Coldplay songs are often, if not exclusively, stories. However, Coldplay has a tendency to make the songs rather dreary (with exception to Paradise and songs like it). I wanted to take four of those dreary songs and make a new story with a hopeful ending. I believe that most stories have a bright side, and want to show a struggle to regain what was lost, instead of a dismal acceptance that it is lost.
I created a new storyline from four different songs by Coldplay. The songs were about different topics, but often had overlapping metaphors, which was helpful in making my point. The story now entails losing everything, but then working towards and slowly reaching the same high point from the start. The "new" lyrics are below.
VLV: Viva La Vida, FY: Fix You, C: Clocks, TS: The Scientist
VLV
I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
FY
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
Could it be worse?
C
Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks
TS
I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
VLV
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes
C
Trouble that can't be named
A tiger's waiting to be tamed, singing
TS
Running in circles, chasing our tails
VLV
For some reason I can’t explain
C
Nothing else compares
FY
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from your mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I
TS
I'm going back to the start
The lyrics intend to follow some who has lost everything, as told by Viva La Vida. At first they are hopeless, but as time passes, but through solving of puzzles (essentially working a way out of the slump) this person becomes a force to be reckoned with. This person grows a passion for the climb, yet remembers his/her past (learning from the mistakes), and winds up back where he started (in a state of success).
Audacity was used to put together the vocals and instrumentals from 4 Coldplay songs.
I heard many mash-ups before, and a medley of coldplay songs. Additionally, the following mash-up involves Clocks, one of the songs I used. My main inspiration was from the mash-up below. Having said that, this was the first time that I had ever mixed multiple songs together, and I think aesthetically it was pretty unsuccessful. I realize now just how difficult it is to mix multiple songs together. They must be the same tempo, and key, and they must be spaced to work in harmony. For a first attempt, I was able to learn a lot about changing pitch and tempo and working to match up the instrumentals with the vocals.
I started by writing the story. Lining up the four sets of lyrics was very helpful so that I could scroll through and take out the related passages. Some lyrics fit better than I thought they would such as "a tiger's waiting to be tamed" from Clocks, and then "chasing our tails" from The Scientist.
I then put the lyrics together from the downloaded "vocals only" tracks that I found on YouTube. This is the top line of the next image. The bottom line is the instrumentals from Viva La Vida, as I wanted to create more cohesiveness throughout the piece. I did this by placing long strips of instrumentals so that it would blend different sections together, and also by choosing instrumentals from only one song, it ties the song together as a whole. The end bit is from Fix You, only so that I could end on a harmonic note to represent the end of a great struggle for the protagonist of this story. I had to do quite a bit of dampening of the sound for some portions of the song, as some tracks were naturally louder than others.
As I said earlier, my inner critic honestly believes this is not aesthetically pleasing. I do think the intention matches, but it is definitely a beginner's work. As it is my first mash-up I definitely went over my head by trying to involve four songs at once. Additionally, the feel of the songs is very different (two are slow paced and two are faster and more lively). I learned quite a bit on how to change pitch to match each other. I also learned that in the future I will have to speed up some tracks to have them match better with the other tracks.
In terms of this project, I thought of an idea to mix "Hello" by Adele and "Hotline Bling" by Drake about 7/8ths of the way into my Coldplay project. For the purposes of this project, I would probably have preferred to make a funny track of them "talking on the phone" as it is easier to mask inexperience through comedy.
In the future I would choose songs that go well together, such as ones that have a similar beat structure and tempo. I would use only two songs, that way I can change the pitch and tempo of one, and then work by taking clips from both.
Coldplay, for their songs
1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjj9pT5FFM2UxeYQm9wfK1Q
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIl3ZA56Qmk
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXz6q7HxW4M
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0pOqyDTB6Y
5. http://www.youtube-mp3.org/
6. Audacity
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