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I feel really bad about saying this but I have no excitement for this new album. I'm not saying it is going to be crap. I just don't get excited anymore after the last two albums, the band's bullshit about these last two albums being some of their best and the mainstream attitude the band has taken. :sigh:

I think the band seems to have approached the new album with a bit of a different mindset, and the little bits we know so far seem to indicate to me that it isn't going to slot perfectly into the ATYCLB/HTDAAB mould. I hope that perception proves to be accurate, because it's what's giving me some optimism that the album will be the best since Pop.

Though the fact even Eno feels the need to spout off and talk up tracks doesn't bode well.
 
What? I thought we could actually agree that HTDAAB isn't exactly god's musical gift to humanity.

Oh, we do. It's turned out to be one of my least favorite U2 albums, but I'm sure we both loved it at some point. Actually, there was evidence that you did. :lol:

It's just a victim of poor aging (in 4 years!) and superior live versions.
 
I feel really bad about saying this but I have no excitement for this new album. I'm not saying it is going to be crap. I just don't get excited anymore after the last two albums, the band's bullshit about these last two albums being some of their best and the mainstream attitude the band has taken. :sigh:

As much as Viva la Vida Loca surprised me, I fully expect this to blow it out of the water. I only bring up this comparison because I do trust when the band says this is a change in direction from the past 2 albums, the Coldplay one, on the other hand, was merely in push in the right direction. Plus, we all know of Eno's involvement with both and Lanois' with the U2 album.

To tell the truth, ATYCLB doesn't sound like a retread or "return to roots" album for me. The production and sampling heard on that album is different from their work in the '80s and most of the '90s. If anything, Bomb is the only true retread album in their discography, to me at least.
 
Oh, we do. It's turned out to be one of my least favorite U2 albums, but I'm sure we both loved it at some point. Actually, there was evidence that you did. :lol:

It's just a victim of poor aging (in 4 years!) and superior live versions.

Yeah, when it came out, I really enjoyed it. I was stunned at how quickly it dropped in my estimation, though. If any album had absolutely no staying power to speak of, it was HTDAAB. Funnily enough, seeing the band and hearing how lacklustre Miracle Drug and SYCMIOYO were live is what really started to drive me away from HTDAAB, despite how songs like COBL and LAPOE were excellent.
 
Oh, we do. It's turned out to be one of my least favorite U2 albums, but I'm sure we both loved it at some point. Actually, there was evidence that you did. :lol:

It's just a victim of poor aging (in 4 years!) and superior live versions.

:lol: I in all honesty hated Bomb and ATYCLB on first listen but things equaled out when I listened to X&Y and thought it was a classic. :wink:
 
Yeah, when it came out, I really enjoyed it. I was stunned at how quickly it dropped in my estimation, though. If any album had absolutely no staying power to speak of, it was HTDAAB. Funnily enough, seeing the band and hearing how lacklustre Miracle Drug and SYCMIOYO were live is what really started to drive me away from HTDAAB, despite how songs like COBL and LAPOE were excellent.

It's an album of singles, that's why. Even one of my favorite albums of the decade, The Flaming Lips' At War with the Mystics (Yoshimi... is still better), feels like a singles-album, but they all at least capture a similar sound.

I'd probably rank Bomb in the bottom three U2 albums with War and Rattle and Hum.
 
I can at least say I never thought much of ATYCLB. Well, I'm sure somebody will find some stupid post from around 2003 or something when I was a hyperfan that says otherwise, but if anything like that exists, it was a pretty brief phase. When I first got ATYCLB back in 2000, I routinely skipped half the album. The tracks I played the most were BD, Walk On, Peace On Earth, New York, and TGBHF (due to not having the Internet, I didn't know until 2003 that TGBHF was not on all editions).
 
It was funny seeing your hype Bomb because it's rare to see you not like anything most of us have never heard of before. I don't know why you took it so personally.

I've grown to appreciate All That You Can't Leave Behind over time, which marks some type of greatness in my book.
 
It's an album of singles, that's why. Even one of my favorite albums of the decade, The Flaming Lips' At War with the Mystics (Yoshimi... is still better), feels like a singles-album, but they all at least capture a similar sound.

I'd probably rank Bomb in the bottom three U2 albums with War and Rattle and Hum.

Yeah, I think HTDAAB would have been quite a good deal better if they had stuck with some of their earlier ideas and not tried so consciously to make singles. OOTS in particular really bugs me in that sense.

HTDAAB is in my bottom three with Achtung and ATYCLB. RAH rounds out the bottom four, though if it were a proper album rather than a disjointed mess, it would be in my top four.
 
I can at least say I never thought much of ATYCLB. Well, I'm sure somebody will find some stupid post from around 2003 or something when I was a hyperfan that says otherwise, but if anything like that exists, it was a pretty brief phase. When I first got ATYCLB back in 2000, I routinely skipped half the album. The tracks I played the most were BD, Walk On, Peace On Earth, New York, and TGBHF (due to not having the Internet, I didn't know until 2003 that TGBHF was not on all editions).

I have never owned ATYCLB. They had it at the library and I couldn't stand it. :lol:
 
Yeah, I think HTDAAB would have been quite a good deal better if they had stuck with some of their earlier ideas and not tried so consciously to make singles. OOTS in particular really bugs me in that sense.

HTDAAB is in my bottom three with Achtung and ATYCLB. RAH rounds out the bottom four, though if it were a proper album rather than a disjointed mess, it would be in my top four.

I definitely agree there. There was too long of a gestation period for it to sound like a "hard" album, you know? If it had hit in '03, I can guarantee you it'd be higher on the list below:

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. Pop*
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. Boy
6. Zooropa
7. October
8. All That You Can't Leave Behind
9. Original Soundtracks 1 (Yeah, it's Passengers, bitches)
10. Rattle and Hum
11. War
12. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

*My personal mix with singles, b-sides, etc.
 
It was funny seeing your hype Bomb because it's rare to see you not like anything most of us have never heard of before. I don't know why you took it so personally.

I've grown to appreciate All That You Can't Leave Behind over time, which marks some type of greatness in my book.

I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time figuring out quite what your first sentence there is meant to mean! As for taking it personally, it just seemed a bit over-the-top and mocking rather than "holy shit, how different things used to be".

I'd say my impression of ATYCLB now is a bit less than around 2000-01, but that's mainly due to having more to compare it to. When I got ATYCLB, it was my first proper U2 album; I only owned the Best Of 1980-1990 beforehand. And I no longer pay any attention to Peace On Earth or New York, but now I notice Kite (originally hated it) and WILATW.
 
I definitely agree there. There was too long of a gestation period for it to sound like a "hard" album, you know? If it had hit in '03, I can guarantee you it'd be higher on the list below:

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. Pop*
4. The Unforgettable Fire
5. Boy
6. Zooropa
7. October
8. All That You Can't Leave Behind
9. Original Soundtracks 1 (Yeah, it's Passengers, bitches)
10. Rattle and Hum
11. War
12. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

*My personal mix with singles, b-sides, etc.

Personally:

1. UF
2. JT
3. Passengers
(Slotting in about here would be my compilation of 1980s b-sides that weren't on the Best Of B-Sides disc)
4. Boy
5. October
6. War
7. Pop
8. Zooropa
9. RAH
10. Achtung
11. HTDAAB
12. ATYCLB
 
I still like HTDAAB better than ATYCLB. :shrug: But, I don't go babbling about how awesome HTDAAB is or anything. Also, comparing U2's recent work to their earlier work is futile. When you kick that much ass for the first decade of your career, it's a given that there will be some sort of decline. That being said, the band still continue to find/make new fans, and songs like "Elevation", which I cannot fucking stand, seems to get the average U2 concert-goer all pumped up.

I'm awfully excited for the next album, and if it disappoints, well, U2's disappointments are still better than most of what I hear.

Also, Coldplay are just so......meh. Listened to the new album at least 10x, just to totally be fair to it, and, maybe two songs jump at me. But, many like them, and they're entitled, despite my not understanding the appeal.
 
Well, fuck it then:

1. Joshua Tree
2. Achtung Baby
3. Unforgettable Fire
4. October (That's fucking right)
5. Boy
6. War
7. Zooropa
8. Rattle & Hum
9. HTDAAB
10. Pop
11. Passengers
12. ATYCLB
 
I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time figuring out quite what your first sentence there is meant to mean! As for taking it personally, it just seemed a bit over-the-top and mocking rather than "holy shit, how different things used to be".

I'd say my impression of ATYCLB now is a bit less than around 2000-01, but that's mainly due to having more to compare it to. When I got ATYCLB, it was my first proper U2 album; I only owned the Best Of 1980-1990 beforehand. And I no longer pay any attention to Peace On Earth or New York, but now I notice Kite (originally hated it) and WILATW.

