bit on the next U2 album in Q

[bgmckinney]

I have one question: can't an album be melodic and at the same time be dark, obscure and experimental or heavy?

Yes and no. I'm thinking that darkness and heaviness come from harmony and rhythm, rather than melody.
I don't mean that dark songs can't have good melodies - but that if you are going to *focus* on melody, your songs are probably going to be bright rather than dark. I think darkness is based primarily on dissonance, which is a harmonic concept.
Try imagining the melody of a particularly dark U2 song - Acrobat, Ultraviolet, Wire, Exit - sung over a harmonically lighter chord progression.
If you focus on harmony, you can be lighthearted or moody and dark. But I think if you focus on melody, you're going to be lighter, because harmony is an essential ingedient in the darker aspects of music, but not in the brighter ones.

 

[guill]

I have one question: can't an album be melodic and at the same time be dark, obscure and experimental or heavy?

That's what people used to call Soul music.

 

[dazzlingamy]

*whimpers*

I....want another Leeeeeeeeeemoooooooooonnnnnnn.

 

[Salome]

Stuck in a moment is dark heavy and melodic

though most people here didn´t get the dark and heavy qualities of the song since it isn´t shoved in your face with a dirty guitar sound and banging drums

 

[Aygo]

Why does melody have to deal with lighthearted and lighter aspects and rhythm/heavyness/harmony has to deal with obscurity? That's a ridiculous preconception!
Music has already proved that things are not stanching that way. If you can't remember the 70's and the 80's, remember the 90's music that is full of stuff that switched people's mind about this idea.

 

[bgmckinney]

Why does melody have to deal with lighthearted and lighter aspects and rhythm/heavyness/harmony has to deal with obscurity? That's a ridiculous preconception!

It's not a preconception - it's a conclusion I reached after thinking about it for quite a while. It's exactly the opposite of a preconception.
As I said, I *think* darkness in music (music, not lyrics) comes from harmony more than melody. As I see it, in my experience, that's how music works. I suspect what makes a melody seem dark or sad is not so much the melody itself, but the way the melody interacts with the harmony.

Music has already proved that things are not stanching that way. If you can't remember the 70's and the 80's, remember the 90's music that is full of stuff that switched people's mind about this idea.

I do. I'm remembering music from the thirteenth century, too, when harmony started to play a bigger role in singing, and trying to think about the trends you can see not just in modern pop but going through the whole history of Western music. I could be full of shit. Music isn't my specialty. These are just my ideas.

 

[shart1780]

I'm thinking we'll be getting a record with alot of songs along the lines of WitS. This means I probably won't like it.

 

[U2Man]

Harmonies and strings and pianos.

15 vocal tracks.

Hollow body guitars and horn sections.

countermelodies, handclaps and a harpsichord.

I want this type of record.

I love it when a band says all they want is melody. Reminds me of the best albums ever made.

 

[rjhbonovox]

in pleba there're are some scans from the new Q. if you squint your eyes, you can make out bit of it.

from the mouth of Edge, inspiration for the next record: Bee Gees, and the Eagles.

Sounds wonderful. Gee U2 are just getting better and better!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

when will we learn to stop listening to what the band says the new albums will sound like? have they ever been right? ever? at all?

and besides... you can be influenced by someone without neccesarily sounding like them.

 

[U2freakboy]

It sounds like the album I'm hoping for. It also seems all three remaining beach clips would fit on this album, especially 404.

 

[rjhbonovox]

The Bee Gees?! When did U2 turn into a barbershop quartet?

U2+The Bee Gees+A Barbershop Quartet

 

[U2Man]

when will we learn to stop listening to what the band says the new albums will sound like? have they ever been right? ever? at all?

and besides... you can be influenced by someone without neccesarily sounding like them.

are you saying that htdaab doesnt sound like punk rock from venus?

 

[Chizip]

i take what the Edge says about the new album a whole lot more seriously than what Bono says about the album. I agree that the BeeGees and Eagles mention means nothing, but the melody talk seems eerily familiar to what was being said around ATYCLB.

 

[U2Man]

melodies are what its all about

 

[FitzChivalry]

Article Interviewer: "HTDAAB was a return to your garage rock roots."

Is this "HTDAAB" a U2 album I've never heard before? Surely they don't mean How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb? Garage rock? Did I skip over like 8 or 10 tracks on this album? City of Blinding Lights, Original of the Species, Miracle Drug, SYCMIOYO, A Man and A Woman, One Step Closer. Garage rock?

I think the writer/interviewer was high on some hallucinagenic when that sentece was written!

 

[Bono in Melb]

"John Lennon was once asked whether Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, to which he responded "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles".

 

[Sicy]

"John Lennon was once asked whether Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, to which he responded "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles".

Why do you keep pasting the same thing in multiple threads?
This is called spamming, and is against the rules in case you were not aware.

 

[Catman]

What I'd REALLY want in U2's next album is some jazz and soul. I half expected Edge to be with me on the jazz part, what with his Music Rising campaign and all. Oh well, we'll see what Rubin has up his sleeve in terms of motivation and album formation... something a bit more cohesive than HTDAAB, I hope.

 

[RademR]

my question is can u2 ever make something as genius again as the first 10 seconds of "until the end of the world?"

i know their in this "pop-rock" phase, but if they wanted to, do you think they could make a cool ass rock song like UTEOTW? sometimes i wonder....

I mean, I loved Vertigo (specially live), but it doesn't come close to UTEOTW,

anyway, off topic....i have my preferences, but it's u2, i'll like whatever they put out.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

As long as there's sausage with the sizzle - all good.

 

[Marko]

molody - rick rubin...
if he is realy going to produce the next record I hope that it will be as melodic and good as RHCP's "By The Way"....
that was a record full of melody, but it kicked ass...

on other hand - I don't expect greatness from U2 anymore, so I'm not so optimistic

 

[U2girl]

In that article, Edge also says Rubin is all about stripping the things to essence. Plus he says they've got 5 or 6 songs in good enough shape they feel strongly about, but not good enough shape to record.

And the reviewer quotes Edge as saying WITS is a good indication of where U2 may go on this next album.

 

[Chizip]

And the reviewer quotes Edge as saying WITS is a good indication of where U2 may go on this next album.

 

[bgmckinney]

"John Lennon was once asked whether Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, to which he responded "He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles".

Lol. It might be spamming, but it's the first time I've seen it. Cracks me up if it's true.

 

[rjhbonovox]

WITS is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[pentax]

WITS is the best thing since sliced bread.

When did you become a window cleaner?

 

[RademR]

I love WITS, I just hope the new album doesn't have a bunch of them on it.

 

[jacobus]

U2 already are dead in the sense of creativity...they became the fave band for soccer mums.

 

[roy]

U2 already are dead in the sense of creativity...they became the fave band for soccer mums.

And you are so sad that you have no better use of your time. Find something that you actually like and explore.