"Politik" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. Written on 11 September 2001 and recorded on 13 September 2001, it is the opening track of their second studio album A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002).[1] As the album opener, the song represents a significant departure from the band's softer debut album Parachutes (2000), featuring heavier guitars and more urgent themes.[2][3]
Chris Martin wrote "Politik" on 11 September 2001, the day of the September 11 attacks. In the biography Look at the Stars by Gary Spivack, Martin explained: "I wrote the song on 9/11 and we recorded it on 9/13. We were all, like everyone else I suppose, a little confused and frightened".[1] Later, in an interview with Billboard, Martin recalled the song made him feel "this album is going to be different from the first album, and I think it's going to be okay".[4]
Composition
"Politik" features what NME critic Ted Kessler described as "guitars and keyboards mash[ing] together in a two note blur, until everything suddenly drops from the mix and Martin is alone at his piano".[3]AllMusic provides a detailed breakdown of the instrumentation: "As Will Champion's drums crash, Jonny Buckland's guitar swells, and Guy Berryman's bass churns, frontman Chris Martin bursts through the Wall of Sound, jolting listeners awake with the desperate cry, 'Open up your eyes!'"[2]PopMatters observed that the song's bridge "takes on a spacey, orchestral, Wish You Were Here vibe," comparing its atmospheric qualities to Pink Floyd.[5]
The band wanted to create a more forceful sound than their previous work. Martin stated that, with "Politik", the band aimed for "a song where we just hit our instruments as loudly as possible and dispensed with the idea of fragility".[6]
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
"Politik" received widespread critical acclaim upon release. NME compared the album's opening to Radiohead's The Bends, noting that "just as 'The Bends' opened with the raging 'Planet Telex', 'A Rush...' kicks off with a discordant howl several evolutionary steps ahead of 'Yellow'".[3]The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis wrote that "Politik's clanging guitars offer precisely the potency most observers thought was beyond them," adding that the band now sounded like "an award-winning multi-platinum band with a point to prove".[7]
AllMusic noted that songs like "Politik" "introduced fresh elements into the Coldplay repertoire, expanding their emotional palette and showing critics that they could really rock when they wanted to".[2]Miles Leonard, the ParlophoneA&R representative, recalled hearing "Politik" for the first time as a pivotal moment: "To put something as challenging as that as the album opener was a statement of intent".[4]
Retrospective assessments
In 2020, NME ranked "Politik" as the eighth best Coldplay song out of 142 in their comprehensive ranking, describing it as "a pounding, forceful announcement that this is not 'Parachutes' anymore".[8]Clash magazine included "Politik" in their list of Coldplay's 15 best songs, calling it "crushingly effective" as an opening statement and noting that it marked the moment "Chris Martin and co. shrugged off the 'Radiohead clones' tag and broke free into the stratosphere".[9]
Live performances
A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour
"Politik" served as the opening song for all 151 performances of the A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour (2002–2003). Bassist Guy Berryman explained the decision: "There's only one place for 'Politik'. We could not have put this song in any other position than number one and there is no better song than this one to open our show".[6]
The band chose "Politik" specifically for its thematic resonance with the September 11 attacks and the New York setting. Drummer Will Champion stated: "It really seemed like the only appropriate song to play. It's the song that's able to say everything for us. We're on our way to war, the Grammys are in New York City. It's the only song we felt right about playing".[6]
Legacy
"Politik" has been recognized as a defining moment in Coldplay's career evolution. Grammy.com included it in their list of "10 Songs That Captured America's Feelings After 9/11," noting that the song helped establish A Rush of Blood to the Head as a Best Alternative Rock Album Grammy winner.[11][12]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the A Rush of Blood to the Head liner notes.[13]
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