12 Great Coldplay Songs You Probably Don’t Know
Given their ubiquity on modern-rock radio and relentless stream of hits, it’s easy to forget that Coldplay make more than just arena-sized singles. Digging deeper into the dark corners of their discography reveals a different side to the band, showing off bizarre detours, tributes to their influences and glimpses of Coldplays that could have been. Listen along via Beats Music here.
“Such a Rush”
Found on: Safety EP / The Blue Room EP
In 1998, every band in the U.K. with more than one guitar was automatically entered into the “Next Radiohead” sweepstakes. Coldplay’s debut EP/glorified demo Safety put them solidly in the running: Instead of being “Fitter Happier” they were “Bigger Stronger,” a Bends-worthy slice of dissonant, modern-life-fearing rock. But final track “Such a Rush,” building from a stark acoustic and chiming electric piano to a fiery, crashing conclusion, hinted at the bigger things ahead.
“Easy to Please”
Found on: Brothers and Sisters EP
Before bringing Brian Eno onboard as their producer, Coldplay’s sonic experiments were few and far between: They were more focused on clean and pretty than on bizarre. “Easy to Please” is an early exception, a barely-strummed acoustic song awash in a sea of amorphous found sound.
“See You Soon”
Found on: The Blue Room EP / Live 2003
Considered by many hardcore fans to be one of the band’s best B-sides, both versions of the elegiac “See You Soon” are worth seeking out. What seems like a beautiful, stripped-down love song on the surface quickly grows sniper-rifle sinister: “In a bulletproof vest, with the windows all closed/I’ll be doing my best, and I’ll see you soon/In a telescope lens.” The Blue Room presents the song as a claustrophobic acoustic ballad, but it really shines on Live 2003, where a slower tempo and Jonny Buckland’s plaintive whale-song guitar make it truly haunting.
“I Bloom Blaum”
Found on: “In My Place” single
A Rush of Blood to the Head is where Coldplay’s mastery of U2-level bombast really began to take off. So it’s easy to see why “I Bloom Blaum” (Icelandic for “the blue people”) didn’t make the album; its delicate, finger-picked folk would be more at home on a John Martyn record than sitting alongside “Clocks.”
“One I Love”
Found on: “In My Place” single / Live 2003
They may be borrowing their title from R.E.M., but “One I Love” is a byproduct of Coldplay’s love affair with Echo & the Bunnymen. Coldplay made no secret of their admiration for the band, covering “Lips Like Sugar” regularly in 2002 and 2003. “One I Love” strips away the Bunnymen’s goth trappings, turns up the “soar” knob and recasts them as the arena-rock stars that Coldplay were fast becoming.
“1.36”
Found on: “The Scientist” single
“1.36” is an oddity in the Coldplay catalog. It’s one of their only songs that could truly be said to “rock,” sporting a filthy PJ Harvey groove… and appears on the single for one of their least rocking songs, “The Scientist.” Ash guitarist Tim Wheeler guests, as does friend/superfan and Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg, who was “roped in” to shout the “YEAHs” near the end, an accomplishment of which he is “inordinately proud.”
12 Great Coldplay Songs You Probably Don’t Know, Page 1 of 2