Viva La Vida

Coldplay release their fourth album "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" on Parlophone. The album comprises 10 brand new tracks, recorded in London, Barcelona and New York with producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs. "Viva La Vida" follows the hugely successful album "X&Y", which has sold 10 million copies since its release in 2005.
Customer Review: Why did they paint on the Delacroix?
As with most all uber-hyped pop albums, this one doesn't go deep and raw enough to be fantastic (if it did, it would make too many enemies). However as chart toppers go, this one is straight from the heart, and will remain on my playlist for a long time. Chris Martin singing 'you didn't get to heaven, but you made it close/you didn't get to heaven, but you aaa.... (almost?)' is hard to forget. all songs have a crunchy revolutionary anthem feel that fits Martin like an old leather coat. One that i'll be wearing for a while.
Customer Review: If it wasn't so overhyped, I might be less critical...
Coldplay is good. They're better than most. Most rap, most country, most rock and DEFINITELY most pop. But Viva la Vida is extremely overexposed, and Coldplay have long been riding a tidal wave of mediocrity over the heads of the consumers. Regarding their most recent release, the lyrics are interesting, the melodies pretty, the songs epic in scope, but rather pedestrian when all the synthesizers are stripped away. Chris Martin has a nice voice, but not an inspiring one. But, then again, the same might be said about U2, and look what they've accomplished. At least Coldplay aren't a ripoff (well, yes, they do bear more than a passing nod to U2, but I mean ripoff in the "you've been robbed" kind of way)...at worst you might feel like you spent too much on the CD - you won't be wondering why you bought it in the first place. I probably wouldn't be so critical had I not been expecting considerably more from their new CD. The song "Viva la Vida" was stuck in my head by about the fifth time I saw the stupid iTunes commercial. It's arranged in a way to make it a depaparture from typical pop/rock drivel, and I like its bass pulse: solid without being bombastic. Nice layering of sounds, but it sounds canned overall. There are a couple of tunes that sound like they borrowed a page from Sgt. Pepper (but who HASN'T borrowed a page from Sgt. Pepper?), and a few that suggest to me a hasty trip from concept to final mix. HOWEVER, if you think I'm being overly critical, you should hear my rants about 99.9999999% of the rest of the music that I have been subjected to and tortured with over the years. Overall, I'm pleased by Coldplay's latest. I give it 7 points for every single track being worthy of repeated listens, 1 point for the single "Viva la Vida" having the incredible capacity to get stuck in your head, minus 2 points for the CD as a whole not living up to the hype, but I'm giving those 2 points back as extra credit for still being better than most of what else the recording industry attempts to shove down our throats. 80%. That's a solid B. Good effort.

The city of Paris has so much to offer travelers it's difficult to know where to begin. Although the wide variety of youth hostels in Paris mean that it is possible to experience each section of Paris on its merits and, even if only for a fleeting few days, as a resident.

River Seine

With a supremely efficient and metro service that's cheap, regular and comfortable there's little point in walking. However, to see Paris in this way would be to miss out on its unique atmosphere and attention-grabbing sights and for this reason, a walk along the River Seine is the perfect place to start.

Although it's advisable to take a map anyway, many of the city's most renowned landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral jut out of the city around them with an unmissable and indescribably grand distinction.

Latin Quarter

The Latin Quarter is not only home to many of the best youth hostels in Paris, but also offers some of the best and most finance-friendly nightlife on offer in the city. Originally so-called because of its predominance of Latin-speaking students, it has fast become the social and shopping hub of Parisian students and budget travelers.

The street market along the Rue Mouffetard is one such location, which by day offers food and drink stuffs as well the occasional souvenir. By night however, the restaurants and cafes clamor for custom by offering cheap deals on already superbly priced and generally high-quality food that is an attraction of Paris all of its own.

Nightlife

Clubs and bars in Paris are rife with activity in the evenings, with the Latin Quarter and the famed Moulin Rouge offering a wide range of themes to appeal to a variety of tastes.

The nightlife proper tends to take off quite late in the evening, generally to accommodate the late dinner that characterizes Parisian habit. However, be warned that the Metro only runs until 1:30 AM.

Although cabs are readily available, for the budget traveler keen on sampling the nightlife on a regular basis, it is often more advisable to select youth hostels in Paris located close to the clubs and bars.

Before settling down and becoming a copywriter for HostelBookers, Ben Cooper stayed in some youth hostels in Paris

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