LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Hey, why not:
NLOTH - Incredibly murky, hazy sounding production for a rocker. Reminds me of the good ol Achtung days. I didn't need to know that Bono reacts that way to having a tongue shoved in his ear, but PLEBAns probably get more out of it that way. Otherwise, one of my favorites. 9/10
Magnificent - I dunno, I think it's pretty smooth. The intro is great, obviously, but Bono sings his guts out, even if what he's singing is a tad ridiculous. The clincher is Edge's slide solo...simple, but as sultry as his work on The Ground Beneath Her Feet and/or Stateless. Awesome. 8.5/10
Moment of Surrender - A lovely trance. Doesn't really take off until the very end, but I believe it's definitely worth the wait. Plus, Bono's lyrics don't make me want to burn down a greeting card factory or anything. That fucking amateur Brian Eno can't even bring this one down. 9/10
Unknown Caller - First, the good: Edge. And the intro. The bad? U2 somehow manages to make a crowd singalong clunky. It's hard to screw that up, but they managed. Omniscient blender aside, it's actually kind of cool lyrically, but the damage is done. Edge's solo brings me back from time to time. 6/10
Krazy Tonite - Eh, well, it's fun to sing along to. And it's not easy to write catchy, hermetically sealed pop songs like this one, I promise. Just ask Phil Collins; he hasn't released an album in ages. 6.5/10
Get On Your Boots - From the outset, you know this is going to be a disaster. Thankfully, U2's rhythm section manages to save unmemorable non-sequitur and a riff Edge ran into the ground years ago. The bridge is awesome. 6/10
Stand Up Comedy - If you have to spend two years of studio time to make a Zeppelin pastiche sound cool, you need to exercise other genres. 5/10
Fez-Being Born - Hmm. It doesn't really have a hook or distinguishable melody, and I feel it focuses too much on flash over substance, but man oh man is this song a rush. I'm baffled as to why snoozefests like In A Little While are being played to living, breathing concertgoers when a song about racing around Africa is waiting in the wings. 7.5/10
White As Snow - The chord progression isn't really theirs, but perhaps that's why this song feels so fleshed out. It doesn't get my pulse racing, but hearing Bono sing this well after all these years is pretty thrilling. Some lovely imagery and ambiguous messages here too. A lot of good stuff here, although I couldn't sing it by memory, even after 18 months. 7.5/10
Breathe - Fuck all y'all, this is a cracking tune right here. Uplifting and empowering without being cheesy, aggressive without sacrificing melody, and it's got that fucking viola. I'm still smitten. 10/10
Cedars of Lebanon - I truly hope that Bono's "art house" remarks were directed toward this song -- rather than the album as a whole -- because it actually fits. It's a musical vignette, offering only clues as to what the melody could be, while Bono's lyrics paint a distinct and gritty picture. Not a great "song," but it's the sort of album closer that U2 specializes in. 8.5/10
Overall, NLOTH is intriguing record lacking a bit in classic choruses but overflowing with memorable moments and a handful of career highlights (an incredible feat at their age). I'll give it an 8.5. Miles ahead of the last two, to be sure. Nearly every new song they're playing now is worse than the average NLOTH track though, so I'm not getting too excited yet. But the spark is definitely there.
NLOTH - Incredibly murky, hazy sounding production for a rocker. Reminds me of the good ol Achtung days. I didn't need to know that Bono reacts that way to having a tongue shoved in his ear, but PLEBAns probably get more out of it that way. Otherwise, one of my favorites. 9/10
Magnificent - I dunno, I think it's pretty smooth. The intro is great, obviously, but Bono sings his guts out, even if what he's singing is a tad ridiculous. The clincher is Edge's slide solo...simple, but as sultry as his work on The Ground Beneath Her Feet and/or Stateless. Awesome. 8.5/10
Moment of Surrender - A lovely trance. Doesn't really take off until the very end, but I believe it's definitely worth the wait. Plus, Bono's lyrics don't make me want to burn down a greeting card factory or anything. That fucking amateur Brian Eno can't even bring this one down. 9/10
Unknown Caller - First, the good: Edge. And the intro. The bad? U2 somehow manages to make a crowd singalong clunky. It's hard to screw that up, but they managed. Omniscient blender aside, it's actually kind of cool lyrically, but the damage is done. Edge's solo brings me back from time to time. 6/10
Krazy Tonite - Eh, well, it's fun to sing along to. And it's not easy to write catchy, hermetically sealed pop songs like this one, I promise. Just ask Phil Collins; he hasn't released an album in ages. 6.5/10
Get On Your Boots - From the outset, you know this is going to be a disaster. Thankfully, U2's rhythm section manages to save unmemorable non-sequitur and a riff Edge ran into the ground years ago. The bridge is awesome. 6/10
Stand Up Comedy - If you have to spend two years of studio time to make a Zeppelin pastiche sound cool, you need to exercise other genres. 5/10
Fez-Being Born - Hmm. It doesn't really have a hook or distinguishable melody, and I feel it focuses too much on flash over substance, but man oh man is this song a rush. I'm baffled as to why snoozefests like In A Little While are being played to living, breathing concertgoers when a song about racing around Africa is waiting in the wings. 7.5/10
White As Snow - The chord progression isn't really theirs, but perhaps that's why this song feels so fleshed out. It doesn't get my pulse racing, but hearing Bono sing this well after all these years is pretty thrilling. Some lovely imagery and ambiguous messages here too. A lot of good stuff here, although I couldn't sing it by memory, even after 18 months. 7.5/10
Breathe - Fuck all y'all, this is a cracking tune right here. Uplifting and empowering without being cheesy, aggressive without sacrificing melody, and it's got that fucking viola. I'm still smitten. 10/10
Cedars of Lebanon - I truly hope that Bono's "art house" remarks were directed toward this song -- rather than the album as a whole -- because it actually fits. It's a musical vignette, offering only clues as to what the melody could be, while Bono's lyrics paint a distinct and gritty picture. Not a great "song," but it's the sort of album closer that U2 specializes in. 8.5/10
Overall, NLOTH is intriguing record lacking a bit in classic choruses but overflowing with memorable moments and a handful of career highlights (an incredible feat at their age). I'll give it an 8.5. Miles ahead of the last two, to be sure. Nearly every new song they're playing now is worse than the average NLOTH track though, so I'm not getting too excited yet. But the spark is definitely there.
. For some reason that song sounds very Lennon-ish to me, like it's Bono's attempt at trying to do a song like one of his idols. I don't know what specifically makes me think of that comparison, but...yeah.
it indeed does. i'm not sure why i asked.
Yes, write your paper.
ooh what was that?, That's new. I don't remember what the actual changes were now, sorry. 
