konser ini ditayangkan di ratusan layar bioskop di Amrik pada bulan november lalu .
“Time to Shine” salah satu puncak “The Cosmos Rocks”, lagu ini megah, dengan intro ala Pinball Wizard, drum yang mantap dan menggebrak, solo yang meliuk-liuk dan sentuhan musik timur dalam arensement vocal. Setelah konser yang megah di Ukraina, band yang penuh segudang pengalaman ini menuju ke konser-konser sold out di stadion-stadion sepak bola raksasa dari Moskwa hingga Rio yang menggambarkan skala operasional Queen. Jadi upacara peluncuran yang tenang dan sederhana untuk The Cosmos Rocks bukan pilihan .Seorang bertanya “Bagaimana rasanya bernyanyi untuk Queen?” kata Rodgers. Saya menjawab, “Ini seperti duduk di bagian depan roket yang dua kali kecepatan suara dan tanpa sabuk pengaman” and “its great”.
Sukses terus bwat Queen :]

Tiga belas tahun setelah album terakhir dan tujuh belas tahun setelah kematian Freddie Mercury sang vocalist, Queen kembali lagi dengan vocalistnya yang baru Paul Rodgers yang tidak lain adalah mantan vokalist “Bad Company” dan”Free”. Band dengan album terlaris dalam sejarah Inggris ini akan mengadakan tur 20 negara. Queen mengawali konser pada bulan september dengan salah satu konser terbesar dalam sejarah umat manusia di Kharkiv, Ukraina yaitu sebuah konser amal AIDS yang disaksikan lebih dari 700.000 pasang mata, konser ini ditayangkan di ratusan layar bioskop di Amrik pada bulan november lalu .
“Time to Shine” salah satu puncak “The Cosmos Rocks”, lagu ini megah, dengan intro ala Pinball Wizard, drum yang mantap dan menggebrak, solo yang meliuk-liuk dan sentuhan musik timur dalam arensement vocal. Setelah konser yang megah di Ukraina, band yang penuh segudang pengalaman ini menuju ke konser-konser sold out di stadion-stadion sepak bola raksasa dari Moskwa hingga Rio yang menggambarkan skala operasional Queen. Jadi upacara peluncuran yang tenang dan sederhana untuk The Cosmos Rocks bukan pilihan .Seorang bertanya “Bagaimana rasanya bernyanyi untuk Queen?” kata Rodgers. Saya menjawab, “Ini seperti duduk di bagian depan roket yang dua kali kecepatan suara dan tanpa sabuk pengaman” and “its great”.
Sukses terus bwat Queen :]

Hey para Army of Angels di Indonesia!!! Ada kabar gembira ni dari Angels and Airwaves!!! Angels and Airwaves bakal mampir ke Indonesia!!! sapa yang ga seneng??? Huray!!! Moment ini udah ak tunggu sejak AVA dibentuk!!! wekekeke… Rencananya AVA bakal manggung 2 kali. Tanggal 9 Desember di Tenis Indoor Senayan Jakarta n Tanggal 10 di Hard Rock Cafe Bali,, o ia yang di Bali rencanaya AVA bakal akustic loh!!! Kalo ga salah AVA akan nyanyiin sekitar 11 lagu!! Yang wajib dinyanyiin The Adventure n Everythings Magic!!! Harga tiketnya,, Rp 256.000-Rp 365.000 (kalo ga salah lo)!!! Jadi siapin tuh Camera Digital ma HandyCam mu buat foto-foto!!! Kalo bisa minta tanda tangan sekalian!!! Okey smua!!! Army of Angels g bakal ngelewatin ni acara!!!! sebelum makasih ia buat promotornya yang udah bawa AVA ke Indonesia!!! thanks Om Adrie Subono,, thanks a lot……..
Ntar ketemu di tenis Indoor senayan yap!!!!!
o ia !!!! ni bocoran paling penting!!!! ada jumpa pers sabtu 15 November dari jam 2 sampai 5 sore di Blitz Megaplex, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta!!! yang maw cari tanda tangan n foto foto siap siap!!!!Siaaaaaaa…
Im Army of Angels =]

Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. They took their name from the children’s book called “Good Charlotte: The Girls of Good Day Orphanage,” written by Carol Beach York.

The members of the band are the identical twin brothers Joel (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitars and backing vocals), Billy Martin (guitars keyboards), Paul Thomas (bass guitar) and Dean Butterworth (drums)
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Good Charlotte (1996-2001)

Good Charlotte started out by playing at small venues. They soon caught the attention of post-grunge band, Lit, whose song “My Own Worst Enemy” was a chart topper at the time. Good Charlotte lost the opening slot on Lit’s East Coast tour in 1999. Soon after, Good Charlotte played some dates with the band Blink-182, who had just experienced mainstream success with their album, Enema of the State. All of this caught the attention of major music labels, and Good Charlotte eventually signed with Epic Records in 1999.

In 2000, they released their self-titled debut album Good Charlotte. Y100, a now-defunct radio station in Philadelphia spun Good Charlotte’s song “Little Things” before it was released as a single. It ended up being a big success on the station, so big that on Y100’s nightly “Cage Match” competition (where new songs were pitted against each other and listeners could vote on which was better), “Little Things” won fifteen nights in a row, beating out bigger names, before it was retired to the cage match hall of fame.

“Little Things” was later released as a single in 2001, and peaked at #23 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the second half of the year, three more singles were released from the album, “The Motivation Proclamation”, “The Click” and “Festival Song”.

The Young and the Hopeless (2002-2003)

2002’s The Young and the Hopeless marked the band’s emergence into mainstream popularity. Their breakthrough single, titled “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous”, topped both pop and rock charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that album include “The Anthem”, “Girls & Boys”, “The Young and the Hopeless” and “Hold On”. They thanked many other bands for their influences for this album, including Blink 182, Sum 41, NOFX and Green Day.

