10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 20, 2005

Coldplay
sticks to
pleasant
routine
By Abby Frackman
Daily Arts Writer
For those who would think fatherhood has
warped Chris Martin's sweet-as-young-love
arrangements or dutiful
lyrics, fear not. Noth-
ing has changed - not Coldplay
even a little bit. In fact, X&Y
Coldplay's newest album, capitol
X&Y is proof that the
quartetcan still pound out
beautiful songs no matter the mood. Martin's
judgment as to what makes a quality song is as
about as good as his child-naming abilities are
questionable.
For those of you just joining us from Siberia,
2002 was a lucrative year for Coldplay. Still rid-
ing the wave of success from their 2000 debut
Parachutes, the boys released A Rush of Blood
to the Head. Fans were thrilled, the band was
pleased, millions were sold, proms had their
closing song and everything was gravy. Now,
three years later, Coldplay seems like they really
want to do it again. Stuck in between the Cocte-
au Twins-aping emotional downpour of A Rush
of Blood to The Head and the confession-booth
personal Parachutes, X&Y doesn't touch any
emotional peaks but skirts along everywhere in

"Must name child after produce item ... must ignore all other advice."

between pleasantly.
X&Y opens strongly with "Square One,"
which boasts a driving backbeat and Martin's
signature vocals punctuating the song in a mess
of quiet glory. "White Shadows" begins with a
ghostly, almost haunting sound. The energetic
drum work and unique rhythm make it one of
the most attractive songs on the album.
But the real gem on X&Y is "Fix You." The
lyrics ("When you lose something you can't
replace / When you love someone but it goes to
waste!/ Could it be worse / Lights will guide you
home ... and I will try to fix you") might seem
corny, and they kind of are, but it's the kind of
corn Martin feasts on.
Here, Martin is at his most sincere and vulner-
able. Most of Coldplay's new fans will be able to
relate to these lyrics, especially maudlin teens
who think of the band as three random dudes
and that guy who married Gwyneth Paltrow.
The strongest songs on X&Y are those

with a sparse guitar or piano behind Martin's
vocals. "A Message" is an excellent example;
the minimal instrumentation creates a tight-
er, more lyrical focus. "What If" also fits the
mold and tacks on an exciting buildup that
drives the song to a close.
While the album is mostly made up of the
kind of Coldplay songs we have grown to love,
X&Y is not without its faults. The electronic
"Talk" misses with a bland, wank-ish guitar and
becomes obnoxious after a few listens.
The lead single "Speed of Sound" is also not
one of Coldplay's finest efforts. Cut from the
"Clocks" cloth, the dreamy keyboard ballad
isn't really notable for any reason other than the
stunning, inexplicable fact that Coldplay tapped
it for the first single.
Obviously the die-hard Coldplay fans will
eat this up, but for a genuine hype-behemoth
like this, shouldn't there be more answers
ta -11 "

Chicago fosters
young artists
By Colleen Cox
For the Daily
When it comes to art, words can only go so far - anc
when it comes to art scenes, they rarely come close. But
if one had to sum up Chicago's art scene in one word, it
would be "young." There's a fresh, developmental feel tc
works created in Chi-town, a sort of singular energy sur-
rounding them. But unlike art stalwarts like New York and
California, Chicago's scene isn't completely stable - it con-
tinues to evolve with the slew of new artists who are enter-
ing the city. This artistic flux creates a unique atmospheri
that fosters a younger art scene but still maintains richnes!
in resources and tradition.
"Chicago is a vibrant city that can still provide that outlet
artists need," Connection Arts director and University grad-
uate Melissa Molitor said. "You can literally do something
different every day involving the arts here."
Molitor's program, which aims to lure multicultural chil-
dren into the arts, was created to fill the gap left in publi1
schools after government budget cuts made art curriculums
drastically inadequate.
Molitor's program contributes to an important factor in
building an art scene: education. With schools like the Uni-
versity of Chicago, University of Illinois in Chicago and the
Art Institute of Chicago, Molitor's Connection Arts students
and other budding artists have ample opportunities to form a
bond with the Chicago art world.
In fact, it's often the schools themselves that generate art scenes.
"Sometimes, there's enough critical mass of graduating stu-
dents to create a scene, enough people around to, as a commu-
nity, create opportunities for itself," explained Hamza Walker
director of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chi-
cago. One of the offspring of Chicago's recent student burst
is the apartment gallery scene, where artists transform their
own living spaces into venues. Rob Bain, Deborah Bain, Melia
Donovan and David Corbett created The Guest Room Project,
an apartment gallery space that functions both as a gallery and
as a guest room in their shared house. Some apartment galler-
ies actually go on to become commercial galleries, although
that is not the aim of the Project.
"We're much more interested in using our space to form
connections and to provide a place for artists to showcase
their work," Donovan said.
Scott Speh was also part of the apartment gallery scene
before creating his commercial gallery, Western Exhibi-
tions. A former artist, Speh is empathetic to those on his
roster and hopes that, by showing in his gallery, they wil4
progress in their careers.
"I still operate it as an artist, without a commercial gal-
lerist aspect," Speh said.
Other groups, such as Post-Chicago headed by Lisa Wil-
liamson and Keri Butler, use the city itself as an exhibition
space. A street-art movement, the group aims to decorate
the city, not deface it as certain groups assume. "It's art
that's there for everyone," he said.
"It's a statement that anyone can side-step an institution
... and create art. We're hoping that people (take) down
these posters and (keep) them for themselves."


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