LP15 - We're due for a break from the norm

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I thought everyone was tired of the classic Edge sound? That’s what you were all complaining about not too many years ago. Now he’s not doing it and you’re still complaining. :lol: :tsk:
 
I thought everyone was tired of the classic Edge sound? That’s what you were all complaining about not too many years ago. Now he’s not doing it and you’re still complaining. [emoji38] :tsk:
That's not what people are complaining about.

Pop is not Edge's classic sound, for example. The Fly is not Edge's classic sound. But it's the sound of a guitar player who is still experimenting with creating sonic landscapes.

This is what isn't happening, for the most part, on the last two albums. The band as a whole has gotten away from creating atmosphere and focused on SONGS SONGS SONGS. That's not U2. If they had taken that approach throughout their career, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now because people would have stopped caring about them a long time ago.

I don't know if it's because of Rick Rubin or because of the criticism that they were just a creation of Brian Eno, but they have been on this "we need to make songs with great structures that can be played well as a full band or acoustic" kick, and it's watered down the product.

The U2 magic, the thing that set them apart, has been missing.

They need to find it, otherwise they should just focus on touring and or simply retire.
 
The U2 magic, the thing that set them apart, has been missing.



This sums up my feelings of late. I'm one of the biggest "millennial U2" fans in this place but the last two albums, both of which I like, are missing the "U2 thing" on the majority of the songs. Blackout, LIBTAIIW and Little Things all have it but then there are 10 other songs that are missing it (for me). I really like SOL but as good as I think it is, it doesn't feel like a U2 song....something is off. SOL sounds like any song I would hear on the radio and it's a good song but I feel like X number of other artists could have produced it too, whereas The Fly is U2!
 
I thought everyone was tired of the classic Edge sound? That’s what you were all complaining about not too many years ago. Now he’s not doing it and you’re still complaining. :lol: :tsk:

Before SOI: Enough of the chimey riffs Edge! Be "innovative" again!

After SOI: OMG, Iris is the best song on the album!!!
 
SOE replaced SOI as my least favorite U2 album, so my expectations are in the cellar at this point. U2 showed some renewed creative spark with NLOTH, but there has only been about an EP's worth of really great material since, most of it on SOI.

Bono's eroding voice and blunt-force lyricism are significant issues, but Edge's complete lack of creativity is the biggest one. He hit what I perceive to be rock bottom on SOE. It hasn't been that long since he's had some highlight reel moments; he made some great textures on NLOTH, MOS, Fez, SLABT and The Troubles, but any copycat on YouTube could have brought what he did to the table on SOE, and that's sad.

I really feel that hanging out with Jimmy Page and Jack White made Edge insecure about the textural aspect of his sound. He's increasingly riff-oriented these days, which does a disservice to the multiple dimensions of his playing that come with experimentation. Generic riffs like Stand Up Comedy started creeping in around the same time as It Might Get Loud, which is a pretty big coincidence. Fuck, I want the old, inventive Edge back.



My biggest issue isnt the generic riffs so much as what happened on SOE.

I mean, how many producers were there? 5? 10? And yet they borrow the main guitar for LOH from another artist, reuse the chorus guitar from Volcano on American Soul (as well as the "you are rock and roll" lyrics which don't fit the fucking song about accepting immigrants/all people), reuse a good portion of the chorus lyrics from Song for Someone on 13.....what the fuck!

I get it....it's a "companion album" but 13s chorus...the main chorus is very similar to SFS and is even sung very similar unlike the "free yourself" part in LOH that is at least presented differently than it was in Iris.

I also recall reading a story about how each member would record their part of a given song separately and give it to one of the 10 producers to mash together with the other recorded parts. I feel like this album....doesn't feel like an album.
 
I really like SOL but as good as I think it is, it doesn't feel like a U2 song....something is off. SOL sounds like any song I would hear on the radio and it's a good song but I feel like X number of other artists could have produced it too !

Almost sounds like a One Republic song. :wink:


 
This sums up my feelings of late. I'm one of the biggest "millennial U2" fans in this place but the last two albums, both of which I like, are missing the "U2 thing" on the majority of the songs. Blackout, LIBTAIIW and Little Things all have it but then there are 10 other songs that are missing it (for me). I really like SOL but as good as I think it is, it doesn't feel like a U2 song....something is off. SOL sounds like any song I would hear on the radio and it's a good song but I feel like X number of other artists could have produced it too, whereas The Fly is U2!

This is probably how a lot of people were feeling when U2 transitioned from the JT era to Achtung Baby. That’s why I’m so open to pretty much anything U2 does, because they’re always changing. Not everything turns out well, but it’s great that they don’t do the same things all the time. I’m sure some of the songs we look back on as masterpieces were seen as dealbreakers by fans of yore.
 