The album eventually went on to receive triple platinum certification (three million copies sold) from the RIAA. During the course of the album’s success, Good Charlotte landed appearances on Saturday Night Live, CNN, and The Today Show, the covers of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press magazines, and were also featured in The New York Times. They also became popular on MTV, where their music videos were played in heavy rotation on both MTV and MTV2. “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” received the “Viewers Choice Award” at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.

The band hired temporary drummers during the recording, release and touring of The Young and the Hopeless due to former drummer, Aaron Escolopio, having left the band before its release to join his brother’s group, Wakefield. In 2003, the band added Chris Wilson as a permanent drummer, he was introduced to the band through mutual friends from the group The Used. Also in 2003, the band made a cameo appearance in the King Gordy video for “Nightmares”.

The Chronicles of Life and Death (2004-2006)

Good Charlotte’s third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, was released in 2004. The album received mixed reactions from both the music press and Good Charlotte’s fanbase. The album has been widely considered a departure from their previous two albums, mixing new elements such as strings, synths, and more mature lyrical topics into Good Charlotte’s youthful power pop sound. Singles released from the album include the two hits “Predictable” and “I Just Wanna Live”, as well as “The Chronicles of Life and Death” and “We Believe”. The only single from The Chronicles of Life and Death which managed to chart upon the U.S. Hot 100 was the hit “I Just Wanna Live”. All of the singles released from the album went top 30 in the UK, except for “We Believe”.

In May 2005, after much speculation from fans, it was officially confirmed that Chris Wilson had left the band citing personal health reasons. Benji also told Kerrang! magazine that, for him, “Chris leaving the band was the worst part of 2005″. Chris then joined a pop/rock band The Summer Obsession but because of its split in 2007, he currently plays drums in Allegiance To The Fire.

On Good Charlotte’s tour, “Noise to the World Tour”, performing with Simple Plan and Relient K, the band recruited Dean Butterworth, who had previously played for Morrissey, as the band’s temporary drummer. Later, in March 2007, Butterworth was confirmed as the band’s permanent drummer.

Benji Madden has claimed in interviews that he feels this record was not as successful as the previous record due to it being “too selfish.”

Good Morning Revival (2007-2008)

Good Morning Revival is the fourth album by Good Charlotte and the follow up to 2004’s The Chronicles of Life and Death. It was officially released in March 2007, with the precise date varying by country.
Good Morning Revival debuted in the top 10 of thirteen countries worldwide including the U.S., giving the band some of their highest international chart positions thus far. At midnight, on January 23, 2007, the forthcoming record was made available for pre-order on iTunes. When pre-ordered, the single, “The River” was downloaded immediately, while the rest of the album was queued to be downloaded on the released date. Pre-ordering on iTunes also provided the exclusive bonus acoustic version of the aforementioned single.

The first single from the album, “The River”, featuring Avenged Sevenfold’s lead singer, M. Shadows and guitarist Synyster Gates, appeared online on January 4, 2007 and was released as the first single from the album in North America. The music video for “The River” was added to UK music channels Kerrang! and Scuzz on April 13, 2007, making it the second single released from the album in the UK. The song charted at #108. “Keep Your Hands off My Girl” was released as the first single in the UK and Australia. “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” charted on the UK Singles Chart at #36 the first week of release through download sales and then climbed to #23 when released in stores. The second single released in North America was “Dance Floor Anthem”, with which the band had scored a surprise hit, making it onto eleven different Billboard charts and peaking at #2 in Australia. The “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” video was recently certified gold by MTV International. It was played 3,000 times on over 4 continents during the first half of 2007. On January 1, 2008, Good Charlotte was featured on Tila Tequila’s New Years Eve Masquerade on MTV, as they were the second performance of the new year and performed their hit “Dance Floor Anthem”.

The band made multiple U.S. and international TV appearances in support of the album. First, Good Charlotte appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on April 9, 2007, the Outdoor Stage on Jimmy Kimmel Live on April 11, and on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on April 27. Joel and Benji Madden, Good Charlotte’s lead singer and guitarist respectively, co-hosted the Australian MTV Video Music Awards with Fergie on April 29, 2007 where the band also won the “Viewers Choice Australia” award for “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl”. In August 2007, the band embarked on Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveShow tour, as Timberlake’s opening act. Good Charlotte supported Timberlake throughout his second leg North American dates. They were present for the August 16, 2007 show in Madison Square Garden, which was taped for a HBO broadcast.

In 2008, Good Charlotte appeared on the Three 6 Mafia track off of their new CD Last 2 Walk called “My Own Way”.

On November 25th, “Greatest Remixes” will be released. This compilation album includes songs from previous Good Charlotte albums remixed by other artists, like Metro Station, Junior Sanchez and The Academy Is… .

Activism

Two of the band’s members, Benji Madden and Billy Martin are active vegetarians. In the past they actively supported PETA’s animal rights campaigns. Members of the group recorded a track, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”, on PETA’s Liberation CD and appeared at PETA’s 25th Anniversary Gala and Humanitarian Awards Show. Group members have also demonstrated against KFC’s treatment of chickens. PETA and the band had parted separate ways when news emerged that the band’s partners are pro-fur.

Good Charlotte has shown support for Washington, DC punk and youth activist group Positive Force D.C. on multiple occasions. In 2004, the band organized a special benefit show for the group. The show raised thousands of dollars for Positive Force which was also shared with the D.C. Area Books to Prisons Project, Prevention Works! Needle Exchange program and We Are Family – a DC based advocacy and service provider for low-income seniors in D.C. neighborhoods.

The twins have also posed for the YouthAIDS Aldo “Aldo Fights AIDS” dog tag campaign. They stand side by side, eyes shut, on the “See No Evil?” dog-tag packaging. Joel holds his hands in prayer, whereas Benji’s face is contorted and angry and his hand is in a fist.

