Now that we've heard the clip...

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I have listened to it a couple of times and I can't make out enough to agree or disagree with the vast amount of commentary I have heard about it.

Anyway, here is a reaction for you: in 2 years this album will be seen as average or derided by many who are now lauding it.
 
I found the original unaltered clip quite easy to distinguish... if you have a set of earbud headphones and you turn the bass down a bit. There are definitely some parts when the chorus comes through quite well... it's only a section nearing the end that has a lot of distortion from cars passing by.

This is definitely not a let down, and it's enough to recognize the guitar sound, the strength of a few lyrics, the general flow of the song, and the chorus. What does he say when the chorus breaks out? "I'm alive?"

This song doesn't sound like anything groundbreaking, but nice to hear something after so long.
 
That thread is on the border of acceptance because those guys are giving gut reactions to finished, decent quality tracks.

What I have seen is people going off their rocker about a barely audible clip of one song. I understand the excitement, but the level of analysis people are going to is absolutely amazing.

Hmm, the track sounds like cyberpunk infused zoo station phased with Mofo, but in structure is entirely akin to their late 80s work. :shh:
 
That thread is on the border of acceptance because those guys are giving gut reactions to finished, decent quality tracks.

What I have seen is people going off their rocker about a barely audible clip of one song. I understand the excitement, but the level of analysis people are going to is absolutely amazing.

Hmm, the track sounds like cyberpunk infused zoo station phased with Mofo, but in structure is entirely akin to their late 80s work. :shh:

I read the knee-jerk reactions, some of which were over the top, but I was hoping to hear from veteran fans who could hear something from the clip and give an impression of what it might resemble historically. Don't need a play-by-play - I was just wondering whether "what you hear" takes you to any particular time in the band's past? Again, it had me thinking about Ultra Violet for some reason.
 
I read the knee-jerk reactions, some of which were over the top, but I was hoping to hear from veteran fans who could hear something from the clip and give an impression of what it might resemble historically. Don't need a play-by-play - I was just wondering whether "what you hear" takes you to any particular time in the band's past? Again, it had me thinking about Ultra Violet for some reason.

Sorry, my initial reply was rather uncharitable - I will post my thoughts below.

I find it rather underwhelming so far. The guitar seems a bit "samey", but Bono's vocals seem technically pretty good. I hope he uses some lower register on this album though.

It makes me think of Achtung Baby & HTDAAB having a child. The song it reminds me most of is UTEOTW to be honest, though that might just be the guitar.

I was really hoping Edge would use some different guitar tones on this album, but if this song is any indication it seems straight from the HTDAAB play book.
 
I have listened to it a couple of times and I can't make out enough to agree or disagree with the vast amount of commentary I have heard about it.

Anyway, here is a reaction for you: in 2 years this album will be seen as average or derided by many who are now lauding it.

so howcome AB didn't receive this treatment?
 
The only thing I can really tell is that, muffled through the walls and drowned by the wind and cars, Bono's voice seems to have the nasally higher-pitch of the War era. If it's true, that's friggin' awesome. If it's just due to the muffling, well, meh. As for the music, it's hard to really tell what it sounds like...at least for me, anyway. And the only bit I can make out in the lyrics is "close your eyes."
 
while i agree the clip is hard to hear, i wouldn't say that you can't guage anything from it. i think it sounds the vocal and chord pattern are definitely different than anything they've done in this decade, which you can definitely hear from the clip. maybe because i'm a musician, i have an ear for those things even if there are cars and wind in the background, lol! :wink:
 
The clip sounded like a U2 song playing on a boombox that is across the river and down the street. You really have to listen carefully to get anything from it. Whereas with the beach clips, I remember you could actually hear parts of the songs, if you listened through the waves crashing and people talking. I'm still excited about the album though.
 
I can't believe how little people are drawing from this...it really isn't that hard to hear if you listen multiple times at the right volume! :confused:

it's not like absolutely out-of-this-world, ground shaking stuff, but it certainly is promising considering the fact that Bono's voice sounds unreal and verrrryy strong and this song is big and soaring...i got the feeling that U2, namely Bono, are really going for it this time....no album fillers and crap like that...

and I found that HTDAAB thread so strange cause I wasn't around during that time so I had no idea people were praising the album like that....Is there anyone in this thread that posted a comment in that thread that now completely contradicts your attitude and overall opinion of the album currently? And if so, what exactly? I'd be interested to know, thanks. :)
 
so howcome AB didn't receive this treatment?

