Is X&Y Coldplay's "Joshua Tree?"

Well, we are officially in heat of the summer and most of the summer releases have hit the shelves and the airwaves. Coldplay’s X&Y (Capitol), as predicted is a blockbuster. According to the BBC, X&Y has topped 20 global charts to date including Hong Kong, Mexico and Italy. Moreover, the last British artist to have a simultaneous UK and US number one hit was the Beatles #1 in 2000, exclusive company to say the least (BBC.com).

X&Y is the biggest smash for the music industry this year so far (other than 50 Cent’s The Massacre), increasing sales revenue in an otherwise steadily decreasing market. The massive sales of X&Y also ironically have hurt the music industries purported claims that internet piracy is cause for the steady decrease in sales in the past few years. Despite X&Y leaking online a week prior to its release, EMI, Coldplay’s record label has said that legal digital downloads of the album have accounted for 8% of the album’s US sales which is the biggest share of any new release to date (BBC.com).

More than 737,000 copies of Coldplay’s X&Y were sold in the first week of its release in the US, subsequently dislodging the always emotionally unstable Mariah Carey, from the number one spot (BBC.com). The initial sales figures, as one might expect, have launched the hype concerning Coldplay to epic proportions.

Some industry “experts” (be leery of anyone who makes such an outlandish claim) purport X&Y to be Coldplay’s "Joshua Tree" a reference to the album that launched U2 into the stratosphere as one of the world’s top rock acts. In the US Joshua Tree was number one for nine weeks and in the UK went platinum in just twenty eight hours, remaining on the charts for a mind boggling one hundred twenty nine weeks. In the US alone, Joshua Tree has sold more than 10 million copies, earning the RIAA diamond certification.

In its third week of release in the US, despite being knocked from the top spot, X&Y’s album sales were at 1.2 million. Statistically, there is simply no comparison yet between X&Y and Joshua Tree and such comparisons are frivolous at best. Only time will yield answers to such quantitative inquires.

Perhaps, aesthetically the two albums contain similarities. For instance, Joshua Tree begins with the ever popular “Where the Streets Have No Name” which is now a trademark U2 song but more importantly is perhaps where the Edge made his permanent mark with his unique guitar sound, supported by a simple, albeit solid rhythm section.

We can draw a parallel to Coldplay’s “Fix You” which like “Where the Streets Have No Name” begins slow, captivating its listeners, finally culminating with Coldplay’s now trademark sound which comprises of a erringly simple combination of Chris Martin’s piano accented by a mind numbingly simple drum beat. My brother, a musician, and accordingly whose opinion I hold in high regard, once remarked that if you remove the lyrics from any Coldplay tune, it becomes comparable to a Disney composition, e.g., very simple, happy, and aesthetically pleasing to the psyche. U2, whose arrangements are slightly more complex, could be held in similar regards.

Nevertheless, I believe simplicity is what makes Coldplay’s brand of music unique and is why the masses have taken such a liking to it. Our lives are more complicated and complex than ever. We are often juggling two and sometimes three jobs, children, education, etc. The last thing most people want to hear on the radio on the way home from a hard day at work is some sophisticated jazz number or lyrics that are comparable to poetry, often with no fixed meaning and sometimes undecipherable. Most people yearn simply for something to tap their foot to in addition to lyrics that are not only easily understood, but resonate with themes they are familiar with, e.g. love, which doesn’t always make for interesting listening but that is not necessary what music is all about. The reciprocal, e.g. difficult music, of course also contains social value as well as it often teaches us to withhold understanding thereby resisting the false clarity simple music often accords us.

Is X&Y then Coldplay’s “Joshua Tree?” Statistically, of course not, at least not yet. Aesthetically? Well I certainly cannot make that assertion for you as this would negate the very use of the term. Listen, think, and make up your own mind.