let's talk about POP

[lost poet]

POP the album, I mean, not the concept.

When it first came out I remember thinking there was something missing. I remember saying that I thought U2 were all busy having kids etc, and just made an album. But now I think it was me that was the one too busy having kids to listen properly!
And now that I'm as old as U2 were when they made it (or am I older?) I understand it a lot better.

A country album having a fight with a techno album... neither of them loses, but neither of them really wins either. What d'you reckon?

lost poet
Poems at www.arach.net.au/~huxtable/janet/proximity

 

[typhoon]

OH, GOOD, WE'VE NEVER HAD A THREAD ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

 

[Miggy D]

Haha, yeah. Someone should close it.

 

[Axver]

Haha, yeah. Someone should close it.

... or, for a change, we could have a sensible discussion about Pop without flaming or comparing it to ATYCLB. What a concept!

 

[U2girl]

I can hardly wait for all the HTDAAB threads saying "I'm glad it's nothing like ATYCLB".

 

[Party Boy]

OH, GOOD, WE'VE NEVER HAD A THREAD ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

If your tired of reading/posting in Pop treads, why don't you just ignore it, instead of being so dismissive??

I love Pop - have loved it since the day it came out - IMHO some of U2's most experimental music is on that album - yeah I know the band said it wasn't complete to their satisfaction.. for me? Makes no different, I love it the way it is now.

I think the album has, esp in first half, got much more of a European feel - elements of dance music craze at the time, plus elements of Britpop music which also was doing the rounds around that time. I think its aged well and could easily fit in todays music. Would love to hear more music along the lines of Mofo, DYFL, WUDM, Gone, Please, Discoteque, Miami etc (I love the vibe of Miami!). I can't really understand why people dislike Pop so much - songs above are brilliant U2 songs!

 

[Lo-Fi]

It's a stunner, I think part of it's appeal to me is the unfinised quality of some of the songs, like Please and Miami. The first three songs on that record are some of the best U2 have ever made, they weren't scrared of taking chances on that record and I really enjoyed that period of U2's career. Pop gave birth to one of my all time favourite U2 songs in 'Do You Feel Loved' what a feel that song has, killer hooks galore with the vocals, bass, and guitar all having them.

It's a dark album too, even the ballads such as IGWSHA and IYWTVD have sinister tone to them. I hate slush when it comes to slow songs (see Peace On Earth) but these were excellent as they didn't leave you with the feelin' of everything is gonna be alright that U2 usually do. A great and understated piece of work.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

Why the hell shouldn't fans post about an album they love on a U2 board? Just plain stupid not to welcome this!

Interesting ... country vs techno. I love this album, and the funny thing is that it still grows on me - even though i loved it the first time I heard it.

 

[Jaxx]

There's a groove to Pop that you can't find on any other U2 album. Fantastic bass by Adam throughout and some really great songs: Do You Fell Loved (I think this is severly underrated - like Lo-Fi said it's filled with infectious hooks), Gone, Please and Mofo, of course, among others. I think it's a very solid album and I hate it when I hear U2 being somewhat apologetic about it. Nothing to be ashamed of here, boys: sounds as fresh and powerful as it did seven years ago.

 

[jacobus]

as i said before in some of the other topics i believe POP is missing something. i can't describe what it is but i have a very special lost feeling.
discotheque. dyfl, sats, lnoe (imo the worst u2 song ever) all do have that missing link. i really like MOFO, GONE, MIAMI, THE PLAYBOY MANSION. all the others on POP are so lala.
so don't hang me for saying this, 'cause you all know it's just an opinion...

 

[Lo-Fi]

Not at all, we're all intitled to our opinion. It's funny how you feel those songs are missing something, yet I personally feel some of those songs are the strongest they've ever wrote.

 

[JOFO]

There's a groove to Pop that you can't find on any other U2 album. Fantastic bass by Adam throughout and some really great songs: Do You Fell Loved (I think this is severly underrated - like Lo-Fi said it's filled with infectious hooks), Gone, Please and Mofo, of course, among others. I think it's a very solid album and I hate it when I hear U2 being somewhat apologetic about it. Nothing to be ashamed of here, boys: sounds as fresh and powerful as it did seven years ago.

I agree

 

[Rafiennes]

As I’ve stated before, the unfinished aspect of the album, mixed with the glossy production value of some of the songs IS what makes it work for me. I’ve called it techno-punk, sleek rawness in songwriting.

I think they’ve got some really strong songs in there that hadn’t found their way out of the Matrix at the time, but I think by now some have found their way.

 

[carrieluvv]

I think POP is a very sexy albumn , the songs were sexy the band was mad sexy the tour broke barriers and they expirimented with alot of techno and they put out some fine songs.
it was pretty raw and the songs like wake up dead man and if you wear that velvet dress are so haunting and otherworldly

Pop is like a warm rainy day , you see that one your crazy about you run around the town getting soaked and bar hopping. Oh yeah and its a friday so ya know saturday you can start all over again...

feeling a bit poetic but that may have been crap

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Personally. I think it is a fine album, with an atmosphere that engulfs you as you listen to it, and the unfinished aspect sets it apart from other U2 albums..now in saying that, I would have had HMTMKMKM and Your Blue Room on it to really enable it to challenge for best U2 album.