Good Charlotte also supports the fight against AIDS, as shown in the design of a t-shirt designed by the band’s guitarist, Billy Martin, for the H&M Fashion Against AIDS campaign. The t-shirt displays a couple under an umbrella, protecting both of themselves, as a metaphor for using protection.

Good Charlotte will also be appearing as a guest star on Nickelodeon movie iCarly: iGo to Japan.

Discography

Main article: Good Charlotte discography

* Good Charlotte (2000)
* The Young and the Hopeless (2002)
* Bootlegs (2004)
* The Chronicles of Life and Death (2004)
* Good Morning Revival (2007)
* Greatest Remixes (2008)

Awards

Main article: List of Good Charlotte awards

Band Members

* Joel Madden – lead vocals (1996–present)
* Benji Madden – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–present)
* Billy Martin – rhythm guitar, keyboards (1996–present)
* Paul Thomas – bass guitar (1996–present)
* Dean Butterworth – drums, percussion (2005–present)

Former members

* Aaron Escolopio – drums (1996–2001)
* Chris Wilson – drums (2002–2005)

Temporary members

* Dusty Brill – Played as a drummer with the band after Aaron Escolopio left the band.
* Cyrus Bolooki – Played as a drummer at some dates with Good Charlotte on tour.
* Josh Freese – Recorded the The Young and the Hopeless album as a drummer.
* Robin Eckman of bands Elder Statesmen, Burn the Fields and Zonder – Played as a drummer on the tour for “The Chronicles of Life and Death” in Australia, Europe and Asia.
* Derek Grant of the band Alkaline Trio – Played drums for Good Charlotte at MuchMusic Intimate and Interactive during the promotional tour of “The Chronicles of Life and Death”

Taking Back Sunday

Taking Back Sunday is an American band from Amityville, Long Island, New York. The current members are vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarist and back-up vocalist Matthew Fazzi, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O’Connell, and bassist Matt Rubano. They have released three studio albums, with their most successful being 2006’s Louder Now which has sold over 600,000 copies and peaked at #2 on the United States’ Billboard 200, closely followed by Where You Want to Be which peaked at #3 in 2004. TBS have also had twelve singles, one extended play, one live album and a compilation album. “MakeDamnSure” is their highest charting single to date, peaking at #8 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2006.
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Early years

Taking Back Sunday originally formed in 1999 with Antonio Longo on lead vocals, Jesse Lacey (now lead singer/guitarist of Brand New) on bass and backing vocals, John Nolan (now lead singer of Straylight Run) on guitar, Eddie Reyes on guitar, and Stevie D. on drums. Their first release was the Taking Back Sunday EP. However, in the middle of recording the EP, the band went through a lineup change. Lacey left the band to play for The Rookie Lot and was replaced by Adam Lazzara, and Mark O’Connell replaced Stevie D on drums. The five-song EP was finally released in February 2001; though distributed at shows, the EP never got noteworthy success.

By the time their first album was released, Taking Back Sunday would again go through a major lineup change. After Longo was forced to leave the band, Reyes moved Adam Lazzara to lead vocals and then recruited Shaun Cooper to play bass. The resulting lineup would remain in place for the first album, Tell All Your Friends in Spring of 2001.

Along with his other stage antics, Lazzara is most famous for swinging his microphone around by the cord on stage and in music videos. He learned this particular move and the infamous “hand flailing” maneuver from famed Garden Weather member Bret Pollington. In the video for the song “MakeDamnSure” from their album Louder Now, Lazzara exhibits this ‘habit’ to an extreme.

Independent success

The band released their first full album Tell All Your Friends, on Victory Records in 2001. Tell All Your Friends gave the band a small taste of success in the alternative rock spotlight.

The album cover is a picture of an off-ramp, with an overlay of the album title and the numbers “152″, signifying the exit where they met their friends. The number has appeared on every LP cover to date.

In 2003, Taking Back Sunday almost broke up when guitarist and back-up vocalist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left the band to form Straylight Run. The loss of John and Shaun put the already unstable band into a state of heightened tension.

The year 2004 proved to be successful for Taking Back Sunday, with the band opening Blink-182 and co-headlining the Vans Warped Tour. In addition, their second album, titled Where You Want To Be, was released on July 27, 2004, on Victory Records. Although sounding slightly different from Tell All Your Friends, the new album managed to do well commercially. Propelled by the single A Decade Under The Influence, Where You Want To Be went on to debut at the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with around 163,000 copies sold[citation needed].

Taking Back Sunday received even more mainstream exposure by appearing (on the day of Where You Want to Be s release) on late night talk shows Jimmy Kimmel Live! where Lazzara had the job of hosting Loveline, as well as contributing the song This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know) to the soundtrack for Spider-Man 2. They also contributed the song Your Own Disaster to another soundtrack, and Error Operator ((Not the same as Error:Operator))to both the Fantastic 4 soundtrack and its video game tie-in, where it served as Mr. Fantastic’s theme. An instrumental version is also used as background music in the game. In 2007, the band contributed the song What’s It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? to the soundtrack for Transformers, although the song did not appear in the movie. Also, the band was featured in “American Wasteland” when they covered the Descendent’s song Suburban Home.

Major label debut

On April 25, 2006, Taking Back Sunday released their third album, entitled Louder Now, on Warner Bros. Records. The band’s comments on the album reflected the dramatic change the band had undergone in the two years since their last release. Lazzara stated that fans seemed to feel their live shows had more energy than their recordings, and that Louder Now brought more of that across.

Taking Back Sunday received mainstream exposure by appearing on the late night talk shows The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, as well as the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation in an episode entitled What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?

In December 2006, the band released its first CD/DVD documentary, Louder Now: PartOne, featuring behind-the-scenes tour footage and four live concerts. Following months of touring to support Louder Now, Taking Back Sunday appeared in the American leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007. During the summer of 2007, Taking Back Sunday was also a part of Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution tour, along with My Chemical Romance, HIM, and many other bands.

On October 30, 2007, the band’s former record label, Victory Records, released Notes From The Past, which featured four songs from Tell All Your Friends, six songs from Where You Want To Be, and two B-sides: The Ballad of Sal Villanueva and Your Own Disaster (‘04 mix). The band then released Louder Now: PartTwo on November 20, 2007, a DVD of unreleased live concert footage from their show at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, as well as special features such as the video for “Twenty-Twenty Surgery” that was made for Europe. The DVD was packaged with a companion CD featuring eight live tracks, two B-sides that were previously unreleased in America, and a special “Twelve Days of Christmas” track.

Departure of Fred Mascherino

In October 2007, the band announced that the next studio album would be missing the vocals of Fred Mascherino, who will now be focusing exclusively on his solo career. On their website, the band said:
“ After four great years and two successful gold albums together, Fred has decided to leave Taking Back Sunday to pursue his solo career. We wish him well and we are working on the next Taking Back Sunday album as we speak.

We wanted to let you guys know and then get back to working on the music. No drama no professional photographers, just riffs and feathers.

On that note, Fred’s album The Color Fred’s BEND TO BREAK is coming out on October 30.

The Louder Now Parttwo CD/DVD is coming out November 20. You want webisodes, we got webisodes. You want unreleased live videos? Got that too. Lots of bonus features and behind the scenes goodies on this one. More on that soon. The next Taking Back Sunday album is in its very early stages. As always, we will be updating you on that as we go along.
Taking Back Sunday
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Mascherino stated he left over issues about how the band would concentrate more on learning how to cook rather than learning how to make music. “There were just problems between the five of us about writing, who was going to do it and how we were going to do it,” Mascherino said. “We weren’t being very productive because we were fighting too much about that stuff.”

Upcoming album and new member

In a blog on the band’s official website, bassist Matt Rubano revealed that the band had 12 new songs written for their upcoming album. On September 10, 2008 it was announced that David Khan will produce the album and the band is in the studio.

On May 5, 2008, Taking Back Sunday officially revealed that its new member was Matt Fazzi(guitar and vocals), previously of Facing New York. The band played its first show with Matt that day at The Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NY. The show was a surprise event and announced through a blog on the band’s MySpace page. That show gave them a chance to reveal the new guitarist before playing with My Chemical Romance at Madison Square Garden on May 9. On May 6, 2008 the band made a surprise appearance opening for My Chemical Romance at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia. “Matt has brought new life to Taking Back Sunday, a theme ever-present in the material we have been working on for the past few months,” says vocalist Adam Lazzara. “He continues to give us a new perspective on how we each write and listen to music, pushing both himself and us to cross new borders and venture into new territories with our music. He is the push we needed to break through some walls this time around.” The band’s forthcoming album is set to make breakthroughs in their sound, says bassist Matt Rubano. “On this record, we challenged ourselves to write the best songs we possibly could while trying new things in an effort to push the envelope in terms of what it means to sound like Taking Back Sunday. I think this record has an honesty and an urgency that we haven’t achieved before.”

Other Appearances

Adam Lazzara lends his vocals on New Found Glory’s Album ‘From Your Screen To Your Stereo Part 2′ in the cover song, Love Fool.

Members

* Adam Lazzara – Lead vocals
* Matthew Fazzi – Lead guitar, vocals
* Matt Rubano – Bass, backing vocals
* Eddie Reyes – Rhythm guitar
* Mark O’Connell – Drums, percussion

Discography

Main article: Taking Back Sunday discography

Studio albums

* 2002: Tell All Your Friends
* 2004: Where You Want to Be
* 2006: Louder Now
* 2009: To Be Announced

The Used

The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah. Their sound has been classified under many subgenres of rock. They signed with Reprise Records in late 2001 and rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their debut self-titled album, The Used. They followed up with their second album, In Love and Death, in September 2004 and their third album, Lies for the Liars, in May 2007. An EP, Shallow Believer, was released in February 2008 that featured most of the band’s B-sides to date. They are currently working on their fourth studio album, due out in early 2009. The band has achieved both Gold and Platinum status in over 6 countries worldwide.
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The Used officially formed in 2000, but members had played in many previous bands since the early 1990s, which helped lead to the formation of The Used. Founding member Branden Steineckert along with Quinn Allman and Jeph Howard were trying to start a new band and needed a singer. They had a bunch of music for songs but no lyrics or vocals to go along with it. Tryouts for singers were held in Branden’s bedroom, but they weren’t satisfied with anyone they heard, and described the tryouts as being terrible. Quinn then remembered Bert McCracken from school and other local bands they played in and called him to see if he was interested in trying out. Bert heard they were looking for a singer and was going to give them a call, but he received a call from Quinn the night before he planned to call them. He met up with the other members and liked the music they wrote. After being given music that the band had written, Bert wrote the lyrics to what would become “Maybe Memories” and returned the next day to record a demo version of the song. The band welcomed him immediately and from there on out, Bert took over the vocals. Throughout all of this, the band members suffered from poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse. They panhandled for change in order to buy food to stay alive while at the same time hating the Mormon town that they lived in and the people that lived there. The band’s name was born when their friends claimed they felt “used” when contact was lost between them and band members due to them becoming more involved in the band.

2001: Demos from the Basement and getting a record label

Used continued to write songs together and recorded a demo album in Branden’s bedroom that fans titled Demos from the Basement. Drummer Branden Steineckert sent their songs to producer John Feldmann from the pop punk group Goldfinger. After he heard “A Box Full of Sharp Objects”, he wanted to get them signed because he believed this band had something no other band had and could change what’s happening in the music world. John flew the band to LA taking them out of their home state for the first time in their lives and played the songs for various record executives to try to get them signed, however, the first few weren’t interested and it left John discouraged because he felt this band was like no other. Eventually, more people got hold of the demo and a few record companies were eager to sign them. They decided to sign with Reprise Records in late 2001.

