joyboyo53

hahahaha, the smashing pumpkins are far from the most popular band in mainsteam music in the US. i would say they are one of the more popular alternative bands. indie and alternative no longer mean 'non mainstream' as they both have destinct sounds associated with them. are you gonna tell me that the shins arent indie just becasue they can actaully sell albums to the masses?

can someone PM me a link to Viva La Vida?

Minstrel

I didn't mean right now. They haven't existed as a band this decade. I meant when they were popular in the mid-90s.

"Alternative" as a "sound" is meaningless. It has been for over a decade. Just about everything gets lumped into "alternative." There's nothing about Coldplay's sound that is alternative from mainstream pop.

The Shins aren't played on mainstream radio. They aren't traditional "indie," since labels like Sub Pop have become quite big, but they're not music that is played on the Clear Channel type of stations. Casual music listeners aren't going to be particularly aware of the Shins, Flaming Lips, Decemberists, etc.

Coldplay is one of the biggest bands in the world, well-known by anyone who listens to mainstream radio and doesn't do anything with their sound that is experimental or different. I can't see any reason why they'd be labeled "alternative" anymore than the Strokes or White Stripes.

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"Blow your tuneless trumpet, the choice is yours / We don't want the glamour, the pomp and the drums / The Dublin messiah scattering crumbs"

sweet_nothing

**** yeh

Coldplay to release new EP this year | News | NME.COM

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rasta man

i like coldplay's first album, but they kinda got anoying after a while. But there still a good group.

Folkie

I find i like theres stuff now as apose to earlier in their career, i couldnt stand them but viva la vida really changed that for me

dac

i can't believe more hasn't been made about coldplay straight up stealing from joe satriani

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joyboyo53

where i come from the shins, the decemberist, and the flaming lips are all on mainstream stations. no they aren't on the same stations that play britney spears, but they are on the same that play COLDPLAY, nickelback, and smashing pumpkins... and all those other ALTERNATIVE bands.

Minstrel

Right. Alternative like Gin Blossoms and Green Day. In other words, standard mainstream pop since the early-90s.

Not that there's anything wrong with mainstream pop. There's just nothing different or alternative about the sound of any of those quoted bands that you named or I named. They're smack dab in the mainstream sound.

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"Blow your tuneless trumpet, the choice is yours / We don't want the glamour, the pomp and the drums / The Dublin messiah scattering crumbs"

sweet_nothing

Because no one really gives a **** even if they did actually steal from him.

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under

plus, if they can steal Sat's sound and music or whatever. if they sound good, i'll listen to it. Coldplay has good sound, Viva La Vida, amazing album. Videos for the songs, horrible.