A cheesy pun is incoming in 2… 1… 0 (and no, we’re not just replaying grainy footage of the first moon landing, which will make sense in a lunar second), but every time we hear a new Coldplay-coined guitar riff, it genuinely ‘feelslikeimfallinginlove.’ At least, that’s the sensation we’re thinking washed over Budapest’s Puskás Aréna when the soul-hypnotizing British rock band crooned those adoring lyrics for a sold-out crowd. While the picturesque view of purple and blue planets surrounded the vicinity, the starry night sky held their backup singer. And yes, now we’re full-mooning it back to the celestial satellite. The single is off their upcoming album, MOON MUSiC, which comes out four months from now on October 4.
We’re already collecting moon photos in every shade of the rainbow captured on the screen behind the boys because we’re over the moon for this announcement! But we’re not done with the moon puns yet. No, there’s so much to explore, especially the cycle itself. Do you know there are eight stages? Of course you did. You’re already nodding your heads, annotating notes to that library of photos, waiting to see which song off the new album correlates to your moon magic and harnessing its powers to cast some manifestation! But for now, we’re following the theme by matching songs from their discography with each phase.
New Moon
With its sparkling melody as soothing as the tumbling of waves seen in its lyric visualizer, ‘Hypnotised’ perfectly sums up the new beginnings that the New Moon serves us! How can it not be with lines like “Need a brand new coat of paint?” Circling us back to our ever-growing gallery of kaleidoscopic moon photos. There’s also a poetic touch in the closing couplet: “It was dark / Now it’s sunrise.” Don’t stray from us; MOON MUSiC matches our night owl energy. But its imagery supports the yin-yang, the unfolding of one contrast to the other. So, in this context, it’s the start of a new cycle.
Waxing Crescent
Oceanic blue turtles spin mid-air to tumble into the subway, and 50s glamour girls with leis decorating their necks as they stand on a coastal galaxy are all things that occur when we’re on the ‘Up&Up.’ At least by Coldplay standards. Who wouldn’t want that? We’re there the minute a volcano doesn’t spew out steaming lava but heats some corn seeds to stream out a delicious snack: popcorn. Waxing Crescent is about rebuilding oneself. With as much spontaneity as this music video has, even if everything else appears dark, we know a splinter of uniqueness shines through.
First Quarter
Who said Coldplay’s illustrious ‘Clocks’ went for around five minutes? Nah, they’re surely lying to us. Instead, it’s equivalent to the time we’re going through an upheaval, acting as our sound therapy until we stop hearing the ticking hands of time prolonging. Can we tell we’re not one for patience? The First Quarter Moon is usually when we swap out a “Not happy, Jan” for a lip-synced “Tides that I tried to swim against.” Do you think we’re going to compare our vocals to Chris’s? That’s just not another problem we need as the obstacles keep rising.
Waxing Gibbous
We know. The exclamation point for Coldplay’s ‘Lost!’ aligns us with the fact that they are lost, mentally, at least, following a dumpster fire-licked to happier times. But then Chris follows it up with a “Doesn’t mean,” and we’ve got a whole juxtaposition on our hands here. It’s probably the type of reflection we’re doing during the Waxing Gibbous Moon. We’re a little unsure at the moment, which is okay. Because we know there’s soon going to be light.
Full Moon
Speaking of moon manifestation, was your intention to spot Beyonce? If so, you’re so harvesting it this Full Moon. She shows up around the minute and a half mark, wearing gold. That’s the antennae-crested Queen Bee of our hive (not just The Honey POP hive, but generally!). ‘Hymn For The Weekend’ is the ultimate shot of happiness, checking off everything one needs from a good tune.
Waning Gibbous
We swear we didn’t plan this (and okay, maybe that’s a slight lie.) Cast aside the fact that ‘Don’t Panic’ is so built into Coldplay’s discography that even the locals will give adoring nods of recognition upon hearing its gentle strum. It’s also the opener of Coldplay’s Parachutes, their first studio album, which has a yellow moon depicted on its album cover. That is the definition of synchronicity! However, one of this particular moon’s spiritual meanings is gratitude. And you know what also means that? Yup! It’s the Waning Gibbous Moon, acting as a time to appreciate what you have and to re-evaluate your goals.
Last Quarter
We wouldn’t be rattling off Coldplay songs that help us through the tides of the moon if ‘Fix You’ wasn’t on it. That’s just blasphemous! From its iconic guitar rift, which has a feeling like we’re floating to another universe with the help of an alien’s ethereal vehicle, to the everlasting hope the lyrics give us when the only flickers of light we see are speckled stars, it’s just that tune. We don’t need any other cleansing modality during The Last Quarter Moon. Only this is injected into our veins.
Waning Crescent
Let us regurgitate a fact if you have yet to click below! Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ follows Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story The Birthmark. It portrays perfectionism through a scientist named Aylmer and his wife, Georgiana. Over time, their relationship decays, and the former becomes obsessed with his hatred for a birthmark on his wife’s cheek, wanting to remove it surgically. When he does, though, the wife dies at the birthmark, which was her life’s link.
There’s a beautiful line: “The birthmark would come and go with the emotions in her heart..” It runs congruent with ‘The Scientist’ in that the mark became more visible when love was forsaken. Written from the scientist’s perspective, hence the name, it’s his sorrows and regret of falling out of unconditional love. During the Waning Crescent, we could use this teaching for ourselves, treating us with so much self-care that we accept even our flaws.
Astrology whizzes hybridizing as Coldplay fans. Now is your time! What is your musical match-up to the correlating moon cycle phases? All of ours will appear different based on our personalities, most likely shaped by our birth charts and our music tastes. Tweet us @thehoneypop with your answers!
Sustainability’s Out Of This Galaxy!
Then follow along on our Instagram and Facebook accounts! It may not be exactly Neil Armstrong’s level on a scale of five moons, but the band is setting their records, and you know we will keep covering it! MOON MUSiC will be the first ever 140g EcoRecord LP. Don’t have the 4-1-1 on sustainability? Collect your plastic bottles into a side bin and listen up—folks that have already done so might have just helped out in the making process of the album as the LP will be made from 100% recycled bottles.
The Ocean Cleanup also designed a Notebook Edition EcoRecord LP. Picture Chris Martin’s inspo mood board for this album, and that’s precisely what you’ll get with 28 pages of unseen goodies, voice notes, and demos because we’re genuinely getting spoiled here! And an EcoCD. However, all of these planet-saving perks, such as the sun turning into this emoji (🌞) with its glowing grin, also mean it’s limited! So, you know the drill. Dust off the space suit hanging up in your wardrobe, as that, along with a whole pile of other merch to celebrate this era, is over on their website.
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