Shuttlecock XXII: Summer of Laz

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
I wish they'd do a proper reissue of NLOTH with some extras like the early version of EBW and SUC before it sucked. If you recall, there was a clip of a song called "For Your Love" that sounded like a real banger but it was later turned into SUC, the worst song of the band's career.
 
We can't even get a reissue of Pop to hear how those songs evolved, so I wouldn't be expecting it anytime soon.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who isn't exactly rooting for the band to break up, but I'd prefer not to wait until I'm in my 70s to hear the stuff from the vaults that they're sitting on, like their version of The Beatles Anthology.
 
I too am surprised at this news.

I fully expected, and still expect, a full-works 20th anniversary re-issue of ATYCLB next year, complete with a second disc consisting of TGBHF, Stateless, Always, Summer Rain, BGAB, Levitate, Flower Child, Love You Like Mad, maybe one or two from the vault that we haven't heard before, etc, but I did not expect this.
 
lazarus said:
We can't even get a reissue of Pop to hear how those songs evolved, so I wouldn't be expecting it anytime soon.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who isn't exactly rooting for the band to break up, but I'd prefer not to wait until I'm in my 70s to hear the stuff from the vaults that they're sitting on, like their version of The Beatles Anthology.
Click to expand...

I'd settle for just the Bono version of The Wanderer from the 1993 Zooropa sessions.
 
namkcuR said:
I too am surprised at this news.

[...]
I did not expect this.
Click to expand...

How come everyone is so surprised. This vinyl reissue was rumoured (if not officially announced) already months ago. And NLOTH was the last U2 album that did not have a recent vinyl reissue yet. So this is no different than last year's reissues of Pop, ATYCLB, HTDAAB, Achtung Baby, Zooropa, The Best Of 80-90 and 90-00.
The only difference is that it immediately also comes in a non-black version. (The Zooropa reissue also comes with bonus remixes on side 4, so that isn't that remarkable this time)
 
namkcuR said:
So, yesterday I finished a re-read of 'U2 At The End Of The World', and tonight, I listened to Achtung and Zooropa back-to-back.



What an era that was.



Zooropa is this futuristic sci-fi pop album that so captures the chaotic nature of what they must have been feeling making an album right in the middle of Zoo TV. Some of the most art-school-sounding stuff they've ever done(Zooropa, Numb, Lemon, Daddy, Some Days) standing side-by-side with more U2-classic-sounding stuff(Stay, First Time, Dirty Day) is the aural expression of that chaos, of a band that was trying on different masks, experimenting with different ideas, and seeing how far they could push their new sound, but that couldn't successfully hide their true face all the time. That is all sounds of one piece is a credit to the production team(i.e. Eno and Flood and Edge).



It's remarkable how fresh it still sounds. Even something like Numb really holds up.



As for Achtung, what can be said that hasn't been said? I don't listen to it front-to-back that often anymore, but every time I do, I'm struck not just by how good it is, but how exciting a recording it is. It is a thrilling ride for the ears(particularly if you're listening through good headphones).



Zoo Station has to be one of the great album openers, and from the big opening riff to the distorted vocals of the verses to the typical-soaring-u2-chorus-drenched-in-sleek-production to the bassline driving it to all the sound effects in between, it is an emphatic, blow-the-roof-off opening statement.



The band tends to get mocked these days whenever they refer to anything they've done recently as 'punk' anything, but EBTTRT is one of the most blistering singles they've ever released, and I think underneath all the gloss it's a punk song. It's got the fast pace, the attitude, the simplicity, the big chorus, it's got the blood-and-sweat factor, etc. And that intro riff is legendary. At least in my mind.



Until The End Of The World has no pop hook or chorus, and it might be the best thing they've ever done. A first-ballot contender for 'best song they've ever written'. The instantly-recognizable shouting intro, the lyrics, the speak-singing thing(it was one of the first times he did that), and my god, the guitars. That solo. That outro. Bono is always saying that Edge is on fire these days, but on this record, he truly was. That bass guitar too, don't want to leave Adam's contribution uncelebrated.