Even ATYCLB, the most distinctly "traditionalist" U2 album, celebrated for sticking to what works, has some really weird and interesting guitar moments on it. Edge frequently bends his tone and picking to fit the track. Peace on Earth and Grace have some strange and ear-catching textures. Elevation has an ugly, gain-soaked tone that doesn't sound quite like any of his other work. WILATW has a echoing, squealing tone that he has explicitly stated he can't recreate. Edge is straight up the MVP on New York, balancing slippery yet harrowing textures with scorching distortion in a classic loud/soft dynamic. That little accent he picks on "in the queue for the lifeboat" is incredibly playful.

There never should be a place for being dull and uncreative in this band. Not the band whose music I fell in love with.
 
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I've been missing the last few months, so help me out here:

Do we all hate SoE all of a sudden? Because I remember the reactions post-release were pretty overwhelmingly positive, and I still really like it.

Also - Bono's eroding voice? He sounds to be in much better (full) voice on this tour than in quite a while. The only thing that seems to have slipped is his falsetto, which is noticeably absent.
 
I've been missing the last few months, so help me out here:

Do we all hate SoE all of a sudden? Because I remember the reactions post-release were pretty overwhelmingly positive, and I still really like it.

I sure don't, I think it's pretty great. But I do agree that there's that little extra missing to make it truly memorable and succintly U2, whatever that is. Last time I felt it was probably Moment of Surrender, still one of the greatest Bono vocals.
 
To each their own and I know around here this will be an unpopular opinion but I still find Moment Of Surrender as one of the most unlistenable songs the band has ever done. It sounds like the band are trying to pass a creative kidney stone.
 
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I think Songs of Experience is a good album.

I've come to expect more than good from my favorite band, though... so good is kind of a let down.

This. I'll say it for the umpteenth time, but SOE has a lot of good to great tracks. Unfortunately...

My biggest issue isnt the generic riffs so much as what happened on SOE.

I mean, how many producers were there? 5? 10? And yet they borrow the main guitar for LOH from another artist, reuse the chorus guitar from Volcano on American Soul (as well as the "you are rock and roll" lyrics which don't fit the fucking song about accepting immigrants/all people), reuse a good portion of the chorus lyrics from Song for Someone on 13.....what the fuck!

I also recall reading a story about how each member would record their part of a given song separately and give it to one of the 10 producers to mash together with the other recorded parts. I feel like this album....doesn't feel like an album.

When your band's success and uniqueness is based largely on the innovative sounds of your guitar player... and 3 of the 4 most memorable guitar riffs are either a) written by someone else, or b) have already been used in a previous U2 song?

That's a problem.

Even ATYCLB, the most distinctly "traditionalist" U2 album, celebrated for sticking to what works, has some really weird and interesting guitar moments on it. Edge frequently bends his tone and picking to fit the track. Peace on Earth and Grace have some strange and ear-catching textures. Elevation has an ugly, gain-soaked tone that doesn't sound quite like any of his other work. WILATW has a echoing, squealing tone that he has explicitly stated he can't recreate. Edge is straight up the MVP on New York, balancing slippery yet harrowing textures with scorching distortion in a classic loud/soft dynamic. That little accent he picks on "in the queue for the lifeboat" is incredibly playful.

There never should be a place for being dull and uncreative in this band. Not the band whose music I fell in love with.

...I can't disagree with any of this.

But, in a slightly alternate reality, where The Blackout is the lead single, followed by videos for Love Is Bigger, Summer of Love/The Showman/Red Flag Day, and all those songs are in regular rotation in the setlist, I'm a much happier camper.

Just like I'll forever wonder how much better SOI would have been with just Danger Mouse behind the boards, I'll continue speculating if a non-Trump, earlier release of SOE would have been less of a mess. At least we wouldn't have the awful trash that is Get Out, and I'd be willing to lose The Blackout over it.
 
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This. I'll say it for the umpteenth time, but SOE has a lot of good to great tracks. Unfortunately...







...I can't disagree with any of this.

But, in a slightly alternate reality, where The Blackout is the lead single, followed by videos for Love Is Bigger, Summer of Love/The Showman/Red Flag Day, and all those songs are in regular rotation in the setlist, I'm a much happier camper.

Just like I'll forever wonder how much better SOI would have been with just Danger Mouse behind the boards, I'll continue speculating if a non-Trump, earlier release of SOE would have been less of a mess. At least we wouldn't have the awful trash that is Get Out, and I'd be willing to lose The Blackout over it.
Agreed on the last point... but I think we still would have gotten Blackout, as I see it as a song about Bono and the band and not about Trump or anything like that. They sort of shoehorned a double meaning in there, would maybe some lyrics might have slightly changed... but I'm fairly certain the song would have existed very close to it's current form if the album would have been released on time.
 
