I wonder if this guy is eating his words

[DaveC]

In the last few hours I'm suddenly reminded why I didn't come into this forum for almost 2 years...

 

[Zoomerang96]

it's not a brilliant inside really, everyone who read your post would think you're full of it
so it was more like stating the obvious

should I ever figure out how I can back up the obvious I'll get back to you

btw
compared to your original post I am quite amazed how you'd dare to accuse anyone else of "broad sweeping comment without any brilliant insight"
you cornered the market on with just that one post alone

so to answer your question:
"i suppose i was entirely off-base?"

- yes


I don't see any true evidence that U2 are not as relevant/irrelevant/cool/ridiculous/calculating/artistic now then they were the first 20 years of their career


I don't think I would have liked you in grade school either

it's always been comical to see how much venom you've sent my way. i suppose if i ever liked you in the first place it would have some effect on me. now it's merely a fun way for me to take any frustration i might have, and translate it into barbs headed your way.

my original post stands. so i don't toe the fucking line with the rest of the crew here at a u2 message board, does that make me absurd?

no, i don't think so.

you're fine with u2, and so am i. i like what they did. i just think they're a mockery of who they once were. if that's so hard for you to believe, then perhaps you should see if you can even come up with a way for the band to sell out any further.

what more could they do, really?

honestly, it wouldn't matter if their music was still good. the music, while not horrible, is in my opinion lazy while the majority of the lyrics are simply inexcusable for a man who wrote the wanderer, so cruel, one tree hill, bad, and so many other songs that are considered classics by most.

 

[U2DMfan]

Fuck the artistic statement

More songs ftw

 

[The Sad Punk]

Goddammit what is up with U2 doing things

 

[Zoots]

the music, while not horrible, is in my opinion lazy while the majority of the lyrics are simply inexcusable for a man who wrote the wanderer, so cruel, one tree hill, bad, and so many other songs that are considered classics by most.

Well said! The "while not horrible" part will be ignored and the rest of your post will be used to paint you as a hater.

 

[U2DMfan]

I've said it for years and others have said it.

They cannot be truly relevant again. And they won't be. Period.

I hope they understand this and actually I think Bono and Edge know this fully but as long as they are dragging the dullards along, they risk making some crap.

They are carrying creative dead weight.

It's true.

 

[Zoomerang96]

well, it depends on what you mean by relevant.

u2 are extremely relevant commercially... in that there can be no doubt.

i suppose you mean artistically?

and i'm not sure what you mean by carrying creative dead weight. are you referring to adam and larry?

 

[Salome]

Well said! The "while not horrible" part will be ignored and the rest of your post will be used to paint you as a hater.

to be quite honest I don't care whether people do or do not like U2
in a year's time I might perhaps listen to a U2 album 10 times if that
so I don't take it as a personal insult when someone else does or does not like the band

when I read someone posting about how the band has changed and how they are no longer relevant I will call it crap, because it is crap

I don't like How to dismantle that much and I think they should approve on the next album
but you really have to be in denial when you won't see that the band is still a force in the music world

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

Goddammit what is up with U2 doing things

Marry Me!

 

[Cigar]

If you want to know if the band is still relevant in 2007,just ask yourself how many bands have said they've been influence by ATYCLB or HTDAAB.

 

[Zoomerang96]

to be quite honest I don't care whether people do or do not like U2
in a year's time I might perhaps listen to a U2 album 10 times if that
so I don't take it as a personal insult when someone else does or does not like the band

when I read someone posting about how the band has changed and how they are no longer relevant I will call it crap, because it is crap

I don't like How to dismantle that much and I think they should approve on the next album
but you really have to be in denial when you won't see that the band is still a force in the music world

yeah, i'm well aware they're a force.

but britney spears was a force for a number of years, too, and that doesn't say anything.

there's no question they're popular, but that was never my point.

 

[Zoomerang96]

If you want to know if the band is still relevant in 2007,just ask yourself how many bands have said they've been influence by ATYCLB or HTDAAB.

that's a good question.

i can't think of one.

that doesn't mean there aren't any, though. are there some you know of?

 

[roy]

If you want to know if the band is still relevant in 2007,just ask yourself how many bands have said they've been influence by ATYCLB or HTDAAB.

Interesting. How many bands were influenced by Zooropa & Pop?

 

[BVS]

I've said it for years and others have said it.

They cannot be truly relevant again. And they won't be. Period.

Are you basing this purely on their age?

So you're saying if they come out with ground breaking album next year that just puts everyone on the floor, they still won't be relevant?

 

[Salome]

I don't think that since Simple Minds anyone has said they have been musically influenced by U2
ZOO TV set a new standard for concerts yes, but the only other band I can think of that changed its sound in a similar way as a result of Achtung Baby was Bon flippin Jovi

still though
when U2 releases a new album people will take note and listen
because U2's sound is (almost) always interesting

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

But not U2. Never U2. U2 are about moving forward and exploring new territories. Not about looking back. U2 are an adventure – not a history lesson.

 

[BVS]

I don't think that since Simple Minds anyone has said they have been musically influenced by U2

I can think of dozens...

Of course most of those bands either site JT or AB, but yeah I can think of lots of bands that say they were influenced by U2. But we've had this talk before and people get all worked up about it, so I won't go into making a list...