2002-2003: The Used and Maybe Memories

In 2002, it was discovered that a Boston band had already trademarked the name “Used,” so they decided to add “The” to their name, thus becoming The Used. Their self-titled debut album was released on June 25, 2002. The album received mixed reviews and featured four singles: “A Box Full of Sharp Objects”, “The Taste of Ink”, “Buried Myself Alive”, and “Blue and Yellow”, with the latter three entering the charts. The album has been certified gold. The Used would go on to play Warped Tour, Ozzfest, and Projekt Revolution, as well as Box Car Racer’s first and only tour. During these tours, they had a 5th member, a touring guitarist by the name of Greg Bester. He was forced to return to his home country when he couldn’t get a working Visa. The band received much recognition when Bert McCracken dated Kelly Osbourne. These events brought the band much fanfare and popularity. In July 2003, The Used released a compilation CD/DVD combo package titled Maybe Memories. The CD featured live, rare, previously unreleased tracks, and demo material. The DVD featured the history of the band, member bios, and part of a live concert. This release has been certified platinum.

2004-2006: In Love and Death and a new drummer

Tragedy struck The Used in 2004 when lead singer Bert McCracken’s ex-girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child, died of a drug overdose. Their second studio album was thus named In Love and Death, released as a reference to the tragedy Bert dealt with during the recording. The song “Hard to Say” was a reference to Bert’s ex-girlfriend; although he wrote the song years earlier, it fit the moment and Bert felt that it was the right time to release it.[citation needed] The album received generally favorable reviews and spawned three singles: “Take It Away”, “All That I’ve Got” (which earned them their first MuchMusic Video Award nomination), and “I Caught Fire”, before being re-released in 2005. “Under Pressure” (a David Bowie and Queen cover song performed with My Chemical Romance) was featured as a bonus track on the re-release. The album has been certified gold. After finishing up an international tour for the album, The Used took about 7 months off before starting to work on their next album. Throughout the summer of 2006, rumors spread among fans that Branden was no longer in the band. Then on September 12, 2006, The Used announced and confirmed that Branden was no longer a member of the band. They said they felt they needed to move forward without him, and that there was a personality conflict between Branden and another band member; however, they did say that they love Branden and wish him the best in whatever he does in the future. In late 2006, it was announced drummer Dan Whitesides of New Transit Direction would replace Steineckert. Branden has since joined Rancid to replace former drummer Brett Reed.

2007: Berth and Lies for the Liars

On February 6, 2007, The Used released a live CD/DVD package, Berth, which included a full live concert shot on the 2005 Taste of Chaos tour in Vancouver. It continued where Maybe Memories left off and showed what the band had been up to since they released In Love and Death. It also gave a preview of Lies for the Liars. Berth has been certified gold.[9] The Used spent most of the early part of 2007 on the Taste of Chaos tour, before their third album, Lies for the Liars was released May 22, 2007. They also headlined the Give it a Name festival. In June, The Used played the MuchMusic Video Awards for the first time ever, and also received their second nomination for Best International Group Video, for “The Bird and the Worm”. The Used were scheduled to play Warped Tour in June and July, in support of their album, but had to cancel because Bert required surgery to remove a node from his vocal cords. After Bert recovered, they played the Reading and Leeds festivals in August, and went on to tour the United States in September. Lies for the Liars charted in the top 5 in over seven countries, and there were 4 singles released: “The Bird and the Worm”, “Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)”, “Pretty Handsome Awkward”, and “Paralyzed”. Although Dan Whitesides was chosen as the new drummer, Dean Butterworth of Good Charlotte recorded drums for the album. The recording session for this album was the longest of any The Used album, as it took them over six months to record. Lies for the Liars received mixed reviews and has 8 B-sides. The Used had considered making a double album since 19 songs were recorded, but this idea was dropped after they decided to save the songs for a future release.

2008: Shallow Believer and working on a new album

Before Lies for the Liars was even released, The Used had planned on releasing an EP of the album’s B-sides not long after it dropped. However, it was delayed due to problems with their label, and for a time it didn’t appear that it would be released at all. Finally on February 19, 2008 the EP was released, titled Shallow Believer, which featured B-sides from all their studio albums. It was only released on digital music stores and it has charted #13 on iTunes’ top 100 albums. The Used have worked on their 4th album throughout all of 2008. The band has recorded about 18 songs in total, but haven’t annouced how many will be on the album. They took many breaks while working on it to be the headlining band on the inaugural “Get a Life Tour” and to play shows Jakarta, Indonesia and Seoul, South Korea. The album was produced by Panic at the Disco producer Matt Squire, making this their first studio album not produced by John Feldmann. They decided to go with a different producer because they “want [the album] to be very different” from everything else that they’ve done in the past. This is also the first studio album by The Used to feature Dan Whitesides as the drummer. In AP magazine, Bert stated “In the past, we’ve always kind of brought pop sensibility into heavy rock, but this is going to be all that much more tantalizing and brutal. Our songs are 10 times messier and noisier than they’ve ever been.”, and also revealed information about the concept of the album: “This record is about coming to grips with how much you really hate yourself and knowing you can never hate yourself to the full extent, so you’re free to hate yourself as much as you want to”. Bert goes on to say, “we haven’t been this excited about an album since our self titled back in 2002.” The album will be released by the beginning of 2009 along with a DVD release not long after.On October 24, The Used posted a clip from their upcoming DVD that includes a clip of a new song.

