Songs of Innocence - Album Discussion Pt.2

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Believe it or not, I have not listened to the album in an entire week. I wanted to give it some breathing room after the initial excitement.

But tomorrow I'm road-tripping to the coast, and am going to blast the shit out of that sucker.

Edit: forgot the apparently obligatory :)
 
I'm still really enjoying the album. I won't rate it yet, because I'm still in "new album euphoria".

The only songs I skip are RBW, Ceaders and Troubles. truth be told, they are not bad but they just don't do it for me(I do find aspects I like in all of them).

By contrast, at this same point with NLOTH, I was already skipping NLOTH, UC, SUC, WAS, FEZ, Ceaders and I really found most of them. I had no interest in listening to them anymore (I did continue to give them more spins here and there but nothing changes).





Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference
 
For me, even the two songs I think are the weakest, Miracle and Every Breaking Wave, are really starting to grow on me.
 
So I showed the rumored cover image to DH this evening. He enjoys U2, but isn't a huge fan and all he really knows about them is through me. I asked for his first impression. This is roughly how it went:

Me: Here's the image.
DH: Well, let's see. That's Larry Mullen Jr.
Me: Yep.
DH: That's a cool tattoo.
Me: Yep.
DH: How come he's the lucky one who gets to be on the cover?
Me: I don't know.
DH: Isn't he the one who's always pissed off?
Me: (shrugging) Some would say.
DH: (pauses) Do we know who the other gentleman is? He's not in the band.
Me: That's Larry's son.
DH: Ah. Cool. These guys really wear their hearts on their sleeves, so that makes sense. That's a great picture.
Me: Anything else?
DH: Well, some homophobic people might take issue with two shirtless men hugging, but I don't have a problem with that.

So there's hope for us Midwesterners yet :)

Also played the album for him. He loved it.
 
What I really like is the sense of TODAY MUSIC that I hear

I can hear these songs (or most of them) playing out against the radio friendly bands of today (Imagine dragons, Vampire Weekend, etc)

Like them coming down to play the kids at their own game.


The Miracle - The more I hear it, the less I like it. It's a good tune, but it IS an ad song. Live it could kill any momentum of the show. 7/10

Every Breaking Wave - I just love it and can't get enough of it. The rough ending could've been better - 9/10

California - THE BEST SONG IN THE ALBUM. Show stealer, show opener, it has everything a 2014 U2 song should have. - 10/10

Song For Someone - It's growing and growing on me. I like the choruses, though the guitar solo seems too Coldplay for me- 8/10

Iris - and then the album just collapses... The build up is great, the pre chorus too... and then: "uUuUuUuU.. Iris..." AAAAAGH!!! I HATE IT, LIKE HELL!!! Worst chorus ever, and I'm counting The Refugee... the guitar sucks, the bass OH MY GOD WHAT?!?! and Bono... It was going to be great, but then shot down in flames. Let's hope the live version can save it - 2-3/10

Volcano - great rock tune, but I could do without the weird voices and specially without that stupid VOL - CA - NO... that being said, the "Now you don't wanna you don't wanna know!" part is amazing. The first of the "will be great live" trio - 6/10

Raised By Wolves - I love how rock and roll this song and album is, I just wish it would be more obvious. - 7/10

Cedarwood Road - Great great tune! I has somewhat of a Muse vibe. This is U2 going Metal (in their world, of course... I just can see the headbanging during this song live) - 7/10

Sleep Like a Baby Tonight - no no no no :( ... just a weird lullaby with an even weirder falsetto. I just can't take it. - 2/10

This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now - It's growing on me, especially the drums. I like the "haunted house" sounds. It reminds me of "Home By The Sea" of Genesis. But it has nothing to do with the rest of the album, to me. Just a B-Side. - 5/10

The Troubles - amazing. Amazing. If there were more diverse lyrics, Id' love it even more. The only "social" song of the album (to me). The "Someone else is in control" line gives me the chills... if they return from Encore with this then Bullet The Blue Sky, it will be gold! - 9/10



This album is not TOP 5 for me, but is a good album anyway. Sometimes it seems like a lot of singles mixed together, ever more so than HTDAAB. Sure, after hearing it like a 100 times you start to notice the differences, but the first ones just gave me the felling like they were all the same song, or just too identycal.

The first 4 can stand up on their own
The Rock trio (Volcano-Wolves/Cedarwood) will be killer live
The Troubles is great, just great.

I guess we can call it a 6-7/10
Not bad, really


I want to hear California live. That's all I need right now :hyper:
 
So far for me, this album is U2 at the top of their game, which they haven't been in many years. After a week and a half or so, it's still full of energy, and very, very well written musically and lyrically. I can play it over and over forever, which was not the case with the last few albums. Every single song is excellent. No preaching from Bono, just heartfelt lyrics, and it is the sound of the band revisiting their youth as mature people, which is also sad and inspirational in many ways. It is very well complemented by the U2.com fan club gift of the photo book.
 
corianderstem said:
Believe it or not, I have not listened to the album in an entire week. I wanted to give it some breathing room after the initial excitement.
Click to expand...
I've been giving it some breathing room as well. Heard TIWYCRM and Volcano during the past two days, and they still sound good.
 
I don't listen to the album too much because a. I don't have enough time and b. I don't want to spoil it. I still love it, don't skip a single song. Sleep like a baby and the Troubles are my favourite tunes - actually the first ones that hit me when I heard the album for the first time. Cedarwood has grown on me tremendously. I still think the second half is the stronger one. There's no song on it that I don't like. It's a really great album :)
 
CosmoKramer said:
The only songs I skip are RBW, Ceaders and Troubles.

By contrast, at this same point with NLOTH, I was already skipping NLOTH, FEZ, Ceaders
Click to expand...