I remember back when Achtung Baby came out, I had a Prodigy account and there was a message board with a lot of U2 fans on it. I remember one girl said she quit being a U2 fan after Bono's "pop kids" remark ("We might lose some of the pop kids... but we don't need them."). Also, some people were really disappointed that it was a "dance album", others declared U2 were no longer the band they knew and loved, and further still, some people really hated ZooTV. Oh and there was plenty of people who used the word "sell out" because of the techno/industrial influences. Others, like me, really loved it though. But the overall reaction was more negative than positive. I think you can dig up newsgroup posts from November 1991... those will tell the tale as well. A lot of fans were really upset about Achtung Baby.
 
and I found that HTDAAB thread so strange cause I wasn't around during that time so I had no idea people were praising the album like that....Is there anyone in this thread that posted a comment in that thread that now completely contradicts your attitude and overall opinion of the album currently? And if so, what exactly? I'd be interested to know, thanks. :)

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Among the many Axver posts praising the album as the BEST THING EVER. :lmao:
 
I remember back when Achtung Baby came out, I had a Prodigy account and there was a message board with a lot of U2 fans on it. I remember one girl said she quit being a U2 fan after Bono's "pop kids" remark ("We might lose some of the pop kids... but we don't need them."). Also, some people were really disappointed that it was a "dance album", others declared U2 were no longer the band they knew and loved, and further still, some people really hated ZooTV. Oh and there was plenty of people who used the word "sell out" because of the techno/industrial influences. Others, like me, really loved it though. But the overall reaction was more negative than positive. I think you can dig up newsgroup posts from November 1991... those will tell the tale as well. A lot of fans were really upset about Achtung Baby.

mm..thanks very much for your insight, very interesting :)

but i'd still like to hear thelaj's thoughts or anyone's for that matter as to exactly why AB didn't receive the same treatment?
 
I think the melodies on this album will throw us for a loop and I'm looking forward to the uptempo beats similar to what I hear. I agree that they're going for it and I anticipate some real soaring songs with stadium anthems! I hear a little MW, HMTKMKM, but overall it's a different tempo with many stops and starts, sort of a little like Gone, but with more flow...
 
:laugh: I've never seen that thread before! I think I caught on to the Bomb hype late... like closer to album release date. One of my favorite posts in that thread is GibsonGirl stating that Yahweh is the best album closer since LIB and maybe even better(!!!) :laugh:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I was young. And stupid. Very stupid.
 
^ :laugh: I was too at one point! :hug:



That post really is freaking hilarious! Are we all gonna sound like that when the new album leaks? :yikes::wink:

yes, and the best part is you'll look back at these old threads apprehensively saying "oh my GOD im not turning into that" and then you'll listen to it again, think about the threads, and then by doing so still love the album and talk yourself into being 100% CERTAIN that the album is THAT good.
 
See, the thing about these clips is that with them not being straight off-the-album clips, with even the slightest background muddling, etc., there's far too much imagination involved. Yeah, sure, I'm a quasi-musician and major music fan and I can pick out a lot, too. But even still, no matter what any one thinks he or she picks out of this clip or the others, the final piece--when played alone, crisply off the album as if in a vacuum--is going to sound a lot different than what you got out of these beach/hq clips.

It's just like the HTDAAB beach clips. People who heard them before the album came out claim that the beachclip versions are much better than the album versions. I got the clips after I'd already heard the album. To me, the songs on the beach clips sound a hell of a lot like the album versions. :shrug: There's a lot of imagination and emotion involved in interpreting leaked bootleg clips.
 
Sorry, my initial reply was rather uncharitable - I will post my thoughts below.

I find it rather underwhelming so far. The guitar seems a bit "samey", but Bono's vocals seem technically pretty good. I hope he uses some lower register on this album though.

It makes me think of Achtung Baby & HTDAAB having a child. The song it reminds me most of is UTEOTW to be honest, though that might just be the guitar.

I was really hoping Edge would use some different guitar tones on this album, but if this song is any indication it seems straight from the HTDAAB play book.

I'll speak from a general standpoint, including what was heard in the Fez sessions in addition to the clip, and give my thoughts.

I think Bono is undoubtedly experimenting more with the range and pitch of his voice than he has in the past two albums. That, in my opinion, is a good sign.

The guitar parts also harken back to AB/Zooropa-era type cuts in a slight way, in that they are harder and darker than what was previously heard in ATYCLB/HTDAAB. But more than anything, I think the riffs thus far sound a little like things that would have been alternate cuts to what was heard on "Pop".

Too garbled and raw to hear much from bass/drums, but we'll see. The one element I think everyone is discounting is the amount of influence engineering and production will have on this album. Any weight that an "atmospheric" or "Moroccan" feel may have hinges on production and engineering. I hope that Flood has a big part in this (in terms of mixing and editing), and that U2 avoids making any allowances for a pop audience in diluting their sound. I like the work Eno and Lanois have done, and it seems at least from their attitude, that they are genuinely excited about the progress and dimension of the music.

So far, though, I like what I hear. I stopped playing HTDAAB after the first month or so I had it, and I'm a die hard fan. SYCMIOYO is a solid cut, and I thought "Man&Woman" had potential but should have been a B-side as it was heard, and that "Origin of Species" could have been simplified more and come out amazing.

We'll see what happens.
 
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