Campaign Songs from Coldplay Posted by Shadi Hamid

I was driving home last night, and my IPod was mercifully set on shuffle, making my life even more unpredictable than it already is. And then Coldplay's "Everything's Not Lost" came on. I sat back, relaxed my grip on the steering wheel, reclined my seat (don't worry, just a little bit), and listened. It's a beautiful, moving song, providing yet more evidence that Coldplay was better circa-Parachutes, before the bloated mess that was X&Y, one of the more dissapointing albums in recent memory.

Anyway, as I was listening, the song made me think about hope and the need for hope in the face the Bush administration's heedless assault on our reputation, our crediblity, and, more importantly, our constitution. It made me think about 2008. And how this is both a depressing time for America, but also one full of promise. After all, everything's not lost, and when one of our three great front-runners (sorry Richardson) becomes president, we will begin the work of rebuilding, and starting anew. The Bush administration has set the bar so low, that even a moderately satisfactory performance from a Democratic president will seem like a godsend. Even better, if the next president is actually good, he or she will have the opportunity to change course in dramatic fashion, and redefine America's role in the world, and our role in America. So, no, everything's not lost.

Oh, and by the way, you remember the first time you heard "Yellow"? Yea, that was when Clinton was still president.

Comments

[Matt Eckel]

While I'm not quite as harsh as you on X&Y (yes, it was overproduced and a bit played out, but I was only marginally dissappointed), I like your overall point. I was listening to On Point on NPR a little while ago and someone - Phillip Hamburger perhaps? - who had been following politics since the days of FDR provided the audience with a refreshing reminder that this is not the first time we have endured setbacks, dealt with feckless politicians bereft of vision, or faced very real and frightening dangers over which there was no guarantee we would triumph. Let hope spring eternal, difficult though it may be to call upon at times.

[Ildikó Kun]

Szia coldplay