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Trouble (Coldplay song)

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"Trouble"
Song

"Trouble" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for Coldplay's debut album, Parachutes.

The song was released as the album's third single. It has reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's second Top 10 hit in the country. Although the single failed to chart on the main singles chart in the United States, the music press has deemed it almost successful with its predecessor, "Yellow".

Writing and recording

According to Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin, he wrote "Trouble" as a result of his own behavior. He recalls, "There were some bad things going in our band ... the song is about behaving badly towards somebody you really love and I was certainly doing that to some members of the band." He added that he supposed it was about time to act of a knobhead.[1] The four members of Coldplay co-wrote "Trouble".

"Trouble" was produced the band and British record producer Ken Nelson. The track was recorded four times before the band had settled on the take they wanted. The last take was recorded into Pro Tools with a shaker to provide the rhythm. However, the band opted to the first three versions. For the backing track, drummer Will Champion played the drums and Martin on the piano; after the bass, guitarist Jonny Buckland added the guitar section. In recording the piano section of the track, the band used two microphones—one was brighter-sounding and one with a fuller sound. Nelson, who wanted to keep it simple, chose the fuller sound microphone when they mixed "Trouble".[2]

"Trouble" was mixed in New York by American mix engineer Michael Brauer. The mixing, however, was redone because it was sent back that fell shortly of the desired quality. According to Nelson, "the vocal was overcompressed and the piano was too bright". Despite this, he did not blame Brauer because he was not present during the mixing since the recording of the album was underway.[2]

Music and lyrics

Like the song "Yellow", Martin wrote "Trouble" with a repetitive use of the word trouble. The song's lyrics are on "softer emotional themes": apologies, unrequited love, and longing.[1]

The song's musicscape was said to be minimalist. "Trouble" is built around a piano, with a snare drum background that was mixed very low. The snare drum section tends to be inaudible when the guitars come in.[1]

Release and reception

"Trouble" was released as the third single of Parachutes.[3] The band released a limited-edition CD of the song, which features a remix of the songs "Yellow", the US-lead single of the album, and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". It was pressed to 1,000 copies, and was issued only to fans and journalists.[4]

Like their others songs, Coldplay has refused several offers to use "Trouble" for promotional tools. In 2004, the band rejected a multi-million Euro offer from Diet Coke and Gap to use the song and "Don't Panic", the fourth single from the album. They asked Phil Harvey, their manager, to not refer them to such offers because "a discussion might lead to compromise". American actor Sylvester Stallone wanted to use the song for the soundtrack of his film, but the band declined.[5]

"Trouble" was a commercial success. The single reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's second Top 10 hit in the UK after "Yellow". Aside from the album's successful previous single releases, the performance of "Trouble" has been attributed to the "colossal home sales" of Parachutes in the United Kingdom.[6]

The positive reception of the single continued when the British outfit Lost Witness made a remixed version of the song, which was released and became "an unlikely dance floor anthem". With three singles successfully released, the band decided to abandon their initial plans of issuing "Don't Panic" as the fourth single of the album, deemed enough for a single album in the United Kingdom. "Don't Panic", however, was eventually released in some European regions.[6]

In the United States, the single had performed nearly as successful as "Yellow".[4] It has reached number 23 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 and 38 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.[7] Martin has claimed that the single had saved them from being a "one-hit wonder" band. The band thought it would not play well in the country, because they had deemed it not a "great" single.[4]

Music videos

The original European version of the music video for "Trouble" was directed by British director Sophie Muller. The video features Martin as a prisoner in a dark warehouse, tied with ropes to a chair, being circled by cars in the freezing cold. The other members of the band are seen on the upper floor in a slow motion sequence where Buckland and Champion struggle with bassist Guy Berryman, tying him to another chair and forcing him to look in front.

In October 2001, a US version of the music video was created. The video is directed by English film director Tim Pope and follows the motif of "Don't Panic" by showing the band as two-dimensional cut-outs. The band are aboard a horse carriage that cruises along a forest. On the top of a mountain, a woman waters plants inside a house. A little crow flies from the carriage up to the house, where it transforms into a more menacing bird. It flies over the house and turns into a black cloud, which pours rain onto the land. The rain burns little holes on the things it falls into, and crow feathers protrude from the holes. Finally a tornado grabs the house and lifts it from its foundations placing it along others in a more suburban setting. Its acclaimed visuals earned Tim Pope an MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction in 2002. It was also nominated for Breakthrough Video.[8]

Track listing

  1. "Trouble" – 4:30
  2. "Brothers and Sisters" (New Version) – 4:50
  3. "Shiver" (Jo Whiley's Lunchtime Social) – 4:23

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Roach, p. 49
  2. ^ a b Inglis, Sam (2000). "Recording Coldplay's Parachutes". SOS. Retrieved 2008-09-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Basham, David (2000-09-29). "Coldplay Opens Up "Parachutes" For U.S. Audiences". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  4. ^ a b c Moss, Corey (2001-12-18). "Coldplay Ready Second Album As 'Trouble' Heats Up". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  5. ^ "The State of Coldplay". Q (Internet Archive). 2002. Retrieved 2008-09-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b Roach, p. 54
  7. ^ "Coldplay: Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Macrovision Company. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  8. ^ "2002 VMA Winners". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-22.

References

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