Wash Your Mouth Out, Chris Martin!
This is Coldplay performing their new single 'Life In Technicolor II' on the Top of the Pops Christmas special, a few weeks back. It's quite nice, particularly if you like your bands to yelp encouragement to each other while they perform.
Actually, this is something I definitely DO like, but today is not a day to be nice to Coldplay.
No, today is a day to say "NAUGHTY COLDPLAY! YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THIS HOUSE, COLDPLAY. NOW GET UP TO YOUR ROOM, AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, COLDPLAY!"
And the reason for all of this shouting is very simple. Coldplay have created the best pop video ever. That's right, Coldplay. Not a different Coldplay. The usual one.
They have taken a very tired form of self-promotion, one with little in the way of innovation, these days (unless walking around in slow motion counts), and introduced a little bit of ego-pricking humour. And they have done this via the medium of puppets.
But can I show you this video? No. Can I link to it? No. Can I do anything except froth and rage at something which should be a joy shared, in a hands-across-the-internet sort of way? No. And the reason for this is silly old Coldplay attempting to retain their cool.
For some reason, in the middle of this amazing video (and it is amazing, you mark my words), the director has decided to have one of the human characters mouthing a swear word. It's the catchphrase of one of the songs in the film Team America: World Police, which also features puppets, so that's probably why they've done it.
And having done that, it breaks the basic idea of the video, which is that there's this cute little Punch and Judy show going on for the kids, and it is suddenly taken over by the vacuous gestures of your average stadium rock show, to the horror of onlooking parents.
By having one of the dads swearing - especially in a post-modern, referential sort of way - it means that he's behaving worse than the puppets are. By rights, everyone should have turned and looked at HIM with those shocked expressions on their faces, ignoring the puppet Coldplay on stage, even if they do have flying motorcyclists and cannons.
It's not really a big deal, except there is no need to have done it. It's as if Chris and co had to have the silent swearing in there to show that, even though there are puppets, like you would have on CBeebies, it's not a video just for kids. There is something there for older people too. Older people do like a swear, after all.
On the other hand:
a) None of their other videos contain swearing, not even hidden swearing.
b) They are Coldplay, not Gallows.
c) Girls Aloud, who are supporting Coldplay, would not have let this happen.
d) It spoils the video.
So. There.
What? How dare you suggest I'm only bothered because I can't embed it on ChartBlog? ;-)
Comment number 1.
At 4th Feb 2009, catman231 wrote:Puppets (and the whole claymation thing) seem to be 'in' at the moment. Coldplay have done it and a certain popular brand of deodorant have released a new advert which features characters of a very similar ilk.
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Comment number 2.
At 10th Feb 2009, Asp wrote:You know, if you hadn't mentioned the "mouthing", I for one wouldn't have noticed it.
I wouldn't have noticed the problems with that Britney song a bit ago either...
Shows the effect of censorship, doesn't it? Draws people's attentions to potential problems. Still, would only take one person to spot it, and they'd soon complain about the dear licence fee ;)
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Comment number 3.
At 11th Feb 2009, Fraser McAlpine - wrote:It's a win-win for the artist, really. If the potential censor says it needs taking out, they get to act all offended and their fans say the censor is pathetic.
If the potential censor leaves things as they are, someone else will complain, it will be in the papers, they will probably still have to stop playing the song/video, and EVERYONE will say they are pathetic.
Either way it drives media coverage of the song, and increases sales.
You would hope there would be some artistic merit in all this, to make it worthwhile for everyone. And sometimes there is.
In this case, I just felt it was a shame to spoil the innocence of the stadium puppets idea with a silly reference to Team America. I mean, we already GET the similarities, don't we?
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