David

3/3/09

“Speed of Sound”; Coldplay; X&Y; 2005

I found Coldplay very much by accident. I was talking on IRC about Yellowcard and their music videos, when someone said they hated Yellowcard solely because one of their videos was a rip-off of Coldplay’s video of “Speed of Sound.” I looked at YouTube and found the video to “Speed of Sound.” Truth be told, Yellowcard’s video to “Lights and Sounds” was a rip-off of Coldplay’s video, but that doesn’t stop either from being really good songs.

I honestly don’t have the X&Y CD. I do listen to Coldplay a lot, but it’s almost always on YouTube. I’ve only listened to this particular song on the radio and on YouTube, but I can say that it is one of my favorite songs simply because of the music behind the lyrics and its meaning. They use a synthesizer during the chorus, and the rest of it is punctuated by a keyboard. The heavy sounds behind the lyrics make the song sound very appealing, and the drums also make the song unforgettable. This song has spawned a few great remixes, also.

The song is about faith, discovery, and miracles. Phrases like “How long am I gonna stand / With my head stuck under the sand” and “If you could see it then you'd understand, / Oh, when you see it then you'll understand” populate the song. The songs title is a bit different, being taken from the first verse of the chorus. The lyrics are vague enough to leave the listener wondering what exactly the singer is talking about.

I like this song for its instrumental value, and the meanings behind it’s lyrics. Coldplay has many songs like this on their records; a prominent one (being very similar to “Speed of Sound”) is “Clocks,” another one of my favorites that I might write about for another Playlist song.