Coldplay Debut Hype Williams, Anton Corbijn "Viva La Vida" Videos

Always democratic, Coldplay revealed to their fans this weekend not one but two videos for the abridged title track of their new album, "Viva La Vida." In the Hype Williams-directed video above, Coldplay stick with the motif they showcased in that iTunes commercial you've no doubt saw a million times leading up to the album's release, with each member of the band performing in front of what looks like either computer screensavers, cloud formations or really muddy lava lamps. The "official alternative" video, directed by "Heart-Shaped Box" and Control visionary Anton Corbijn, casts Chris Martin as a king, walking around from landmark to picturesque landmark with a framed copy of Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People" (Viva La Vida's album cover) tucked under his arm. Shot in a film stock that echoes '70s porn, Martin searches for a place to hang his painting, ultimately finding solace with the rest of Coldplay on what could be the same beach where the band filmed their "Yellow" video. Check out Corbijn's version here:

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Too Close”

Next | 1998

Next was formed in Minneapolis when the uncle of Terry "T-Low" and Raphael "Tweety" Brown, who was a gospel choir director, introduced the brothers to Robert Lavelle "R.L." Huggar. Sounds of Blackness singer Ann Nesby groomed the R&B group before handing them over to Naughty by Nature's KayGee, who wrote and produced "Too Close." The idea for the song was sparked "from a conversation we had with several girls at a nightclub," explained T-Low. "It's talking about the club scene, with guys getting out of hand and the female telling him to back up, asking, 'What are you doing?'" 

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter