Coldplay B-side: Death Will Never Conquer

Coldplay has released a free b-side called “Death Will Never Conquer.” Sounds like an old spiritual, stripped down to Martin on a piano. Martin’s preoccupation with God, heaven, and salvation in Viva La Vida is striking. Look for some personal exegesis of the album in posts to come. Still compiling insight from interviews. In the meantime, here are some tidbits that will make you laugh and reflect:

What’s your least favorite U2 song?

That’s like saying, “Who’s my least favorite supermodel.”

There’s a hidden track on X&Y, “Til Kingdom Come.” That’s so biblical of you.

“A Message” and “Til Kingdom Come” both come from having quite a religious upbringing. “A Message” is taken from a hymn we used to sing called “My Song Is Love Unknown,” and we’d say “kingdom come” every week in the Lord’s Prayer. One of the great things about being forced to go to church services is that we’d sing all these big songs. That’s partly why I’m obsessed with getting everyone to sing along at our shows. It makes me feel like I’m a part of something.

Taken from “Q&A: Chris Martin,” Rollling Stone, June 16, 2005