This list of songs is inspired by lists published by radio station KEXP-FM from Seattle in 2010, as well as the latest poll taken in 2021 by Rolling Stone Magazine. For the most part I will faithfully countdown from their lists, starting at Song #500 and going until I reach Song #1. When you see the song title listed as something like: Song #XXX (KEXP)….it means that I am working off of the official KEXP list. Song XXX (RS) means the song is coming from the Rolling Stone list. If I post the song title as being: Song #xxx (KTOM), it means I have gone rogue and am inserting a song choice from my own personal list of tunes I really like. In any case, you are going to get to hear a great song and learn the story behind it. Finally, just so everyone is aware, I am not a music critic nor a musician. I am a music fan and an armchair storyteller. Here is the story behind today’s song. Enjoy.
KEXP: The Top 500 Songs in Modern Music History.
Song #491: Yellow by Coldplay
Every journey, musical or otherwise, begins with a first step. For the band, Coldplay, the song “Yellow” was theirs. This song was the first single off of their debut album Parachutes and resulted in the band having a Top Ten hit right out of the gate.
Unlike most of the musicians and bands in this Top 500 list, Coldplay are only in the middle of their career and, Covid-19 aside, there is no reason to doubt that they have many good years ahead of them yet. So far, they have established a career creating Pop and Dance music that has been well-received throughout the world. In fact, their third album, X & Y was the biggest selling album in the world in 2005 when it was released.
The band consists of singer, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland on lead guitar, Guy Berryman on bass, Will Champion is on drums and the fifth member of the band is, also, their manager, Phil Harvey. Chris Martin was the first musician I saw perform a “Concert from Home” when Covid first caused us all to be locked down this past Spring. He was, also, one of the first to reach out to Ariana Grande when she was looking for some way to make up to the city of Manchester for the devastating bomb attack that happened at one of her concerts. The result was the One Love Manchester Festival. The motto of that festival was that Love will always triumph over Hate.
The song, “Yellow” exemplifies that positive outlook on life. When the song was first released, most people assumed that it was about Martin’s new bride, Gwyneth Paltrow. But the band has been quick to correct that story and claim, instead, that “Yellow” is about a state of mind where someone is always looking on the bright side of life. “Yellow” is an all-encompassing philosophy that has been the guiding force in all creative decisions the band has made throughout their career. I don’t know the guys personally but, from everything I have seen, they seem like good people. That they make good Pop music, too, is simply an added bonus. I look forward to seeing and listening to what comes next for Coldplay. Whatever it turns out to be, I am confident that it will make people smile.
The music video for the song, “Yellow” by Coldplay can be found here. ***The lyrics version can be found here.
If you wish to visit Coldplay’s website, you can do so here.
Thanks to the gang at KEXP for inspiring me to write this post and for their support of good music everywhere. The link to their website can be found here.
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Tom MacInnes, Writer 