NLOTH´s real mediocrity trio

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thavidesco

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I´ve listened to NLOTH properly again the other day and I found one interesting thing:
the real trio of mediocrity lies not in the middle of the record, but at the end.
For the first time I even appreaciated universally hated Stand Up Comedy. I discovered the song is actually PRETTY GOOD. It has a lot of exciting ideas going on, it is energic, it has a great hook in refrain. Of course, it sounds a bit forced, it suffers the symptoms of Bono´s lyrical diarrhea and the drums are a bit helpless, but overally I enjoyed it. Okay, I won´t bother you describing the obvious qualities of Unknown Caller and Boots :)
Anyway, the important thing is that it´s the last 3 songs let the album die in agony of boredome.

White as Snow - it is quite decent, but it doesn´t have unique U2 vibe, because it is a rip off of a traditional tune
Breathe - it sounds much more forced and annoying than Stand Up, that sums it up
Cedars - I don´t know what to say about it, it is a recitativ, there is nothing about it, essence of boredome
 
Yeah, I can't agree with anything here. SUC is probably the worst song in U2's history, not only because it's awful, but because it's one of the reasons why the album was delayed. The early clip of "For Your Love" had a really great chorus and probably could have been a nice addition to the album. Instead, they went back and butchered it and threw it on the album.

I can forgive GOYB. It was a poor choice as a single but I still think it's a somewhat interesting song.

Crazy Tonight is embarrassing.

Delete those 3 songs from NLOTH and you have a nice 8 song album.
 
I can't believe that's a problem, people bitch and moan about them not trying new things and then bitch and moan when they do.

Exactly.

I consider those songs named here as the best ones on the album. White as Snow is one of my favorite U2 songs ever, pure beauty and so very sad. Cedars is hauntingly dark and great narrative. Breathe was great live (I disagree with many who considered it a weak opener). Without the middle three, the album would be brilliant.
 
Breathe was always a good song for my tastes, so I wouldn’t really consider that as anything mediocre. WAS never really went anywhere for me personally, so I mostly agree there. And sometimes I do wonder if Cedars can be called an actual “song”, per se. But hey, different strokes for different folks.
 
I was a bit unsure when I decided to express this extremely uncool opinion here, but I´m more and more certain that Stand Up is actaully an okay song, a bit messy, but full of good hooks and energy.
Crazy Tonight is a bit of a wasted chance, with big potential like Tribal Remix showed, anyway it is a good pop song.

Sorry, but I cannot consider Whit As a Snow as a U2 song.
With distance of time, Breathe looks more and more annoying. Desperate for being something that it isn´t.
Cedar is only useful when you want to fall asleep in my opinion:)
 
Breathe was always a good song for my tastes, so I wouldn’t really consider that as anything mediocre. WAS never really went anywhere for me personally, so I mostly agree there. And sometimes I do wonder if Cedars can be called an actual “song”, per se. But hey, different strokes for different folks.

This :up: Especially the last bit.

In my mind music is so personal so hearing that since "I loathe those three songs, so everyone else should too," is such a fruitless exercise.
 
Obviously, it's all a matter of opinion. You could think SUC is the greatest thing since indoor plumbing and proceed to jump up and down on your bed proclaiming it to the world, but someone else might think its horseshit.

White as Snow is a U2 song and a very good one. So Nanny Nanny Poo Poo! :wave:
 
Obviously, it's all a matter of opinion. You could think SUC is the greatest thing since indoor plumbing and proceed to jump up and down on your bed proclaiming it to the world, but someone else might think its horseshit.

Of course, that is right.

White as Snow is a U2 song and a very good one. So Nanny Nanny Poo Poo! :wave:

Not true. It is a rip off. It is derivated from a spiritual song Veni, veni Emmanuel
 
WAS is a beautiful song. There is a long standing tradition in hymnal music of putting new lyrics and melodies to the same piece of music, so that doesn't bother me.


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Hey guys, I'll throw my hat in the ring....for me NLOTH is my least listened to U2 album and that is shocking considering my level of fandom. Decided to rank it for this thread and then give an opinion.

No Line On The Horizon 5/10
Magnificent 7/10
Moment Of Surrender 6/10
Unknown Caller 4/10
Crazy Tonight 5/10
Boots 5/10
Stand Up Comedy 2/10
Fez-Being Born 3/10
White As Snow 0/10
Breathe 5/10
Cedars of Lebanon 1/10

Looks like for me WAS is this albums "Grace". I agree with thavidesco about WAS. The only compliment I can give SUC is The Edge's cool guitar solo and the fact that the song is upbeat and doesn't induce a coma like WAS and COL :yawn:
 
My 2 cents:

Stand up Comedy isn't THAT bad of a song. The lyrics are VERY bad but the melody and overall sound aren't too bad. 5/10 for me, there are worse songs on this album let alone their entire catalog.

WAS is boring and never did anything for me. 4 or 4.5/10.

