SOE 31: Yes, we have no bananas

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This is gonna be the hot take thread. Bracing.

Quick thoughts:
Get Out of Your Own Way - A solid pop tune, has a bit more intrigue than Best Thing and much better "flow" in terms of the production. And I'm all for the Kendrick appearance. I like it. Verses and pre-chorus especially good here. Intro sucks.

Blackout: Still a ripper, can't believe a band this old is pulling off songs as cool as this. Don't like the mix - drums and Edge are buried (noticing a trend here...) but I still love it. The section in between the 2nd and 3rd choruses is just awesome.

American Soul: I like the driving verses, and the Volcano rework at least fits better in this song than in, well, Volcano. Also, refuJesus. I'd say this one is passable as a mid-album track, and works better than something like Volcano or Stand Up Comedy.
 
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Meh. Uninspired production on all 3 and GOOYOW is latter-day Coldplay without the effervescent sheen that would at least maximize the pop draw. Half measures.
 
Were these 30 second snippets of all 13 songs ever released? If so, does anyone have a link?
 
I honestly do not think they could have put any less effort into GOOYOW. It's the most blatant cut + paste job they've ever done.

And for what it's worth, I've never been the most negative towards the band either.

Blackout is the only good song out of those released so far.
 
As for me

I love Best Thing. My 17 year old daughter can't go a day without listening to it and I have gone from ehh to the same

The Blackout is fantastic...It is going to be a song that can have so much pulled out of it life.


The Little Things, going back to the live and Kimmel shows, might end up being my favorite on the album

I have been stuck in work and haven't been able to hear the others. But I think this is well on the way to being an album I will actually listen to through...
 
It's going to be hard but to overdo these songs before the album comes out.

I made a little playlist of SOI and then added The new tracks. I'm going to try to go into this with a 2 album mentality and that they compliment each other. I love SOI so I'm looking forward to this approach.
 
Very bland for me. GOOYOW is the worst of Coldplay for me..... I feel like I cant even pick out the band somehow same issues on these tracks as SOI.

If the rest of the album is like this.....

I think if you liked SOI this will be something you enjoy. SOI is the 2nd worst U2 album for me, its so cold and lifeless, even though I like the lyrics on that album and the fact it feels like a cohesive album the production is shocking.

I thought they were making SOE an album to be played live but I dont see it - going to need a tonne of backing tracks..... Pre-recorded guitar solo anyone??

Hurts me to say this stuff. Maybe I am just bitter I never seen U2 at their peak hahaha

I am sure that we will have some nuggets of gold on SOE though even SOI did.
 
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It's going to be hard but to overdo these songs before the album comes out.

I made a little playlist of SOI and then added The new tracks. I'm going to try to go into this with a 2 album mentality and that they compliment each other. I love SOI so I'm looking forward to this approach.

Thank you - someone who actually gets it!
 
What I found from the web on - according to Bono - the best drum break of any U2 song ever during the recording of Songs of Experience. The song is 'Civilisation'. Described here as, "tense and heavy," and as a, "surefire album opener." What ever happened to this song?!?!

Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

"Last year, Bono played Q four new songs in various states of completion. Instrument Flying had a sleek, motorik quality; The Little Things That Give You Away was vibrantly anthemic; Much More Better was a deeply personal acoustic demo about Bono's recovery from his bike accident; and the tense, heavy Civilisation sounded like a surefire album opener. Bono described Larry Mullen's colossal drum roll in the middle of the song as "my favourite bit on a U2 album in years." He also previewed an untitled, riff-heavy song related to Songs Of Innocence's Volcano, mentioned the titles Landlady and Where The Shadows Fall, and said that the producers so far included Slaves' producer Jolyon Thomas and Andy Barlow of electronic duo Lamb. Elsewhere, he has talked about songs called Red Flag Day and Get Out Of Your Own Way."
 
So my way premature takes:

GOOYOW: Don't get what people are saying about Coldplay here at all- for a band that plunged their creativity into a mountain after Viva La Vida, this would be eons more inventive. I guess I took it for what it is: a light, frizzy pop song with a dark heart (similar to Beautiful Day or Sweetest Thing), and in that context I like it. And sign me up for any quirky segue or sequencing tricks on this album- they haven't done that since Zooropa.

