How has HTDAAB aged for you?

[Saracene]

It holds up pretty well for me and occupies the same position as when it first came out. I don't *love* it as much as I do ATYCLB or Unforgettable Fire, but for me it sits comfortably on a second level with albums like JT, AB, Pop and Boy. I listened to it recently and enjoyed it from start to finish, and for some reason I absolutely bawled my eyes out at SYCMIOYO, which I've never done before even though I've always found the song moving.

Lyrics... well to be honest for me Bono's lyrics were always the very last reason for loving U2. I can appreciate them when they're genuinely good, but they never make or break a song for me.

 

[U2girl]

Do you feel loved is nothing but a (very) poor man's Even better than the real thing, if we're at rehashing.


I like how for "bad lyrics/lines" stuff like Miami or Some days are better than others gets overlooked and only the last two albums are culpable. But apparently those songs aren't even about the lyrics; Bono can get away with murder lyrically just as long as the music is "interesting". And I always thought the whole point of the last two albums lyrically was being direct for once.

 

[last unicorn]

For me, the last two albums are the most personal and intimate ones. That's reason enough for me to love them.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I was impressed in 2004 when it leaked the internet..... and I still believe that HTDAAB is better than ATYCLB as a whole.
I love Beautiful day, In a little while, Kite, Walk on and When I look at the world....... but it also includes the worst song ever Wild Honey..... and this one alone makes ATYCLB weeker than HTDAAB.....

 

[alanah]

To be honest, I very rarely listen to this album but I like it.

 

[Irishteen]

I still like the Bomb not as much as I used to though. It would sound much better with the All Because of You and Original of the Species single versions on it the originals are nothing in comparison to them.


And ATYCLB is an amazing album, there's no way the bomb could compare to it. ATYCLB was their third masterpiece after TUF and AB. And everyone knows U2 always fall a little after each masterpiece, TJT, Zooropa and HTDAAB couldn't compare to the albums that became before them.

 

[AtomicBono]

Do you feel loved is nothing but a (very) poor man's Even better than the real thing, if we're at rehashing.


I like how for "bad lyrics/lines" stuff like Miami or Some days are better than others gets overlooked and only the last two albums are culpable. But apparently those songs aren't even about the lyrics; Bono can get away with murder lyrically just as long as the music is "interesting". And I always thought the whole point of the last two albums lyrically was being direct for once.

how is DYFL a rehash of EBTTRT?

and I disagree with your second point. even a lot of the people who love Pop or Zooropa hate Miami or Some Days, or they'll at least admit the lyrics are subpar. personally I like the lyrics to both the songs..Miami paints a picture. Miami My Mammy is stupid, but no more so than WOOOOOOOOOO WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO

bad lyrics can't ruin a good song unless they're truly awful...and even then if the music is really great you can try to overlook them. good lyrics can't make a bad song good either, just look at Crumbs

 

[david]

I think Miami's lyrics are just a poem put to funky music. Besides, if people think the lyrics are cheesy, I think they're supposed to be. They convey that cheesyness of Miami.

mmm cheese.

 

[Snowlock]

Very well. The iPod commercialism of Vertigo has worn off and I enjoy the song for it's own qualities. COBL & OOTS are great cannon songs that I hope stay in the repretoire & I'm even getting back into "Sometimes".

Albums still has more favorites on it than anything since Achtung. Sad to see them move so quickly from the rock format.

 

[roy]

Still absolutely love HTDAAB, probably even more than when I 1st heard it.

 

[Sicy]

Quote:
Originally posted by LemonOrange



Still, some lyrical sins cannot be forgiven.
A man and a woman

wholeheartedly agreed

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[kingofsorrow]

just like ATYcLB, there's only 2 songs i care to listen too on this album now.
1: man & a woman
2: one step closer

 

[djerdap]

Do you feel loved is nothing but a (very) poor man's Even better than the real thing, if we're at rehashing.


I like how for "bad lyrics/lines" stuff like Miami or Some days are better than others gets overlooked and only the last two albums are culpable. But apparently those songs aren't even about the lyrics; Bono can get away with murder lyrically just as long as the music is "interesting". And I always thought the whole point of the last two albums lyrically was being direct for once.

