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X&Y

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X&Y is the third album by English rock band Coldplay, first released in various countries in early June 2005 (see 2005 in music). The first single from the album, "Speed of Sound", was released on CD on May 23, 2005. The single first premiered on BBC Radio 1 with Steve Lamacq on the evening of April 18, 2005.[[Citing sources citation needed]] "Speed of Sound" was released on several online music stores the same day, and was released on the iTunes Music Store the following day.[[Citing sources citation needed]] The album debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, with 464,471 over-the-counter first week sales to place second all-time behind Oasis' Be Here Now, which moved 695,761 units in its 1997 release (see 1997 in music).[[Citing sources citation needed]] It also became the band's first US chart-topper, selling 737,000 units in its first week of release. X&Y was the best-selling album worldwide in 2005 according to the IFPI; it shifted 8.3 million units during the year.

Note: This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

Contents

Naming of the album

According to lead singer Chris Martin, the title X&Y is based on the ups and downs of his everyday life. Martin says "My whole day is a mixture of optimism and pessimism in its most extreme forms. And that’s what X&Y is to me. It’s two sides. I like the fact they’re very strong letters, very clear." http://nme.com/news/111874.htm

Prior to the release, Zero Theory was one of the many widely rumoured titles to the album. http://xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=67190

Influences

X&Y is influenced by European electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, as well as 1970s electronica from the likes of David Bowie and Brian Eno. Coldplay received permission from Kraftwerk to use the main riff from "Computer Love" for the track "Talk", while Eno played backing synthesizer on the track "Low". The album's hidden track, "'Til Kingdom Come", was originally written by the band for Johnny Cash, but Cash passed away before he could record the song.

Critical reaction

The album's reviews were fairly warm upon release, but certain critics, specifically from Rolling Stone, Mojo and Pitchfork Media, have pointed out that the album is generally considered to have not met the standards of A Rush Of Blood To The Head, X & Y's 2002 predecessor. Coldplay has also received a minor amount of criticism for the similarities between the lead single "Speed Of Sound" and the Grammy-winning "Clocks". Others have noted the striking U2 similarities heard throughout the album.

Cover art

The album's ambiguous cover art was designed by Tappin Gofton (aka Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton), who created the cover for The Chemical Brothers' latest release, Push the Button. The blocks are the Baudot code-encoding (ITA2, a 5-bit alphanumeric encoding used by telegraphs) of the title of the album, X&Y; the colours are just for aesthetics and have no specific meaning (though Chris Martin sometimes wears coloured tape on his hands while on stage, as a reference to the album). The CD booklet contains the ITA2-encoded alphabet, presented with the X&Y colour motif.http://insomniac.utvinternet.com/xy6.jpg The final page of the booklet contains the slogan "Make Trade Fair", using the same encoded alphabet.http://insomniac.utvinternet.com/xy8.jpg

Track listing

All songs written by Berryman/Buckland/Champion/Martin, except where noted.

  1. "Square One" – 4:47
  2. "What If" – 4:57
  3. "White Shadows" – 5:28
  4. "Fix You" – 4:55
  5. "Talk" (Berryman/Buckland/Champion/Martin/Hutter/Bartos/Schult) – 5:11
  6. "X&Y" – 4:34
  7. "Speed of Sound" – 4:48
  8. "A Message" – 4:45
  9. "Low" – 5:32
  10. "The Hardest Part" – 4:25
  11. "Swallowed in the Sea" – 3:59
  12. "Twisted Logic" – 5:01
  13. "'Til Kingdom Come" (hidden track) – 4:10

Bonus tracks

Release details

The album was released in various countries.
Country Date Label Format Catalog
Japan 1 June 2005 Toshiba-EMI CD TOCP 66370
Taiwan 3 June 2005 Toshiba-EMI CD 094631128028
United Kingdom 6 June 2005 Parlophone 2LP 4747861
CD 4747862
European Union 6 June 2005 Parlophone CD
Australia 6 June 2005 Capitol CD 3112802
United States 7 June 2005 Capitol CD CDP 7243 4 74786 2 8
Canada 7 June 2005 Parlophone CD 7243 4 74786 2 8
China 18 August 2005 CD
Japan 30 September 2005 Toshiba-EMI CD TOCP 66465
Netherlands 16 January 2006 Parlophone 2CD

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

Notes

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External links

Coldplay
Chris Martin | Jonny Buckland | Guy Berryman | Will Champion
Coldplay discography
Albums and extended plays: A Rush of Blood to the Head | Brothers & Sisters EP | Live 2003 | Parachutes | Safety EP | The Blue Room EP | Trouble Live EP | X&Y
Singles: "Ode to Deodorant" | "Brothers & Sisters" | "Shiver" | "Yellow" | "Trouble" | "Don't Panic" | "In My Place" | "The Scientist" | "Clocks" | "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" | "Speed of Sound" | "Fix You" | "Talk" | "The Hardest Part"
Tours
A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour | Twisted Logic Tour
Related articles
Britpop | Parlophone | Ken Nelson | Make Trade Fair

 

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