Shuttlecock XVIII - SAVE US, REFU-JESUS

[cobl04]

Hey, guess what? I like every song on ATYCLB and The Bomb, still think the latter is a solid album, like/love every song on No Line save for Cock Crazy and SUCk, and love the second half of SOI+California. And I think Best Thing and Get Out are close to botttom of the barrel for this band. They do, in fact, suck. Coldplayesque, watered-down, without teeth. On the latter, the pandering in the form of a BD clone with those fake-sounding drums is shameful, trying to recapture past glory. Whatever thematic qualities may be in the lyrics are ruined by verbiage and awkward construction/delivery. I'd take the energetic mess of Boots over either of those songs in a heartbeat (though I won't go so far as Cobbler and put SUC above them).

Now having said all that I love The Blackout (at least the live version, haven't heard the other), and think American Soul has a lot of energy and a good beat. The repurposing of Volcano doesn't bother me because I really love Volcano, but I don't think it's as good, even if it has more "depth". I'm optimistic that I'll like half the rest of the songs, but realistic enough to know the other half might be cut from the same damp cloth as the first two singles.

Bottom line is that the band has been crippled by second-guessing and despy ploys for relevance and the albums have suffered increasingly. I think ATYCLB's material is the weakest (in execution, at least) post-2000 and don't like Eno's strategy of writing more and recording less, but at least they stuck with a plan. It doesn't feel compromised outside of the band recoiling from the experimentation of the 90s. Frankly, I think the people who can't acknowledge this trajectory and still want to put a happy face on everything come off like Pollyannas. It's equally frustrating to see people writing off everything in kneejerk fashion.

Since I'm sitting in the middle I'll just proclaim that I'm the only one being sensible and objective.

Finally, a little bit of the Laz I actually like, not Pollyanna Laz

 

[LemonMelon]

Good stuff, Dave. I was at a concert and couldn't make this thread myself.

I really hate the new U2 music, but hopefully the new album has some hidden gems.

 

[LemonMelon]

Why aren't we talking more about the album cover?

Personally, I think it's at least a step up over the last few. Wish they'd splash on some color at some point though.

 

[Danny Boy]

Blackout is the only track I have liked so far.

Best Thing is an inoffensive pop song. I don't hate it, but it didn't take long to tire of it.

Get Out of Your Own Way is a complete fucking mess. I honestly wondered if they sampled Beautiful Day the first time I heard it, and the repeated lyrics sound like something One Direction would think a clever idea.

 

[Axver]

Why aren't we talking more about the album cover?

Personally, I think it's at least a step up over the last few. Wish they'd splash on some color at some point though.

It's possibly the best aspect of the album so far, apart from Blackout. I like it. Not so sure about the blue border that the deluxe seems to get, but whatever.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Hey, guess what? I like every song on ATYCLB and The Bomb, still think the latter is a solid album, like/love every song on No Line save for Cock Crazy and SUCk, and love the second half of SOI+California. And I think Best Thing and Get Out are close to botttom of the barrel for this band. They do, in fact, suck. Coldplayesque, watered-down, without teeth. On the latter, the pandering in the form of a BD clone with those fake-sounding drums is shameful, trying to recapture past glory. Whatever thematic qualities may be in the lyrics are ruined by verbiage and awkward construction/delivery. I'd take the energetic mess of Boots over either of those songs in a heartbeat (though I won't go so far as Cobbler and put SUC above them).

Now having said all that I love The Blackout (at least the live version, haven't heard the other), and think American Soul has a lot of energy and a good beat. The repurposing of Volcano doesn't bother me because I really love Volcano, but I don't think it's as good, even if it has more "depth". I'm optimistic that I'll like half the rest of the songs, but realistic enough to know the other half might be cut from the same damp cloth as the first two singles.

Bottom line is that the band has been crippled by second-guessing and despy ploys for relevance and the albums have suffered increasingly. I think ATYCLB's material is the weakest (in execution, at least) post-2000 and don't like Eno's strategy of writing more and recording less, but at least they stuck with a plan. It doesn't feel compromised outside of the band recoiling from the experimentation of the 90s. Frankly, I think the people who can't acknowledge this trajectory and still want to put a happy face on everything come off like Pollyannas. It's equally frustrating to see people writing off everything in kneejerk fashion.

Since I'm sitting in the middle I'll just proclaim that I'm the only one being sensible and objective.

Hey, guess what? I was making generalizations Sensitive Sally.

 

[Kieran McConville]

walk it back jack
don't need a weatherman stan
to know which way ray
the wind is blowing

 

[kabigon]

I'm mostly ok with post-2000 U2 but I don't think I've been more annoyed by a U2 song than American soul. It just leaves me a bit numb and disappointed. It feels like an unofficial remix to a unfinished volcano. I keep trying to rewrite sentences to get the right words here. Ugh.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I got
an American Soul!
hope I dddd-die
before it gets sold!

American Soul
Yeah yeah yeah
Lincoln's ghost
shakes his hair
American Sold!
Pig War Machine!
Stature of Liberty!
Yeah Yeah Yeah

American Soul
come and lick my
American soul
bigger than coca cola
hope it stays cold

<Rage Against The Machine 'American Eyes' snippet>

I am
An American Soul
I sold
my american SOUL!
YEAH YEAH YEAH
< inaudible screams>

 

[cobl04]

I'm quite alarmed by reports that TWO of the album's songs are retakes of two songs from the previous album.

 

[Hewson]

Counter point

No one heard the old songs.

