Coldplay: Live 2003

Riding high on the phenomenal success of A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay is in peak form on Coldplay Live 2003. This CD/DVD two-pack was filmed (on Super-16mm film) and recorded in Sydney's Horden Pavilion on July 21 and 22, 2003, during an exhaustive year-long world tour, and the medium-sized arena provides a fitting stage for the London-based rock quartet, not so grand as to overwhelm the music, but large enough to indicate their large and loyal following, which includes enthusiastic fans of either gender. Especially when played in DTS 5.1 surround, this 90-minute concert is richer, thicker, and (of course) louder than Coldplay's studio recordings, lending a wall-of-sound expansiveness to the band's signature sound, which draws from such diverse influences as Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Verve, U2, and their own unique sonic landscape. "Politik" gets the gig off to a rousing start, and other impressive highlights include "Daylight," "Yellow," the as-yet-unreleased new song "Moses," and the popular hits "In My Place," "Clocks," and "The Scientist." And while the concert visuals are slick and professional (perhaps placing a bit too much emphasis on singer/frontman Chris Martin), this DVD and CD--the latter containing a truncated 70-minute version of the same performance--are best appreciated for their pristine audio quality. Culled from 400 hours of home video, the 40-minute "concert diary" represents a wasted opportunity, enjoyable for hardcore fans but offering no insight into the band or its individual members. Much better, then, to play the concert at healthy high volume, and appreciate Coldplay in the prime of their young career. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Review: The best concert I never went to!!
I got the Coldplay 2003 DVD as a birthday present in '04. Coldplay's my favorite band, so you can imagine my excitement. Back in the days, I never thought I could ever be in a real concert of the band, I lived too far away from any place they toured. Almost four years later, I still think the DVD was the best concert in my life. That is, taking into consideration that I went to see them, against all odds, in NYC in 2006. It's not that the concert was bad, it was one of the best days in my life. It's that to me, the DVD is so good that I can't get enough of it. The band plays perfectly, the connection with the crowd is real, the choice of songs is fantastic, the sound is epic, the transitions that go along with songs, including colors, angles and views of the crowd and the band are nothing but exciting and bright. If there's any DVD I would ever recommend, it's this one. It's the closest you'll come to live the Coldplay experience if you haven't got the chance to live it already.
Customer Review: Wow. That's all I have to say.
Not only is the music CD great, but the DVD packs quite the punch. The only tiny thing that bugged me was how the CD didn't have every song off of the DVD, but I guess that's what makes the DVD that much better. If you like Coldplay, but this DVD, you will not regret it. Best $20 musical purchase I've made in a long time.

The other day at a staff meeting, one of my co-workers was talking about a project that had gone badly off the rails. "Per angusta ad augusta," I said as he concluded his tale of woe. Everyone looked at me uncomprehendingly, of course. "You know through difficulties to honors," I said.

Now, I am definitely no Latin scholar, but I do arrive at staff meetings armed with several memorized phrases from the ancient tongue, ready to whip them out whenever the occasion permits. My source? Its a breezy little tome titled, Amo, Amas, Amat and More; How to Use Latin to Your Own Advantage and to the Astonishment of Others. Its author is Eugene Ehrlich, a renowned dictionary editor and contributor to other books about words.

The book is straightforwardly presented, with the Latin phrases given in alphabetical order. Each entry consists of the phrase followed by a phonetic rendering to assist in pronunciation, then its English translation and finally, in most instances, an explanatory paragraph to help elucidate the more mysterious of the offerings.

One aspect of Amo, Amas, Amat that is particularly helpful is that the author will occasionally translate a phrase using an equivalent English expression that might not be a word-for-word rendering (although he does provide the exact translation in the follow-up paragraph).

An example: "Aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus" is translated as "You cant win 'em all," but a more precise rendering would be, "Sometimes even good Homer dozes." Ehrlich offers the history behind this phrase, which helps us to understand why our common expression about not being able to "win 'em all" is indeed a good way to translate the Latin in this case.

Amo, Amas, Amat includes an introduction by William F. Buckley, Jr., as well as an index to the English translations, which makes for a nice cross-reference.

Amo, Amas, Amat was published by Harper & Row Publishers of New York; ISBN # 0-06-181249-8.

H. Tim Sevets is books editor for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium, where he specializes in objective reviews of the top money-making reports sold over the Web. Recently, he reviewed an e-book that claims to show how to make money by tearing up old books and magazines and selling them on eBay. Read his opinion at http://www.solid-gold.info/tear-up-old-books-sell-ebay.html.

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