Apr 30th 2008 12:26 am The Wisdom of Chris Martin, part 1

As a Great Prophet, Chris Martin seems unable to open his mouth without some nugget of Holy Wisdom tumbling out. In this series, we will look at just a few of the gems that The Church of Chris Martin have taken as their Proverbs.

On U2 - “I just want to make something I can put next to ‘The Joshua Tree’ and feel proud.”
“To me, they’re like Mount Everest or the Taj Mahal or the Sears Tower. They’re a great, great thing. And if you’re going to do something, you may as well aim to do something great. I’m not saying we’re better than them. I’m just saying if you’re going to aim for anything, you might as well aim for the best.”
“U2 can be beaten. For me it’s no different from the film Rocky. You study your opponent. And I regard them as opponents.”
On Radiohead - “I think if you imagine Radiohead going through a jungle clearing a path, then we’re the ones who are probably just criminally paving it. I always see Radiohead as the braver people.”
On Fame - “After being with Gwyn I’ve realised everyone is human. We really build people up as if they are from Mars. Hollywood seems as accessible as Mars.When I started meeting celebrities it was depressing because you can’t believe in the mythology of people any more.”
On the success of his band - ”I gleaned that it doesn’t matter if you’re in one of the biggest bands in the world, it doesn’t mean you’re very good.”
“Let me be clear: We’re an incredibly arrogant band and we believe in ourselves above all others. But we also acknowledge that there’s no way we can take credit for where we are. I didn’t design my larynx, if you want to go right back to Square 1. … So we work very hard to capitalize and validate what we’ve been given. Because we have been given it. It’s not graciousness, it’s just honesty.”
“It’s very depressing, but it’s very healthy. We always have this bubbling level of vitriol. Maybe it’s something to do with my haircut. Maybe we’re too feminine for the masculine and too masculine for the feminine. That’s the great thing about people who hate us. We can suck out the energy and make it into something positive.”
On his balls - “I went through a weird patch, starting when I was about sixteen to twenty-two, of getting God and religion and superstition and judgment all confused. I think a lot of our music comes out of that. I definitely believe in God. How can you look at anything and not be overwhelmed by the miraculousness of it? Everything from that carpet to your nose to my balls is amazing. In fact, my balls are a particular miracle.”
Posted by drobbingdon / Doctrine