Coldplay Review: A Rush of Blood to the Head
- Chris Livdahl
- Jun 1, 2004
- Series: Music
One of the albums I've enjoyed recently is "A Rush of Blood to the Head" by Coldplay. The album is awash with oozing melodies, heart-felt lyrics, and luscious textures. There is more Colplay on the way. The Coldplay Live DVD is out in stores and millions anticipate their next release; which I’m told is scheduled for late 2004. Several new tracks like ‘Gravity’, ‘Poor Me’, ‘Moses’ and ‘World Turns Upside Down’ have been played live or on the radio.
Coldplay has become hugely successful. God certainly put a smile on the face of these musicians. Many people love the melodies, the words and the sound. But the influence of the band is more than just the simple listening pleasure they create for their audience. It is important to see the influence a band has on the masses.
Art Communicates a Worldview
Like all forms of communication, we must see that a message is packaged and sent in music. The message sent is ultimately the band’s worldview. Two worldviews are possible: Christian or non-Christian.
Francis Schaeffer, in Eleven Different Perspectives on Art, asserts that both Christians and non-Christians are capable of creating material that reflects either a Christian or non-Christian worldview. The Christian artist may or may not understand certain aspects of faith and write in error. The non-Christian may likewise include religious content without understanding it (or without even intending to write something truthful). Truth can be found packaged inside of error. For example, say a songwriter sings the line “Jesus died on the cross,” but then in the next line says, “But Jesus couldn’t save me.” The writer has expressed truth with his first line, but has not with the second. The writer may not even personally believe that Jesus died on the cross, but that does not make the first line false.
Any writer, believing or non-believing, can parrot Christian concepts; any writer can include truths that are evident in nature. Any writer can be mistaken in their worldview as well.
Coldplay’s Worldview
With these things in mind, I found it interesting to look at the content of Coldplay’s lyrics. Here is a sample:
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Where do we go, nobody knows
Don't ever say you're on your way down when
God gave you style and gave you grace,
And put a smile upon your face oh yeah
And ah, when you work it out I'm worse than you
Yeah, when you work it out I want it to
And ah, when you work out where to draw the line
Your guess is as good as mine.
It's as good as mine, It's as good as mine
It's as good as mine
As good as mine, as good as mine,
As good as mine, as good as mine
Where do we go, nobody knows
Don't ever say you're on your way down when
God gave you style and gave you grace
And put a smile upon your face
It appears these lyrics are about salvation. I assume that Chris Martin (lead singer/piano) concocts the majority of their lyrics. Surprisingly, Chris seems to have somewhat of an accurate picture of Christian concepts with his lyrics. For example, he seems to be saying that he acknowledge sinfulness in his own life - “I’m worse than you.” And there is the notion that you’re not "on your way down" (i.e. going to hell) when God gives you saving grace. Chris writes, "Don't ever say you're on your way down when/God gave you style and gave you grace.” I agree with him if he means that we cannot be separated from God’s saving power and that it is by grace we are saved (Romans 8:33-39, Acts 15:11, Eph 2:8).
By looking at these lyrics, however, it does not appear that Chris is completely correct in his understanding of truth. If by saying that “when you work out where to draw the line/Your guess is as good as mine” he means that we don’t have a standard for knowing when someone exhibits sinful behavior or not, he is wrong. Is he saying the line between good and evil is fuzzy?
He may be mistaken on the issue of purity. He has bought into the postmodern lie that truth is what you personally feel is truthful. Scripture gives us an absolute platform of truth. Scripture delivers God’s standard for purity. The practical concepts for holy living are found in Scripture. Through God, by the working of the Holy Spirit, we may continue to be conformed to the standard. We are told to actively pursue holiness (Matthew 5:48, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Philippians 3:12, Colossians 1:28).
As Christians we needn't “guess” where the line between good and evil is. The Bible gives plenty of guidance concerning how one would prepare his heart to dwell with God eternally. The best example of completely pure living is Jesus. He lived without committing a sin. If we would live as he lived, then we would be blameless. Also, there is plenty of information in Scripture about those who will inherit the kingdom of heaven and those who will not. (Matthew 5 versus I Cor 6:9, for example.)
The worldview of Coldplay is not entirely clear. By just paging through the lyrics of “A Rush” it may be hard to see flaws in truth, especially since many of the lyrics are confusing to interpret. The writing of Coldplay has an esoteric element. (Contrast that with the writing of Justin Timberlake where the interpretation in most cases is obvious: “I want sex. Oh, and more sex.”)