The Blackout- My current favorite, though I agree that Edge seems back in some of the mixes. I like the lyrics, the bass is really sharp, and the song overall is pretty cohesive and memorable. If this had been the first single off of SOI I'd have thought we'd be wetting ourselves. If this has Jolyon Thomas' touches on it, which I suspect, I'm a fan.

American Soul/Volcano 2/Glastonbury 4/Return of the Stingray Guitar- So it had me, then it kind of lost me. The sampling of at least 3 of their earlier songs didn't bug me as much as the lazy lyrics (Liberty again!) and the seemingly incohesive "feel". Wouldn't shock me if this was reworked quite a bit over the past few months. I do like the ending but wish I heard Edge more. For how "big" it starts it does sort of peter out.

TBT- Woof. Loved what I heard from the leak, hated the single mix, like the Kygo mix, but think it's largely a mess. I'd have either gone big on the electronics and amped up the Nile Rogers-type part, or dressed it down a lot as a guitar-heavy ballad. Whatever the case, what I was expecting isn't this. This, to me, as recorded is more Coldplay-esque that GOOYOW.

TLTTGYA- Really like it but will reserve judgment until I hear the album version. The lyrics to me are strongest and deepest of what I've heard so far, and the understated guitar bits are great. The most "classic U2 epic buildup" of the songs weve heard to date.

All in all, muted optimism but concern about some of the recycled lyrics and reused musical turns from other songs. When this band experiments, even at their advanced age, they can often be incredible- I'm hoping we get a little bit of that here.
 
GOOYOW is the best one for me, though it sounds like Beautiful Day and Walk On.
American Soul is growing on me and I like Volcano.
Blackout sounds just fine. I'm hoping for some surprises on the rest of the album. It's starting to remind me of the War album in vibe, but there's another 9 songs to go, and I would be surprised to find a New Years Day quality song on there. :love:
 
Alright.

So is Get Out Of Your Own Way the most inspired pieces of songwriting in the world? No.

But it's good. It's not as much Tedder bullshit as I feared when I started seeing the reviews come in, and if you don't like most of post 2000 U2 then yea, you're going to think this sucks. And I get that.

And those who are like "ehhhrmagad this is the greatest song ever I'm dying" are pretty dumb. coughcoughSilCoughcough

But it's pretty good. I think it's better than Best Thing. It's definitely a push in the All That You Can't Leave Behind direction.

Haven't given American Soul a whirl yet.

I do have hopes that this is going to be a very good album. Not ground breaking, experimental, or on par with Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby... but filled with good, listenable songs.

For some that's a disaster, and I get that. But honestly I'd rather have good songs that aren't necessarily the most ground breaking thing in the world than have a quasi-experimental bull crap like what No Line was.
 
What I found from the web on - according to Bono - the best drum break of any U2 song ever during the recording of Songs of Experience. The song is 'Civilisation'. Described here as, "tense and heavy," and as a, "surefire album opener." What ever happened to this song?!?!

Pretty sure Civilization became The Blackout.
 
Get Out of Your Own Way is so generic. I have no particularly strong opinion on it really. I think I've played it five times now, maybe six, and I'm still just left with no particular impression of much. It's a song that sounds like 2000s U2, no more and no less.

But it's so ridiculous that they released it on Spotify with half of the transition to American Soul and then an abrupt ending. It sounds awful, and they should have used an edit.

I'm not a big fan of that transition with Kendrick, but it works OK enough. American Soul could be decent but it's completely undermined by the chorus and the REFU-JESUS lyric, which gives the little old lady in Stand Up Comedy a run for its money as the most embarrassing U2 lyric ever. What was Bono thinking, and how did the band and the entire city of producers and engineers around them let it through?

The Blackout is definitely the best song of the five we know so far. It's got some genuinely good rock moments, positively memorable qualities that are worth returning to. It's no classic but it's easily one of the better songs from the last few albums.

