Shuttlecock XV: Seppos and the 42: Cobbler's Epic Fail

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I don't care about the in-jokes, I was bitching about people needling other people. Yeah yeah, some posters are annoying. I'm annoying. Bite your goddamn tongues for once in your life and take the high road. Shit's bad enough in the real world, do we have to be jerks on a fucking U2 message board?

I mean, what is this - Twitter?
 
namkcuR said:
This is an overly long, random, unneccessary Shuttlecock post. I hope you take the time to read it but certainly understand if you don't want to.

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So, over the past few days, I did something I haven't done in a long time: I listened to all four of Shuttlecock's 21st century LPs, straight through. By that, I mean, no playlists, not altered running orders, no extra b-sides or bonus tracks added in, like I usually do(and I haven't even done that in a while). I took the actual CDs, put them in my stereo, and listened with good headphones from start to finish, one a night. I wanted to share my thoughts with you.



I was inspired to do this because we all have set opinions about certain records that we haven't even listened to in a long time and we assume the those opinions would remain unchanged. People talk a lot of crap about these particular records, and I'm more fond of a good deal of this material than many, and I wanted to see if that feeling held up for me.



Before getting into each album, I do want to say that people often refer to '00s U2' or 'post-millennium U2' as if it's all one era, but I think we can divide it into two different, distinct eras.



The first is what I have heard referred to as 'the revival', essentially everything from the 1998 Sweetest Thing to Window In The Skies/U218/U2 By U2 in the fall of 2006, coinciding with the last leg of the Vertigo tour.



The second is everything from 2007 on, NLOTH, Ordinary Love, SOI, the forthcoming SOE, and all the re-issues(the ZooTV Sydney DVD was actually the first in the long string of re-issues in 2006, followed by Popmart and JT in 2007, Boy, October, War, and UABRS(album and DVD) in 2008, UF in 2009, AB/Zooropa in 2011, and JT again this year). You could call this 'post-revival'.



They are distinct for two reasons.



One is that U2 were systematically stripping down and playing it safe in the first era with very little risk-taking, whereas in the second era, they've been trying to spread their wings again sonically, structurally, and lyrically(albeit usually not letting themselves go all the way and compromising in the end, combining material like this with material that might've felt at home in the first era).



The other reason is that the first era was hugely successful commercially - two world-beating singles in BD and Vertigo, a slew of other fairly successful singles(Stuck, Elevation, Walk On, COBL, maybe even Sometimes), a bunch of grammies, their own iPod, and the relevance they crave so much. The second era has had very little in the way chart success or pop culture penetration. The thing that penetrated the culture the most was the bungled SOI release. The band is as irrelevant as its ever been to the younger crowd. Also, the popular music climate is just less friendly to a band like this than it was even in 2000 or 2004.



So I just think that's something to keep in mind when thinking about these records.



ATYCLB



On and off, this has always been in contention for being my favorite of their 21st century records, and I think it still holds that place now(most of the 'off' periods have been in during the post-release euphoria for each of the other records, :wink: ).



It's the only one of these records that has enough broadly-known tracks on it to stand up with War/UF/JT/AB just in terms of being part of the canon of classic U2 albums, as least as far as the broad music-listening public is concerned. And a lot of people here tend to roll their eyes, at this point, when those first four tracks still appear in the set very often, usually because there's so much back catalogue material the band doesn't touch in a live setting, but I think these tracks really are classics. BD is overplayed, Elevation is lyrically insubstantial, but on the whole, these tracks just work, imo. They're not as overcooked as singles for subsequent albums would be, they don't feel tacked on because the band needed singles, and most of all, they're just good. They're catchy, they have warm melodies, and even if you're tired of them, you probably still sing along with them at the shows.



Kite is the last track on the first side of the album, and I feel isn't appreciated enough because it wasn't a single, but it's one of the best tracks here.



The second half of ATYCLB is usually maligned, but I don't really get why. Yes, it's not as strong as the first side, but still the only track that I find weak-ish is Peace On Earth. In A Little While is all soul, Wild Honey is a beautiful, catchy, effortless track that sounds about a million times less forced than, for example, the NLOTH middle 3 or even some Bomb tracks. I'm probably one of the few who prefers it to 'Flower Child'.



WILATW and NY are both just strong guitar-driven tracks. Their darker atmosphere is something the record needed. That middle 8 on WILATW with the little guitar solo and Bono's soaring 'I can't wait...' stanza is absolutely one of the highlight moments of the album. Everybody hates Grace but I think its a pretty, meditative, atmospheric piece that would've felt at home on TUF, like a 21st century Promenade(ok it's not as good as Promenade) albeit it's a couple minutes too long and some of the lyrics aren't great.



I don't have the version with TGBHF at the end, but I did recently pick up MDH, so I had TGBFH play immediately after Grace. It too is a great track, and if you slotted it in for Peace On Earth, I think you have just a very, very solid record.



There is a warmth that permeates this record, it is so inviting, and comforting in a way, that it's hard to resist its charms, imo.



HTDAAB



This has historically been not only my least favorite of the 21st century records, but my least favorite U2 record, period. So I was surprised when Bomb actually went up a little in my estimation. It's still not great, it's still safe, and some of the tracks just feel stale(looking at you, All Because Of You), but it still has its moments.



Vertigo is fluff, but it's effective as high-energy rocking fluff.



Sometimes takes too long to get going, but once it achieves liftoff, it's really pretty good. Everything after the bridge('gotta let you know/a house doesn't make a home/don't leave me here alone/etc') has a very classic U2 feel. Still torn on the falsetto part of the chorus. I think 'you don't have to go it alone/sometimes you can't make it on your own' works fine, as in the alt version.



People dislike LAPOE, but I think it's a decent rock track. Not great, but a decent thumper that manages to create some atmosphere, which is lacking in much of the rest of the record(Eno/Lanois produced this track, so it makes sense). The lyrics are whatever. Musically I like it.



I'm kind of numb to COBL at this point, but the bridge is still one of my favorite parts of the record. 'Time won't leave me as I am/but time won't take the boy out of this man'.



AMAAW is a great song and is criminally under appreciated.



OSC is produced by Eno/Lanois and it sounds it. Nice atmospherics. Pretty.



Original Of The Species is a track that's been shit on for years here, and I get why. The lyrics are maudlin and repetitive, and that bridge where Bono do-do-dos over it is arguably his most obnoxious moment on record. But you know what? There is a really pretty melody in there. Everywhere you go, you shout it, you don't have to be shy about it. I love that melody and it almost makes the song worth it. With better lyrics, a less annoying bridge, and less of a need to be so huge, it could've been a great track.



Fast Cars(my version has this at the end) is better than a number of the proper album tracks, a real solid track, one that rocks without sounding like dad rock. Would've been good in the #2 slot after Vertigo instead of Miracle Drug(that's maybe my least favorite sequencing decision they ever made).



As a whole, it's overproduced and safe and unambitious, but there are some real solid tracks there. As a whole, it might, might[/b] move above NLOTH for me.



NLOTH



I think this is the most frustrating record in their entire discography. I mentioned earlier that their second 21st century era is characterized by a desire to spread their wings more than they did on ATYCLB/HTDAAB and an inability to follow through on that desire 100%, and nowhere is that more apparent than on this record.



People talk about the middle 3 as if the rest of the record is perfect, but the middle 3 isn't the only compromised part of the record.



Unknown Caller was clearly a more experimental track that they tried to mainstream late in the game. I don't hate the 'move to trash' stuff as much as some, but it certainly hasn't aged well. It holds the chorus back which in turns holds the whole song back. It's a shame because in an era where people wish Edge would just play the guitar more, he has a really good, melodic, 90-second long solo at the end, the kind of thing he really doesn't do much anymore, but I think a lot of people don't make it that far. A damn shame.



(As an aside - people often talk about the band being desperate for hit singles or relevance, and they may have been true for ATYCLB/HTDDAB, but with these later records, I think it's actually more that they're desperate to have new material that works in a live setting, whether it charts or not. I think that's what the NLOTH middle 3 were about. The other tracks for the most part didn't work great live, and Unknown Caller is an example. Even this apparently watered-down version fell flat live. The title track was dropped halfway through the tour, UC before that. The record just wasn't a great live record. I don't think the band are delusional enough anymore to think they're going to compete with Kendrick and Rhianna for the hearts and minds of the youth. I think they just want new material that will work in the arena/stadium without sending everyone who's only there for SBS/NYD/Pride/Streets/WOWY/BD/Vertigo to the bathrooms. Just a thought.)



Magnificent has a great riff and the chorus soars, but my god do those verses kill the momentum. Much like the album, they couldn't decide what they wanted the song to be - a slow-build moroccan-flavored track, or a soaring anthem with a classic U2 sound.



Breathe doesn't excite me too much anymore. The verses are delivered with a lot of energy by Bono in a spunky kind of way, but the chorus is 00s Bono sloganeering, 'Walk out/into the street/with your arms out/got a love you can't defeat', and it makes it a little tedious.



We know there are earlier versions of these three that we haven't heard. I would love to hear them someday.



As for the middle 3. I have always, from the first time I heard the beach clip, loved the chorus of Boots - I mean 'you don't know how beautiful you are', not 'SEXY BOOTS!'. That's a really good chorus with interesting harmonies. I also think the 'Let me in the sound' bridge is genuinely cool in an era where Shuttlecock struggles to ever be cool. The problem is the song around these two things - the chorus and the bridge - is not very good at all. The riff is stale, the verse lyrics verge on nonsense, there is no verse melody, and there's not much in their discography that I find embarrassing, but SEXY BOOTS might fall into that category. So, another compromised track.