I have heard through rumor that Chris Martin had a Christian upbringing. It seems like he may be familiar with some Christian concepts. However, we have shown in other articles that just because God is mentioned does not mean a band is Christian, nor reflecting a Christian viewpoint (see our review on the band“Live”).
Unfortunately, even if God is mentioned accurately in a small clip of music, there is a greater error being committed. If Chris or any members of Coldplay are Christians, it is their responsibility to share the gospel. They err by not clearly communicating the gospel message in their music, even in at least one song. This error is especially unfortunate considering the vast influence they have with their music. The Christian total worldview includes the importance of sharing the gospel and to live out the message, life, and commands of Christ. Christ told us to go out to the world and preach the gospel. This is a fundamental role for the Christian, to take the gospel news to others (see the sermon entitled “Vision and Mission”).
A Lesson for Christian Artists
It is obvious that Coldplay is not embracing the total Christian worldview. But Christian musicians can learn from a band like Coldplay how to create great music that reaches out to a huge audience. A Christian musician should not forsake the importance of sharing the gospel when given that kind of market reach. The Christian musician shouldn’t just be a light to the studio producer, or the guy that changes his guitar strings, he should be a light to the whole world, especially when it comes to creating art. It is the opinion of the author that a clear representation of the gospel can be included in some part of the music while still holding the secular audience captive. Switchfoot is a great example.
Poetic or esoteric lyrics are okay for many songs and can still be truth-filled. But somewhere in a Christian artist’s repertoire should be a clear gospel message. Art can either be created for God’s glory or for the glory of the artist. We must glorify God and not glorify self (cf. I Cor 10:31, Phil 1:3-4). God can be glorified in music that presents aspects of truth that don’t overtly speak of Christ or religious themes. But He is more glorified when people are called to repentance of sin and to put faith in Christ. Who wants to hide the light (Luke 8:16)?
Conclusion
Let us recognize the message being sent to us through art. Art is not ultimately responsible for the choices we make. But ideas do have power. We can let the worldview into our heads. If unchecked, the ideas can shape our thoughts, sometimes without us realizing.
When we are in sin, art can add fuel to our fallen position. I’ll use film as an example. Say we watch a romantic comedy. We could see the romance and use it to validate our jealously or bitterness by comparing it to our current position. We see the perfectly concocted romance and throw it in God’s face saying, “See! This is what you fail to do for me!” The contemporary standards for romance and attractiveness are expressed by films and are taken to heart by many people. We take what we see and let it be a proof for why our situations are less than ideal. Of course we should base our concept of truth from Scripture. The true standard for relationships is expressed in Scripture. For one thing, we are to be content with what we have (Phil 4:11-13).
As consumers of media we should not passively “take everything in.” The divergence between media and Scriptural truth is not merely to be acknowledged. It must be challenged and beaten. It is important to “take captive” and “demolish” these thoughts.
II Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
I would like to offer that one of the best ways of taking captive our thoughts is to recognize that our own hearts are often the biggest source of our troubles (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus said, “Nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean,’” but that, “What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean'” (Luke 6:43-45, Mark 7:18-23). Ultimately we are responsible for the evil in our own hearts.
I have come to realize that art, media and music are all parts of my intellectual, emotional and spiritual diet. I shouldn’t use art to help me wallow in my sin. I need to put to death the sinful nature (Romans 8:12-14). And if I am having difficulty putting to death my sin and some film or music is not helping, I should cut it out of my diet for a time or perhaps entirely (cf. Romans 14, Col 3:4-6, Matthew 5:27-30).
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Natalie C on Aug 26, 2007 10:44pm
Thank you for this article. It was very informative. It is hard to decipher Coldplay's lyrics. I keep telling my husband that "Coldplay are Christians, so I can listen to them all I want." I believe that to an extent. Yes, I like Coldplays music. But is it "completely praising and worshiping God?" is my husbands reply. I know that it is not completely gospel music by any means, but because it references God, I try to justify it as not being secular music. Anyway, I still don't know if God would want me listening to that or not. My husband says, "If it is not FOR God, it is against God." and that they are praising some "lady" in the songs. Or that they are love songs. Anyway, your article was helpful. Thank you! www.myspace.com/mortgagebarbie