I have no idea why Horses wasn't a bigger hit or why it's not a warhorse. They take what could've been a darn good straight pop song and make it into something majestic. Beautiful melodies and harmonies, one of Bono's more poetic lyrics, and perhaps a top 5 middle 8.



I can go on. The Fly is almost equal to UTEOTW(almost).



One is one of the most lauded ballads of the past few decades.



I'm on record with my praise of Love Is Blindness, which I think is one of their more under-appreciated moments of true greatness. One of my favorite lyrics, one of my favorite Bono studio vocal performances.



The Joshua Tree will always be their biggest record, their record with the widest degree of recognition from the general public, but I feel like among more serious music fans, particularly serious rock music fans, this is often seen as their greatest work. It's always been #1 for me.



Heavy yet sleek, dark yet bright, exciting yet soulful, danceable yet painfully intimate, it's a work of contradictions, it's ultimately moving, and it's the album of their career.



What an era that was indeed.
Click to expand...



Absolutely. This is a great post. Exactly my feelings but you described it way better than I could.

I came into my obsession with U2 around 94’ with a rented ZooTV from Sydney tape. I’d enjoyed a few of their songs on the radio but didn’t really know anything about them. I was going to rent a GNR Use Your Illusion show, but it was out so I picked up the ZooTV box and saw a few songs I knew on the setlist so I figured I’d give it a shot.

I probably played a portion of that tape every single day until POP came out.

Until the End of the World, Streets, Angel of Harlem, Stay, One, Lemon into WOWY. All incredible.

The Flanagan book threw fuel on my obsession and I went on to buy everything U2 at the local bootleg shop.

Incredible time. To me, that era is U2.
 
i just heard get out in the wild for the first time in a few months, in a sweat pants store sandwiched between girls just wanna have fun and hit me baby one more time. i can't decide how i feel about that sequence of events :hmm:
 
The last couple times I've heard Song For Someone, it's been inside of a grocery store.

They will always have the support of supermarket playlist curators.
 
DaveC said:
i just heard get out in the wild for the first time in a few months, in a sweat pants store sandwiched between girls just wanna have fun and hit me baby one more time. i can't decide how i feel about that sequence of events :hmm:
Click to expand...

Canadia has entire stores dedicated to just sweat pants?
 
What's up with the band Mayhem? The lead singer killed himself and then a couple years later the bassist murdered the lead guitarist? Fuck. Chill out guys. Come on.
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
What's up with the band Mayhem? The lead singer killed himself and then a couple years later the bassist murdered the lead guitarist? Fuck. Chill out guys. Come on.
Click to expand...

Holy shit, you just sent me down an amazing wiki wormhole. One of their albums is literally a photo of the lead singer with his brains blown out and arms cut. And a dude in another related band served just nine years for killing a gay man in a park and is now out playing shows. How fucking sickening.
 
LemonMelon said:
The last couple times I've heard Song For Someone, it's been inside of a grocery store.

They will always have the support of supermarket playlist curators.
Click to expand...

brooklynmike said:
LOL. This is true. I’ve heard Stuck in a Moment, Song for Someone, and Every Breaking Wave in stores over the last few weeks.
Click to expand...

Joey788 said:
I heard Love Is Bigger in a supermarket last week. U2’s new target demographic: grocery shopping playlists!
Click to expand...

theory confirmed. i heard best thing tonight while grocery shopping at no frills.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

L
Play Do You Feel Loved, Babyface, Some Days Are Better Than Others, Playboy Petition
Replies
8
Views
733
rosephile
R
N
Hello From Alberta, Canada
Replies
4
Views
398
NormB
N
N
NBA 2023-24 Thread
10 11 12
Replies
332
Views
10K
gump
gump
C
Hello from the Twin Cities!
Replies
3
Views
777
trevgreg
trevgreg
R
Help a MacPhisto out! - Night #2 (9/30) at the Sphere (pics and videos)
Replies
3
Views
737
Ralph_Sutter
R

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom