2013 Albums Most Anticipated/Most Dreaded

[GirlsAloudFan]

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have confirmed a spring 2013 release.

Fuck yeah. 'Sgonna be big.

 

[bono_212]

I'd tell you what else is coming out, but I wouldn't want to do that to Ashley.

To be fair, I haven't updated that list in a while.

 

[BoMac]

 

[nielsgov]

Are the people mentioning U2 as most dreaded actually serious?

Why would you dread a new album by a band you love(d). A bad album won't make their other records any worse. Who knows? It could be pretty good, just like NLOTH (imo of course).

 

[RobotlandGirl]

While I respect their opinions, I find it amusing that people are dreading the new U2 album. Those people are the hipsters of Bang & Clatter. Dreading an album by a band whose fan bulletin board they're posting on--how ironic.

 

[BoMac]

Interesting.

I'm dreading the release based on statements made from various parties close to the band because it seems like they're chasing "relevancy", whatever that means, and lots of radio airplay.

I'll reserve judgment until actually listening to the album, but I don't have a lot of optimism over its quality.

Even fans are able to cringe at the possibility of a mediocre effort. I hope I'm wrong, though.

 

[corianderstem]

Yeah, that's my take on the "dread" over it. (Although I'm more optimistic.)

And the "hipster" label is bullshit. Sorry.


*assuming that by "hipster" she meant the musical interpretation of the label .... if she meant it some other way, then I have no idea what "hipster" is supposed to imply here, and I'd still call it bullshit.

 

[No spoken words]

I'll reserve judgment until actually listening to the album,

Well, you don't really have a choice here, do you? Even if you felt like not reserving judgement, what exactly would you judge? We don't even have lame-ass Zapruder beach clips to pore over incessantly.

I probably have my own head stuck up my ass, and lord knows I'm no optimist, but.....I'm a gigantic U2 fan and I just have a hard time dreading any new material from them. Are my expectations dampened due to their recent output? Of course. But, even my least favorite albums of theirs have a gem or two (or three), so I cannot help but to be anything but excited over the prospects of new material, no matter what's being said by them or their camp, etc. If I buy it, listen to it, and find that it sucks, well, that'll be a bummer but dread a new album by a band I love? Just makes no sense to me, and, I'm not speaking directly to you here, BoMac.

And, yes, the U2 bashing on this board used to be kinda funny because it felt like tough love, for lack of a more accurate term...but now it just feels like the thing to do, and I don't get it. I don't know if "hipster" is the appropriate term but constantly going out of your way to mock a band on a web site dedicated to fans of said band is lame.

 

[djerdap]

I'm just at a stage where I'd be perfectly fine with not hearing a single new note from U2 again. I didn't like their choices over the last 10 years, their chase of "relevancy", state of Bono's voice and most importantly - I was underwhelmed by the music, specifically by its longevity and its staying power - namely the lack of those.

My disappointment over the 360 tour in general was the single event that really separated me from U2, since the live component always had a key role in my love for the band. I still very much enjoy listening to the old albums and concerts here and there, but there's so much music in the world that is still to be discovered and that is yet to come that I find it completely senseless to get excited for new music by a 35-year-old band, where the last truly great song in my mind was written twelve years and more than three albums ago. Plus I'm really, really annoyed by them, and I think all the mocking being done here is somewhat deserved, starting from that ridiculous Songs of Ascent/multiple albums fiasco, their constant absurd over-analyzing (reports how they had done around 100 mixes of a song like Breathe) in order to stay "relevant", Spider-Man bullshit, David Guetta etc.

If I end up liking the new record, excellent. Danger Mouse has done some great work with The Black Keys so it may turn out to sound fresh. But I really think the time has passed for me and these Irish blokes in terms of some heavy, nerdy fandom. That's just the way it is. Apologies if somebody is annoyed by this, but I'll finish this rant on a positive note - I enjoy this part of the forum since it gives me an opportunity to discuss, but more importantly discover new music. Just not by U2 at the moment.

 

[LemonMelon]

I liked NLOTH, and I think Danger Mouse is a pretty good producer. I'm dreading the bitching about the music more than I am the music itself.

 

[BoMac]

I agree that dread is probably not an accurate term to describe my feelings over the new album.

 

[djerdap]

I'm ambivalent towards it. Dreading is too big of an emotion to be frank.

