I’ve been a fan of Coldplay ever since I saw the Parachutes video on MTV. Perhaps before then, but I distinctly remember sitting in front of the TV, captivated as the light changed from dim to bright while Chris Martin trudged across the beach.

That captivation took root on a California road trip with my friend Cara. Somehow the two of us ended up driving from my dorm parking lot in Seattle to our friend Caryn’s driveway in the Bay Area.

On a long stretch of highway between the California-Oregon border and Eureka I listened to Parachutes while Cara slept in the passenger seat. All that was in front of me was the car’s headlights on gray concrete with black veins running through it where it had been patched and sealed.

Tomorrow, June 17th, Coldplay releases Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends to the eager fans in the U.S. like me. I pre-ordered the album on iTunes weeks ago. This morning I read an interesting review of the album on Pitchfork. Reading it was a much better experience for me than their review of X&Y.

Check it out and let me know what you think.