24 years ago today, Coldplay released “In My Place.” It still sucks.
One circular guitar line that goes nowhere, a drum part that just keeps time, and Chris Martin doing his wounded falsetto about being lost and singing lines he couldn’t change. He repeats “in my place” until you start to wonder if he forgot where he was standing. It’s three minutes of a man being mildly sad in a very expensive studio, engineered to sell you a sedan during a commercial break — which is roughly where the song lives now.
2002 was a great year for music that actually moved. Here’s what you should have been playing instead:
- LCD Soundsystem – Losing My Edge — James Murphy listing every band he loves while the rhythm slowly eats him alive
- Underworld – Two Months Off — nine minutes of pure sunrise, no falsetto required
- Layo & Bushwacka! – Love Story — the house record that ran every club that summer for a reason
- The Streets – Weak Become Heroes — Mike Skinner remembering a rave like it’s the saddest, best thing that ever happened to him
- Benny Benassi – Satisfaction — one filthy synth line that did more for dance music than Coldplay’s entire catalog