Here's the thing.
Coldplay suck.
Oh wait, that's not the thing. Well, it's part of the thing. Not the entire thing, though.
Here's the thing.
A lot of people determine what they like and what they should like by reading magazines and listening to radio shows that tell them what they should like, or by checking out sales charts. They buy a best-selling album by a band and immediately proclaim it the most awesome thing that ever existed. If you are talking about political punk, someone will inevitably bring up American Idiot, even though Green Day really have no place in the political punk scene. Anti-Flag? Yes. Dead Kennedys? Yes. Bad Religion? Yes. (International) Noise Conspiracy? Certainly yes. Green Day? Yeah, no, sorry. Try again. That's the problem. Many people assume that they can read an article in Rolling Stone or Spin and suddenly be musically literate. But you'll never be a punk from reading mainstream commercialized literature. If you want to understand the movement, and you want to know what bands are out there and are worthwhile, you need to read independent 'zines. You need to get involved with local organizations. You need to support your local scene (there was a time when every other kid had a "Support Your Local Punk Band" sticker on their skateboard, but most of them couldn't name a local punk band if they tried). I'm using punk as an example, but really any movement has the same problems.
Then you have these megagroups, like Coldplay, which are really nothing more than concerted marketing attempts. Some of these groups, like U2, write songs with the intention of selling the rights off for use in commercials. Others make a career out of being completely inoffensive and thus write shitty soulless play-by-numbers elevator music, like Coldplay does. Others try to co-opt aspects of music that is supposed to have a counter-mainstream message (punk or death metal, for example) into music that has a mainstream message but retains the sonic appeal of the counter-mainstream music (so then, Good Charlotte or Christian Death Metal). Then you have bands that are perfectly decent, but they make a career out of being perpetually decent, rather than taking chances and actually doing something meaningful even at risk of losing some fans (especially at risk of losing some fans). A good example would be Foo Fighters, who initially did some interesting stuff, but then proceeded to just do the same thing, over and over, without taking any chances. You also have bands that change their music regularly just to follow current trends rather than because the artists are maturing musically. An example would be Green Day's album American Idiot, which was an obvious and shameless attempt to cash in on the anti-Bush sentiment in 2004, and which offered little insight into the political situation, unlike some of the more serious political punk and industrial bands who also put out albums that year.
The simple fact is, much of the popular music out there is crap. That's not particularly shocking, because most of the music out there, period, is shit. Go to an open mic night and you'll hear some of the most abysmal shit ever played on an acoustic guitar, and most of those guys don't even have fans (thus disproving the Hipster theory of music quality, or whatever it's called). The problem is, people tend to swallow crap if it's served to them as a 5 course meal. It takes no effort to find music by Coldplay, it takes no effort to hear about them, and it takes no effort to spread the word to your friends, so that's why people listen to them.
Additionally, buying Coldplay CDs and otherwise supporting Coldplay does nothing for your local music scene. Buying Coldplay albums won't make more bands come to your town. Buying Coldplay albums won't support local talent that helps enrich local rock bars, coffee shops, music shops, and so forth. Buying Coldplay albums won't establish an environment in your town that will support you if you decide to put together a band of your own and play small shows around town.
If you want good bands out there, either in the mainstream scene, the indie scene, or the local scene, you need to support the local scene, because without vibrant local scenes, good bands don't make it to the national/international indie scene or the national/international mainstream scene. Supporting the local scene means buying local music. Going to local shows, and paying the $5 cover to see 6 bands play. Talking about local bands. Buying your music from that beat-up used record store, even if they cost a dollar or two more than Best Buy, because they carry flyers for local shows and albums for local bands. Telling other people about local bands when they're touring nationally, because even if they get abundant press in your own town, people in other cities probably know jack shit about them, and word of mouth is much more effective than a 2 sentence blurb in the paper at the bottom of the page in small print.
The truth of the matter is, people WILL listen to shitty mainstream no matter what anyone says or does. I'll take potshots at Coldplay and other insipid and uninspired acts because I think it's necessary, but there will still be plenty of people who buy into these bands because they're there. However, it does take an effort to support the local scene and to find and support decent local bands, so I'm trying to convince the folks here that it is worthwhile (which I really do believe is true) and that you can find good local bands in many cities (which is also true) which are often just as good as (if not significantly better than) the crap you get fed by the music media, be it Rolling Stone or Paste or whatever national music mag you're reading.
A good local scene also doesn't just mean good local bands. It means more national/internationally touring bands will stop through your town. It means that nationally/internationally touring bands will give free in-store performances at local CD stores prior to concerts. It means that you'll be seeing nationally/internationally touring bands at more intimate music venues rather than at informal and uncomfortable arenas. It means that there will be better instrument stores, with more diverse selection of both new and used instruments as well as amps and other equipment with staff and other customers who know what they're talking about. It means more divers selection of music at local CD stores. It means local CD stores which allow you to listen to entire albums before purchasing them, so you don't spend your money on something that you end up not liking. It means there will be a vibrant local scene that will support you if you choose to go into music yourself. It means good dance clubs with live DJs. It means alternative college radio which is well-run and worth listening to. It means more all-ages shows, for those of you who are under 21.
I'm not just saying "suppport your local scene because it means you'll like bands no one else likes." This isn't it at all. That approach is counterproductive because it results in you trying to keep local bands from breaking into the national scene. Support your local scene, because a vibrant local scene will take care of you, which is something national/international bands can't do.
