Is it just me or is Coldplay lead singer/Gwyneth Paltrow-inseminator Chris Martin turning into Bono? I base my claim on having seen the iTunes commercial of the band playing its new single, “Viva la Vida.” In it, Martin sounds like Bono, sashays like Bono and sports a pompadour like Bono (otherwise known as a pompousadour).
Pitchfork notices something sonically similar as well. This blurb was posted on the site today for a review of Coldplay’s new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends:
In a case of well-honed troubleshooting after the startlingly bland X&Y, Coldplay’s fourth LP is a diluted version of U2’s Achtung Baby or Radiohead’s Kid A, the “experimental” mid-career maneuvers of their peers. Brian Eno produces.
For those of you who aren’t pop trivia nerds, I should point out that Brian Eno produced or coproduced several U2 albums, including The Unforgettable Fire, Achtung Baby and All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Also funny because when Coldplay hit in 1997, they were frequently derided as Radiohead Lite.