Current members

* Bert McCracken – lead vocals, keyboard/piano (2000-present)
* Quinn Allman – guitar, backing vocals (2000-present)
* Jeph Howard – bass, backing vocals (2000-present)
* Dan Whitesides – drums (2006-present)

Former members

* Branden Steineckert – drums, backing vocals – Kicked out of the band in August 2006.[13][19] (2000-2006)

Temporary members

* Dean Butterworth – drums – Recorded the drums for Lies for the Liars to fill in after Branden was kicked out. (2006-2007)
* Greg Bester – guitar – Played with the band on tour in early 2000s. (2001-2003)

Studio albums

* 2002: The Used
* 2004: In Love and Death
* 2007: Lies for the Liars

Atreyu

Atreyu is a metalcore band from Orange County, California. The band consists of vocalist Alex Varkatzas, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist Marc McKnight and drummer/vocalist Brandon Saller. The band was originally named “Retribution” but later changed their name to “Atreyu” after the character of the same name from the fantasy book (movie) The Neverending Story when they found out that another band from Hemet, California had been using their original name.[1] Formed in 1998, the band have since released four studio albums, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, The Curse, A Death-Grip on Yesterday and Lead Sails Paper Anchor, each of which have sold more than 200,000 copies.
Contents

1998-2000: Independent year

Atreyu currently consists of drummer Brandon Saller, vocalist Alex Varkatzas, bassist Marc McKnight and guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel. During the independent years though, the members were only Brandon, Alex, Dan and Kyle Stanley. The band changed its name to Atreyu after the character in The Neverending Story, which was suggested by a friend, Scott Lloyd, aka The Mess.

In 1999, Atreyu released an independent 7-track EP titled Visions. The album was sold at their live performances. Their second release, was a short 5-track EP released by underground label Tribunal Records and featured tracks that would be re-worked in later releases. Atreyu signed with Victory Records in 2001, and their most critically acclaimed works would be to come from these releases.

2001-2006: Signing to Victory Records

In 2001, Atreyu signed with Victory Records, who were famous for signing young, upstart metalcore bands and making them successful, later releasing in 2002 their first full-length album Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. The band also introduced another singer, Brandon Saller, the drummer, who would become more prolific in their later releases, but in this album, his parts were most confined to choruses, and only in certain songs. Atreyu’s second album, The Curse, was released in 2004, selling 300,000 copies. The band was then featured on the soundtrack to the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith with a cover of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name”. Atreyu was also featured on the Underworld Evolution Soundtrack with “Her Portrait in Black.” “Right Side Of Bed” also appeared on the Burnout 3 Soundtrack , a racing video game for the Xbox and Playstation 2.

In 2006, Atreyu released its third studio album A Death-Grip on Yesterday on March 28, 2006. The album peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200, with sales of 69,000. The album was said to have a balance of Brandon Saller’s melodic singing vocals and Varkatzas’s aggressive screaming. The album was met with positive reviews though, IGN called the album “A brief but potent hissy fit.”

2007-present: Signing to Hollywood Records

In early 2007, Atreyu signed a record deal with Hollywood Records for America and an international deal with Roadrunner Records. With a new label, the band began to prepare its fourth studio album. A jigsaw puzzle was released on the band’s website, as the goal was to put all the audio clips of the single, “Becoming the Bull” into correct order, forming the whole song. The album was received with mixed reviews, and was a notable change in sound for the band.

Lead Sails and a Paper Anchor was released on August 28, 2007, and debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 43,000 copies. The American release of the album had a bonus track, a cover of the song “Epic” by Faith No More while the European and Australian bonus track was a cover of “Clean Sheets” by The Descendents.

They toured in the United States, in the Taste of Chaos 2008 tour, along side bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall. The band also toured with co-headliners Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet for My Valentine in Australia and New Zealand, to positive reactions from audiences and stated on a blog on their myspace that they’re planning another tour down there later in the year.

Atreyu will be headlining the Revolution Stage of Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution tour in the summer of 2008.

On April 22, 2008, Lead Sails Paper Anchor was re-released with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, a DVD, and a digital booklet. It also featured new cover art. A trailer was released promoting the CD on their MySpace page.

On May 23, 2008, Varkatzas was forced to drop out of two shows – the shows being May Day in Indianapolis and Balloon Fest in El Paso – due to a throat infection, which resulted in Saller and McKnight taking over vocal duties for both dates.

Apart from being on the US Taste of Chaos they are also headlining the international leg of the tour. Other bands playing are Story of the Year, As I Lay Dying and Mucc. Travis Miguel stated that the band will do “whatever it takes” to get food on the road.

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys are a English Indie band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Formed in 2002, the band currently consists of Alex Turner on lead vocals and guitar, Jamie Cook on guitar, Matt Helders on drums and backing vocals and Nick O’Malley on bass guitar and backing vocals, who replaced Andy Nicholson.

Arctic Monkeys achieved chart success with their first single, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”, which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart.[1] Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, released in January 2006, was at the time the fastest-selling debut album in British music history, surpassing Oasis’ Definitely Maybe. It remains the fastest-selling debut album for a group. It received critical acclaim, winning both the 2006 Mercury Prize[2] and the 2007 BRIT Award for Best British Album. The band’s second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, was released on 23 April 2007, sold over 225,000 copies in its debut week, and was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize.[3] The group also picked up the award for Best British Album and Best British Group at the BRIT Awards in 2008.

Arctic Monkeys achieved their success through fan-made demo tapes and online file sharing.[4] They were heralded as one of the first acts to come to the public attention via the Internet, with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed.[5] The band eventually signed to the independent record label Domino Records.

Discography

Main article: Arctic Monkeys discography

* Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)
* Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Awards

Main article: List of Arctic Monkeys awards

Coldplay

Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in London, England in 1998. The group comprises vocalist/pianist/guitarist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Will Champion. Coldplay have sold 40 million albums, and are also known for their hit singles, such as “Yellow”, “The Scientist”, “Speed of Sound”, “Fix You”, “Viva la Vida” and the Grammy Award-winning “Clocks”.

Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with the release of their single “Yellow”, followed by their debut album, Parachutes (2000), which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Its follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) won multiple awards such as NME’s Album of the Year. Their next release, X&Y (2005), received a slightly less enthusiastic yet still generally positive reception. The band’s fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely favourable reviews. All of Coldplay’s albums have enjoyed commercial success.

