COLDPLAY: A view from the crowd
Every week, self-titled scours the streets of New York looking for a good time. This week features the oddest juxtaposition of all time: Coldplay, who needs no introduction, and Harvey Milk, a.k.a. the lost boys of Georgia’s college rock scene :
AIM Chat with Aaron Richter, Tedder.
8:32 PM
Aaron Richter: Please join me in this chat.
Aaron Richter: so i have one request: that the headline for this chat say something about menage a trois
Tedder: No, it has to be like that R. Kelly song “Three-Way Phone Call.”
Aaron Richter: is he talking to usher in that song?
Andrew Parks: enough r kelly references…lets get onto coldplay
Aaron Richter: if you’re r. kelly and I’m usher then I think andrew is the 13 year old in your closet
Andrew Parks: anyway, harvey milk was the sludgiest thing ive ever witnessed
Aaron Richter: was it at europa?
Andrew Parks: great. glad i get to be the underaged one
Andrew Parks: yeah
Tedder: Which you think will be about something nasty, because, you know, it’s by R., but it’s actually, like, two women praying with him.
Aaron Richter: aka whatever it used to be called
Andrew Parks: not a bad place
Andrew Parks: odd
Andrew Parks: but not bad
Andrew Parks: another polish disco situation
Aaron Richter: right
HARVEY MILK welcome self-titled to the jungle
Andrew Parks: tedder, get on task
Andrew Parks: no more r kelly
Tedder: Yeah, i’ve heard them compared to the Melvins, so I would assume sludge.
Andrew Parks: unless it relates to chris martin
Andrew Parks: well they had joe preston with them
Andrew Parks: which was AWESOME
Aaron Richter: how big was the crowd?
Andrew Parks: he looked like the frontman … or Krusty the Clown without the makeup and hairdye
Andrew Parks: for people who dont know, joes played with earth, the melvins and many other important metal bands of that ilk
Andrew Parks: not a bad crowd
Aaron Richter: it was a bit strange that they didn’t give away the top section at MSG. it was completely empty
Andrew Parks: certainly not sold out
Aaron Richter: the rest was packed
Andrew Parks: but half full
Tedder: Do they have a song or album called “The Twinkie Defense” because if not they should.
Aaron Richter: but didn’t even bother giving away the top seats
Andrew Parks: ha
Tedder: Yeah, and no encore or anything.
Andrew Parks: who knows about the seats
Aaron Richter: i think i get more and more angry with the coldplay show the more I think about it today
Andrew Parks: i hear they played all over the place
Andrew Parks: any favorite spot?
Andrew Parks: why are you angry?
Andrew Parks: it was free
Aaron Richter: i really wanted to enjoy it
Tedder: They did “Yellow” in the crowd, which was charming.
Aaron Richter: and actually did at points
Andrew Parks: biggest band in the world right now, blah blah blah
8:40 PM
Aaron Richter: i thought they had really good ideas
Andrew Parks: did they ever get near you guys?
Aaron Richter: and then just fucked ’em up somehow
Andrew Parks: HOW did they fuck it up
Aaron Richter: the band walking through the crowd to play Yellow by the exits was great
Aaron Richter: but
Aaron Richter: then there was like a 2 minute interlude
Aaron Richter: where they showed like a mazda commercial over techno
Andrew Parks: was yellow one of the last songs?
Aaron Richter: and then they came back to the stage
Aaron Richter: nah. they played three after
Andrew Parks: well something had to pay for the free shows
Tedder: The second to last song was “Fix You,” and he messed up the lyrics by singing the second verse first.
