Coldplay - Parachutes (2000)

"Shiver" by Coldplay


From Rose Chronicles's Shiver to Coldplay's single "Shiver"... It's a bit of a stretch but I needed a way to break out of the monotonous loop of only linking bands through their producers (or of their ilk) that were in other bands.  It's a nice connection, but tiresome if done too often.

Coldplay consists of Chris Martin (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Guy Berryman (bass), Johnny Buckland (lead guitar), and Will Champion (drums).  They all met at University and, while still in school, began to cut their own demos and EPs.  By the time they graduated, they had a five-album recording contract with Parlophone Records.  Then, the band's second single with Parlophone, "Yellow", put them on the map.  The song made it to the Top 5 in the UK, did well across Europe, and cemented a spot in Billboard's Hot 100.  Coldplay's debut album Parachutes did even better by hitting the top of the album charts in the UK, going triple platinum.  In the United States, the album hit double platinum and scored the band's first Grammy nomination and win for Best Alternative Music Album.

Here is the discography surrounding Coldplay's debut album:

Ode to Deoderant (1998 demo)
Safety (1998 EP)
Brothers & Sisters (1999 single)
The Blue Room (1999 EP)
Shiver (2000 single)
Yellow (2000 single)
Parachutes
Trouble (2000 single)
Live at Cardiff University (2000 live bootleg)
Acoustic (2000 EP)
Live at The Crossing Borders Festival (2000 live bootleg)
Live at KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" (2000 live radio)
Don't Panic (2001 single)
Trouble - Norwegian Live (2001 live EP)
Mince Spies (2001 Christmas EP)

"Yellow" by Coldplay


"We Never Change (live on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic")" by Coldplay


"See You Soon" by Coldplay


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Relient K - Relient K (2000)

"Hello McFly" by Relient K


In one of Barenaked Ladies's most memorable songs "If I Had $1,000,000", one of the objects the songwriters would buy their girlfriend was a K Car, "a very reliant automobile".  Although the band is known for its music references and has any number of stronger connections to other bands, I just couldn't resist taking the K Car reference to one of my high school years' favorite bands, the christian pop punk band Relient K, named for the vehicle with the purposeful typo to avoid infringement.

Heavily influenced by another Christian punk band MxPx, Matt Thiessen (guitar, vocals), Matt Hoopes (guitar, backing vocals), and Brian Pittman (bass) formed Relient K in 1998 while juniors in high school in Canton, Ohio.  The band's first drummer was Todd Frascone, but he'd soon leave the band and was replaced by Stephen Cushman.  They found a lucky connection into the music industry through one of their friends (Hoopes's would-be wife, Danielle) who was the daughter of live musician Mark Lee Townsend.  Townsend produced Relient K's demo and helped get the attention of Christian music artist TobyMac and his Christian record label Gotee Records.  After graduating, the band recorded their debut album Relient K that started the slow growth of the band's cult, Christian following through their combination of pop cultural references and religious messages.

Here is the discography surrounding Relient K's debut album

All Work & No Play (1998 demo)
2000 A.D.D. (2000 EP)
Relient K

"My Girlfriend" by Relient K


"Charles in Charge" by Relient K


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The Dears - End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story (2000)

"When the World Begins and Ends" by The Dears


Frankie Sparo's debut was mastered by master engineer Harris Newman of Grey Market Mastering.  He has mastered a number of the Canadian indie scene's best albums including the debut album by The Dears.  The Dears formed in 1995 around husband-and-wife team Murray Lightburn (vocals, guitar) and Natalia Yanchak (keyboards) and played a form of orchestral indie-pop heavily indebted to 90s Britpop.  Murray's early singing has often been compared to Morrissey or Blur's Damon Albarn.  It has become a tired comparison for Lightburn though no less accurate.  Along with drummer John Tod and bassist Roberto Aquilla, The Dears released their first album End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story in 2000 and followed it up the next year with the Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique EP.

Here is the discography surrounding The Dears's debut album:

Nor the Dahlias: The Dears 1995-1998 (1998 demo compilation album)
End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story
Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique (2001 EP)

"End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story" by The Dears


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Frankie Sparo - My Red Scare (2000)

"Diminish Me NYC" by Frankie Sparo


Frankie Sparo is the alias of Chad Jones, singer/songwriter from Victoria, British Columbia.  He came to the Canadian indie scene's attention after his demo made the rounds and got him touring dates and a recording contract with Constellation Records.  His debut record My Red Menace was produced by Godspeed co-founder Efrim Menuck and released in late 2000.

Here is the discography surrounding Frankie Sparo's debut album:

My Red Scare
Arena Hostile (2001 EP)

"The Night That We Stayed In" by Frankie Sparo


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Do As Infinity - Break of Dawn (2000)

"Heart" by Do As Infinity


The string performances for Suzuki Ami's debut album were performed by Japanese string orchestra, Chieko Kinbara Strings.  This group performs with many of J-Pop's biggest hitmakers and notably recorded on J-Pop band Do As Infinity's debut album.

Do As Infinity formed as the brainchild of composer and producer of Dai Nagao (notice the band's acronym).  Auditions led to the hiring of Ryo Owatari on guitar and Tomiko Van on lead vocals.  Both also contribute lyrics to the songwriting process.  The band got to work very quickly and released four singles not long after forming.  Their fourth single peaked highest at #10 on the Oricon charts.  Helping their ascendancy into the public eye was the use of two of their songs as anime/movie theme songs and another was tagged to TV commercials.  Bolstered by all this publicity, Do As Infinity's debut album Break of Dawn released in early 2000 and peaked at #3.

Sidenote:  Dai plays a double-neck acoustic guitar.  what?

Here is the discography surrounding Do As Infinity's debut album:

Tangerine Dream (1999 single)
Oasis (1999 single)
Heart (2000 single)
Yesterday & Today (2000 single)
Break of Dawn

"Welcome!" by Do As Infinity


"心の地図" by Do As Infinity


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