coldplay's SPEED OF VICTORY: "The Speed of Sound" - X & Y and live versions calibrated, synthesized and made visible in tempo graphs

Speed of Sound is a song written by Chris Martin. According to Wikipedia®, the People's Free Encyclopedia™

"Background In an interview, Chris Martin revealed that the song was written in the summer of 2004 and was inspired by Kate Bush and Martin's daughter, Apple: "That's a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it, as Martin explained, I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles."The drumbeat of the song was inspired by Bush's song "Running Up That Hill". "Speed of Sound" is a piano rock song. Its built around a piano riff, which the song builds into a huge drum beat and a synthesizer-heavy chorus, which also includes an upbeat tempo. The lyrics in the song are cryptic; the ending lines of the third verse emphasize in belief and faith: "If you could see it then you’d understand/ah when you see it then you’ll understand," and "Some things you have to believe/others are puzzles puzzling me."The fourth verse in the second verse alludes to discovering your place in the world: "How long am I gonna stand/with my head stuck under the sand," and "If you never try then you’ll never know"."





The background as given explains the manner in which the song has come to be performed at the speed of victory. The last verses in the song prove the rule: to determine what the artist is trying to express, listen to the *melody* - then check out the lyrics. Ask any attorney: the truth is in the melody. Or, Shakespeare, lawyer-hater extraordinaire: ""False face doth hide what the false heart doth know." Macbeth's exit line in Act I, scene 7. " Or applied to contemporary music, "false lyrics doth hide what true tempo doth know," or ""False lyrics doth hide what the true [attitude in performance] doth know."



Meanspeed-Carlton Summary
song=Speed of Sound
composer=Chris Martin
performer=Coldplay
studio version='X & Y'
average beat length=0.487 seconds
mean speed/average standard tempo=123.1 beats per minute
mean-emotion according to meanspeed music theory=victory
live version=Austin City Limits
average beat length=0.480 seconds
mean speed/average standard tempo=125.1
mean-emotion according to meanspeed music theory=victory

Music video, courtesy of Wikipedia®, The People's Free Encyclopedia™ -

The music video has a two-story-high LED display in the background

The video promo for "Speed of Sound" was shot on a Los Angeles sound stage over 22–23 April 2005.^[32] Shooting took place on large sets backed by large LED displays developed by Element Labs.^[33] The performance-based video was directed by Mark Romanek.^[34][35] The video opens in pitch–black, followed by a light framing Martin as he reaches skyward out of the shadows. The scene then shifts to the band, as they play the song. As Martin spread his hands, the two-story-high LED lights erupt in a color of rainbow hues. The video ends with the band lined up and the LED background with a white light.

The video debuted on 23 May 2005 and proved successful on video-chart programs.^[36] It debuted on 11 June 2005 on Fuse's No. 1 Countdown Rock, at number six,^[37] and retired on 5 August at number seven of the countdown.^[37] It also reached number 16 in MuchMusic's Countdown a month after its debut.^[38]

At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for four nominations in the categories of Video of the Year, Best Special Effects, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.^[33][39] The video ranked number ten on VH1's Top 40 of 2005.^[40]

Ian Andrew Schneider
Meanspeed Music Research labs
September 4, 2008

BUSINESS WEEK: Meanspeed Music Company Analysis of Tom Brady's Psyche Music

Boston Herald Inside Track column: Coldplay rockers dedicated to Tom Brady [Boston Herald]

Boston Herald Inside Track column: Coldplay rockers dedicated to Tom Brady [Boston Herald]

Aug. 6--New England Patriots QB/QT Tom Brady took a pass on practice yesterday probably to rest up from the rockin' Coldplay show he took in with glamazon galpal Gisele Bundchen at the TD Banknorth Garden!

Tom, who is reportedly a HUGE fan of Chris Martin & Co., blew out of a late practice at Gillette Stadium Monday night to join Gi and her GFs at the Garden shortly after the British rockers took the stage at 10 p.m.

