James Blake slams "uncool" Coldplay bashing and praises "genius" Chris Martin
The musician adamantly defended the band from those declaring them "uncool".
James Blake has called out those who slam Coldplay and declared lead singer Chris Martin as a "melodic genius".
The Retrograde singer felt compelled to stand up for the band during an appearance on BBC Sounds’ Sidetracked podcast with Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac.
While talking to the radio DJs, the conversation turned to Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde, who at the beginning of March declared "nothing was cool anymore".
Giving his own thoughts on what is and isn’t cool, James stepped up to defend Coldplay from those who seemingly dislike them for no reason.
"Coldplay bashing has got to stop. It’s not cool anymore!" he told the pair. "It’s not cool anymore to just be like, 'Coldplay’s not cool.' Just f**k off.
"There are so many amazing Coldplay songs. And Chris Martin is clearly a melodic genius."
"You don’t like the sound of their last few records, OK…?" he continued. "When you go and see them at Glastonbury, did you like a lot of the songs? Probably.
"Maybe the band changed the way they dressed? Are we not allowed to change the way we dress? Are we not allowed to bloody write songs in a different genre?
"Like, who cares, man? I get really a bit irate about this."
During Chrissie’s long Instagram post, she explained that during a chat with Johnny Marr they reflected on nothing being "cool" anymore, with the title being dropped from common vernacular.
She went on to list a string of things she considered cool and, adversely, things she deemed uncool.
On her list included "quiet and reserved" being cool, but "loud and showy" being uncool. Similarly, "modest and mysterious" was cool, but not "boastful and oversharing".
She also shared her love of "sports cars from the '60s" but not "any SUV or car you might see parked outside London’s Dorchester Hotel".
Chrissie then encouraged others to do the same.
Meanwhile, it was announced on Wednesday that Coldplay are set to make history as they help create the first ever Halftime Show for the FIFA World Cup.
It's not been confirmed if they will be performing, but they will be part of the planning process and helping book other artists for the slot.
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Authors
Tilly Pearce is a freelance TV journalist whose coverage ranges from reality shows like Love Is Blind to sci-fi shows like Fallout. She is an NCTJ Gold Standard accredited journalist, who has previously worked as Deputy TV Editor (maternity cover) at Digital Spy, and Deputy TV & Showbiz Editor at Daily Express US.
