New U2 single: Ahimsa

[gweeps]

U2 has released a few good re/alt.mixes.

The Lounge Fly Mix
Dirty Day (Bitter Kiss)
Original of the Species (Killahurtz Casa de Angeles Remix)
Holy Joe (Garage Mix)
Lights of Home (St Peter's String Version)
Elevation (Tomb Raider Mix)
Get On Your Boots (Justice Remix)
Alt. mixes of the Pop songs (Please, Angels, Last, Staring, Discotheque, Gone...)
Breathe (Mandela Version)
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight (Alternative Perspective Mix By Tchad Blake)
The Troubles (Alternate Version)
Happiness is a Warm Gun (The Gun Mix)
Red Hill Mining Town (Steve Lillywhite 2017 Mix)
New Year's Day (USA Remix)
You're the Best Thing about Me (Acoustic Version)
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Temple Bar Remix)
Ordinary Love (Interscope Promo Mix)

 

[mikal]

Ahimsa is such a dull dull tune. Really delving into the creative nadir this band.

Generic mainstream melody (probably inspired by Ryan Tedder no doubt) with more wide eyed platitudes. The word artistry and ambition is no longer part of the U2 vocab.

Report: 60 year old rock stars no longer sound as ambitious and eager as they did when they were 30.

 

[DeVaul]

Report: 60 year old rock stars no longer sound as ambitious and eager as they did when they were 30.

don’t tell Neil Young

 

[cobl04]

or Tom Waits, or Bruce Springsteen, or Nick Cave...

 

[lazarus]

...all solo artists who are not in a democratic band...

 

[cobl04]

The Bad Seeds are democratic.

 

[Hollow Island]

Report: 60 year old rock stars no longer sound as ambitious and eager as they did when they were 30.

Age is no excuse for laziness or sucking. Primal Scream, Rush, Wilco, Sonic Youth (rip), Ride, Slowdive, Autechre, etc, were and are all ambitious and eager into their 50s.

The problem with U2 isn't age, it's bad taste.

 

[mikal]

You guys are right. I thought this new song was going to be “The Fly: Part 2”!

 

[lazarus]

The Bad Seeds are democratic.

 

[DaveC]

with a name like "the bad seeds" i would assume they are republicans.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I think U2 just are stuck in a state of worrying about what their reception is. Less about poor taste or inability due to age.

 

[mikal]

I think it’s important to them that people are listening to their music.

Thankfully for them, the general public doesn’t share the same opinions as Interference. Plus, SOI was a brilliant late career album and SOE has some really great moments as well. So it’s not like they’ve been releasing junk. Those who say they have been are outliers.

 

[DaveC]

some people on this forum have a hard time sometimes distinguishing between "music i don't like" and "music that is bad".

 

[mikal]

some people on this forum have a hard time sometimes distinguishing between "music i don't like" and "music that is bad".

Some people have a hard time accepting that opinions aren’t fact and that no one’s opinion carries more weight than the next person. [emoji4]

 

[Hollow Island]

I think it’s important to them that people are listening to their music.

Thankfully for them, the general public doesn’t share the same opinions as Interference. Plus, SOI was a brilliant late career album and SOE has some really great moments as well. So it’s not like they’ve been releasing junk. Those who say they have been are outliers.

But people aren't listening to their music. They haven't had a hit in 15 years, the last 3 albums got the worst reviews of their career and their rep is in tatters.

SOI and SOE are good albums but the public disagrees. Interference probably thinks more fondly of recent U2 the general public that ignores & derides them in equal measure.

 

[mikal]

But people aren't listening to their music. They haven't had a hit in 15 years, the last 3 albums got the worst reviews of their career and their rep is in tatters.



SOI and SOE are good albums but the public disagrees. Interference probably thinks more fondly of recent U2 the general public that ignores & derides them in equal measure.

The last two albums have gotten good reviews from the publications that normally cater to the older crowd that would listen to them. If you’re talking about Pitchfork, well who really cares?

U2 is definitely not in any danger of their reputation going down the tubes. They are still very respected and loved around the world, proven by their tour numbers. It would take a scandal to hurt their reputation at this point.

 

[Hollow Island]

The last two albums have gotten good reviews from the publications that normally cater to the older crowd that would listen to them. If you’re talking about Pitchfork, well who really cares?

U2 is definitely not in any danger of their reputation going down the tubes. They are still very respected and loved around the world, proven by their tour numbers. It would take a scandal to hurt their reputation at this point.

What is this interference obsession with Pitchfork?

Classic Interference moving of the goal posts in an attempt to bolster a disproven claim. It's irrefutable that the last decade has seen a critical consensus that U2 aren't very good any more, just as there's a critical consensus that The Joshua Tree is a great album.

The big touring numbers are based on work from tbe 80s and early 90s, ie. work that's 30 years old. Their reputation as active artists is terrible, particularly among people under 35.
The rep of their old work is solid though.

 

[mikal]

What is this interference obsession with Pitchfork?



Classic Interference moving of the goal posts in an attempt to bolster a disproven claim. It's irrefutable that the last decade has seen a critical consensus that U2 aren't very good any more, just as there's a critical consensus that The Joshua Tree is a great album.



The big touring numbers are based on work from tbe 80s and early 90s, ie. work that's 30 years old. Their reputation as active artists is terrible, particularly among people under 35.

The rep of their old work is solid though.

Well no shit. The band members are turning 60. Which brings me back to my original point that some people put way too high of expectations on them at this point. They’re my favorite band of all time but I’ve moved on to countless other bands that are younger and ambitious. When U2 releases music, I treat it as my favorite band growing up putting out some music and I generally enjoy it, but I don’t expect them to dream it all up again at this point of their career.

 

[Hollow Island]

The reason to not have high expectations isn't their age though. Age isn't a barrier to making good music.

The reason to not have high expectations is because it's been a long, long time since they've made a great album and they've made a load of awful decisions, creative or otherwise. They've been making these bad decisions since their 40s.

 

[mikal]

The reason to not have high expectations isn't their age though. Age isn't a barrier to making good music.



The reason to not have high expectations is because it's been a long, long time since they've made a great album and they've made a load of awful decisions, creative or otherwise. They've been making these bad decisions since their 40s.

It’s only been 5 years since they released a great album. I don’t consider that a long, long time.

 

[lazarus]

You can both type your opinions as if they're objective facts, but that doesn't make them so.

Some people think SOI and SOE are great. Some think ATYCLB is. The Grammy voters thought HTDAAB was. Some don't think there's been a great one since Pop. Some think Pop is a mess.

Personally, I think they've done too much second-guessing to have made a truly great album in a while. But I also think they've recorded multiple albums worth of great songs in the last ten years, it's just that they don't have consistent taste anymore in selecting and organizing their own best material, or consistent instincts in collaborators as of late, and so we keep getting these compromised releases that fall short of greatness, but not as far as so many would like us to believe.

But I'm of a mind with Mikal ultimately; at this point, I feel lucky to still be getting any great tracks, or half a great album, or a great album thanks to my own customization. It could be a lot worse (e.g. the Rolling Stones).

 

[DaveC]

Some people think SOI and SOE are great. Some think ATYCLB is [...] Some think Pop is a mess.

replace every instance of "some" with "U2" here and i am pretty sure it still holds up.

Personally, I think they've done too much second-guessing to have made a truly great album in a while. But I also think they've recorded multiple albums worth of great songs in the last ten years, it's just that they don't have consistent taste anymore in selecting and organizing their own best material, or consistent instincts in collaborators as of late, and so we keep getting these compromised releases that fall short of greatness, but not as far as so many would like us to believe.

this is the correct take.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Breaking - band of 60 year olds unpopular with the youngs, still beloved by the olds.


Tell me again about all those under 35 year old Rush fans, tho

 

[Hollow Island]

DaveC is on the money

Headache, there are plenty of old bands liked by young(ish) people. U2 just happen to not be one of them. You know that!

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I can’t think of any bands of U2’s age or older that are liked by young people in the eye of the mainstream.

If you’re wondering why nobody has a shirt with a tongue out on it or a red hot asterisk or a mod culture symbol or whatever on their shirt in the style of U2, yes it’s because U2 alienated being cool.