In fact, Martin dedicated the last song, "Death and All His Friends," a cut off the new CD, to Brady. Perhaps Chris' good buddy, Bono of U2, told him a shout-out to No. 12 always brings down the Boston house!

"I don't want to do this really because it's cheesy . . . but we're great fans of his and he's probably left the building anyway," said the Coldplay frontman. "We'd like to dedicate this to Tom Brady -- your quarterback. We're big fans of his and very honored he came to the show, and I hope to goodness it was worth it."

And then Martin flubbed the lyrics to the tune. But no biggie. Brady wasn't on the floor at the end of the show anyway!

According to a music blog called meanspeed.com, the Pats QB has an iTunes playlist that starts off with Coldplay's mega-hit "Speed of Sound," and he's been a "fan of the band for years now."

Brady told the meanspeed blogger that he can be caught "patiently waiting for every album. Each has been better than the last."

Also making the scene at Coldplay's Garden party were Mrs. Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, and her actress mom, Blythe Danner. They settled into seats in the third row of the Loge 13 with director Steven Spielberg and wife, Kate Capshaw; funnyman Jerry Seinfeld and wife, Jessica; and "21" star, Cohasset homegal Kate Bosworth, who played pingpong backstage before the show.

BTW, we don't have any snaps of the celebs since LiveNation forbade the photogs covering the concert from shooting the stars. Apparently, they aren't used to having cameras in their faces all the time.

Anyway, our spies in the primo seats said Gwynnie was "gazing lovingly at her hubby" and "singing along with him" while Gisele never stood up during the show. Ditto for Jerry.

"He didn't move all night," said Casey, a fan from Lynnfield who sat behind the comedian. "Might have been a statue, actually."

Perhaps Jer was peeved when Martin poked fun at the crowd, congratulating them for coming out on a Monday night when they could be home watching "Home Improvement" or "Seinfeld" re-runs!

Not that there's anything wrong with that . . .

Also mixing it up backstage was Toro chef/owner Ken Oringer and wife, Celine, who talked Spanish food with Gwyneth. No, she wasn't hungry for some of Kenny's authentic tapas. She and Chef talked about her soon-to-debut cooking road show with Mario Batali called "Spain . . .On the Road Again." It's supposed to debut this fall on PBS.

After the show, Coldplay was quickly escorted out of the arena, so there wasn't a mob scene. Chris and the boys open the Asian/European leg of their tour in Osaka on Saturday.

Viva La Vida en Boston!

To see more of the Boston Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bostonherald.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Boston Herald

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT:NYSE)
LAST $69.83 USD
CHANGE TODAY -1.98 -2.76%
VOLUME 9.4M
CAT On Other Exchanges
As of 4:00 PM 08/13/08 All times are local (Market data by Reuters is delayed by at least 15 minutes).
SnapshotNewsChartsFinancialsEarningsPeopleOwnershipTransactionsOptions
text size: T | T
Knight Ridder/Tribune 08/06/2008 2:02 AM ET

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Tom Brady's #1 iTunes Playlist Choice: Coldplay, "Speed Of Sound" - meanemotion=victory, meanspeed=123.1 beats per minute

Tom Brady's iTunes Playlist begins with song by Coldplay called "Speed Of Sound" about which Tom says: "I've been a fan of the band for years now, patiently waiting for every album. Each has been better than the last."

The complete speed summary -
song="Speed Of Sound"
performer=Coldplay
speed graphs=both the linear and radar charts types featued above above are synthesized in groups of contiguous 4 beat groups - one measure - averaged through 10 trials
meanspeed=123.1 beats per minute
meanemotion=Victory.
mean phase=2.05 cycles per second
average beat=487 milliseconds.
corresponding pitch=525.227 Hertz, 6 cents above C5=523.251 Hertz, 94 cents below C#4/Db5=554.365 Hertz.





Ian Schneider
Meanspeed Music
July 29, 2007