Even other musos don’t like Coldplay any more it seems. Founder Geoff Barrow is getting set to head out on the road including making a much anticipated Australian tour playing at the Harvest Festival in Australia along with the likes of The National and The Flaming Lips, but he confesses, he doesn’t even like playing live!

He says “I used to dislike it quite vehemently, but I found a place with it doing the Third tour. It hasn’t got to be miserable. I’m a lot more interested in playing the Third songs than the oldest tracks. It translates pretty well live and, by the time we get to America, we should have sorted out the dodgy bits. But at the same time, it’s a necessary thing, and it connects well to an audience. That’s why they pay their money, to see us play our tunes. And some tracks from Third just don’t translate; so far, we haven’t played “Deep Water” because that’s kind of a weird tune. And we don’t play “Small” because if we played that and some of the other tracks from Third, I think people would go to sleep [laughs].”

He’s also not too fond of Splendour In The Grass headliners Coldplay, telling music website Pitchfork their thoughts on doing festivals with the band.  “Playing next to Coldplay, with their water cannons or fucking fireworks or whatever the fuck it is. Come on.” Barrow wasn’t shy on giving his thoughts on the pop landscape either, saying “ Fuck that. Or Bruno Mars, man. I’ve just been speaking to Mogwai about it. You just play with some fucking mental stuff. You just go, “How the fuck did we get on the same bill as him?”

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine