Shuttlecock II: This is Where We Can Reach Around

[lazarus]

It's the same, insipid, uninspiring, imbecile bubblegum music that has plagued their work for what seems like an eternity now.

Are you listening to the same song? Bubblegum?


Also, "you wanted violins/and you got Nero" is one of Bono's best lines since Pop.

 

[Axver]

Also, "you wanted violins/and you got Nero" is one of Bono's best lines since Pop.

Yeah, a lyric like that can excuse a multitude of sins.

 

[Kieran McConville]

There are a number of things I have always liked about the original version of the song; one is the lightness of touch, the momentum, the out-of-time-ness; at the time I wondered if there was some hope there for a way forward in their music that could keep that sense of a band three feet off the ground they'd had at their peak, in their new 'traditional back to basics' era. Maybe not, but it was a fair try.

The lyrics, although not flawless, whatever that entails, are another part. There's more in there than in any two or three autobiographical albums.

 

[martha]

And fuck you for not liking Mercy.

This should have been the new thread title.

The original Mercy is in their top 5 songs of this decade.

 

[IWasBored]

Hmm, that's quite an endorsement coming from Martha.

 

[phanan]

And she's absolutely right.

 

[PhilsFan]

I for one am shocked that djerdap is down on something U2-related.

 

[gump]

Pretty nice retrospective article on Pop by the AV Club: U2’s electronic-heavy Pop deserves more respect for its risk-taking  · We're No. 1 · The A.V. Club

 

[cobl04]

You beat me to it. Really good.

I like Pop more and more every day. It's weird, it has always been held in pretty high regard on this forum, but it is catastrophically underrated by critics/public.

 

[BoMac]

To my ears, the beauty of U2's 90s work - Pop included - is that very little sounds dated, and a lot of it feels like something that could be released today and not feel out of place.

 

[phanan]

Pretty nice retrospective article on Pop by the AV Club: U2’s electronic-heavy Pop deserves more respect for its risk-taking  · We're No. 1 · The A.V. Club

They even linked to Ax's u2gigs site.

Good read.

 

[IWasBored]

Pop is one of the only U2 albums I'll still listen to.

 

[BoMac]

This has been making the rounds on social media. It's fake, of course, but still sort of funny.

 

[iron yuppie]

The love for Pop around here is certainly justified. Bono is the star there: he's never been so introspective or confrontational. Mofo is probably the best set of lyrics he has ever written.

 

[BoMac]

Also saw mention that Apple says 33 million people accessed the album so far.

 

[the tourist]

To my ears, the beauty of U2's 90s work - Pop included - is that very little sounds dated, and a lot of it feels like something that could be released today and not feel out of place.

Wow, really? The drums and production value sound extremely dated to my ears.

 

[bono_212]

I don't like Mercy all that much.

 

[BoMac]

Wow, really? The drums and production value sound extremely dated to my ears.

Yeah, sure, I guess, but I'm not an audiophile, so I don't really care for that stuff. I mean just the general vibe, the aesthetic, the sounds, to me, has aged well.

 

[Diemen]

I don't like Mercy all that much.

Banned.









I don't get the fawning praise it gets around here, either.

 

[the tourist]

I'm not a big fan of either version of Mercy. I guess it would have been better than Stand Up Comedy or something. But it's time may be passed until it gets completely reworked or just sampled into a new song.

 

[lazarus]

Pop is one of the only U2 albums I'll still listen to.

Lol

 

[namkcuR]

Don't have a lot of time right now, but just wanted to pop in with a quick comment about Iris:

In the verses, Bono is using his lower register really effectively, and that makes me happy, because we so rarely get to hear his lower register anymore. His voice in the verses almost sounds like JT-era Bono.

 

[IWasBored]

Is it ok the other one is TUF? Does that meet your approval?

Fuck off.

 

[Danny Boy]

I don't like Mercy all that much.

It's OK, but it's ten years old and I would rather not have it trotted back out and stuck on a new album. I would much rather have a new track.

 

[Diemen]

Is it ok the other one is TUF? Does that meet your approval?

Fuck off.

Banned.

 

[lazarus]

Don't have a lot of time right now, but just wanted to pop in with a quick comment about Iris:

In the verses, Bono is using his lower register really effectively, and that makes me happy, because we so rarely get to hear his lower register anymore. His voice in the verses almost sounds like JT-era Bono.

I love the music and vocal on the verses. The chorus...not so much.

The final section is good too--"Iris standing in the hall...", etc., but it's a mixed bag for me.

 

[bono_212]

It's OK, but it's ten years old and I would rather not have it trotted back out and stuck on a new album. I would much rather have a new track.

Basically.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I don't like Mercy all that much.

Banned.



I don't get the fawning praise it gets around here, either.

i also have not drank the Mercy Kool Aid

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

I was drinkin' some wine
When I was pregnant with Lance
What's the use of abortion?
Give the bastard a chance

I know I'm a streetwalker, honey...and you're horny
If you've got 6 dollars...I'm ready
If you've got lice...I'm eager
And put your telescope...in me a little deeper

I was licking the stitches
With two cocks to rub
I'm rimming the ridges
of someone else's bum

Cum here in my thighs!
Cum puts the white back in my eye!

If you're hung...baby let me eat it
If your cock is full...baby please release it
And prostitution's for...those who really, really need it

You pay me too much!
You always pay me too muuuuuuuch!

He is alive
Lance is born again...and again...and again...and again and again

 

[lazarus]

Wow.

I think you forgot a verse or two.