This image was lost some time after publication.

Ever since the Times' Jon Pareles went to town with his earth-shattering damnation of Coldplay as "the most insufferable band of the decade," we're noticing a trend. Let's call it the Pareles Effect:

· June 7 - Martin's mixed messages, Chicago Tribune: "One minute Coldplay frontman Chris Martin is cocky, proclaiming the band's greatness, and the next he's worried about whether the British band will ever get another gig."

· June 10 - For Nice Boys, They Are So In Your Face, Evening Standard: "[I]t has to be said quite a few find Coldplay insufferable."

· June 10 - Depressed by Coldplay, The Daily Telegraph: "I hate Coldplay...Such unmitigated gloom is purpose-made for raising the suicide rate. It ought to carry a warning, like cigarettes."

· June 14 - Melancholy Arena Rock; Why is Coldplay still depressed?, Slate: "[T]he conceit ... grows increasingly difficult to stomach."

Huh. Too bad the Pareles Effect hasn't worked for op-edster Paul Krugman.