Coldplay’s early material was compared to acts such as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, U2, and Travis. Since the release of Parachutes, Coldplay have drawn influence from other sources, including Echo and the Bunnymen, Kate Bush and George Harrison on A Rush of Blood to the Head, Johnny Cash and Kraftwerk for X&Y and Blur, Arcade Fire and My Bloody Valentine on Viva la Vida. Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group have also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Contents

* 1 History
o 1.1 Formation and first years (1996–1999)
o 1.2 Parachutes (1999–2001)
o 1.3 A Rush of Blood to the Head (2001–2004)
o 1.4 X&Y (2004–2006)
o 1.5 Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2006–present)
* 2 Musical style
* 3 Activism
* 4 Discography
* 5 References
o 5.1 Footnotes
o 5.2 Sources
* 6 Further reading
* 7 External links

History

Formation and first years (1996–1999)

The members of the band met at the University College London (UCL) in September 1996. Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland were the first members of the band, having met one another during their orientation week. They spent the rest of the college year planning a band, with their efforts culminating in a group called Pectoralz. Later, Guy Berryman, a classmate of the two, joined. By 1997, the group, who had renamed themselves to Starfish, performed gigs for local Camden promoters at small clubs. Martin also had recruited his longtime school friend Phil Harvey, who was studying classics at Oxford, to be the band’s manager. (To this day, Coldplay consider Harvey to be the fifth member of the group) The band’s lineup was complete when Will Champion joined the band to take up percussion duties. Champion had grown up playing piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle; he quickly learned the drums, despite having no previous experience. The band finally settled on the name “Coldplay” which was suggested by Tim Crompton, a local student who had been using the name for his group.

In 1998, the band released 500 copies of the Safety EP. Most of the discs were given to record companies and friends; only 50 copies remained for sale to the public. In December, Coldplay signed to the independent label Fierce Panda. Their first release was the three-track Brothers and Sisters EP, which they had quickly recorded over four days in February 1999.

After completing their final examinations, Coldplay signed to Parlophone for a five-album contract in the spring of 1999. After making their first appearance at Glastonbury, the band went into studio to record a third EP titled The Blue Room. 5,000 copies were made available to the public in October, and the single “Bigger Stronger”, received Radio 1 airplay. The recording sessions for The Blue Room were tumultuous. Martin kicked Champion out of the band but later pleaded with him to return, and because of his guilt, went on a drinking binge. Eventually, the band worked out their differences and put in place a new set of rules to keep the group intact. First, the band declared an all-for-one approach: Coldplay was a democracy, and profits were to be shared equally, taking a page from bands like U2 and R.E.M. Second, the band would fire anyone who used hard drugs.

Parachutes (1999–2001)

In March 1999, Coldplay began work on their debut album, recorded at Rockfield Studios with producer Ken Nelson. They also played on the Carling Tour, which showcased up-and-coming acts. After releasing three EPs without a hit song, Coldplay scored their first Top 40 single, “Shiver”. Released in March 2000, it reached at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and earned the band their first airplay on MTV. June 2000 was a pivotal moment in Coldplay’s history: the band embarked on their first headlining tour, including a showing at Glastonbury. The band also released the breakthrough single “Yellow”. The song shot to number four on the UK Singles Chart and placed Coldplay in public consciousness.

Coldplay released their first full-length album, Parachutes, in July 2000, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. “Yellow” and “Trouble” earned regular radio airplay in the UK and US. Parlophone originally predicted sales of 400,000 units of Parachutes; by Christmas, 1.6 million copies had been sold in the United Kingdom alone. Parachutes was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in September 2000.

Having found success in Europe, the band set their sights on North America, and Parachutes was released there in November 2000. The band embarked on a US club tour in early 2001, beginning with a show in Vancouver, Canada, which was coupled with appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman. Whilst Parachutes was a slow-burning success in the US, it eventually reached double-platinum status. The album was critically well-received, earning Best Alternative Music Album honours at the 2002 Grammy Awards.

A Rush of Blood to the Head (2001–2004)
Music samples:

*
“Yellow”
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“Yellow” was the second single from Parachutes (2000), and Coldplay’s first Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart.
“Viva la Vida” (2008)
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“Viva la Vida”, the second single from their latest album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.
“The Scientist”
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“The Scientist” was the second single from A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002). The inspiration for the song came from George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”.[6]
* Problems listening to the files? See media help.

Coldplay returned to the studio in October 2001 to begin work on their second album, once again with Ken Nelson producing. A Rush of Blood to the Head was released in August 2002. The album spawned several popular singles, notably “In My Place”, “Clocks”, and the ballad “The Scientist”.

Coldplay toured from June 2002 to September 2003 for the A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour. They visited five continents, including co-headlining festival dates at Glastonbury Festival, V2003 and Rock Werchter. Many shows included elaborate lighting and individualised screens reminiscent of U2’s Elevation tour. During the extended tour, Coldplay recorded a live DVD and CD, Live 2003, at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.

In December 2003, they were named by readers of Rolling Stone magazine as the best artist and the best band of the year. At that time Coldplay covered The Pretenders’ 1983 hit “2000 Miles”, which was made available for download on their official site. It was the top selling UK download that year, with proceeds from the sales donated to Future Forests and Stop Handgun Violence campaigns. A Rush of Blood to the Head won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Coldplay earned Record of the Year for “Clocks”.

X&Y (2004–2006)
Coldplay live in 2005

Coldplay spent most of 2004 out of the spotlight, resting from touring, and recording their third album. In terms of particular musical influences for it, bassist Guy Berryman said, “We were listening to lots of different stuff during the early stages [of X&Y] from Bowie, Eno and Pink Floyd to Depeche Mode, Kate Bush and Kraftwerk. And U2 as we usually do.” In May, Chris Martin and his wife, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, celebrated the birth of their daughter named Apple.