Do You Feel Loved a rehash of Even Better? WTF? Can't hear it, sorry.
Pop and Zooropa are lyrically much much stronger than the last two albums, although there are a couple of duds here and there (don't know why Miami is so often mentioned as a lyrically bad song - the song is obviously a fuck-around by the band). The lyrics are dark and most importantly - subtle. They don't throw their message into your face like the new lyrics that seem incredibly forced.

My opinion on the Bomb has changed; the album is still great, it features some amazing songs (City of Blinding Lights, Love and Peace or Else and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own), but it suffers from a bad production and I like some of the alternate versions better.

 

[LemonMelon]

Do you feel loved is nothing but a (very) poor man's Even better than the real thing, if we're at rehashing.

I don't see the similarity...they're both about sex and are track #2's, but that's all I can see.

 

[No spoken words]

I don't like the album as much now as I did upon its release, sadly. The excitement probably overrided all other things during those early listens. However, for me, it has still held up relatively well. I am not sure why it's necessary to pit it against ATYCLB, so I won't, it's not relevant. I still like hearing COBL and Crumbs and Miracle Drug a lot, and some other songs not quite as much. I'm probably tired of Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own, heard it too much in concert and it has lost some of its potency. Anyway, it's help up fairly well for me and while it's of course not my favorite U2 album, it's something I'll always enjoy listening to now and then.

 

[U2girl]

how is DYFL a rehash of EBTTRT?

and I disagree with your second point. even a lot of the people who love Pop or Zooropa hate Miami or Some Days, or they'll at least admit the lyrics are subpar. personally I like the lyrics to both the songs..Miami paints a picture. Miami My Mammy is stupid, but no more so than WOOOOOOOOOO WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO

bad lyrics can't ruin a good song unless they're truly awful...and even then if the music is really great you can try to overlook them. good lyrics can't make a bad song good either, just look at Crumbs

Both share the same topic and both want to be seductive musically/vocal wise. Only EBTTRT does it much better.

Most of the comments I see are "but the music is so cool I don't care about the lyrics" when it comes to those two songs. It seems the lyrical standards don't apply to non-00s U2. WOO HOO may be filler, but it works much better in a non serious song than Miami my mammy used in a song trying to convey a picture of a city. Besides stuff like woo hoo, or oh-oh-oh-oh in Pride and random "yeah" or "allright" lines happen in songs all the time.

Depends on the song, I don't mind goofy lyrics in the more light hearted songs (I like listening to Some days... for what it is but those lyrics on their own, surrounded by the other lyrics on that album - come on), but I do mind goofy lines in what is not meant to be a light hearted song.

To me Crumbs is one of Bomb's better songs, one of less hated on here anyway.

 

[AtomicBono]

so do you not think Miami is supposed to be a light hearted song? it's supposed to paint a city, yes, but the whole point is to just show the surface level of things, the fun side of the city

and for the record I don't mind the wooo wooo hoo's, I love Elevation

I think DYFL is a lot more seductive, EBTTRT is more of a dance song... but if we're going purely by subject matter you could say that Running to Stand Still is a rehash of Bad, Mofo and Lemon are rehashes of Tomorrow since they're about Bono's mom, ect. the comparisons between yahweh and DYFL are because of the "take this, take that" lyric style

 

[angelordevil]

My opinion on the Bomb has changed; the album is still great, it features some amazing songs (City of Blinding Lights, Love and Peace or Else and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own), but it suffers from a bad production and I like some of the alternate versions better.

I really agree with that last part. Overall, I think Bomb is a stronger album than ATYCLB, but it's far from being an Achtung, UF, or even Pop. Two of the songs you mention-COBL and LAPOE-are the ones that stand up pretty well in my ears.

Both share the same topic and both want to be seductive musically/vocal wise. Only EBTTRT does it much better...

...To me Crumbs is one of Bomb's better songs, one of less hated on here anyway.

I disagree.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't like the album as much now as I did upon its release, sadly. The excitement probably overrided all other things during those early listens. However, for me, it has still held up relatively well. I am not sure why it's necessary to pit it against ATYCLB, so I won't, it's not relevant. I still like hearing COBL and Crumbs and Miracle Drug a lot, and some other songs not quite as much. I'm probably tired of Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own, heard it too much in concert and it has lost some of its potency. Anyway, it's help up fairly well for me and while it's of course not my favorite U2 album, it's something I'll always enjoy listening to now and then.

