Free Music Friday: Coldplay - LeftRightLeftRightLeft

To commemorate the start of Coldplay’s first North American tour date last Friday in West Palm Beach, the British band released their new live album, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, on Coldplay.com as a free download. Think of it as a thank you to all of their fans for their many years of support. Click here to download your very own free copy of LeftRightLeftRightLeft from Coldplay.com.

Coldplay – LeftRightLeftRightLeft
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LeftRightLeftRightLeft will be available as a free download from now until the band plays its final show of 2009. As an added bonus, the band will be giving out official copies of the album on CD to every fan in attendance at one of Coldplay’s upcoming live shows through the end of 2009 (festival shows excluded).

Coldplay - LeftRightLeftRightLeft Track List
1. Glass of Water
2. 42
3. Clocks
4. Strawberry Swing
5. Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away
6. Viva La Vida
7. Death Will Never Conquer
8. Fix You
9. Death And All His Friends

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards' Music Makes Us Ad Campaign

Did you know the Grammy Awards were this Sunday? The Blot would bet any amount of money that most of you didn’t, and do you know why? Because no one cares! The days when families gathered around their television sets to see who won such and such award are dead and gone. When was the last time one of these awards shows even drew huge ratings? The truth is while I love the Emmys and the Oscars, the Grammys lost me a long, long time ago.


Part of the problem is I don’t understand the award categories. While the Emmys and Oscars have Best Actor/Actress and Best Supporting Actor/Actress, the Grammys have awards for Best Song, Best Album and Best Record. Aren’t those all the same thing? Plus, the past few years the Album of the Year award has gone to albums no one has even heard of and acts well past their prime.

So why am I even talking about the Grammys this year? Because its new advertising campaign entitled “Music Makes Us” is ridiculous awesome! While the Music Makes Us ad campaign has been running on television, in print, online and on the radio for weeks, it’s the print ads that really have The Blot excited (click here or here to find out more).


It features current and former nominees with their likenesses made up of lyrics from songs that influenced and inspired them as artists. While some collages reference little known artists, others like Lil Wayne and Rihanna’s “pays tribute to Jay-Z’s ‘Can’t Knock the Hustle’ and” Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” respectively. (link) As you can see from the photos in this post, the Grammys’ new ad campaign features some seriously heavy hitters from the music industry including Coldplay, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Lenny Kravitz, Kanye West and Stevie Wonder.


Evidently the Celebrate The Music Makes Us ad campaign was created in direct response to “the Grammys suffering their lowest ratings since 1992,” but for whatever the reason I think this is a bold move in the right direction for the world’s preeminent music awards show. (link) Just think, if the ad campaign is this revolutionary what might they have in store for the actual ceremony? It might just be just enough to get me to actually tune in this year.


The 51st Annual Grammy Awards air this Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 8/7c on CBS.

Coldplay Releases Viva La Vida North American Tour Dates

As we all know, when a new album’s on the horizon so too is a new tour. So with Coldplay’s upcoming release of Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends scheduled for June 17, 2008, the British band has now scheduled a follow-up North American tour to start a week later. The tour seems extremely expansive and will be hitting major cities all across the U.S. and Canada. The coolest part of the tour may be the fact that its opening night concert at Madison Square Garden will be completely free and tickets can be won directly from the band's website here.


I know Coldplay gets a bad rap from a lot of music fans but I’ve really come around to their unique sound. The Blot was definitely a hater for a while, but when I finally sat down and took a listen to their last album, X&Y, I realized the cd was actually pretty good. After that I went back and started listening to their older stuff, most of which I've also started to enjoy. Therefore, I’m actually looking forward to seeing what new direction the band has taken with their newest album Viva La Vida.


Coldplay
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
2008 North American Tour Dates
06/23/08: New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
All tickets being given away - win tickets
06/29/08: Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
On sale 05/16/08 - find tickets
07/02/08: Washington, DC - Verizon Center
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/03/08: Hartford, CT - XL Center
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/05/08: Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/06/08: Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/08/08: St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/09/08: Kansas City, MO - Spring Center
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/10/08: Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center
On sale 05/16/08 - find tickets
07/12/08: Phoenix, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/19/08: Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
On sale 05/17/08 - find tickets
07/21/08: Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
07/24/08: San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
07/27/08: Pemberton, BC - Pemberton Festival
On sale 04/01/08 - find tickets
07/29/08: Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
On sale 06/13/08 - find tickets
07/30/08: Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
08/01/08: Winnepeg, MB - MTS Centre
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
08/03/08: Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
08/04/08: Chicago, IL - United Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
10/20/08: Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
10/21/08: Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
10/26/08: East Rutherford, NJ - IZOD Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
10/29/08: Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
10/30/08: Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/03/08: Boston, MA - TD Banknorth Garden
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/07/08: Orlando, FL - Amway Arena
On sale TBA - find tickets
11/08/08: Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
On sale TBA - find tickets
11/11/08: Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/18/08: Houston, TX - Toyota Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/19/08: Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/21/08: Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets
11/22/08: Salt Lake City, UT - Energy Solutions Arena
On sale 06/14/08 - find tickets