 

[No spoken words]

There's nothing annoying about liking the band less, or not at all. And some of the mocking is certainly well deserved, and I've contributed to it at times. I think it's the bevy of inorganic mocking that strikes me as....odd. But maybe I'm old and cranky, who the fuck knows.

One thing I don't understand about your post is the part about all the undiscovered new music being connected to you U2 excitement level. I fail to see what one thing has to do with the other. I try to listen to as much new music as possible, and like you, use this forum as a vehicle for that....but, how or why would listening to new music impact my looking forward to an album release from U2, since it happens once every 4 years o so? That makes no sense to me. The rest of your post does, for the little (nothing) that will be worth to you.

 

[Imperor]

I'm ambivalent towards it. Dreading is too big of an emotion to be frank.

This. There is too much good music to get worked up in either direction. The album will be a curio and likely nothing more for me. But I'd love it if they prove me wrong.

 

[PhilsFan]

I'd really like to see The Edge step his game up on the next album. Hoping for Bono to get better lyrically makes little sense; it's not his fault he's uninspired. He's a happily married, succesful man in his 50s who has lived a very full life. But The Edge was the weak link on NLOTH, which may be a first in band history. He needs to find a new angle. I don't know what the answer is. But he's the biggest question mark going into this album for me. He's the Andrew Bynum's knees of the next U2 album. Let's hope he doesn't go bowling.

 

[djerdap]

One thing I don't understand about your post is the part about all the undiscovered new music being connected to you U2 excitement level. I fail to see what one thing has to do with the other. I try to listen to as much new music as possible, and like you, use this forum as a vehicle for that....but, how or why would listening to new music impact my looking forward to an album release from U2, since it happens once every 4 years o so? That makes no sense to me. The rest of your post does, for the little (nothing) that will be worth to you.

It has to do with the fact that, at the time All That You Can't Leave Behind and even The Bomb were coming out, U2 was one of maybe three bands I was looking forward to in terms of new music. So it was a big thing. And I think a lot of people on the EYKIW forum are still like that, which is why they are so desperate in seeing hidden messages about new music in e-mails that couldn't state more clearly that there will be no new music announcement.

Nowadays, listening to lots and lots of bands, there is simply way more new music to look forward too and I don't get excited by the prospect of new U2 music. It's not a big thing anymore as it once was. And the quality of their recent output tells me there is nothing to look forward to in the future. But that's OK since I've found not one or two "replacements", but about a hundred in the last eight years or so.

I hope it seems clearer now.

 

[No spoken words]

I appreciate the reply.

I guess I understand fully but do not relate. As far as current listening goes, U2 have fallen waaaaaaaaay down my list, so, the've been "replaced" in that sense. But I will still get geared up when (if) a new album comes out....but I won't live and die with it.

But, yeah, I understand you. Thanks again for explaining.

 

[djerdap]

Thanks for listening (reading).

It just seems to be a destructive feeling to be so attached to one band that you have to constantly replay the old music by that same band while desperately waiting for a new beach clip, when there's an incredible, infinite amount of fantastic music out there. I sincerely believe that this would be the cure for many of the EYKIW people, as unfortunately condescending as this may sound.

Oh, in the end I certainly wouldn't say that I like the band less - I still love the U2 of the 80s and 90s and some selected work from the 00s just as I did in the past. I had just grown to be much more cynical of them and what they have to offer in the future. But I do believe that's not just me, since literally everybody I know has been very much annoyed by them for numerous reasons since the time All That You Can't Leave Behind came out.

 

[No spoken words]

It just seems to be a destructive feeling to be so attached to one band that you have to constantly replay the old music by that same band while desperately waiting for a new beach clip, when there's an incredible, infinite amount of fantastic music out there. I sincerely believe that this would be the cure for many of the EYKIW people, as unfortunately condescending as this may sound.

Couldn't agree more with this post. Even at the heights of my U2 fandom (obsession?) I always loved many other bands. I love music more than I love U2's music, if that makes sense, and that will always be the case. I cannot imagine liking just one author, or one film director, so that applies here as well.

 

[RobotlandGirl]

Yeah, that's my take on the "dread" over it. (Although I'm more optimistic.)

And the "hipster" label is bullshit. Sorry.


*assuming that by "hipster" she meant the musical interpretation of the label .... if she meant it some other way, then I have no idea what "hipster" is supposed to imply here, and I'd still call it bullshit.