Aaron Richter: the interlude was so weird
Andrew Parks: so its likely mazda did
Andrew Parks: they probably arent done with rehearsals yet
Andrew Parks: after all, the beginning of the tour was delayed
Aaron Richter: then they set up their instruments really close together
Andrew Parks: because of “production issues”
Andrew Parks: i think the regular dates are gonna have crazy lighting
Aaron Richter: and got out on the stage extender in the middle of the crow
Aaron Richter: d
Andrew Parks: and sets
Aaron Richter: so they looked set up like the clash
Aaron Richter: with the three guitars
Andrew Parks: i see
Aaron Richter: bang bang bang
Aaron Richter: but they did one lame song
Tedder: And he apologized, and then sang, the tune of “Fix You,” …. “when you forget the lyrics to an old song/and embarass yourself at MSG/but no one cares because they got in for freeeeeee……”
Andrew Parks: a veritiable wall of guitars
Aaron Richter: and then disbanded that setup
Andrew Parks: so it was a little *too* schizo?
Aaron Richter: as Jon Caramanica said in his review for the NY Times, that was so rehearsed
Aaron Richter: they just didn’t seem like they’d figured out how to make their good ideas work yet
Tedder: “Clocks” had amazing lasers. Like, your local planitarium back in the day.
Aaron Richter: totally
Aaron Richter: and I did enjoy the butterfly confetti
Tedder: Yeah, the new songs, which sounds good and all, did not sound particularly tight.
Aaron Richter: there’s that one that sounds like an arcade fire song
Aaron Richter: and by one i mean that new album they just put out
Aaron Richter: so I listened Funeral all day today
Andrew Parks: well wouldnt you expect it all to be rehearsed?
Aaron Richter: i found out who the first opening act was
Tedder: Yeah, like I said yesterday, they all dress like french revolutionaries these days. Why?
Aaron Richter: arcade fire = civil war pesants
Tedder: Because the Arcade Fire dress like civil soldiers….and U2 used to dress like world nation leaders around the time of Zooropa.
Andrew Parks: what do you mean?
Andrew Parks: opening act for what?
Aaron Richter: LOLz
Aaron Richter: for coldplay
Andrew Parks: when?
Aaron Richter: they didn’t introduce themselves at the end of the set
Andrew Parks: the whole tour?
Aaron Richter: just that show I think
Aaron Richter: it was Ed Burns’ band
Andrew Parks: im confused
Aaron Richter: The Blue Jackets
Aaron Richter: or the Yellow Jackets
Andrew Parks: arcade fire played last night?
Aaron Richter: Ed Burns the worthless sack of crap who is married to Christy Turlington
Aaron Richter: no
Tedder: Oh, yeah, Ed Hurt or something?
8:45 PM
Tedder: Yeah, it was weird because the best song on the new album, “Lost,” is awesome. Straight up. Booming drums, great rhythm…and last night it was okay. But not tight at all.
Andrew Parks: both of you like their new album a bit then?
Aaron Richter: if you hate your life, you can check out Ed Burns’ band here: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=65902500
Aaron Richter: yes! thank you AT&T for sending me a confirmation that I paid my phone bill
Aaron Richter: i don’t really dig the album
Aaron Richter: i like it more than the others, definitely
Aaron Richter: but that’s not saying much
Andrew Parks: right
Andrew Parks: what about you tedder?
Aaron Richter: i don’t think i’ve heard harvey milk ever
Aaron Richter: although Austin (Shout out to DJ Au$-10) likes them cuz they’re from the fine state of GA
Andrew Parks: theyre pretty great if you like stoner metal
Andrew Parks: although one of their albums sounds like zz top
Andrew Parks: intentionally
Andrew Parks: thanks them in the liners
Andrew Parks: no irony either
Andrew Parks: dudes are total georgia boys
Aaron Richter: is this the band with the dude who used to make those deformed church puppets?
Aaron Richter: or is that someone totally different
Andrew Parks: um wrong band
Andrew Parks: i think
Aaron Richter: who’s that
Andrew Parks: who uses the puppets?
