Does Your Obsession With U2 Sometimes Hinder Your Enjoyment Of U2?

[namkcuR]

I was just burning a few U2 albums for a friend of mine who falls into that category of 'likes U2 a lot, but doesn't know the names of most of their albums and songs'.

So, as I was burning these, I started thinking about how my friend would probably just purely enjoy these albums without thinking so much about them.

I mean, most of us diehards don't just listen a U2 album exactly as it was released. On a lot of the albums, there are five or six songs to which we always compare two or three(at minimum) different mixes, and then some of us even try to paste one part of one mix with another part of another mix to make our own 'definitive/ultimative/whatever' mix. And then we put together a running order of remixes, custom mixes, a live performance or two, a few of the actual album tracks, and put it on an IPod playlist.

I'm guessing that a good portion of the U2 diehards on Interference do what I just described more often than they actually just listen to any given U2 album the way it originally was.

But people like my friend don't know all of these remixes/single mixes or different running orders or anything like that. They just hear any given track from any given album and either like it or don't like it. They don't obsess over a missing solo or a minute difference in certain backing vocals or how an instrument sounds or anything like that, because they aren't really aware of those things. They just listen.

I, on the other hand, sometimes feel like I spend more time trying to make 'the perfect mix' of song x and/or trying to make the 'perfect running order' for album y than I spend just actually LISTENING to the music.

Does anyone else feel like their obsession/adoration with or encyclopedic knowledge of U2 sometimes hinders their overall enjoyment of U2?

 

[doctorwho]

I've had moments like these - where sometimes I'm more focused on finding a new release to add to my collection or hearing new U2 that I fail to fully experience the music.

So I have pulled back - and in doing so, I've come to realize that I am not as partial to some albums as I thought (like JT and "Pop"). I've learned to be a fair critic - saying when I feel something is weak, yet praising while something is strong. I don't like one time over another.

So yes, it has happened, but I've been able to adapt so I can now appreciate U2 more, for better or worse.

 

[thrillme]

Not at all.

I pretty much do just listen to the albums as they are. Only I listen to their albums more closely than when I first started becoming a fan. I used to focus mostly on the vocals, the lyrics, sometimes a guitar part, but now I try to listen to everything.

I recently heard some backing tracks to some U2 songs, just the bass and drums, and occasional keyboard parts. I missed things I didn't hear before, go and listen to the song and hear those things I missed.

I.e, on Gloria, I didn't realize that the "solo" Adam plays towards the end, he plays that a couple times in the song. I didn't really pick up on it before. For the solo, he does a 'pop and slap' technique, and the other times he uses a pick.

Sorta knowing which songs Adam used a bass pick or used 'fingerstyle' bass, which might be a bit obsessive, doesn't hinder my enjoyment.

That Larry uses brushes instead of drum sticks on some songs, or sets up his kit and uses certain drums in ways most drummers would not, doesn't take away any enjoyment.

That Edge uses a pick upside-down on occasion, etc.

I don't really make setlists or change the running order of an album. I have on occasion gone 'old school' and made mix tapes/CD's, but I didn't put too much effort into them. One I made by taking the first song off each album and putting them together. I've made one of every live song I have, (all hard copy) and put them in chronological order. For the most part, I just make copies so I don't wear out the originals.

Just listen to the music man.

 

[BVS]

I, on the other hand, sometimes feel like I spend more time trying to make 'the perfect mix' of song x and/or trying to make the 'perfect running order' for album y than I spend just actually LISTENING to the music.

This is exactly why I don't bother with these types of things. I may own every version, but I don't bother trying to redefine albums or anything like that.

 

[chickadee]

No, I don't make any remixes and I don't care about album orders because I like how they are. I think they were done for a reason and while it's always fun to shuffle on mp3 players (and I do that all the time) there is nothing can compare to listening to an album all the way through as it's 'supposed' to be heard. I did that for the first time in ages with JT the other week and it blew me away, the expanseness and the landscape of it. Why anyone would want to mess with that is beyond me!

I think you should just stop trying to mix everything up and put an album on properly and listen and appreciate!

 

[ImOuttaControl]

I don't think most fans obsess about the running order, remixes, alternate versions...ect. I actually think it is a slim minority that does that.

I prefer to listen to the albums the way they were intended to be--for the most part that is. I do prefer the original tracklisting for ATYCLB; which was apparently changed to what it currently is at the last minute. I've also always thought the tracklisting for HTDAAB is not very good, but I don't really bother myself with trying to figure out a new one--I figure that's the way U2 wanted it so that's the way I'll listen to it.

 

[JCOSTER]

Not really, I have listened to HTDAAB so much I actually wore started to wear out the cd!!!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i wouldn't say i'm obsessed with them so no

i probably shouldn't have posted in here

 

[AtomicBono]

Not at all.

I pretty much do just listen to the albums as they are. Only I listen to their albums more closely than when I first started becoming a fan. I used to focus mostly on the vocals, the lyrics, sometimes a guitar part, but now I try to listen to everything.

I recently heard some backing tracks to some U2 songs, just the bass and drums, and occasional keyboard parts. I missed things I didn't hear before, go and listen to the song and hear those things I missed.

I.e, on Gloria, I didn't realize that the "solo" Adam plays towards the end, he plays that a couple times in the song. I didn't really pick up on it before. For the solo, he does a 'pop and slap' technique, and the other times he uses a pick.