Well, I suppose this is what I get for quickly firing off a post while sitting at the food court at the mall in the middle of an epic Christmas shopping trip. Still, I don't appreciate anything I write being called bullshit. How rude.

The hipsters I see and hang out with have a tendency to dislike things that are overly popular or things that many people are excited about, even though they liked that very thing at one time. Yeah, we all like (or liked) one of the world's biggest bands, so that doesn't count. But there is most certainly a backlash in B&C against the people in EYKIW and the rest of the forum, as evidenced by this very thread. "Those people" like U2 too much. Some of that backlash may be deserved, but there does seem to be a trend lately of people here going overboard in their criticism of the band. Using the word "dread" to describe your emotions toward a new U2 album is a bit over the top (and even inaccurate and overly emotional, as others have written here). It's even more over the top to do so on a U2 board.

I do understand that many people came to interference for U2 and stayed in B&C for the other music long after U2's charms wore off for them. That's fine. But to say you're dreading their new album, on a U2 forum, is a bit ironic (another thing hipsters are known for) and seems to be a deliberate effort to distance oneself from the fans who post around the rest of the forum. Bang & Clatter cultivates an atmosphere where it's uncool to love U2 too much, and I think some of the posts about dreading the album both stem from and contribute to that overall attitude.

 

[iron yuppie]

It just seems to be a destructive feeling to be so attached to one band that you have to constantly replay the old music by that same band while desperately waiting for a new beach clip, when there's an incredible, infinite amount of fantastic music out there. I sincerely believe that this would be the cure for many of the EYKIW people, as unfortunately condescending as this may sound.

I agree with this. Personally, all this "will they/won't they" and general coyness from U2 has made me not really care about their future. I wish that weren't the case, but it is. I seldom reach for U2 anymore, though when I do I remember why I so loved them and in many ways still do love them.

 

[the tourist]

Still, I don't appreciate anything I write being called bullshit. How rude.

This is all I'm responding to. First: welcome to the internet! You'll need a thicker skin. Second: Cori used the , which is generally considered to be good natured. Don't like it? Tough.

 

[nielsgov]

Using the word "dread" to describe your emotions toward a new U2 album is a bit over the top (and even inaccurate and overly emotional, as others have written here). It's even more over the top to do so on a U2 board.

This is what I was getting at.

But yeah, I understand what you guys meant. I just found the word dreading a bit idiotic. I also agree that my excitement won't be as high as it would have been 2-3 years ago.

 

[corianderstem]

I thought I had conveyed that I didn't mean your whole thought was bullshit, just the part where you tossed off the "hipster" label, but obviously that wasn't clear and I'm sorry.

While I can't really disagree with the U2 stuff, we have pretty broad taste as a group overall in this part of the forum, including tons of stuff that is very mainstream and popular. So that's what had my hackles raised.

 

[No spoken words]

I just found the word dreading a bit idiotic.

That's because it is, especially in this context.

 

[iron yuppie]

Bang & Clatter cultivates an atmosphere where it's uncool to love U2 too much, and I think some of the posts about dreading the album both stem from and contribute to that overall attitude.

I don't really think this is the case at all, and really never has been over the course of the three or four years I have been frequenting this forum. For example, there was a thread in here during the Glastonbury feed of their performance where everyone was gushing for 800 or so posts over how much they loved the band. Something similar happened when they pulled out One Tree Hill towards the end of 360. I can't really think of anyone on here, expect perhaps IWB, who expresses no fondness for U2.

 

[LemonMelon]

RobotlandGirl = ironic HeartlandGirl alter fwiw

 

[No spoken words]

Don't like it? Tough.

This seems a bit assholish and unnecessary to me, but, so be it.

 

[u2popmofo]

I agree with the people who say they are very excited for a new U2 album. I certainly don't like them as much as I did in the '90's, but I've known that for over a decade. It doesn't in any way change that they're my all time favorite band, even if they're nowhere near being my "present" favorite band. If they release an album that has nothing but one or two songs I even like, I'll still be thrilled to hear them. Avoiding the bitching is usually quite simple if you stick to this area of the forum, but unfortunately it seems a bit of that ridiculousness has slipped in here.

 

[cobl04]

As much as I say that I'm not really interested in new U2 anymore, I'm sure if an announcement came I'd become a little fanboy again within a heartbeat.