15

Coloratura
Coldplay
2021

We had multiple folks guess (correctly) that there would be a Coldplay song in the Top 20. All of those folks guessed (incorrectly) that it would be Fix You, The Scientist, or Clocks. All great songs. All would’ve been wrong even if Coldplay hadn’t released this song in 2021, because the correct pick would’ve been Viva La Vida. 

This song, which I am assuming most of you have never heard, is a soaring, absolutely gorgeous and musically complex masterpiece. And I mean that in every sense of the word — this is a true music masterpiece. Do yourself a favor, put on a pair of headphones, turn this on, and just let this 10-minute song wash over you. 

But that’s only part of what motivates my love for this song. In October 2017, I took Tyler to a Coldplay concert at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. I had been a Coldplay fan when they first came out with Yellow back in 2000, but I had fallen out of favor with them. But Tyler was a fan and I think this might’ve been his first concert. And I was blown away. Of all the concerts I had been to, I had never before seen the combination in energy and positivity that I saw and heard that night. And I told myself, the next time Coldplay came to town, I would take the whole family and we would get floor tickets (which we did when Coldplay returned to Levi’s in May 2022). The vibe that I got that night was best summed up in my favorite lyric from this song right here:  “In the end, it's all about / The love you're sending out.”

Ok, but here’s the kicker to this story. October 2021. We had just dropped our firstborn off at college (again, that’s Tyler for those not as familiar) two months prior. That was hard. That was *really* hard.   And then Coldplay released “Music of the Spheres” that October, and it instantly became this album that helped me cope with his absence and the fact that we no longer had all six of us under the same roof. And Ty and I bonded over those songs, and especially over the last song on the album, Coloratura. We both loved it, and we were so disappointed when the band decided to shelve it from the setlist during that 2022 tour, just before he left for Mexico, because of the song’s length.  My Friday ritual became to listen to that album front to back, followed by talking to Ty as he returned back from class that day. 

And so, as we eagerly await the day that he returns from his two-year journey and we can be reunited as a family, this one holds a special place in my heart.  Just 194 days to go, buddy.  ❤️

Other Songs Considered:
Viva La Vida, Fix You, Up&Up, Adventure of a Lifetime, Yellow, The Scientist, Kingdom Come, Swallowed in the Sea, Everything’s Not Lost