Sorta knowing which songs Adam used a bass pick or used 'fingerstyle' bass, which might be a bit obsessive, doesn't hinder my enjoyment.

That Larry uses brushes instead of drum sticks on some songs, or sets up his kit and uses certain drums in ways most drummers would not, doesn't take away any enjoyment.

That Edge uses a pick upside-down on occasion, etc.

I don't really make setlists or change the running order of an album. I have on occasion gone 'old school' and made mix tapes/CD's, but I didn't put too much effort into them. One I made by taking the first song off each album and putting them together. I've made one of every live song I have, (all hard copy) and put them in chronological order. For the most part, I just make copies so I don't wear out the originals.

Just listen to the music man.

just wondering - are you a musician? because ever since I really started playing guitar (to the point where I don't suck at it ) and really more since I've been writing my own songs, I've started noticing things in music a lot more - not just U2, but any song. I sort of listen to music in a different way. I don't just think "ohh, that's a nice sound," I think, "how did they play that?" I pay attention to each individual instrument more, but I also pay attention to the way everything is put together, the production... I listen more closely to everything. Sometimes I almost over-analyze, I think, but when I do that I just sorta stop thinking about it and get lost in the music.

As for U2... I'd say the only thing that sometimes gets in the way of my enjoyment is live vs. studio. Sometimes I'll be listening to the studio version of a song and keep thinking "...but the live version is so much better!!" I'd say in general I don't listen to albums fully as often anymore, but that's because I have an iPod so I often feel inclined to skip around. But I don't make many alternate playlists and when I'm listening to a U2 album, I enjoy it. I like the albums as they are. I appreciate things in the studio versions that just aren't replicated live, even if sometimes I wish some studio versions were more like the live versions.

 

[catlhere]

I'm completely obsessed with U2 (in a good way, not stalker-ish) But I don't think it's ever messed my love for them. I don't really do the whole mix thing. Or new playlist thing. I even just take time out of trips or breaks between classes to listen to an album. I remember one day just listening to their catelogue from Boy to HTDAAB. I guess U2 for me is just such a great band that I'll always love them the same amount. I have personal preferences of course, like for instance if a WOWY track comes on my ipod, i choose to listen to the rock's hottest ticket boot of it instead just because that's my fav, but i dont really see it as a hinderance. more just my own biases in effect. I still like WOWY in any form at any time

 

[thrillme]

just wondering - are you a musician? because ever since I really started playing guitar (to the point where I don't suck at it ) and really more since I've been writing my own songs, I've started noticing things in music a lot more - not just U2, but any song. I sort of listen to music in a different way. I don't just think "ohh, that's a nice sound," I think, "how did they play that?" I pay attention to each individual instrument more, but I also pay attention to the way everything is put together, the production... I listen more closely to everything. Sometimes I almost over-analyze, I think, but when I do that I just sorta stop thinking about it and get lost in the music.

An aspiring bass player but I wouldn't call myself a musician at this stage. But yes, I do find myself listening more closely to the sum of the parts, as well as the whole. Mostly I find myself noticing the bass in songs, not just U2, more than I ever did before.

As for U2... I'd say the only thing that sometimes gets in the way of my enjoyment is live vs. studio. Sometimes I'll be listening to the studio version of a song and keep thinking "...but the live version is so much better!!" I'd say in general I don't listen to albums fully as often anymore, but that's because I have an iPod so I often feel inclined to skip around. But I don't make many alternate playlists and when I'm listening to a U2 album, I enjoy it. I like the albums as they are. I appreciate things in the studio versions that just aren't replicated live, even if sometimes I wish some studio versions were more like the live versions.

Again yes, like "Love and Peace" it's hard to go back to the album version after hearing the live version but I still like the album version.

"New York" that's another one.

 

[nightninja56]

i agree with atomicbono and thrillme...once you start to learn about music, you appreciate them more to a certain extent, its great to kind of analyze the music, especially the lyrics, its great!

and thrill me i am in the same boat as you 'an aspiring bass player but i wouldnt call myself a musician at this stage' that sounds exactly like me! wow lol

 

[VertigoGal]

As for U2... I'd say the only thing that sometimes gets in the way of my enjoyment is live vs. studio. Sometimes I'll be listening to the studio version of a song and keep thinking "...but the live version is so much better!!" I'd say in general I don't listen to albums fully as often anymore, but that's because I have an iPod so I often feel inclined to skip around. But I don't make many alternate playlists and when I'm listening to a U2 album, I enjoy it. I like the albums as they are. I appreciate things in the studio versions that just aren't replicated live, even if sometimes I wish some studio versions were more like the live versions.

that's my main issue. the other day my friend was listening to the version of Still Haven't Found on Rattle and Hum and was like "I love this song!" And all I could think was "the version from the the 12/30/89 bootleg lik so totaly pwns dat!"

Also I think reading too many Bono interviews can leave the impression he's a jackass (I love him---just my personal experience) which again can get in the way of just enjoying the music, at least for me.

In the past month or so I've listened to a lot less U2 and haven't followed much about them in awhile either...I think it makes it more enjoyable when I do listen to them.

 

[Dulce de Leche]

In the listening sense, no.

In the concert going sense, yes.