Fez I never liked. Similar to WAS is does nothing for me...3/10

Breathe is a great song. So good, I can forgive all that cockatoo/juju man/ Chinese stock talk. 9/10 for me.

Ceaders, for me, is one of the worst U2 songs. There is not one aspect of this song that makes me want to listen to it. 2/10





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I was going to respond to this thread but I might make a new thread for my opinion instead.
 
Cedars - I don´t know what to say about it, it is a recitativ

the fuck does this even mean?

I think it means that Bono is reciting.

Yes. It's actually an opera term.

Recitative - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WAS is a beautiful song. There is a long standing tradition in hymnal music of putting new lyrics and melodies to the same piece of music, so that doesn't bother me.

Totally agree.

And I also could not disagree more with claiming these as the three weak links. I think all three are standouts of the album.
 
Yes because there are not enough threads about NLOTH already :doh:

First of all, prior to this thread, there were as many threads about NLOTH in the first 10 pages as there were about hooking up at U2 concerts: just one.

Secondly, if you perceive this to be a problem, why would you want to make it worse out of spite? If anything, it would be all the more reason to contribute to past threads.
 
My 2 cents:

Stand up Comedy isn't THAT bad of a song. The lyrics are VERY bad but the melody and overall sound aren't too bad. 5/10 for me, there are worse songs on this album let alone their entire catalog.

This is the opinion I can fully support.

WAS is boring and never did anything for me. 4 or 4.5/10.


Ceaders, for me, is one of the worst U2 songs. There is not one aspect of this song that makes me want to listen to it. 2/10


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I agree with your statements, but I´m little bit confused when you give 4.5 to a song which is "boring and did anything to you" and 2 to a song "that has no aspect worth for listening" :) How would you describe 1 or 0 then? :)
 
I think we can blame Lanois for producing a lot of weak tracks on the last albums. He recommended White as a Snow for example. His production style is very recognizable. Very subtle, submissive, very classic traditional style. I can understand The Edge being so pissed off when he found him during AB sessions playing some nice JT type of a song in the studio. I think his approach may hold them back sometimes more than it would be useful.
 
I´ve listened to NLOTH properly again the other day and I found one interesting thing:

the real trio of mediocrity lies not in the middle of the record, but at the end.

For the first time I even appreaciated universally hated Stand Up Comedy. I discovered the song is actually PRETTY GOOD. It has a lot of exciting ideas going on, it is energic, it has a great hook in refrain. Of course, it sounds a bit forced, it suffers the symptoms of Bono´s lyrical diarrhea and the drums are a bit helpless, but overally I enjoyed it. Okay, I won´t bother you describing the obvious qualities of Unknown Caller and Boots :)

Anyway, the important thing is that it´s the last 3 songs let the album die in agony of boredome.



White as Snow - it is quite decent, but it doesn´t have unique U2 vibe, because it is a rip off of a traditional tune

Breathe - it sounds much more forced and annoying than Stand Up, that sums it up

Cedars - I don´t know what to say about it, it is a recitativ, there is nothing about it, essence of boredome


Well..

SUC isn't "verbal diarrhea " . It's more the opposite. Bono obviously took took time to gather together many of the 'cute' sayings and analogies that had been floating around his head and notepad, and carve them into a series of lyrics that are a little too wordy and , hm, clean. They might make for a decent read on paper, but they don't sound all that great when sung. But it was carefully written and crafted, even if it doesn't quite work as a singable song. More hard nuggets than loose stool.

Yet, you later bring up Breathe, which is far more diarrhea-ish than SUC, but ends up being a better song anyhow, partially because it's more loose. But you dislike Breathe while liking SUC, despite The latter having one of the main qualities you say you dislike about the former. Strange, that.

Also, WAS is a lovely little song, imo. The fact that you dismiss it as a 'rif-off' and therefore not a U2 song is a little bizarre. Do you feel the same way about 40? Unchained Melody? The 'days run away like horses over the hills' lyrics from Dirty Day, or all the lyrics from TGBHF? The hook from DYFL? I guess taking a rare but traditional tune and putting their own spin on it is off-limits, but it's an odd reason to discount the song, given the band's history.

Cedars - you know how U2 likes to close out albums, right?


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This is the opinion I can fully support.







I agree with your statements, but I´m little bit confused when you give 4.5 to a song which is "boring and did anything to you" and 2 to a song "that has no aspect worth for listening" :) How would you describe 1 or 0 then? :)


Boring doesn't necessarily mean terrible. It's very meh, actually on the lower end of meh..lol

WAS is a song that has some nice lyrics and a melody that's boring but not unlistenable.

Ceaders in the other hand has nothing nice about it. The lyrics are awful in the sense that I can't/don't want to relate to them at all, the melody is not memorable at all and I strongly dislike Bono's delivery of the lyrics.

As for a 1 or 0.....a 1 would be Miami or Wake up Deadman. As for 0, I don't have any U2 songs I would rate a 0 but there are songs off of Passengers that would be 0s if I bothered to rate them (some of those "songs" are just noise to me).




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