But no, no band of their age is actively “cool” and any of the youngens who walk around with a band tee typically would be derided for not having any style in clothing.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

DaveC is on the money

Headache, there are plenty of old bands liked by young(ish) people. U2 just happen to not be one of them. You know that!

No, there aren't.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I can’t think of any bands of U2’s age or older that are liked by young people in the eye of the mainstream.

If you’re wondering why nobody has a shirt with a tongue out on it or a red hot asterisk or a mod culture symbol or whatever on their shirt in the style of U2, yes it’s because U2 alienated being cool.

But no, no band of their age is actively “cool” and any of the youngens who walk around with a band tee typically would be derided for not having any style in clothing.

This.

If you want to say the past two records, specifically the iTunes debacle, tarnished their legacy to the point where the youngs won't ironically wear a U2 shirt like they do, say, the Stones?

Sure. With you 100% there.

But the Stones were a joke with the youngs, too, at one point. They aged out once they stopped trying to be mainstream and just did what they did.

When U2 hits that phase, same thing will happen. Eventually it'll be "cool" in an ironic way to say you like U2.

But they need to stop trying to force their way back into the mainstream. It's over, Johnny.

There are no bands of U2's age that the youngs think is/are cool because or their current musical output. None.

The youngs respect Springsteen, because he hasn't embarrassed himself. The youngs were not banging Western Stars up the Spotify charts.

U2 embarrassed themselves. That's hurt. It has less to do with the music and more to do with marketing.

The only people who give a turkey about anything of the Songs era from a musical standpoint are the olds - and that would have been true whether they fucked up the SOI release or not.

 

[lazarus]

Let's face it, it hasn't been cool to wear a U2 t-shirt since like 1985 or something.

And I don't know if it ever will be.

Once in a while I'll bust out my vintage Joshua Tree tour or UF tour shirt and wear it out "socially", and maybe will get a couple positive remarks from friends/acquaintances but I'm sure quadruple that number are internally rolling their eyes.

 

[Hollow Island]

This.

If you want to say the past two records, specifically the iTunes debacle, tarnished their legacy to the point where the youngs won't ironically wear a U2 shirt like they do, say, the Stones?

Sure. With you 100% there.

But the Stones were a joke with the youngs, too, at one point. They aged out once they stopped trying to be mainstream and just did what they did.

When U2 hits that phase, same thing will happen. Eventually it'll be "cool" in an ironic way to say you like U2.

But they need to stop trying to force their way back into the mainstream. It's over, Johnny.

There are no bands of U2's age that the youngs think is/are cool because or their current musical output. None.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds might have something to say about that. So would My Bloody Valentine. So would Radiohead. And before you say "Radiohead aren't U2's age" they're definitely close enough - they're in their 50s, and their closing in on the 30th anniversary of their debut. They're at the point U2 were when NLTOH came out. Just think about the difference in how they're perceived and how they behave. Add Nine Inch Nails in there too. Aphex Twin is old, and respected based on his current work. Autechre too. Boards of Canada too. Same with Tool. All old fuckers! PJ Harvey - old! And respected. Sonic Youth were old and respected. When I saw them on their last tour the crowd skewed young. Mission of Burma's crowd was mostly college kids and their reunion albums were very well recieved critically and the new songs went down just as well as the classics.

The Stones aren't cool in an ironic way - they're cool because they're the Stones. I remember when they were a joke. I also remember when Bowie was a joke, and I remember when people thought he was cool because of his current output. Scott Walker was cool because of his current output. Look at how much Rush were respected during their last years. Age has nothing to do with U2's problems.

It's not about being cool, though, and it's not even necessarily about young people. Olds don't even have much respect for U2's recent work, and shit like Ahimsa is a big reason why.

 

[super fly guy]

Let's face it, it hasn't been cool to wear a U2 t-shirt since like 1985 or something.

And I don't know if it ever will be.

Once in a while I'll bust out my vintage Joshua Tree tour or UF tour shirt and wear it out "socially", and maybe will get a couple positive remarks from friends/acquaintances but I'm sure quadruple that number are internally rolling their eyes.

I always go out wearing my various U2 shirts,dont give a fuck what people think. All these young folk wearing GnR t shirts that only know sweet child.