Songs of Experience vol. 29: No More Acronyms

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The overall theme being, what would you want to say to those you love if it was your last chance to tell them something...
We keep getting the eluding to - the end. Whether this is just the concept for this album or not, it does get you feeling like the band is seeing the sunset and reflecting on the important personal feelings that go along with that.


I think a self-consciously commercial pop format is not the best style for addressing that theme
 
I think a self-consciously commercial pop format is not the best style for addressing that theme

A song can be "pop" and still have meaningful lyrics. He has said that the best thing is about Ali, she being the best thing about him and also delving into the deeper/tougher side of relationships (theirs or in general) with the "why am i walking away"
seems to fit the theme of speaking to those you love.
 
If SOE is their last, 14 albums in total doesn't sit well with my OCD, I just don't think 14 is a very sexy number, whereas 15 is nice and round!
 
This is why we need a like button. I have no reply other than thanks for posting.


yes.

it is interesting how seemingly awkward titles suddenly make much more sense once we get a little context, and those so quick to mock Mr. "love/knee/feel" in an attempt to appear smarter than Bono look a little silly afterwards.
 
I think the ceiling for an album depends on the impact of the lead single. ATYCLB was an average U2 album carried into the top half of their catalogue by Beautiful Day. .

That is a very nice point! Never though about it that way and I agree.
 
We still have one final meltdown in us.

Imagine if nothing is announced Friday??

LOL. Just remembering when The Blackout live FB thing didn't drop until late in the day. :lol::lol: We don't like being stood up around here.

Trying to keep myself from expecting too much. :huh:
 
That is a very nice point! Never though about it that way and I agree.

By the "lead single"? quite often yes. But sometimes it's most successful single, that will lift the album to greater heights.

The Fly did not seal Achtung Baby's fate. Mysterious Ways and One, and in lesser ways EBTTRT and WGRYWH, made that the classic album it is today.

But yes, Miracle, Boots, and Discotheque all make a strong argument that the lead single can put off enough people at the start to hobble an albums ultimate popularity.
 
If SOE is their last, 14 albums in total doesn't sit well with my OCD, I just don't think 14 is a very sexy number, whereas 15 is nice and round!
There are tons of material . If u2 quit, we'll have more releases than we've had the last ten years. So get another OCD for the next 15 albums.
 
By the "lead single"? quite often yes. But sometimes it's most successful single, that will lift the album to greater heights.

But yes, Miracle, Boots, and Discotheque all make a strong argument that the lead single can put off enough people at the start to hobble an albums ultimate popularity.

I don't disagree completely but I'd take out Discotheque as an example. It was #10 Billboard Hot 100 and a #1 Modern Rock track. If The Best Thing reached that now, we'd say U2 is back in full form.
 
I don't disagree completely but I'd take out Discotheque as an example. It was #10 Billboard Hot 100 and a #1 Modern Rock track. If The Best Thing reached that now, we'd say U2 is back in full form.

Yes. But, at the time most non-U2 people and even many U2 fans were fairly derisive of Discotheque (Headache - can I just call it 'D'?).
U2 had done well with Achtung/ZooTV but they weren't as cool as some here seem to think. They were still too old, trying too hard etc - even then.

The Batman movie helped cause, in the age of grunge etc, Hold Me was a seriously cool and well received song.

Then they came out with Discotheque. And Village People costumes. And BOOM CHA!

It's a fucking brilliant song. But at the time, I would argue, was a terrible lead single.

Now, imagine if they'd kept Hold Me Thrill Me exactly as it was, but not released it till 97. And THAT was Pop's lead single. FARK!
 
Yes. But, at the time most non-U2 people and even many U2 fans were fairly derisive of Discotheque (Headache - can I just call it 'D'?).
U2 had done well with Achtung/ZooTV but they weren't as cool as some here seem to think. They were still too old, trying too hard etc - even then.

The Batman movie helped cause, in the age of grunge etc, Hold Me was a seriously cool and well received song.

Then they came out with Discotheque. And Village People costumes. And BOOM CHA!

It's a fucking brilliant song. But at the time, I would argue, was a terrible lead single.

Now, imagine if they'd kept Hold Me Thrill Me exactly as it was, but not released it till 97. And THAT was Pop's lead single. FARK!

I always thought Mofo would have made an amazing lead single for Pop. Discotheque doesn't do it for me, as a lead single or a song in general. To each their own, but Mofo, that would've been grand.