Thank you - someone who actually gets it!

You keep policing the forum, you forum cop, you.
 
American Soul is by far the best of the 3 new tracks. Its the most vibrant, dirty, rock song we've had in a while, and the lyrics are great, a direct commentary on America today and it could/should be.
 
I agree with Axver about the abrupt cut-off on GOOYOW. It's ridiculous and unprofessional.
 
This album seems entirely mastered for headphones so far. It seems very flat and dull through speakers, but there are a lot of subtle details and the sound somehow richer on headphones. Maybe I’m crazy - anyone else hear it this way?

Overall, very positive first impressions of the new tracks for me. Blackout my standout so far.
 
Alright.

So is Get Out Of Your Own Way the most inspired pieces of songwriting in the world? No.

But it's good. It's not as much Tedder bullshit as I feared when I started seeing the reviews come in, and if you don't like most of post 2000 U2 then yea, you're going to think this sucks. And I get that.

And those who are like "ehhhrmagad this is the greatest song ever I'm dying" are pretty dumb. coughcoughSilCoughcough

But it's pretty good. I think it's better than Best Thing. It's definitely a push in the All That You Can't Leave Behind direction.

Haven't given American Soul a whirl yet.

I do have hopes that this is going to be a very good album. Not ground breaking, experimental, or on par with Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby... but filled with good, listenable songs.

For some that's a disaster, and I get that. But honestly I'd rather have good songs that aren't necessarily the most ground breaking thing in the world than have a quasi-experimental bull crap like what No Line was.

agreed for the most part. i'm not sure how i'd rank the songs yet.
 
Get Out - hits the sweet spot of ATYCLB uplift. Doesn't really reinvent the wheel, but I'm a fan. The Kendrick cutoff will annoy till the end of time however.

American Soul - only one listen, but underwhelmed. Verse and instrumentation was cool, but the chorus sounded like reheated leftovers - which is too bad because it's so much of the song. Wish they went with a new idea. Maybe it'll work better in album context

The Blackout - miss the huge drums, but love the grove and the minimalism.
 
This album seems entirely mastered for headphones so far. It seems very flat and dull through speakers, but there are a lot of subtle details and the sound somehow richer on headphones. Maybe I’m crazy - anyone else hear it this way?

Overall, very positive first impressions of the new tracks for me. Blackout my standout so far.



I did notice a considerable difference in sound in comparison to the car and from just playing it off of my phone speaker. Could have been on purpose given that people listen to music more on/from their phones now a days but headphones tune everything else out so it could just be in our heads.

I need some more fucking Edge though guys. Just when you think he's going to shine through it's like someone on the mixing board is zapped "now not too much like a rock band jolyon"!
 
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Oh and the Coldplay comparisons... Come up with something better.

Say what you will about Bono's post 2000 lyrics, but Chris Martin has the lyrics of a 3rd grader and always has.

Yeah, I agree. I know the comparisons started with "Look, Coldplay are imitating U2 AGAIN" back in the mid/late-2000s but it has to stop. Coldplay are not and will never be U2. Not commercially, not sonically, not culturally. Not hating on them, but it's akin to me saying "You know what I love about soccer? How similar it is to scrapbooking."
 
American Soul could be decent but it's completely undermined by the chorus and the REFU-JESUS lyric, which gives the little old lady in Stand Up Comedy a run for its money as the most embarrassing U2 lyric ever. What was Bono thinking, and how did the band and the entire city of producers and engineers around them let it through?



I have not heard the song yet but unless Bono lets out a massive audible fart while singing "refu-Jesus", it's not going to be worse than the "little old lady" lyric.
 
This album seems entirely mastered for headphones so far. It seems very flat and dull through speakers, but there are a lot of subtle details and the sound somehow richer on headphones. Maybe I’m crazy - anyone else hear it this way?

Overall, very positive first impressions of the new tracks for me. Blackout my standout so far.



This! I heard TBT on my car speakers and was not impressed at all. Then I bought it and listed on headphones and I heard so many new sounds and backing vocals it was like a completely different song(not completely but definitely enhanced).
 
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