SOI autopsy - what went wrong?

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mikal said:
If you're measuring quality with your criteria, then it's hard to argue the point. The problem with your "analysis" is that not everyone measures albums the same way. Personally, I liked a lot of NLOTH, still do. 5 years ago I was parading around this place talking about how brilliant Fez - Being Porn was, but at the same time, I was furious that the band actually delayed the album to "finish" SUC, which is arguably the worst song in U2's catalog.

SOI represents all I've wanted since Pop, which is a strong album front to back.

Also, I'd argue that Iris is as great of a high as MOS, and Reach Around is as good of a song that they've released since the 90's.

So yeah, it's all down to opinions. Not analysis, not mathematical equations. Opinions.
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Well, of course it's just opinion...what else would it be? That goes without saying.

I will say that I think the notion that SOI is a more consistent listening experience vs. NLOTH has pretty much moved past mere opinion to conventional wisdom. I don't think there are many people who'd disagree with that. It is a more consistent record throughout. There's not a "bad" son on SOI as far as I'm concerned, and nothing nearly as bad as the worst of NLOTH...but nothing as good as the best of it either, in my judgement.

So yeah, it's just my opinion that those high points in NLOTH are so strong that, for me, it makes it a better record. I'm just not finding I'm going back to SOI that much, and feel somewhat detached from the music. And while I agree that Iris is great (I think it's the strongest song on the record), I don't think it holds a candle to MOS, which I regard as their best song since Streets.

I still rank SOI as a solid seven, though I think it's only their third best record since Pop. Perhaps my opinion will change once I hear the songs in concert, which after all is where U2 songs really come alive (and I thought the NLOTH songs sounded great live).
 
Nick66 said:
Well, of course it's just opinion...what else would it be? That goes without saying.

I will say that I think the notion that SOI is a more consistent listening experience vs. NLOTH has pretty much moved past mere opinion to conventional wisdom. I don't think there are many people who'd disagree with that. It is a more consistent record throughout. There's not a "bad" son on SOI as far as I'm concerned, and nothing nearly as bad as the worst of NLOTH...but nothing as good as the best of it either, in my judgement.

So yeah, it's just my opinion that those high points in NLOTH are so strong that, for me, it makes it a better record. I'm just not finding I'm going back to SOI that much, and feel somewhat detached from the music. And while I agree that Iris is great (I think it's the strongest song on the record), I don't think it holds a candle to MOS, which I regard as their best song since Streets.

I still rank SOI as a solid seven, though I think it's only their third best record since Pop. Perhaps my opinion will change once I hear the songs in concert, which after all is where U2 songs really come alive (and I thought the NLOTH songs sounded great live).
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I think those are fair points all around. I wasn't as moved by MOS as you were. I think it's good, but if your opinion of MOS was that high, then I can see why you'd gravitate more towards NLOTH.
 
Personally, I don't know that anything went wrong with it. Like a lot of folks, my album listening experience is heavily tied with the live experience. Before the Elevation Tour, there was no way that I was looking forward to hearing the song Elevation in a live setting. I, quite often, skipped it and thought little of it. That song live really exploded live for me and for no other reason really, the album version (Influx mix specifically) can get a lot more plays. I have this weird deja vu type of feeling that Volcano might turn out to be an identical experience.

I do honestly believe that SOI is their most consistent album from start to finish since AB. But having said this, the high points of SOI don't quite reach the level of NLOTH's best 3 (MOS, Breathe,& the title track). I'm thinking that the live experience could change this feeling. I can't wait to find out this May. Until then, NLOTH will hold the title as the best U2 album of the post-Pop era 2000s up.
 
Bono falling off his bike after a long flight back from London was what went wrong with it.
 
They released a great album on their terms and have a sold out world tour. It has been a good thing imo they have been quiet.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Absolutely the bike crash. The music is there and is fantastic. It is a great album start to finish and has great outtakes. The sounds more accessible but still deep so that's great!
 
Speaking just for the album itself, it's quite good. I still find myself listening to the songs and thinking "this is surprisingly still quite excellent" for the most part, which I could not say 6 months after the release of NLOTH.

But the thing would have had to be fucking Revolver for it to go over the way they hoped it would with the release. Combined with the fizzle of Invisible and lack of anything happening afte that (a few of my "casual fan" friends were certain there'd be a new album after Invisible, were pretty excite for it in fact and were disappointed when it didn't happen, and then simply stopped caring by the time SOI actually did come out), and I simply don't think Guy Oseary knows what the hell he's doing. Madonna's career has become punch line after punch line (although that's in a huge way her fault as well), and U2 blew their last shot to be radio-conquering heroes (again, the bike played a part in it but that turd ball was set rolling long before Bono decided to do his best Joseba Beloki impression). He's like a modern day Allen Klein without any of the ruthlessness or killer instinct.

ETA: for those who have no idea who Joseba Beloki was (and also because I will take any excuse I can get to post TDF videos):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XT3hYt4jsU
 
How much did U2 promoting the album as "punk rock" hurt the release? Edge smashing up his guitar and leaping ten foot in the air like a 50 year old salmon in the Apple commercial was all very exciting, but seemed to send out the wrong message as to what the songs would be like.
 
lemonfly said:
How much did U2 promoting the album as "punk rock" hurt the release? Edge smashing up his guitar and leaping ten foot in the air like a 50 year old salmon in the Apple commercial was all very exciting, but seemed to send out the wrong message as to what the songs would be like.
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None what so ever since it was never marketed as such...

This tiny little bubble of negativity that you live in, doesn't exist in reality.
 
lemonfly said:
How much did U2 promoting the album as "punk rock" hurt the release? Edge smashing up his guitar and leaping ten foot in the air like a 50 year old salmon in the Apple commercial was all very exciting, but seemed to send out the wrong message as to what the songs would be like.
Click to expand...

If I had to quantify it, I'd say not at all. When you say Apple commercial, do you mean the Apple thing they played at the day of the release, or something else? If it's the former, I was at work and didn't watch. By the time I got home, the album was released, and I didn't bother watching the Apple thing, and went straight to the album. If the media reported the punk rock thing, I suppose I could have seen it, but I've long forgotten it. And I'm an uber-fan. If I can't even remember it, I doubt that any casual or non-fans can.

Of course, I'm used to Bono blathering on about punk rock for the past few album releases. I've mostly learned to ignore him. Although, if any release deserved to be attached to a label of punk rock, I'd say this one does, moreso than any release since the 90s, and possibly the early 80s. I'd explain my reasons, but it's late and I'm tired. They're good reasons, though! :)
 
I watched the Apple event live, and there was neither a guitar smash nor a salmon leap by Edge during the song.

ETA: Adam was rocking out much harder than anybody else.
 
BVS said:
This tiny little bubble of negativity that you live in, doesn't exist in reality.
Click to expand...

Yet again, you've decided to a get a little personal jibe in. If you don't like the premise of this thread (as you've made abundantly clear), why contribute when all you're accomplishing is pissing people off?
 
I think the album is a much better piece of work than the the last two, which were patchy, each with 3 or 4 great songs on. SOI is a good solid album & unfortunately I think as big u2 fans (over 35 shows) that is all we can expect from a band at this stage of their career. Their marketing & promotion since NLOTH has been a total disaster, especially when pushing singles. Whoever thought through the non strategy for EBW is an idiot. That song could have been a reasonably big hit globally. With a proper video & digital release, I am positive it would have done well in a lot of countries. As for the release method, it just made the haters hate more & in the UK there is a shit load of them. But IMHO we got a pretty good album & tour to look forward to....so its not too bad (got tickets for 4 shows!!) Being a u2 fan in 2015.

Sent from my GT-I9195 using U2 Interference mobile app
 
lemonfly said:
How much did U2 promoting the album as "punk rock" hurt the release? Edge smashing up his guitar and leaping ten foot in the air like a 50 year old salmon in the Apple commercial was all very exciting, but seemed to send out the wrong message as to what the songs would be like.
Click to expand...

Young people (teens/early 20s) take their music genre labels VERY seriously. If a young kid is into "PUNK", he'll hit the roof when he hears Bono describe his music as punk rock. I think in Bono's mind he is still partly in the headspace he was in the late 70s, when he was really into punk rock. I know Bono's just generalizing with that term, but some people might think he seriously thinks he's in a punk band.
 
BVS said:
I think at the time NLOTH was pretty well liked at the time it dropped.

SOI doesn't have the inconsistencies or the clunkers that NLOTH has.


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Click to expand...

You're right it doesn't have low points like NLOTH may have had, but it also lacks the high points. There's not a single song on SOI that stands out above everything else, like MOS on NLOTH. The title track, Breathe and Fez also score high points for most people. Yet SOI it's all decent songs, it's consistent yes, yet there's something missing for me that makes it dull.

digitize said:
Strongly agreed.

NLOTH was well-liked when it was released and then became less well-liked. How quickly the transition happened, I honestly can't remember. If I had to guess, I'd say that SOI and NLOTH will follow similar trajectories on Interference. But we'll see.


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Click to expand...

Probably yeah, then again with a back catalogue like they have it will be hard to get an album with a huge impact like AB or ATYCLB. I fear this might be the trajectory for every future U2 album. If there will be more that is.
 
lemonfly said:
Yet again, you've decided to a get a little personal jibe in. If you don't like the premise of this thread (as you've made abundantly clear), why contribute when all you're accomplishing is pissing people off?
Click to expand...


:up:


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
The_acrobat said:
Young people (teens/early 20s) take their music genre labels VERY seriously. If a young kid is into "PUNK", he'll hit the roof when he hears Bono describe his music as punk rock. I think in Bono's mind he is still partly in the headspace he was in the late 70s, when he was really into punk rock. I know Bono's just generalizing with that term, but some people might think he seriously thinks he's in a punk band.
Click to expand...

Imagine someone being told the album is punk and then listening to Song For Someone.
 
lemonfly said:
Yet again, you've decided to a get a little personal jibe in. If you don't like the premise of this thread (as you've made abundantly clear), why contribute when all you're accomplishing is pissing people off?
Click to expand...


I don't know you, therefore it can't be personal, I just know your posts. The premise of this thread has nothing to do with anything. You have a history of coming in here posting misinformation or your opinion as fact, and then when someone corrects you you ignore them or attack them. Stop trying to make this personal, stop playing victim.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
VintagePunk said:
If I had to quantify it, I'd say not at all. When you say Apple commercial, do you mean the Apple thing they played at the day of the release, or something else? If it's the former, I was at work and didn't watch. By the time I got home, the album was released, and I didn't bother watching the Apple thing, and went straight to the album. If the media reported the punk rock thing, I suppose I could have seen it, but I've long forgotten it. And I'm an uber-fan. If I can't even remember it, I doubt that any casual or non-fans can.

Of course, I'm used to Bono blathering on about punk rock for the past few album releases. I've mostly learned to ignore him. Although, if any release deserved to be attached to a label of punk rock, I'd say this one does, moreso than any release since the 90s, and possibly the early 80s. I'd explain my reasons, but it's late and I'm tired. They're good reasons, though! :)
Click to expand...

by the apple commercial i'm assuming he means the apple commercial

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXJz3C12bWs
 
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