Mylo Xyloto Trivia Quiz

Answer: Viva la Vida (or Death and All His Friends)

Although the 2008 EP "Prospekt's March" and the 2009 live disc "LeftRightLeftRightLeft" were released in between, they both followed the full album release of "Viva la Vida (or Death and All His Friends)", a CD separating Coldplay from its earlier sounds, specifically their spacey, keyboard-driven brand of alt-rock. "Viva la Vida", which spawned the hit song of the same name as well as "Violet Hill", "Lovers in Japan", and "Lost!" as singles, was an important predecessor to "Mylo Xyloto" because the earthy acoustics of said album would mesh together with an urban, electronic style to form "Mylo Xyloto". Likewise, "Viva la Vida" was the band's first concept album, an introduction (one might say) to what "Mylo Xyloto" would inevitably offer.

In both albums, lead singer Chris Martin also scales back his falsetto voice, creating a new overall sound for the vocal arrangements.

Answer: A waterfall

Released as a single in June 2011, "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" set the tone for "Mylo Xyloto" quite quickly. Charting at number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100, showing at higher spots on three of five other Billboard listings, and peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart, the song is an upbeat song about rising to a revolution.

Although "Every tear a waterfall" is mentioned in passing in a previous song, the track itself appears around the midway point of the album, shortly after the instrumental piece "M.M.I.X.".

The single was released with "Moving to Mars" as a B-side and it was played at the memorial of Apple founder Steve Jobs, whose affiliation with Coldplay dates back to the mid-2000s.

Answer: Major Minus

"Major Minus" appears directly after "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" on both the "Mylo Xyloto" album and as a b-side on the "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" EP released in June 2011. Despite not being released as an official single at that time, the song climbed to number ninety-two on the Billboard Hot 100 due to exceptional online sales. Likewise, the b-side "Moving to Mars" reached number ninety on the same chart even though it was a much more scaled-back number.

"Don't believe a word.
It's just us against the world
And we just gotta turn up to be heard."

Answer: Brian Eno

Brian Eno started composing music with Roxy Music in the 1970s and progressed through a career of solo releases until collaborating and working on albums made by the Talking Heads, David Bowie, and U2. After working with Coldplay on "Viva la Vida (or Death and All His Friends)", Eno was brought back to 'enoxify' "Mylo Xyloto", contributing lyrics and arrangements to the concept album. According to Will Champion, the band's drummer (in an article with "Q Magazine"), Eno's influence is spread over the entire album despite his only being directly involved in the early stages. Brian Eno's "Panic of Looking" EP was released less than a month after Coldplay's "Mylo Xyloto", proving that some musicians well into their sixties need not slow down.

Answer: Old-school graffiti

Although early interviews with the band indicated that their fifth album would be influenced by old-school American graffiti, little was known about how the group would integrate such a visually dependent form of artistic expression into their music. The end result is their album cover, a spray-painted wall with the words 'Mylo Xyloto' stenciled on top.

The style persists in the single releases for each radio release beginning with "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall". Likewise, the video for said song (filmed in stop-motion, much like their video for "Strawberry Swing" from the "Viva la Vida" album) contains an urban setting in ruins and a colourful smattering of graffiti introduced and elaborated on throughout. According to interviews, the album is also heavily influenced by the White Rose Resistance of World War II and the American television show "The Wire", known for its investigation of corrupt urban settings.

Answer: Elephant

"Paradise" was selected as the second single from the disc and released in September 2011. Appearing on five Billboard charts (and topping the Billboard Triple A chart), the song featured simple, catchy lyrics and the repeated refrain of "This could be Para-para-paradise"-- certainly a concert crowd-pleaser.
The music video for this single, directed by "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", "Lovers in Japan" and "Lost!" video director Mat Whitecross, featured a man in an elephant suit (Chris Martin) escaping a zoo, flying to South Africa, buying a unicycle, and meeting up with the rest of the band in the savannah.

"When she was just a girl
She expected the world,
But it flew away from her reach
So she ran away in her sleep."

Answer: Hurts Like Heaven

"Hurts like Heaven" is the second song on the album followed by the title song, an instrumental track which leads directly into Chris Martin's vocals asking:

"Written in graffiti on a bridge in a park,
'Do you ever get the feeling that you're missing the mark?'"

"Hurts Like Heaven" is an upbeat song which actually acted as the first number performed in their concerts shortly before and following the release of "Mylo Xyloto". If there's any song on the disc feeling the full effect and influence of old-school graffiti, this is it; the track contains lyrics such as:

"On every street, every car, every surface are names
Tonight the streets are ours and we're writing the same"

and

"So on concrete canvas under cover of dark
C'mon, concrete canvas; I'll go making my mark
Armed with a spray can soul
I'll be armed with a spray can soul"

Answer: Rihanna

"Princess of China" is a song driven by electronic sounds, Asian influence, and the feel of a cityscape. Chris Martin begins the lyrics of the song and is followed in the second verse by Rihanna before the two of them share the song. The lyrics suggest a tense relationship.

"Once upon a time, we were burning bright,
Now we all ever seem to do is fight,
On and on, and on and on and on."

Kylie Minogue did, however, record a track with Coldplay back in 2008 called "Lhuna" which did not appear on "Prospekt's March" as anticipated. Much like "Christmas Lights" in 2010, it remained standalone. "Princess of China" marked the first time a duet with a famous artist appeared on a full-length Coldplay album.

Answer: The Lost Boys

Appearing in more than one track of the album is references to J.M. Barrie's children's tale, "Peter Pan", a story about childhood innocence and freedom. In the dystopian cityscape of "Mylo Xyloto", 'The Lost Boys' refer to a gang. The song "Charlie Brown" mentions:

"I stole a key
Took a car downtown where the Lost Boys meet
Took a car downtown and took what they offered me"

Likewise, "those crocodiles, ticking 'round the world" in the song "Major Minus" refer to the temporally-themed crocodile chasing the evil Captain Hook in the same story. According to the band, "Charlie Brown" was originally supposed to be the start of a second album produced and released around the same time; it was integrated into "Mylo Xyloto" when these plans fell through.

Answer: Don't Let It Break Your Heart

"Don't Let It Break Your Heart" is one of the later songs on "Mylo Xyloto". After the slower "Up in Flames" and the instrumental "A Hopeful Transmission", the album moves into this hard-hitting number containing crashing drums and expressive vocals.

"When you're tired of racing
And you find you never left the start,
Come on baby
Don't let it break your heart."

"Shiver", one of the band's earliest singles, appears on Coldplay's 2000 album, "Parachutes". It reached number thirty-five on the UK Singles Chart and did not show on the charts in the U.S. "What If" was a single released in France and Belgium from the "X&Y" album while "Glass of Water" was on the "Prospekt's March" EP released in 2008.