Coldplay Unveil Stop-Animation Video For "Strawberry Swing"

Coldplay unveiled their new video for their next Viva La Vida single "Strawberry Swing" via Babelgum this morning. You might be thinking, "Viva came out like a year ago, what took the video so long?" Take one look at the video and you'll understand why, as "Strawberry Swing" features both stop-motion animation and Chris Martin playing out a superhero fantasy. Stop-motion animation seems daunting enough to do on its own, add the fact that this was done entirely with chalk and it's a miracle that the video came out a year after the album instead of five years. It's one of those videos you watch at least five times just to marvel at how they made it at all, despite how many times you've listened to "Strawberry Swing" in the past year. The band previously utilized puppets for their "Life in Technicolor ii" video.

The video was directed by the art collective Shynola, who previously directed awe-inspiring clips like Radiohead's "Pyramid Song," Stephen Malkmus' "Jo Jo's Jacket" and Beck's "E-Pro," which is similar visually and stylistically to "Strawberry Swing." The video is also one of Shynola's first since the death of one of their four members, Gideon Baws, who passed away on October 11th after contracting a virus, the Shynola site writes.

Coldplay will release their "Strawberry Swing" single digitally on September 14th. Additionally, for those not satisfied by watching the video on YouTube, Odeon Cinemas in the U.K. will screen the video before showings of Bruno and The Proposal on July 22nd. Coldplay are currently in Texas for their U.S. tour, a jaunt that will feature a headlining appearance at this year's All Points West festival.

Related Stories:
• Coldplay Kick Off New "Viva la Vida" Tour With Grand Gestures
• Coldplay Reward Fans With Free Live LP "LeftRightLeftRightLeft"
• Coldplay Turn Into Puppets For New "Life In Technicolor ii" Video

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Oh Sherrie”

Steve Perry | 1984

Steve Perry's girlfriend Sherrie Swafford was actually in the studio when Perry began writing this song--his lone Top Ten hit as a solo act--with two co-writers. The trio began at midnight one night with just "Oh, Sherrie!" and "hold on, hold on." Three hours later, they had a complete song. Swafford, however, had to wait until the next day to hear it. "Sherrie actually got tired and went to bed," Perry said. She also appeared in the video, but their relationship did not hold on for long.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter