ROT2000: Viva la Vida

Coldplay have built their reputation as being one of the more self-aware acts in popular music. "Everyone hates us," lead singer Chris Martin admitted to Spin in a Rush of Blood to the Head feature. At the time, Coldplay were on the verge of becoming your mom's new favorite band and he was likely foreseeing the inevitable fallout of world domination. Or he was reading his own album reviews on Pitchfork.

In any case, Martin and company made it a point to "reinvent" themselves after the lackluster X&Y. I use quotes because they did what all rock bands do in a similar period: buy some sitars, play in churches, and hire Brian Eno, which is why Coldplay don't sound all that different from Coldplay on Viva la Vida. There are some unorthodox song structures and new textures, but still the guitars are melodious and the lyrical content big and vague. It's soaring music meant to get drowned out by arenas of singing fans.

So why the hell is Viva la Vida one of the Brute's best of the decade? Because of its timing and overwhelming optimism. The album arrived in the states in June 2008, when the country was chest-deep in both the new recession and an election year embroiled in identity politics. Hearing Chris Martin sing, "Just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I'm lost" on "Lost!" feels like the calling card of a generation looking for work (and waiting for the damn election to be over.)

Moreover, the way in which "42" shifts from an "Imagine"-esque ballad into a Bends-era Radiohead rock tantrum illustrates the economic landscape of the time. In addition to U2 and Arcade Fire, Coldplay channel the rhythm section of Doves in "Lovers in Japan", where Martin exclaims "They're turning my head out/to see what I'm all about!" Likely, he’s evoking the aforementioned fallout of global success, but one can't help but wonder why the double entendre still works the for those laid off with bills over-filleth.

Everywhere on Viva la Vida is the feeling of being down, but not out; of having encountered the world in its ugly truth and being all the happier for it.  On the lusty "Yes," Martin admits, "When we started we had high hopes, now my back's on the line, my back's on the ropes." On the title track, Martin is a former ruler who "sweeps the streets" he once owned. "Who would ever want to be king?" he asks, embracing his toilsome but simple life as a street-cleaner.

In the end, Coldplay only care about the need to persevere and love, as on “Death and All His Friends” where Martin assures us, “Just come over, just be patient, and don’t worry.” Everything's gonna be fine, economy, elections, and broken hearts be damned. It’s fitting, because, again, Coldplay aren’t sounding all that different than on any of their other records. They just added world-pop elements and bunked regular format on a few tracks. Really, it’s just sweet, bombastic, hopeful pop. And it got here right when we needed it.