Your taste is markedly different than most, and it was funny to see you really like something that's fairly in tune with a differing taste. That's not a bad thing at all, just funny. I didn't think it was that over-the-top, either. If someone found a post of me saying I loved X&Y, for instance, and joked around about it, it wouldn't seem like a big deal because I did actually say it, even if it was x amount of years ago, you know?

Achtung Baby was the album that got me hooked, but Bomb was the first one released when I was a massive fan. My fandom's waned since then, but they'll always be my favorite band.
 
Well, fuck it then:

1. Joshua Tree
2. Achtung Baby
3. Unforgettable Fire
4. October (That's fucking right)
5. Boy
6. War
7. Zooropa
8. Rattle & Hum
9. HTDAAB
10. Pop
11. Passengers
12. ATYCLB

October's a brilliant album that's always the most overlooked in their discography. What's even more amazing is that it sounded that great when they were making up most of it on the spot, well at least with the lyrics.
 
October's a brilliant album that's always the most overlooked in their discography. What's even more amazing is that it sounded that great when they were making up most of it on the spot, well at least with the lyrics.

October's haunting. I love it. I never ever want to hear just one song from it; for me, it's the whole album or nothing.
 
Also, comparing U2's recent work to their earlier work is futile. When you kick that much ass for the first decade of your career, it's a given that there will be some sort of decline.

Yes. I'd like to believe they still have songs as good as Bad, ASOH, OTH, and so forth in them, but if I'm realistic, at best I don't think they'll ever spit out much beyond the In God's Country level. You can't make UF or JT quality albums forever.

That being said, the band still continue to find/make new fans, and songs like "Elevation", which I cannot fucking stand, seems to get the average U2 concert-goer all pumped up.

Must admit, as much as I could do without Elevation and think U2 have about 30 songs that would be even better uptempo rockers to kick a concert into gear, I still get into it at concerts just through the crowd energy.

4. October (That's fucking right)

You're awesome. :up:

Can't go wrong with Gloria, Rejoice, Tomorrow, etc.
 
October's haunting. I love it. I never ever want to hear just one song from it; for me, it's the whole album or nothing.

The title track says it all. I can do some tracks individually ("Tomorrow," "Gloria," "Rejoice"), but you're right, the whole album reeks of awesome.
 
If you can go to hell based on how you rate certain films, well I'm screwed. On Flixter I gave Casablanca and The Godfather 1/2 star out of 5. :reject:

Please explain.

Also, you gonna check out Vertigo and Punch-Drunk Love?
 
Your taste is markedly different than most, and it was funny to see you really like something that's fairly in tune with a differing taste. That's not a bad thing at all, just funny. I didn't think it was that over-the-top, either. If someone found a post of me saying I loved X&Y, for instance, and joked around about it, it wouldn't seem like a big deal because I did actually say it, even if it was x amount of years ago, you know?

Achtung Baby was the album that got me hooked, but Bomb was the first one released when I was a massive fan. My fandom's waned since then, but they'll always be my favorite band.

Back then, my musical knowledge and tastes were very limited. It was a completely different world in that regard. Funnily enough, my trip to see U2 in the US and signing up to last.fm on my return to Australia is what changed things. In the US, I picked up a bunch of CDs since your prices are so much cheaper than ours, then when I got home and signed up to last.fm, I was rather bothered by the fact that it vividly highlighted how little music I really had. So I very quickly began digging into the world of music and now look where things are.

Bizarrely enough, Best Of 1990-2000 is what really turned me into a serious fan. I heard Gone and was hooked. Then a friend of my mother gave me copies of the UABRS and RAH videos. After 11OTT and Bad, there was no going back.
 
The title track says it all. I can do some tracks individually ("Tomorrow," "Gloria," "Rejoice"), but you're right, the whole album reeks of awesome.

I think I might be the only person on Earth that enjoys "Is That All". I know the opening riff is borrowed from Electric Co (How awesome is Electric Co?!!??!?!?!), but, after that, I don't know....not a great song, but, Edge's guitar is so pure on this song, it's like a beam of fucking light. See? This is why I rarely talk about U2 on this board. I sound like a simpering toady.
 
Yes. I'd like to believe they still have songs as good as Bad, ASOH, OTH, and so forth in them, but if I'm realistic, at best I don't think they'll ever spit out much beyond the In God's Country level. You can't make UF or JT quality albums forever.

See a few years ago I might have believed this but in the last few years people who have been making music for years like Porcupine Tree, Todd Rundgren and Kate Bush have released one if not their best albums. I saw Return To Forever a few nights ago. They are in their 60's and rocked harder than U2 ever has. I believe talent lasts forever with U2 I just don't think they have the motivation. :shrug:
 
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