 

[Numb1075]

I really enjoy Pop. Most mainstream folks didn't know what to make of it. The first 3 songs were the most upbeat/dancable songs U2 has created....followed by 2 slow songs unlike their previous slow tunes....a couple of mid tempos...and then several out of the ordinary slow songs.

Quite a leap for U2 considering their past albums.

I enjoy most of POP. I am in the "I don't quite get Miami" club. IYWTVD, although pretty, didn't have enough ooomph for me.
However, Disco/Mofo/DYFL/SATS/IGWSHA/LNOE/Gone/Please/Wake Up Dead Man are special trax that most artists couldn't dream of creating and even if they could, wouldn't have the ballz to do it.

IMHO, 9 great songs make this album an absoulte pleasure to listen to.

PS - best lyrics since AB

 

[edgeu22]

Other than greatly preferring the single version of Please and possibly replacing IYWTVD or Playboy Mansion with a more up-tempo song (the second-half of the album has a hangover) -- I wouldn't change a thing.

Don't much care for the "remixed" POP versions on the "Best of '90s.

 

[dandy]

i am a recent convert to the pop fan club. it took me quite awhile to get into it, but now i love it. it was the cd i listened to most this summer.

i love the concept of pop--u2 managed to do dancy and catchy while keeping the lyrics heavy and edgy, the exact opposite of typical pop music. there's a lot of underlying anger that made for some of the best songs of their career--gone, mofo, do you feel loved... pop is u2 at their slickest, in-your-face, satirical best.

i generally don't enjoy remixes, but the best of version of gone is phenomenal.

 

[lost poet]

as i said before in some of the other topics i believe POP is missing something. i can't describe what it is but i have a very special lost feeling.
discotheque. dyfl, sats, lnoe (imo the worst u2 song ever) all do have that missing link. i really like MOFO, GONE, MIAMI, THE PLAYBOY MANSION. all the others on POP are so lala.

missing something...lost... yes, that pretty well describes how I felt when I first heard Pop. It's an album that takes a lot of getting into; it has taken me years to really come to grips with it, or perhaps to get into the right state of mind for it! When I listen to it I like to read along with the lyrics - part of the trouble with Pop is that I can't understand what Bono is singing half the time and for this album, that does matter. The lyrics are really good and if you miss them you miss half of what's happening.

Maybe there's a weakness in the combination of songs. I don't think they go with each other. It's like they couldn't decide what sort of album they were making.

But yeah there are some great individual songs, especially IMO Wake up dead man, MOFO, Gone. Anyone else think MOFO sounds a bit like Wire (from the Unforgettable Fire)? Or is it just me that hears a very similar rhythm in those two songs?

lost poet
Poems at www.arach.net.au/~huxtable/janet/proximity

 

[carrieluvv]

I listened to my scratched up POP Cd on my walkman on my morning stroll...
it was great , its a lovely day a light wind and leaves blowing all around and very quiet..

i love the way the end of playboy mansion blends with the beginning of velvet dress.
YA know what I mean?

 

[youtwohearts]

Pop is one of my favorite albums after War, JT and maybe UF. It is up there.

 

[AquariumDrinker]

I didn't like POP that much at first. It took me a few years to finally "get" it. But now it's one of my favorites. It's not an easily digestable album and takes repeated listens for it to click. Songs like Mofo, IGWSHA, Gone, WUDM, Velvet Dress can easily be given up on if you don't give it a chance (like I did). More than any other U2 album, the listener is challenged to cut through the "noise" to get to its core.

 

[Lancemc]

I think if Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me and Holy Joe were put on this album, it would even be twice as good...as well as "finishing" the production on this album.

 

[AtomicBono]

I grew up on Pop. Pop was my introduction to U2 and is still one of my favourite U2 albums to date... it's funny, because it's considered U2's most "un-U2" album, but to me it is U2, y'know? Since it was the first U2 album I heard, I would compare the previous albums to Pop, not the other way around. I do agree that Pop has a very dark feel compared to U2's other stuff, and I like that. It also does kind of have a feeling of "something missing," of being lost... and I think that's part of the brilliance of the album. But, that's just me.

One or two reviewers have compared HTDAAB to Pop in terms of rocking-ness... that makes me very, very excited. I still think Discotheque is one of U2's best straight-out rock songs.

 

[bcrt2000]

i love this album but adding edge's "down" to Gone and swapping the album version of please with the single version would probably make this album even better.. i still don't like miami that much, but other than that i think its a great album

 

[bcrt2000]

I grew up on Pop. Pop was my introduction to U2 and is still one of my favourite U2 albums to date... it's funny, because it's considered U2's most "un-U2" album, but to me it is U2, y'know? Since it was the first U2 album I heard, I would compare the previous albums to Pop, not the other way around. I do agree that Pop has a very dark feel compared to U2's other stuff, and I like that. It also does kind of have a feeling of "something missing," of being lost... and I think that's part of the brilliance of the album. But, that's just me.

One or two reviewers have compared HTDAAB to Pop in terms of rocking-ness... that makes me very, very excited. I still think Discotheque is one of U2's best straight-out rock songs.

What Pop really has, is that feeling of getting lost in the material world, and some clues to returning to our spirituality and humanity