It's scary how much I agree with you.

Although I still really do love Sometimes You Can't Hit That Really High Opera Note On Your Own.

 

[rjhbonovox]

HTDAAB was average on first hearing it and is still average now. Looks like some of the members of U2 have also cooled to this album now. Am I not right in saying The Edge feels the album should have been more experimental. Here, here to that. But cos U2 have since 2000 been obsessed with their popularity amongst the under 12's thats what you get, an album that has been crammed full with songs that sound like they could all be released as singles. There isn't much to choose between HTDAAB and ATYCLB. And they've also got six words in their titles. Thats the thing, while U2's album titles get longer the quality gets worse.

 

[U2girl]

so do you not think Miami is supposed to be a light hearted song? it's supposed to paint a city, yes, but the whole point is to just show the surface level of things, the fun side of the city

and for the record I don't mind the wooo wooo hoo's, I love Elevation

I think DYFL is a lot more seductive, EBTTRT is more of a dance song... but if we're going purely by subject matter you could say that Running to Stand Still is a rehash of Bad, Mofo and Lemon are rehashes of Tomorrow since they're about Bono's mom, ect. the comparisons between yahweh and DYFL are because of the "take this, take that" lyric style

No, it wants to capture the mood, the image of the city. And it's not just about the mammy line even if that's all that ever gets quoted.

Both EBTTRT and DYFL have danceable rhythms, same topic and sensual vocals/delivery. More in common than RTSS-Bad, Mofo-Lemon-Tomorrow which only share the topic.

I know the Yahweh and DYFL comparison comes from the lyric, the style may be the same but completely different topic. Not the first time similar style or lines used but it seems the most questioned one.

 

[super fly guy]

I loved the album when it came out,and i still do today. My fave song is miracle drug,really wanted it to be a single.

 

[jacobus]

as you know i don't like HTDAAB. the only song i really like is ONE STEP CLOSER
this song is just a timeless beauty

 

[CKONE]

Like a fine wine it grows in strength from day to day.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Well, I liked the album very much when it came out and I still do nearly 3 and a half years later.

 

[Sirus]

as you know i don't like HTDAAB. the only song i really like is ONE STEP CLOSER
this song is just a timeless beauty

I thought I was the only person who thought that was the best song on the album. The production isn't very good on the rest of the album. I'm not a huge fan of the album as a whole. I think it's aged rather poorly.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

Well, I liked the album very much when it came out and I still do nearly 3 and a half years later.

Your calender goes faster than mine..... isn't it 2 and a half?

 

[An Cat Gav]

I really liked it when it came out, but now it leaves me a bit disappointed. Like many others have said, it has some very good songs but they don't sit well together as an album. I still like it, but I'm hoping for better next time.

 

[HeavenAndHell82]

It hasn't aged for me AT ALL!!!
I thought it was very good/cool when I bought it, but it couldn't
hold my attention anymore after a month or so...
The songs are not very special in my opinion when you
look at them standing on their own.

So this album is very disappointing if you ask me,
and I listen to it very rarely...

 

[christiana]

It actually aged well for me. I didn't like it much when it first came out, especially for the first few tracks including Vertigo. I wasn't a fan of Elevation in ATYCLB and I thought Vertigo was kinda Elevation-ish.

It wasn't until I bought the Boston DVD that I started to like HTDAAB. I love Miracle Drug, and I think it's a shame that they dropped Miracle Drug in the latter concerts. I even like Yahwah now.

STYCMIOYO is great, I didn't like the 'stuff' rhyme, but overall I really love the song, and the video too. Some of the songs are carried well into the concerts or the video, that I started to like the song after seeing it live or in the music video.

Basically the only song that i don't like is A Man and A Woman, but when comparing it to almost half of the album that I don't like in ATYCLB, I think I should say that I prefer HTDAAB more.

It's nowhere compared to their masterpieces, but after all these years, HTDAAB is positioned above ATYCLB and Pop for me. And I do like POP!