Dude, 500 Million people heard the last album. Most widely owned album in the history of The Milky Way by a large margin.

 

[cobl04]

I love you Hewson mate but that is categorically untrue.

 

[Hewson]

I love you Hewson mate but that is categorically untrue.

They don't have this thing called sarcasm in Australia?
What a sad place.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Dude, 500 Million people heard the last album. Most widely owned album in the history of The Milky Way by a large margin.

FORCE QUlT AND MOVE TO TRASH

 

[Axver]

500 million people received the last album.

490 million deleted it.

9 million get the occasional surprise when some shit like Song for Someone suddenly comes on.

1 million were curious enough to give it a whirl of their own volition.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

...the whimpered whoa oohs are easily the worst thing in their catalog. It's like a dog fellating itself.

I think this dude got the @U2 forums closed... also tmi

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

They don't have this thing called sarcasm in Australia?
What a sad place.

Seriously. No wonder why no concerts go there.

 

[Axver]

Seriously. No wonder why no concerts go there.

Don't make me schedule another fight.

 

[Hewson]

Seriously. No wonder why no concerts go there.

Right.
And everyone drinks Fosters and throws shrimp on the barbie, why would Larry be on board with that place?

 

[LemonMelon]

500 million people received the last album.

490 million deleted it.

9 million get the occasional surprise when some shit like Song for Someone suddenly comes on.

1 million were curious enough to give it a whirl of their own volition.

1 woman still screams in hysterical delight every time The Miracle of Joey Ramone plays on her phone.

 

[Danny Boy]

Dude, 500 Million people heard the last album. Most widely owned album in the history of The Milky Way by a large margin.

I totally read this is Trump voice.

No album has ever been heard by more people, everyone agrees. It really was a tremendous number of downloads. People are still talking about it. Huge release.

 

[Axver]

1 woman still screams in hysterical delight every time The Miracle of Joey Ramone plays on her phone.

1 woman still screams in hysterical delight when Bono talks aimlessly and ruins the intro of Bad.

 

[patternshirt170]

Well as the super tech social media guru (and notthemguiness), Guy Oseary said: 75 meeeeeeeillion souls 'experienced' Songs Of Innocence.

...and in the US another 28,000 bought the CD too...

 

[LuckyNumber7]

I am a bit confused why everybody hates the intro of GOOYOW so much. I haven't noticed a problem with it.

It starts like a Coldplay song, and I almost never draw the relationship. And the haaaAaahhh thing is awful.

Song picks up to harmless when it's put up to fifth gear.

 

[kabigon]

I just figured out that Get Out reminds me of Back On The Chain Gang

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Don't make me schedule another fight.

Bring it

 

[lazarus]

Why aren't we talking more about the album cover?

Personally, I think it's at least a step up over the last few. Wish they'd splash on some color at some point though.

The cover is great; I think the people complaining are just looking for something else to be upset about. It's Anton, it harkens back to their past imagery, and it connects to their families in keeping with the album's theme. And I love the whole packaging design from what I've seen so far.

Get Out of Your Own Way is a complete fucking mess. I honestly wondered if they sampled Beautiful Day the first time I heard it, and the repeated lyrics sound like something One Direction would think a clever idea.

I've only listened to the song once, but yeah that "alright, alright" repeated thing stuck out as being particularly ill-fitting. Do I have a problem with the band embracing some pop ideas? Not necessarily; California was pretty shocking to hear the first time but I found it infectious and still do. But that song had some drive and energy to it, whereas Get Out sounds strained.

 

[LemonMelon]

The cover is great; I think the people complaining are just looking for something else to be upset about. It's Anton, it harkens back to their past imagery, and it connects to their families in keeping with the album's theme. And I love the whole packaging design from what I've seen so far.

I'm pretty happy with the composition and continuity of the Songs artwork so far, especially after seeing this pop up as representative artwork for the album:

Granted, this cover is basically what a Kygo remix looks like.

 

[mikal]

The cover is great; I think the people complaining are just looking for something else to be upset about. It's Anton, it harkens back to their past imagery, and it connects to their families in keeping with the album's theme. And I love the whole packaging design from what I've seen so far.



I've only listened to the song once, but yeah that "alright, alright" repeated thing stuck out as being particularly ill-fitting. Do I have a problem with the band embracing some pop ideas? Not necessarily; California was pretty shocking to hear the first time but I found it infectious and still do. But that song had some drive and energy to it, whereas Get Out sounds strained.

I still think California should have been a single. I have a couple of friends that are very very casual U2 fans and when listening to the new album they both said that California was their favorite song.

 

[lazarus]

So it appears that the running time clocks in somewhere around 52 minutes (this isn't exact, I rounded the individual tracks up or down). This puts it a few minutes shy of Achtung and well under Pop, both of which had one fewer song.

The longest track is Little Things, which is just shy of 5 minutes. That's a little disheartening, especially if you were hoping the band would ease back a bit and do some exploring. Take 52 minutes and divide by 13 and you get 4 minutes on the nose, shows you exactly what the band is aiming for, unfortunately.

Since my excitement has died down (I'm partially regretting resubscribing to the website, especially if that $50 is only good towards 2 tickets), I don't know if I'm going to listen to the studio version of Blackout or give Get Out another spin before the album drops. I still haven't listened to the official version of Best Thing a second time. Perhaps this will all work better as one piece, or two pieces with SOI as Mikal suggested. But as I said before, I'm guessing the first half will again be a pandering disappointment with most of the strong material being on the second half.