My take, and it really remains the same since the album came out, is that it's all about mindset.

I'm generally a glass half full kind of guy, and really, post NLOTH, I'm just so fucking grateful that my all time favorite band is still making music. On the flip side, I know that they'll never reach the heights of '84 - '97, which IMO is their peak. They haven't been there for a while, and that's fine. They're old.

SOI and SOE both have tracks that would poke its way into my top 25, and that's impressive considering their back catalog. "Little Things" is easily top 20. For a band pushing 60, bravo to them.

I understand why some are more critical. That's fine. I just choose to enjoy their music in its current shape and form because the alternative (band breaking up, members dying, etc) is much worse.
 
My take, and it really remains the same since the album came out, is that it's all about mindset.

I'm generally a glass half full kind of guy, and really, post NLOTH, I'm just so fucking grateful that my all time favorite band is still making music. On the flip side, I know that they'll never reach the heights of '84 - '97, which IMO is their peak. They haven't been there for a while, and that's fine. They're old.

SOI and SOE both have tracks that would poke its way into my top 25, and that's impressive considering their back catalog. "Little Things" is easily top 20. For a band pushing 60, bravo to them.

I understand why some are more critical. That's fine. I just choose to enjoy their music in its current shape and form because the alternative (band breaking up, members dying, etc) is much worse.

Throw in that crowd applause gif here. :up:
 
Throw in that crowd applause gif here. :up:

giphy.gif
 
My take, and it really remains the same since the album came out, is that it's all about mindset.

I'm generally a glass half full kind of guy, and really, post NLOTH, I'm just so fucking grateful that my all time favorite band is still making music. On the flip side, I know that they'll never reach the heights of '84 - '97, which IMO is their peak. They haven't been there for a while, and that's fine. They're old.

SOI and SOE both have tracks that would poke its way into my top 25, and that's impressive considering their back catalog. "Little Things" is easily top 20. For a band pushing 60, bravo to them.

I understand why some are more critical. That's fine. I just choose to enjoy their music in its current shape and form because the alternative (band breaking up, members dying, etc) is much worse.


This. If you told me since post Vertigo Tour we would have gotten 3 new albums and 4 big tours (some being revolutionary) I would take that happily.

To have

NLOTH
MOS
EBW
Troubles
Reach Me
RFD
Little Things
Love is Bigger

out of all this is pretty solid for a band in their 60's. Scale wise what U2 is still doing (new music, tour) will never happen again for a rock band. Most of today's rock bands won't make it to their 40's.
 
My take, and it really remains the same since the album came out, is that it's all about mindset.

I'm generally a glass half full kind of guy, and really, post NLOTH, I'm just so fucking grateful that my all time favorite band is still making music. On the flip side, I know that they'll never reach the heights of '84 - '97, which IMO is their peak. They haven't been there for a while, and that's fine. They're old.

SOI and SOE both have tracks that would poke its way into my top 25, and that's impressive considering their back catalog. "Little Things" is easily top 20. For a band pushing 60, bravo to them.

I understand why some are more critical. That's fine. I just choose to enjoy their music in its current shape and form because the alternative (band breaking up, members dying, etc) is much worse.
I am generally more inline with this line of thought... but if we can't discuss their faults, man, this place would turn into @u2... and nobody needs that noise.
 
I am generally more inline with this line of thought... but if we can't discuss their faults, man, this place would turn into @u2... and nobody needs that noise.



Respect bro.

It helps that I haven’t soured on SOI/SOE at all. I think it’s a really strong era in general. I have major issues with NLOTH though.
 
I've been missing the last few months, so help me out here:

Do we all hate SoE all of a sudden? Because I remember the reactions post-release were pretty overwhelmingly positive, and I still really like it.

Also - Bono's eroding voice? He sounds to be in much better (full) voice on this tour than in quite a while. The only thing that seems to have slipped is his falsetto, which is noticeably absent.

Agreed regarding Bono"s voice. His vocals on SOI and SOE and there respective tours sound pretty excellent to me?

Does anyone remember the weakness, raspiness and consistency issues on Popmart and the Elevation tour. All things considered and falsetto aside his voice now is miles better than it was 15 - 20 years ago.

And I still like SOE a lot and listen pretty much daily
 
Agreed regarding Bono"s voice. His vocals on SOI and SOE and there respective tours sound pretty excellent to me?

Does anyone remember the weakness, raspiness and consistency issues on Popmart and the Elevation tour. All things considered and falsetto aside his voice now is miles better than it was 15 - 20 years ago.

And I still like SOE a lot and listen pretty much daily

Agreed, I think Bono's voice has improved since the Elevation era. He did sound weaker back then.

I also still listen to SOE a lot and haven't gotten tired of it. Lately I don't have the patience for GOOYOW and AS, so I've been skipping them. The rest is solid gold.
 
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