Coldplay Turn Into Puppets For New "Life In Technicolor ii" Video

Coldplay have unveiled their new video for the Prospekt's March EP track, "Life In Technicolor ii," the sequel to Viva La Vida's instrumental opener. The Dougal Wilson-directed clip begins with a Punch & Judy-esque show being performed for nursery schoolers, but soon a puppet version of Chris Martin and the rest of Coldplay take the stage. What follows is pyrotechnics, crowd-surfing and awesome stop-motion puppeteering. To complete the authenticity of what a Coldplay show would look like if the members were under a foot tall and made out of wood, there's even puppet roadies.

What's up with the sudden renaissance of puppetry in music videos lately? (Insert "artists are puppets of the industry" joke here.) First Kanye West explored this lost art with his "Champion" video and planned comedy sketch show. It's like the entire music industry sat down for a mandatory viewing of Being John Malkovich. Or Bride of Chucky. The "Life in Technicolor ii" single is out February 2nd and backed by the B-side "The Gold Rush."

You can catch the real life version of Coldplay when the band performs at this year's Grammy Awards. In the meantime, check out the video up top.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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