Gordon in the morning: Coldplay under the influence

Coldplay held a press conference yesterday to launch their new album Fido Dido, and Gordon went along. That it was in Madrid might have added to the allure.

One of the big surprises was that Brian Eno tried hypnotising the band during the recording sessions:

Bass player Guy Berryman admitted yesterday that the band have reached a stage where they are open to outrageous ideas from the talented team around them to tap into new writing veins.

I'd have thought that was an admission they've more or less run out of steam, isn't it? "What can we do? How about if we dress up in wetsuits and stare at photos of kittens to see if that creates an idea?"

"Brian suggested we try playing together when we were hypnotised. One of his friends came down and we tried it out. Nothing came of it but at least we tried it."

I'm suprised none of the hypnosis tracks are on the record, because when I listen to it, I do find I feel sleepy, sleepy, very sleepy.

Meanwhile, Chris Martin was fuming at the idea that people think Coldplay little more than a reworking of other people's ideas:

He also hammered any suggestion that the band would ever copy other people's music.

He said: "It's fine not to like our band, but making up shit about us is not on. There's a difference between criticism and accusation. People who accuse us of stuff like that are *****, quite frankly."

I'm guessing that's going to be "cunts" - partly because it's clearly such a shocking word Gordon couldn't bring himself to even print the first letter, and partly because having been lazily homophobic and misusing disability language over the last couple of days, he's probably going for the clumsy sexist insult to get the treble.

Still, it's interesting that Chris gets so angry about people who accuse them of copying other bands. So much as to call them *****.

One of the biggest *****s would be, erm, Chris Martin who told Rolling Stone in 2005:

"We’re definitely good, but I don’t think you can say we’re that original,” he notes. “I regard us as being incredibly good plagiarists.”

He might also want to have a word with his bandmate Jonny Buckland, who admitted ripping off Kraftwerk:

"We've never so directly stolen off anyone before. We've never paid for our plagiarism."

What a *****.

Mind you, at the same time, Martin also chimed in with this:

"Fix You came directly from Elbow's Grace Under Pressure."

Hold up there, Chris: don't you know that there's a difference between admiration and plagiarism?

Twittergem: EmSquared

Perfect ragout from Natalie Imbruglia's BBC interview from @emalyse:

"Brian Eno is someone that you don't want to sound stupid in front of, & everything he said, I was just like, 'Wow'. "

Bono & boys bounce beared bloke's bits back

The vague prospect that there might be something interesting on U2's new album - the collaboration between the band and Rick Rubin - has come to nothing:

Guitarist The Edge said the Irish four-piece scrapped early sessions with the renowned knob-twiddler because it did not suit the band's style of recording.

"We actually laid all that stuff to one side. Really out of deference to Rick and that set of songs we just said, OK, that’s that, and we drew a line," explained the guitarist. "So none of the Rick material went into this project. Everything has been written subsequently."

Instead, then, it's more Eno-Lanois stuff as per usual, which is easier to churn out and seems to get lapped up, so why try any harder, huh?

Bono returns to one of his many dayjobs

Good news for the Dutch exchequer: U2 are back in a recording studio shaping some noises into a new album.

Yes, it's hardly good news for anyone else. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are there:

"We're going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece," Lanois tells Billboard.com. "The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all charged up with a lyrical angle."

Breaking new sonic ground? Presumably with some sort of guitarry-steam-hammer? No, apparently with a springboard:

"We've had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions," he continues. "Now we will pick our favorite beginnings and say, 'OK, that's a lovely springboard. Now what are we trying to say?' The springboards are sometimes melodic, sometimes riff-based, but I can assure you they are exciting."

Aha. Can you also assure us that it's not a load of pomp-besplattered stadium rock that's just in need of a black and white video to finish? Mr. Lanois? Hello?

Nope, the line seems to have gone dead.