HMTMKMKM is one of my favourite U2 songs, but I like it as it is, released in '95 with all the batman hype. Although it IS a shame it's not on an album.
 
It blows my mind that Gone was not a single at all. It should have led Pop. Loud enough to get attention and build on the popularity of HMTMKMKM, but straightforward enough to keep older fans on-side. Mofo would've been hella cool, a risk like The Fly, but I suspect it would've alienated the crowd who already felt left out by Zooropa (and were, indeed, further alienated by Discotheque) and held wide open the door for people to accuse U2 of trend-hopping (which happened anyway with Discotheque).
 
It blows my mind that Gone was not a single at all.

True. For a time it was my fave on the album. But I felt then, and still do, that it wasn't quite reaching the level it should have. It kinda had the same issue as Staring at the Sun. So nearly great. But not quite.

I think it was just a bit too pondery. That thumping rhythm was great but a bit slow. A bit laboured. And the only chorus that really took off for me was the last one where Bono adds "I'm still holding on".

So yeah. The Gone I wished they'd made would have kicked arse. Not sure the one on the album would have worked so well.

Mofo - great statement, but I remember playing it to non-U2-fan friends in 1997 and they were bored.
 
Don’t get me wrong with my Discotheque example. I love that tune. Has one of the greatest riffs ever. And the song itself wasn’t really the whole issue. I think it was more the non-musical mistakes the band made at that point. The video, the Kmart announcement, the tour coming up too fast etc... just turned people off.

Whatever the first single was, it was going to be anticipated and have a big reception, but it was everything else that dragged it down.
I think that Staring at the sun actually could have worked really well as the first, or Do You Feel Loved or maybe mofo. But whatever it was, it needed to be paired with a better video and launch to be welcomed by the larger public.
They overplayed their hand and got it slapped.

Seems like this happens to them a lot. R&H, POP, SOI/Apple...
 
It blows my mind that Gone was not a single at all. It should have led Pop. Loud enough to get attention and build on the popularity of HMTMKMKM, but straightforward enough to keep older fans on-side. Mofo would've been hella cool, a risk like The Fly, but I suspect it would've alienated the crowd who already felt left out by Zooropa (and were, indeed, further alienated by Discotheque) and held wide open the door for people to accuse U2 of trend-hopping (which happened anyway with Discotheque).

Oh shit! yes, Gone! I don’t know what I was thinking. Would have been an incredible lead single. It’s a song that could have been on Achtung. Had a rock and alternative rock appeal. Would have kept old fans happy and drawn new ones in . Good call!
 
It blows my mind that Gone was not a single at all. It should have led Pop. Loud enough to get attention and build on the popularity of HMTMKMKM, but straightforward enough to keep older fans on-side. Mofo would've been hella cool, a risk like The Fly, but I suspect it would've alienated the crowd who already felt left out by Zooropa (and were, indeed, further alienated by Discotheque) and held wide open the door for people to accuse U2 of trend-hopping (which happened anyway with Discotheque).
Fucking A.
 
I think with "Gone", the album version is not exciting enough to be the lead single (even though I think I prefer the album version). If they would've released a version that sounds similar to the Mexico City DVD version as their lead single, pair it with a kickass video, and that would've been a fucking hit. That's got 1997 post-grunge alt-rock written all over it! POP in general would've fared much better after that, even with songs like Mofo, Discotheque and Miami to throw off the 80's fans. Hindsight's 20/20, as they say...

That said, I hate the "Gone (new mix)" that was put on the Best of 90-00. It neither captures the energy of the live versions, nor the subtle nuances of the album version. SKIP.
 
The Gone new mix is the definitive version. I've never thought the live version improved much on the studio and the Pop version is not nearly as crisp or sharp.

Can't fathom you people who think it's too slow or whatever. That wailing guitar is amazing and it has one of the band's best choruses.
 
I personally think Gone would have been good as the third single, instead of LNOE.

I think this would have worked: Mofo, Staring At The Sun, Gone, Please, IGWSHA.
 
If Zooropa had 5 singles, what do you think would work?

I'd say:

Stay, Numb, The First Time, Lemon, Dirty Day.
 
Can't fathom you people who think it's too slow or whatever. That wailing guitar is amazing and it has one of the band's best choruses.

Wailing guitar is awesome.
Chorus is awesome, especially the last chorus.
But song would benefit from a 10bpm speed increase.
 
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