Stand Up Comedy is frustrating because it sounds, musically, like there's two or three different songs in there, any one of which could be good. There are several different musical ideas, none of which are followed through on to a conclusion. There's the dark, almost reggae beat that the first verse is built on, there's the big-hook of the chorus(out from under you bed), there's the bridge(god is love and evolution...) which musically sounds like 90s alternative rock, like it could've been on Pop, etc. It's the most manufactured, cut-and-paste track they've ever put on a record, imo. The thing is, I can find something to like, musically, in all of the parts I describe, but they don't make a great song when put together. Lyrically, yeah, there's not much good here.



Crazy Tonight has a nice melody in the chorus, the verses are musically mildly catchy, but the lyrics are more 00s Bono sloganeering and it just hasn't aged well for me. In particular I hadn't listened the album arrangement in a long time. The Baby Baby Baby thing at the end didn't used to bother me, but this time it felt a little forced.



But after all that, the album is frustrating because it contains a handful of genuinely great tracks that are among their best work this century - No Line On The Horizon, Moment Of Surrender, Fez-Being Born, White As Snow, and Cedars Of Lebanon. Great atmospherics, interesting lyrics, just good stuff.



I don't know why people dislike White As Snow. It's a beautiful, mournful melody.



They should focus on quiet stuff like that more often.



Anyway, it's a very compromised project, and while there is that handful of genuinely great, exciting material, the album as whole has slipped in my view, which is why I say Bomb, as a whole, despite not having anything close to that handful of tracks, may have finally moved up a slot for me. Not sure.



SOI



This is the one I listened to most recently, so there are the fewest new revelations here. I'll say this - the opening tracks, which a lot of people don't care for, but which I loved(except for Song For Someone), didn't get me as much this time. I like The Miracle, never understood the hate for it, and I still like it, but maybe just a little bit less this time. Every Breaking Wave, I always preferred the acoustic version because it brings the melody out more. California I still love, should've been a single.



I think Iris works well as meditative piece about his mother, even if the the chorus is musically derivative. His low-register vocal in the verses is very affecting, imo, really pulls me in. Some are bored by this track, but I like it. He is genuine here, he's expressing something real, and it's way more interesting than so much of that sloganeering he's relied on in recent years. That's a theme throughout this record.



Volcano hasn't aged all that well for me. It's alright.



I get why people don't love the first half of SOI - I don't agree with all the negativity aimed there, but I get it. What I don't get is how some people here can be bored by the second half of SOI. The last five tracks - Raised By Wolves, Cedarwood Road, Sleep Like A Baby Tonight, This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now, and The Troubles - make up perhaps their strongest run of material of the 21st century. I think only side A of ATYCLB can compete. It's so good. RBW and Cedarwood sound like rock music made by guys their age, as opposed to stuff like Vertigo or Boots or even Volcano, which sound like a band trying to sound like they're 30 years younger than they are(and the rhythm section on Cedarwood is as exciting as it's been since Pop). Great tracks. Sleep is gorgeous. Reach is very sonically interesting, sort of a combination of War and ATYCLB. The Troubles is proof of how fucking great this band can still be when they want to be and it's a crime they gave up on it so quickly live.



So in the end I'd probably rank them...

ATYCLB

SOI(a step down, as I'd previously held SOI as their best of the century, but ATYCLB has held up and some of SOI has faded a little, but its second half is strong enough to propel it this high).

HTDAAB/NLOTH(can't decide)



Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
Click to expand...



You owe me ten bucks for the tendonitis cream I had to buy for my thumb from scrolling, but this is a great post.
 
So I'm flying to Philly tomorrow for the show, got GA. They've played the same exact set three times in a row so I'm expecting it again. I've given up all hope of 'that song'. We all thought they were going to rotate after it came back, but it hasn't been played since. Truth be told, if they did play it it would probably mean no Bad. I don't think I'd make that trade, as I'm excited to finally get Bad again for the first time in 16 years.

Most change I have any hope for is they swap out Vertigo for IWF or Little Things. Would rather have either.

Anyway, I started writing this to ask a question - what time are the band typically taking the stage? Also - if we get there only an hour in advance, will we be able to get a good spot in GA? Good spot for me doesn't mean right up front, I'd rather be a little bit back so I'm not in the everybody-squished-together-and-no-personal-space-whatsoever area.
 
They've started at 9pm, give or take 15 minutes.

I'm honestly just a little surprised both Florida shows had identical setlists.
 
iron yuppie said:
"Hot take"
"Nipples"
Give it another 15 minutes and I'm sure "on board" will make an appearance.
Click to expand...

Axver said:
Countdown to Leo in 3, 2...

(I'm still amused by the Leo and on board memes, for the record.)
Click to expand...

The Leo thing is still funny. "On board", not so much. Because, you know, it doesn't involve Bono impregnating some random Chilean woman and having an illegitimate child as a result of it.

"On board" is on the level of "Maybe...we'll see", which doesn't have much meat to it and is used by people who aren't actually clever or funny and can't think of anything else.
 
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