 

[Zoomerang96]

the quote you highlighted was priceless.

its added hilarity is in the fact that cliches as ridiculous as the ones spewed in the article are no different than the ones bono delivers time and time again.

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

Are you basing this purely on their age?

So you're saying if they come out with ground breaking album next year that just puts everyone on the floor, they still won't be relevant?

keyword "if"

i doubt anything they put out will be ground breaking. Nice, listenable, radio-friendly, grammy winning, etc. But not ground breaking. Thats so 90's of them and we know they "aint got no reverse gears in their tank"

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

shit i double posted

 

[BVS]

keyword "if"

i doubt anything they put out will be ground breaking. Nice, listenable, radio-friendly, grammy winning, etc. But not ground breaking. Thats so 90's of them and we know they "aint got no reverse gears in their tank"

Well of course it's a big "if", but I'm pretty optimistic they're stirring up something given the reports and the little snippets we've heard.

I just don't believe in absolutes, like saying it will never happen...

 

[MrBrau1]

Well of course it's a big "if", but I'm pretty optimistic they're stirring up something given the reports and the little snippets we've heard.

I just don't believe in absolutes, like saying it will never happen...

I don't care. As long as the songs are good. The "pitchfork" crowd here hate everything that isn't approved by a select group of 24 year old writers. The fact they think of musicians as "targets" should tell you something.

U2 burned all these bridges 20 years ago.

The fact some still cling to it is funny though.

 

[MrBrau1]

I'm having a hard time deciding whether this guy or zoomerang is more full of it
luckily I can't be arsed pondering this too long though

You need to understand where he's coming from.

Zooms listened to "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" by Aretha Franklin and "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" by Otis Redding and stated he'd rather listen to 50 Cent.

I think his opinion has now been qualified.

 

[Zoomerang96]

and young buck, don't forget young buck.

jay z, too.

oh this is too cute... mr. brau and salome in the same thread bitching about someone as apparently meaningless and insensible as myself. someone - quick! take a photo!

 

[Zoomerang96]

I don't care. As long as the songs are good. The "pitchfork" crowd here hate everything that isn't approved by a select group of 24 year old writers. The fact they think of musicians as "targets" should tell you something.

U2 burned all these bridges 20 years ago.

The fact some still cling to it is funny though.

yes, there's a lot that's funny here.

namely, an artist that's arrogant enough to say that they're the best band in the world is going to be a pretty fucking big target in many people's opinions.

not that i even care if they say that, it just sounds childish.

and if dodgy musicians who are in fact pop stars can't be considered targets for their poor musical deliveries, then father help us all, but you might not have anything to post about!

but of course the hypocrisy has never been evident to you, and i don't expect that to change.

yeah, it's true i often speak out of both sides of my mouth. but i can admit it.

 

[U2girl]

That was just a part of the point. To rile people up on that "best band" line. Though anyone this size IS a target anyway.

I'd still rather hear that from someone that made stuff like War, UF, JT, AB, has helpled reinvent rock tours and has been around for 20 years before they even went with this line, than, say, the no. 1 britpop band that yapped the same stuff from album 1, or, I don't know, the most popular rapper in the business.

For all the flaming the charts get here, I'd expect people wouldn't have a problem with a gang of 40+ year old whitey rockers with a bit more depth than the usual pop fluff trying to get some more quality music out there, in the ether. (REM and Radiohead gave up on that ages ago - though In Rainbows could get airplay and MTV mileage and get the kids some alternative from the usual rap/hip pop/rap rock flood) They just might be the last bands that have the ability to shake things up.

As for the new album, they can outdo their post AB output - the key is how inspired the creative duo Edge and Bono will get (their best moments are usually with Eno and Lanois so it doesn't hurt they're there). I don't doubt we're getting a change from ATYCLB/Bomb - see Fast cars and Mercy from late Bomb sessions.

U2 influences ? I know it would be heresy to some, but I can't listen to Zooropa and Passengers and think Radiohead didn't pick up some of that. And the biggest new band of the new millenium borrows from U2 heavily.

 

[Zoomerang96]

That was just a part of the point. To rile people up on that "best band" line. Though anyone this size IS a target anyway.

yeah, that could very well be.

but don't you think that just makes them sound desperate?

if you really are that good... do you NEED to say as much?

it's like when i used to say i always wrote the best threads. i obviously didn't, but that was the point.

 

[U2girl]

I believe the original line was "we're reapplying for the job...what job? the best band on the planet job".

Part of it is pissing someone off, part of it is confidence in your own music, and it suggests humbleness; that is, if you're re-applying, you realize you had/lost it once. I see it more as "we choose to say this about our music" rather than "we need to say this". It's ego, and makes for a great headline, and it's nice as a hype line for the new album/era. (kind of like "chopping down JT", "4 guys in a room"...)

 

[mikal]

i'm about somewhere in between. there are some points that i agree with deathbear on, but at the same time, i think U2 still has a chance to turn things around with this new album/passengers project, and that's what has me so excited for 2008. i pretty much think i'll like whatever they release. i normally do. but from what i've heard about their recording sessions, this could be something special that could even knock many of the "omfg!!!111 hating U2 makes me a smart music fan" crowd on their ass.

 

[corianderstem]

As long as the songs are good.

I'm with MrBrau on this point.

Do I want them to do something different? Yeah, actually, I do. Will I be upset if it's another album in the vein of the last two? Depends on how much I like the songs.