Andrew Parks: no ide
Andrew Parks: a
Aaron Richter: we featured them in DIW
Aaron Richter: they were like grotesque dolls
Aaron Richter: that he sold in his church
Andrew Parks: do not remember
Andrew Parks: just like i dont recall this diw you speak of
Aaron Richter: totally deformed with like eyeballs hanging out
Aaron Richter: sorry, I mean that time you got a DWI
Andrew Parks: indeed
Aaron Richter: and you had those deformed dolls in your backseat
[SxSW shot of Harvey Milk, by step(sic)]
Andrew Parks: anyway, harvey milk was bliss if youre a stoner
Aaron Richter: and they were stuffed with kiddie porn
Aaron Richter: and you went to jail for 10 years
Tedder has left this chat.
Andrew Parks: lots of anguished vocals-like black metal without the screeching
Aaron Richter: and Tedder has left us
Andrew Parks: and really, really slow grooves
Andrew Parks: we must have bored him
Andrew Parks: they played for 90 minutes
Andrew Parks: then i left
8:50 PM
Aaron Richter: that’s way longer than coldplay
Aaron Richter: ours was about an hour
Aaron Richter: w/o encore
Andrew Parks: right
Andrew Parks: because it was freeeeeeeeee
Aaron Richter: everyone in the crowd just looked disappointed at the end
Andrew Parks: oh, storm of light played too
Aaron Richter: what do they sound like
Andrew Parks: which is the new band of neurosis’ visuals guy
Andrew Parks: ironically, they sound like neurosis
Andrew Parks: EXACTLY like neurosis
Andrew Parks: not bad
Andrew Parks: not unique either
Andrew Parks: cool visuals though
Aaron Richter: chris martin sure liked reminding us about how we couldn’t complain if the show was bad because it was free
Andrew Parks: i like the guys last band more, battle of mice
Aaron Richter: and then he made a joke about how he comes to america to steal our women
Andrew Parks: the singer of which plays in made out of babies, which i need to go see now
Aaron Richter: the 2nd opener was actually kinda cool
Andrew Parks: gwen wouldnt like that joke
Aaron Richter: Jon Hopkins
Andrew Parks: no idea who that is
Andrew Parks: sounds like the name of a hospital
Aaron Richter: british electronic artist
Andrew Parks: interesting
Aaron Richter: sorta aphex twin-y
Andrew Parks: like something radiohead would support
Andrew Parks: to look cool
Aaron Richter: then it turned real skittery like four tet
Aaron Richter: great visuals to go with it
Aaron Richter: lots of penis and vagina imagery
Aaron Richter: like everything turning into a penis or a vagina
Tedder has joined this chat.
Aaron Richter: you lose Tedder
Aaron Richter: http://www.myspace.com/jonhopkins
Aaron Richter: for anyone interested in listening
Tedder: My computer kicked me off.
Tedder: Lame.
Aaron Richter: /u found porn that was more interesting
Tedder: No, no.
Aaron Richter: what were your thoughts about Jon Hopkins
Andrew Parks: well then, hopkins sounds awesome
Tedder: But I feel used. I saw Ed Burns play? Yeesh.
Tedder: Is he friends with the Big G?
Aaron Richter: i kinda wish Ed Burns was the guy from Blues Clues
Aaron Richter: we started out watching jon hopkins thinking that it was pretty lame and boring
Aaron Richter: but he sorta totally brought it by the end of the set
Tedder: Anywho, Jon Hopkins had this animation that looked it was from the ’70s, and basically, cats turned into dogs, turned into fish, turned into vaginas, turned into monsters with big teeth, turned into flowers….etc
Aaron Richter: mostly because of the penises and vaginas in his visuals
Andrew Parks: brought the idmish beats eh?
Aaron Richter: oh yeah. AND EVERYTHING HAD TITS
Andrew Parks: nothing beats penises and vaginas for sure
Aaron Richter: like there were tits on trees
Aaron Richter: and catdogs
Tedder: Tits everywhere.
8:55 PM
Aaron Richter: so many animated tits
Tedder: Tits coming out of people’s eyes. Seriously.
Aaron Richter: yeah. totally!
Andrew Parks: alright boys, we need to wrap it up sadly
Tedder: There was a whole minute of fish turning into vagninas over squelchy squelchy blipblip house.
Aaron Richter: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/arts/music/25cold.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Tedder: There was a whole minute of fish turning into vagninas over squelchy squelchy blipblip house.
Aaron Richter: here’s caramanica’s review of the show
Aaron Richter: it hits it pretty well
Tedder: Ah.
Tedder: Wow. He got that up quick.
Andrew Parks: so the music was as good as the vagina imagery
Tedder: Well, what could be?
Tedder: That said, i’m always happy to hear “God Put A Smile On Your Face.”
Aaron Richter: he definitely seemed busy for an electronic artist
Aaron Richter: “busy”
Tedder: Too bad they didn’t do the one were they bite Kraftwerk. That one is great also.
Aaron Richter: as in he was playing drum machines and not just letting that shit pre-program
Aaron Richter: or so it looked
Aaron Richter: he might have been faking it
Tedder: Yeah, it looked like he was hitting buttons at least.
Aaron Richter: i told tedder I would mention Chemical Brothers because we drank at the bar that I got drunk at before I saw Chemical Brothers last year
Aaron Richter: so here we go
Aaron Richter: Chemical Brothers
Aaron Richter: In summation?
Andrew Parks: the chemical brothers are awesome
Aaron Richter: good summary
Andrew Parks: sad that they dont get more props than fucking boyz noize
Andrew Parks: and mstrkrft
Aaron Richter: and crookers
Andrew Parks: seriously
Andrew Parks: death to electro
Aaron Richter: long live Santos Party House
Aaron Richter: best new venue in town
Tedder: I guess I should saw that off the three shows i’ve seen at MSG in the past week, this was the weakest, but still enjoyable.
Tedder: And saying that a band wasn’t as good as R.E.M. or The Cure is probably about as unfair a comparison as is possible in professional criticism.
9:00 PM
Andrew Parks: true
Aaron Richter: definitely
Andrew Parks: but coldlpay had a bigger audience than those two now
Aaron Richter: the best was REM?
Tedder: As far as the live show? yeah.
Aaron Richter: meaning, they’d sell more records for a new release yeah
Andrew Parks: man, the last time i saw rem was a free show in downtown toronto
Tedder: Man, for an old guy, Michael Stipe has moves. It was unreal.
Aaron Richter: was he wearig his blue stripe over his eyes
Tedder: No, not anymore.
Tedder: They played “Electrolite” and “Begin The Begin.”
Tedder: And Johnny Marr came out for “Fall On Me.” Which, you know, was a thing to see.
Andrew Parks: alright, final words guys?
Aaron Richter: I’d have to say in summation that I’m really excited about the shrimp cocktail my girlfriend is making me right now
Tedder: I’d borrow the Coldplay album from a friend, rip it, then pretend I didnt like it.
Aaron Richter: though not as excited as I was at certain points during the show last night
Aaron Richter: but I’m guessing the shrimp cocktail will leave me satisfied, unlike last night’s show. which left me disappointed
Tedder: Also, bands, learn your new songs before playing MSG. Sheesh.
Aaron Richter: seriously
Aaron Richter: and get a drummer and guitarist that don’t look the same
Aaron Richter: unless they’re related
Tedder: And bands? Dressing like soldiers from a pre 20ths century war? Been done.
Andrew Parks: very nice
Andrew Parks: sigur ros pulled it off better
Andrew Parks: the soldier thing
Aaron Richter: they did
9:05 PM
Andrew Parks: as for harvey milk, go buy their new album if you like excrutiating pain set to sludge metal
Tedder: They look like they’re in, like, Dune meets….the revolutionary war or something now.
Aaron Richter: how many outfits do you think they have. to go on tour with, I mean
Andrew Parks: im out of exciting metaphors tonight
Aaron Richter: like versions of the same uniform
Tedder: Probably at least five each.
Andrew Parks: dudes,off topic again
Andrew Parks: i must go
Aaron Richter: laters
Tedder: Have a good night!