JT is good! My attitude is bad!

[wertsie]

How about a thread that isn't a poll?

I finally put JT in my player the other day after having not had it in there for awhile...And today I found myself really get into it: singing along to the songs at the top of my voice, smiling...Yeah, it was good.

But I have to admit that when anyone mentions JT, I usually cringe. Why?

***If people have only heard one thing about U2, it's that they had an album called "The Joshua Tree." I mean, come on! That was 1987. This is 2002!

***I am acquainted with a "fan" who loves JT but would never miss an opportunity to bash POP (which is one of my personal faves!)...And then he would proceed to pronounce Bono "BONE-OH"!

***It sometimes feels like U2 can never get past JT in the eyes of some people. It's like they think that JT represents the "real" U2 and that everything else they do is just fake and a way to make money.

Yes, JT is a GREAT album, but it's only one of ten! There IS more out there!

 

[Bonochick]

I think JT is an album that drew in a lot of fans. JT was the first U2 album I heard...and that wasn't until 1995, when I was 13 years old.

A friend of mine told me he didn't really like U2, but his friend had been playing JT, and he liked it. So I got him a copy of it. Even if that's the only U2 album he listens to, at least he enjoys a small slice of U2.

 

[U2Kitten]

I'm glad you can like it now. I have noticed a lot of resentment toward JT on this board by Pop fans who don't like it that JT is so much more popular with more people, casual fans and the media. But it's the exalted one over ALL the other albums and probably always will be because it was the most successful and its songs are more well known to 'average' (non-U2) people. I also think some Pop fans resent ATYCLB because U2 changed their sound again and it happened to be something most fans liked better and was more successful and they thought U2 had given into the old JT bunch or something. I don't think JT and ATYCLB are anything alike, I do not believe U2 did anything on purpose, it's just what came out of their hearts at that time. I am glad you don't hold it against JT anymore. It's like I always knew my mom liked my kid brother best, and I resented him for it, so at times I rejected him. Then I realized it wasn't his fault, and we turned out to be good friends. LOL I feel so bad for comparing my brother to a record!

 

[daisybean]

Yes, I am guilty of being one of those dreaded JT fans that Dr. Who mentioned. Of course I was 12 when it came out and it was my first exposure to them.

However, I can see why it makes you cringe, because it was beyond huge at the time. It is the album that everyone associates U2 with, which I think is not a necessarily bad thing.

Think of it this way, it could be worse: They could be best known for singing Ice Ice Baby

 

[wertsie]

JT was the first U2 album I ever heard. My mom had the record. I turned 6 at the very end of 1987 so of course I was too young to appreciate it at the time.

...I've always been able to listen to it, but I find that it's the album I hesitate most with before I put it in.

Somebody on here (can't remember who...) a few days ago remarked that a lot of people say that U2 hit their musical peak with JT, and this person found that insulting to U2. So do I! Again, not because JT is a bad album (not at ALL!) but that was 15 years ago...It's like saying that everything they've done since hasn't quite "measured up."

You know, when I think about it, I don't really think I can pinpoint U2's musical "peak." My favorite album is AB, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it was their "peak."

I guess it's a matter of saying "different" rather than "better."

*hopefully this makes at least a grain of sense!*

 

[AcrobatMan]

Another JT fan who believes that U2 reached its peak with Joshua Tree - Everything after that is a downhill

 

[madonna's child]

Before becoming a fan, the only U2 music I really knew was the JT singles and Pride.

It's a lovely album.