X&Y was released in June 2005 in UK and Europe. This new, delayed release date had put the album back into the next fiscal year, actually causing EMI’s stock to drop. It became the best-selling album of 2005 with worldwide sales of 8.3 million. The lead single, “Speed of Sound”, made its radio and online music store debut on 18 April and was released as a CD on 23 May 2005. The album debuted at number one in 30 countries worldwide and was the third-fastest selling album in UK chart history. Two other singles were released that year: “Fix You” in September and “Talk” in December. The latter is set to the melody of “Computer Love”, which was released in 1981 by the German synthpop band Kraftwerk and had in the previous year been revived by Norwegian guitarist Erik Wollo. Despite the commercial success, the critical reaction to X&Y was less enthusiastic than that of its predecessor, with New York Times critic Jon Pareles describing Coldplay as “the most insufferable band of the decade”. Comparisons between Coldplay and U2 became increasingly common. Chris Martin later revealed that the negative remarks made him feel “liberated”.

From June 2005 to July 2006, Coldplay went on their Twisted Logic Tour, which included festival dates like Coachella, Isle of Wight Festival, Glastonbury and the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In July 2005, the band appeared at Live 8 in Hyde Park, where they played a rendition of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” with Richard Ashcroft on vocals. In September, Coldplay recorded a new version of “How You See the World” with reworked lyrics to War Child’s Help!: A Day in the Life charity album. In February 2006, Coldplay earned Best Album and Best Single honours at the BRIT Awards.
Chris Martin playing a concert in São Paulo

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2006–present)

The band began to work on their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, in October 2006, with Brian Eno as producer. Coldplay took a break from recording and toured Latin America in early 2007, including shows in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. The band revealed that the album seemed to be shaping up with Hispanic influences, after having recorded in churches and other areas in Latin America and Spain during their tour. The group spent the rest of the year recording, mainly with Brian Eno.

Martin described Viva la Vida as a new direction for Coldplay: a change from their past three albums, which they have referred to as a “trilogy”. He said the album featured less falsetto as he allowed his voice’s lower register to take precedence. Some songs, such as “Violet Hill”, contain distorted guitar riffs and bluesy undertones. “Violet Hill” was confirmed as the first single, with a radio release date of 29 April 2008. After the first play, it was freely obtainable from Coldplay’s website from 12:15 pm (GMT +0) for one week (achieving two million downloads), until it became commercially available to download on 6 May. “Violet Hill” entered the UK Top 10, US Top 40 (entering the Top 10 in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart) and charted well in the rest of the world. The title track, “Viva la Vida”, was also released exclusively on iTunes. It became the band’s first number on the Billboard Hot 100, and their first UK number one, based on download sales alone. On 16 June, Coldplay began their Viva la Vida Tour with a free concert at Brixton Academy in London. This was followed two days later by a 45-minute performance that was broadcast live from outside BBC Television Centre.

On 15 June 2008, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends topped the UK album chart, despite having been on sale for only three days. In that time, it sold 302,000 copies; the BBC called it “one of the fastest-selling records in UK history”. By the end of June, it had set a new record for most-downloaded album ever. In October 2008, Coldplay won a Q Award at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, for best album for Viva La Vida. They were also winners of Best Act In The World Today. During an interview with Zane Lowe for BBC Radio 1 on 16 October 2008, Martin suggested that the band were trying to book Knebworth House in Hertfordshire for a concert in 2009.

In a BBC 6 Music interview on 30 August, Martin stated the band will follow up Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends with an EP entitled Prospekt’s March, to be released around 26 December (later changed to 25 November), and a fifth studio album in December 2009.

Musical style

Coldplay’s musical style has been defined as alternative rock, being compared to Jeff Buckley and Oasis, while on their MySpace profile they describe their musical style as “very heavy soft rock”. The band’s music has been called “meditative”; it “[reflects] on their emotions” and lead singer/songwriter Martin “endlessly examine[s] his feelings”. Martin’s lyrical wordplay has been called feminist, similar to Andrew Montgomery of Geneva.

The tone of the band’s first studio album, Parachutes, was defined as melodic pop with “distorted guitar riffs and swishing percussion”. It was also described as being “exquisitely dark and artistically abrasive”. In a review for A Rush of Blood to the Head, the songs were considered to contain “lush melodies and a heartbreak” and that they had a “newfound confidence.” The music on X&Y has been considered to be “ruminations on Martin’s doubts, fears, hopes, and loves.”

Activism
Make Trade Fair, abbreviated as MTF, shown on Chris Martin’s piano during a concert

Despite Coldplay’s worldwide popularity, the band has remained protective of how their music is used in the media, refusing its use for product endorsements. In the past, Coldplay turned down multi-million dollar contracts from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and Gap, who wanted to use the songs “Yellow”, “Trouble”, and “Don’t Panic” respectively. According to vocalist/pianist Martin, “We wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs’ meanings like that.” The song “Viva la Vida” was featured in a commercial for the iTunes Store, advertising its exclusive availability of the single as a digital download on iTunes. Coldplay are supporters of Amnesty International. Chris Martin is also noted as one of the most visible celebrity advocates for fair trade, supporting Oxfam’s ongoing Make Trade Fair campaign. Martin has been on trips with Oxfam to assess conditions, has appeared in its advertising campaign, and is known for wearing a “Make Trade Fair” wristband during public appearances, including at Coldplay concerts. The band were also filmed for Make Poverty History, clicking their fingers.

In the band’s early years, Coldplay were also widely noted in the media for their claim to give 10% of the band’s profits to charity. Bassist Guy Berryman said, “You can make people aware of issues. It isn’t very much effort for us at all, but if it can help people, then we want to do it.” The band also asks that any gifts intended for them are donated to charity, according to a response on the FAQ section of Coldplay’s website. Martin was outspoken against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.

Discography

Main article: Coldplay discography

* Parachutes (2000)
* A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
* X&Y (2005)
* Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)