|
Melody Maker - Straight Down The Line - 28th June
Frontman Chris Martin has a few words about his band's new-found fame and their debut album 'Parachutes'
What's it like being on the verge of fame? "I don't think of it like that. It's impossible to predict things like that. One night, I get treated like a regular gig-goer at the Astoria - the next, I'm allowed to go everywhere cos I'm the singer with the 'new Travis' or something. It's bollocks, isn't it? Especially when you realise that stars like [Seventies folkie] Nick Drake weren't recognised when they should've been. It's impossible to tell whether we're going to be a massive success. There are better bands than us who haven't been signed I'm sure."
"Everything's Not Lost", the final track on your album, sounds a little like the Flaming Lips. Are they a big influence? "There's a definite influence there, in the mood of the song. It's mainly on the drum sound. We wanted to get that really roomy drum sound they have, all that power. When I saw The Flaming Lips live a few months ago, they were so intense and sincere. That's the feeling I want to capture with Coldplay."
Do you think you're going to set the world alight? "You can't pay too much attention to that. It's such a subjective thing, what the press say about you. If you took everything you read as fact, you'd go mad. We're just learning to have faith in ourselves. Hopefully, one day our records will mean as much to some people as our favourite records do to us. You know, when you hear a song and it reminds you of a certain period of you life, I think that will happen because we're trying to do something earnest."
Already, you seem to have developed an attitude towards music critics. Why? "After this album, we're not planning to do any interviews at all. Either because we won't have to - because we'll be so massive - or because we'll have been dropped. I'm fully expecting the album to be panned, because we've put so much blood and guts into it. That's what hurts - when people criticise you and dismiss all your effort in just a couple of thoughtless lines. Every time I read something which attacks us, ever if it's only a tiny little thing in an article not even about us, it gets me there. It's upsetting, but it makes you more determined."
You're playing a handful of festivals this summer. Which bands are you looking forward to? "All the obvious ones - The Flaming Lips, Supergrass, Travis, Muse..."
You recently described your music as reverse rock 'n' roll. What do you mean by that? "I wasn't necessarily talking about the music. Rock'n'roll is about doing what the f*** you want. It doesn't have to be about doing huge amounts of drugs or being hedonistic. It's about not caring what anyone else thinks of you. Rock'n'roll is about the seeking of the ultimate pleasure. For us, that means hanging around together and playing music that we all love and not being afraid to say that's why we're doing it. We're a little too frank sometimes, and not as concerned with all the other stuff as we should be. That's fine, though. We just get on with doing it. We don't want to live up to anybody else's cliché."
|
|
