Martin takes a unicycle trek through South Africa — dressed as an elephant  
— in giddy new clip.
By James Montgomery

Coldplay
Photo: Capitol

You can add another line to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin's rather lengthy  
list of accomplishments: The man can ride a unicycle.

This is the takeaway from Coldplay's brand-new video for "Paradise" — a  
standout track on their upcoming Mylo Xyloto album — which premiered  
Wednesday (October 19) on the band's site and features Martin, dressed in a  
plushy elephant costume, embarking on a unicycle trip in South Africa.

Among other things, of course. The clip opens with sun-drenched shots of  
the South African plains, wildebeest silhouetted against the setting sun.  
We then cut to Martin (as an elephant) jailed against his will in a London  
zoo but planning an escape. When he finally busts out, he hops on the Tube,  
makes a beeline for Heathrow Airport and sneaks aboard a plane bound for  
Johannesburg, his home. After procuring a unicycle (some interpretive dance  
is involved), he rides through the countryside — at one point removing his  
elephant head to prove that, yes, it's him aboard the unicycle — until he  
discovers his bandmates, who, of course, are also dressed as elephants.

We then cut to some actual performance footage from the band's South  
African concerts, where they bop and leap (while still wearing those  
elephant heads), much to the thrill of the audience. The video ends with a  
gleeful, slo-mo shot of the band sprinting across the plains, in full  
elephant regalia.

And yes, it's plenty silly. But such is the appeal of Coldplay, certainly  
one of the biggest bands on the planet and, yet, one unafraid to have a  
little fun from time to time. And, in a way, it plays perfectly into  
the "Paradise" lyrics, which are very much about a girl dreaming of  
escaping her dire situation and disappearing to her own personal heaven.  
Not to mention the fact that, much like the song's blissed-out chorus,  
there is genuine joy in watching the band leaping about in plushy suits  
while the South African sun beats down upon them.

Leave it to Coldplay to make a rather profound point — that we are all  
caged in some way, and we all long for escape — while still having a laugh  
too. And leave it to Chris Martin to prove that, even though he's married  
to a movie star, has two children, does humanitarian work and fronts one of  
planet Earth's hugest rock acts, he still found time to learn how to ride a  
unicycle. The man is truly capable of anything, it would seem.

What do you think of the "Paradise" video? Share your reviews in the  
comments!

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Posted By sysop to Smells Like News at 10/19/2011 01:44:00 PM