How do you know that I'm gay?

I love Coldplay. *

In the music snob community it is extremely un-cool to listen to and like Coldplay. Good thing I'm not a music snob. Sure, I have to draw the line somewhere, as there is some truly baaad stuff on the airwaves these days. But people who deny themselves the ability to appreciate Coldplay only because they're perceived as mainstream, mid-market, adult-contempo hacks are a sad bunch. It's one thing simply not to be that into their music (fair is fair) but there's a whole other sub-category of people who dismiss Chris Martin & Co. out of hand for no other reason than because they don't want to be viewed as "someone who listens to Coldplay".

Applying this to a specific band is only one anecdote of an attitude that can be applied to music on a much broader basis. I stayed away from country music for years, without ever really listening to it, because I didn't want to be "somebody who listens to country music". Poor, poor pitiful me. I missed out on so much of the good stuff for too long, all because of my preconceived notions of the bad. And the ugly. No longer do I care about seeming like a certain type of music-listener. I like what I like and there's little to no accounting for it.

So go ahead and judge me: I enjoy Coldplay and I have been giddy with anticipation for their new album, Viva la Vida (Can I go on record, however, as hating that album title?). Their last record, X&Y, is widely considered their weakest effort. Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head are irrefutably stronger, overall, but I have major soft-spot for X&Y. It came out during a very insular, peculiar time in my life, and it was my daily soundtrack driving around the Tennessee country-side during the summer of 2005. I can, and often do, still listen to "Swallowed in the Sea" or "Square One" on a continuous loop from time to time. X&Y was like a good friend to me, at a time in my life when friends were few and my heart was broken. Absolutely, some of the lyrics are a little rhyme-y, a few melodies tending towards trite. It's a splotchy album, and I affirmatively dislike a few of the songs, but its still one of my favorites, perhaps irrationally.

Last night I downloaded Viva la Vida and uploaded it to my iPod. I could hardly wait to leave for work today, so I could start listening to it on the T. So far? I'm really digging it. It sounds a little different than some of their older stuff. A little softer perhaps. If that's possible. Definitely more hopeful. Less angst and woe than in the past, which describes Coldplay lyrics as much as my own life. And now they, like me, seem to have moved on to a style tinged with more forward-looking self-assurance, without departing wholly from their trademark somber reflection. I've only made it through the album once and I tend to marinate in a record over and over, for days on repeat, before I can fully articulate how I feel about it. I'd heard a lot of negative buzz about the album in the month leading up to its release, but chalked that up to the myriad of too-cool haters and kept an open mind to decide for myself. So should you.

If you're into Coldplay or not afraid to admit that you might be, check it out. If not, I'm glad that you are so cool. I'm very happy for you.

*Quoting "40 Year Old Virgin", not meaning to use "gay" in any derogatory fashion. If liking Coldplay renders me gay, then consider me that happiest lesbian in all the land.