The Breakdown:Mylo Xyloto

           Coldplay has done it again. They are back with something new and different. Their new album Mylo Xyloto breaks down the barriers former albums held them in. Their sound on the album is something not to be expected from the alternative English rock band. Yet what I find more interesting is not the sound of the music but rather the ideas and inspirations behind the lyrics and the general concept of the album. Chris Martin told Billboard magazine that the album is “loosely a kind of romance in an oppressive environment.” So that being said listening to the lyrics, it makes sense. The White Rose Movement (Anti-Nazi Movement) and Graffiti art in the 1970’s in New York are said to be the lyrical inspirations for the album and this too is apparent. Here is one of the songs from the album, the best example of lyrical inspiration.

Hurts Like Heaven

The second track on the album but the first track to contain lyrics, considering the first track is 40 something seconds of just music. Now when I heard this I immediately realized that Coldplay is branching out sound wise. This song is upbeat, something I’d expect from a band like Ok Go, not Coldplay. Hurts like Heaven is the best example of the album’s concept and its lyrical inspirations.

“Written in graffiti on a bridge in a park
'Do you ever get the feeling that you're missing the mark?'
It's so cold, it's so cold
It's so cold, it's so cold”

The first lines of the song refer to the graffiti art in the 70s in New York, where paint was used as a tool of expression. Central Park is most likely referred to here as well. Also the question “Do you ever get the feeling that your missing the mark?” is a question I feel is asked by so many people today, and even yesterday.

“See the arrow that they shot, trying to tear us apart
Fire from my belly and the beat from my heart
Still I won't let go
Still I won't let go”

This set of lyrics brings us to the albums concept, a romance. Here Martin is saying that “they” tried to tear “us” apart but he isn’t letting go. “They” is a word commonly used in the album. In the song “Charlie Brown” Martin uses “They/Them” to refer to the “lost boys”. Alluding to Peter Pan’s crew? Maybe.

 “Oh you, use your heart as a weapon
And it hurts like heaven”

These two lines contain the name of the song Hurts Like Heaven. I find this to be the core of the song, as would anyone else. I see the meaning of it two different ways though.

One way I see it is this: Love is a hard game for some and hearts do get broken. Heartbreak is a different type of pain. It’s more than physical. It doesn’t hurt like hell. Stubbing your toe hurts like hell. Falling face first hurts like hell. Getting hit with a ball that has some speed to it hurts like hell. I see hell as a physical place so when talking about hearts it makes since to use something else, like heaven.

Another way I see it: The feeling of love is a different type of feeling and most people who are truly in love would probably say it hurts like heaven. A good hurt.

“On every street, every car, every surface are names
And at the streets arise, I'll be rather insane
Don't let them take control
No we won't let take control

Yes, I feel a little bit nervous,
Yes, I feel nervous and I cannot relax,
How come they're out to get us?
How come they're out when they don't know the facts?”

“Don’t let them take control.” Who’s “them”? I’ve come to the realization that in this song “they/them/they’re” can refer to many different people depending on the way you approach it. If we look at it like a love story then we can understand a little better who is trying to take control. These days most relationships have vast influence from outside persons (people who are not one of the two people actually in the relationship but they feel they have a say in its matters). This can be a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a friend, anyone. Any foreigner to the relationship.

If we approach it like an Anti Nazi Movement then “them/they/ they’re” refer to the Nazis. Stated earlier, one of the lyrical inspirations is The White Rose Movement. A non-violent, intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany who spoke out against Hitler and called for active opposition to his regime in their leaflet campaign. The group consisted of students from the University of Munich who were motivated by different moral and ethical considerations. They were also known for painting the slogans “Freedom” and “Down with Hitler” on the walls of the university and similar graffiti like this in the area at the time was a result of this. The students were then captured, convicted of treason and sentenced to death. They died for standing up against evil and speaking out against it in the face of certain death. This idea of standing up and free speech is apparent in the album and is why I believe that the White Rose Movement is one of the lyrical inspirations for Mylo Xyloto.  

“How come they’re out... to get us when they don’t know the facts?” We can approach this line as a common approach to ignorance. It’s saying that “they’re” ignorant because they don’t know what they are out against. This is significant with so many cases such as Hitler’s hunt for the Jews during WWII, the crackdown on marijuana and its users, and any and all racism today.

“So on concrete canvas under cover of dark
Concrete canvas, I'll go making my mark
Armed with a spray can soul
I'll be armed with a spray can soul”

This brings us back to graffiti art which, as you can see, is very apparent in this song. Here Martin is saying at night he will go make his mark on concrete with a “spray can soul”. His mark being whatever he chooses to express. Yet it says “armed”, which suggests that it is a weapon and that brings us back to the chorus “when you use your heart as a weapon”.

This song is one of the best on the album. Along with Charlie Brown, Paradise, and Princess of China featuring Rihanna. Mylo Xyloto isn’t better than Viva La Vida it’s amazingly different and that’s good. It’s good that Coldplay is showing us a different side and doing what most bands and artist should be doing and that is branching out.