SOE 20 - Sometimes, the end isn't coming...

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I find it strange that they talk about the best thing being their next single,yet they play the little things on national tv?? Some weird promotion there.
 
I think the success so far in the press for this tour is going to make the band and their camp milk this for what it's worth. They've been looking for renewed relevance and they found it with a 30 year old album's place in today's political climate. They frankly do not need to release Songs Of Experience for relevance, press or ticket sales in the near future. I want the album but the band could really extend the JT tour as long as they want. They made a good decision for themselves with shelving the album to work on it more in favor of the tour honestly as much as we all want the new album.
 
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I don't think they've needed an album to tour for a long time.
 
They could have stopped making new albums and still be touring their greatest hits, as the Rolling Stones.
They need to re-invent themselves to stay relevant.
 
Having downloaded the audio of the kimmel performance of the little things, and listened to it on decent headphones I conclude that its a fucking great song!
 
They could have stopped making new albums and still be touring their greatest hits, as the Rolling Stones.
They need to re-invent themselves to stay relevant.
I meant in terms of the audience being interested in going to the show.

Does having a new album help them with the touring side of things? Probably not at first as they're constantly questioning themselves, especially if they haven't released the new material yet.
 
I still hold out hope Mercy will see a studio album in some form.



Mercy had a decent melody and some solid lyrics here and there but it also had some very suspect lyrics and to me....didn't seemed finished. I don't consider it the "With or Without You" of unreleased U2 songs like some but I would have liked for it to been given the proper album treatment.
 
Mercy had a decent melody and some solid lyrics here and there but it also had some very suspect lyrics and to me....didn't seemed finished. I don't consider it the "With or Without You" of unreleased U2 songs like some but I would have liked for it to been given the proper album treatment.

I really like the original, Bomb version of the song. When they played it live we saw they'd already been d1cking around with it and I thought it was a weaker song as a result. I think its good we have that pro-recorded version, but the original is my favourite. Yes, its overblown and U2 at their most U2-y, but I really like it and has a grandness about it which is missing from much of their recent stuff.

Had it got the proper album treatment, it might have become even more diluted down and that's kind of my worry about SOE and any new music from the band these days, that the seemingly never-ending tinkering really doesn't do the music any favours.
 
Their last chance for relevancy was SOI. Instead, they made themselves the most hated band in America, at least. Now they are officially where the Stones were during Bridges to Babylon era... right on schedule.
 
Their last chance for relevancy was SOI. Instead, they made themselves the most hated band in America, at least. Now they are officially where the Stones were during Bridges to Babylon era... right on schedule.

pffffff
 
Now they are officially where the Stones were during Bridges to Babylon era...

Relevant again? Now that they're playing one of the greatest albums of all time immersed in videos (and a few surprisingly brief words from Bono) pounding home modern-day sociopolitical issues?
 
I find it strange that they talk about the best thing being their next single,yet they play the little things on national tv?? Some weird promotion there.

It makes perfect sense. They aren't ready to announce/promote SOE yet. When they are, they will push TBT as the lead single. In the meantime, Little Things is a good new song that they can pull out to remind people they are still making new music.
 
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Relevant again? Now that they're playing one of the greatest albums of all time immersed in videos (and a few surprisingly brief words from Bono) pounding home modern-day sociopolitical issues?

It's funny, I've been listening to my self-created alternate tracklists for NLOTH recently and am convinced that was the biggest missed opportunity of their career. The fan base and public were crying out for them to take a chance again, experiment, and Eno intimated that they were really going deep into layers of sound ("Shades of 'Achtung Baby' abound"). That album cemented for me that the band, post Pop, is totally unsure of themselves. I don't know why that is, exactly. Maybe its the need for money after the Elevation Capital BS. Maybe its Live Nation. But if Bono hadn't dumbed down so many of the lyrics on that album to play to an audience, and the band hadn't traded the middle of the record for vacant soft rock nightmares, they could have had a real ethereal masterpiece on their hands.

I fear that whole cycle of self criticism and over tinkering in an effort to placate the masses is happening again, and it drives me crazy. I'm not expecting Passengers, but I would hope theyd fire from the heart and stop caring who likes it.
 
Hmm,still strange. Why not play the best thing and build up to it's release?

Because you can't exactly "build up" something that is anywhere from 3-6months away, that's just not how the media cycle works these days.
 
they need to stop giving a crap about staying relevant. only in this will they actually regain relevancy. ironic, don'tcha think?

Stop being so desperate ("holding on too tightly") for relevance + make music that they want to make without overcooking / second guessing / worrying about appealing to the masses + make something extraordinary = relevance



3:33

Bono needs to remember this Bono.
 
Stop being so desperate ("holding on too tightly") for relevance + make music that they want to make without overcooking / second guessing / worrying about appealing to the masses + make something extraordinary = relevance



3:33

Bono needs to remember this Bono.


This doesn't even seem like the same band. I loved this version of the band.
 
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