:huh:

pepokiss said:
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight - no no no no :( ... just a weird lullaby with an even weirder falsetto. I just can't take it. - 2/10

This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now - It's growing on me, especially the drums. I like the "haunted house" sounds. It reminds me of "Home By The Sea" of Genesis. But it has nothing to do with the rest of the album, to me. Just a B-Side. - 5/10
Click to expand...

:coocoo:
 
Im still playing all the tracks,i dont skip one. Where as on the past albums i hated cedars and didnt like white as snow for the start. With atomic bomb i hated one step closer,man and a woman and i wasnt too keen on yahew.

Atyclb i played to death but that was the first album i got into. Hated grace though,what a rubbish song.
 
rennowba said:
Im still playing all the tracks,i dont skip one. Where as on the past albums i hated cedars and didnt like white as snow for the start. With atomic bomb i hated one step closer,man and a woman and i wasnt too keen on yahew.
Click to expand...

How you can not like White as snow and Cedars is beyond me, but that's just my opinion. I love these songs, for me, they are genius. In spite of all the enthusiasm I have for Songs of Innocent, I try not to forget NLOTH as one of my favorite U2 albums. Fez is still one of my favorite songs and while I'm glad U2 moved on and tried something new with new producers, I'm still fond of the Eno/Lanois stuff in a very nostalgic, almost melancholic way.
 
Maybe it's only me that thinks this but it seems like the vocals on this album have been EQ'ed to have more treble. The result is a clear vocal but quite piercing with headphones on.
California is a great song with a great vocal but it almost sounds like the vocal was recorded at a step lower then pitch corrected up to fit the song.

Sent from my SM-G900I using U2 Interference mobile app
 
pepokiss said:
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight - no no no no :( ... just a weird lullaby with an even weirder falsetto. I just can't take it. - 2/10
Click to expand...

Do you understand what the song is about? I'm asking in all sincerity, not trying to be condescending in any way. Just thought if you understood the meaning, then you wouldn't find it "weird". :)


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
pepokiss said:
What I really like is the sense of TODAY MUSIC that I hear

I can hear these songs (or most of them) playing out against the radio friendly bands of today (Imagine dragons, Vampire Weekend, etc)

Like them coming down to play the kids at their own game.


The Miracle - The more I hear it, the less I like it. It's a good tune, but it IS an ad song. Live it could kill any momentum of the show. 7/10

Every Breaking Wave - I just love it and can't get enough of it. The rough ending could've been better - 9/10

California - THE BEST SONG IN THE ALBUM. Show stealer, show opener, it has everything a 2014 U2 song should have. - 10/10

Song For Someone - It's growing and growing on me. I like the choruses, though the guitar solo seems too Coldplay for me- 8/10

Iris - and then the album just collapses... The build up is great, the pre chorus too... and then: "uUuUuUuU.. Iris..." AAAAAGH!!! I HATE IT, LIKE HELL!!! Worst chorus ever, and I'm counting The Refugee... the guitar sucks, the bass OH MY GOD WHAT?!?! and Bono... It was going to be great, but then shot down in flames. Let's hope the live version can save it - 2-3/10

Volcano - great rock tune, but I could do without the weird voices and specially without that stupid VOL - CA - NO... that being said, the "Now you don't wanna you don't wanna know!" part is amazing. The first of the "will be great live" trio - 6/10

Raised By Wolves - I love how rock and roll this song and album is, I just wish it would be more obvious. - 7/10

Cedarwood Road - Great great tune! I has somewhat of a Muse vibe. This is U2 going Metal (in their world, of course... I just can see the headbanging during this song live) - 7/10

Sleep Like a Baby Tonight - no no no no :( ... just a weird lullaby with an even weirder falsetto. I just can't take it. - 2/10

This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now - It's growing on me, especially the drums. I like the "haunted house" sounds. It reminds me of "Home By The Sea" of Genesis. But it has nothing to do with the rest of the album, to me. Just a B-Side. - 5/10

The Troubles - amazing. Amazing. If there were more diverse lyrics, Id' love it even more. The only "social" song of the album (to me). The "Someone else is in control" line gives me the chills... if they return from Encore with this then Bullet The Blue Sky, it will be gold! - 9/10



This album is not TOP 5 for me, but is a good album anyway. Sometimes it seems like a lot of singles mixed together, ever more so than HTDAAB. Sure, after hearing it like a 100 times you start to notice the differences, but the first ones just gave me the felling like they were all the same song, or just too identycal.

The first 4 can stand up on their own
The Rock trio (Volcano-Wolves/Cedarwood) will be killer live
The Troubles is great, just great.

I guess we can call it a 6-7/10
Not bad, really


I want to hear California live. That's all I need right now :hyper:
Click to expand...


These are fightin' words!!!

P.S. What you said about Iris made me cry from a broken heart. That's probably my favorite U2 song right now. It's so beautiful... How dare you


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
singyourlife said:
Do you understand what the song is about? I'm asking in all sincerity, not trying to be condescending in any way. Just thought if you understood the meaning, then you wouldn't find it "weird". :)


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
Click to expand...


I find that the subject matter enhances the song.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
corianderstem said:
Believe it or not, I have not listened to the album in an entire week. I wanted to give it some breathing room after the initial excitement.

But tomorrow I'm road-tripping to the coast, and am going to blast the shit out of that sucker.

Edit: forgot the apparently obligatory :)
Click to expand...


Good idea. I'm going to give it a break this weekend, possibly longer.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Ive tried to give it a break but its hard to do. Such a good album all the way through, start to finish, nothing to skip. if i didnt have to drive so much it would be easier.
 
last unicorn said:
How you can not like White as snow and Cedars is beyond me, but that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...


Yeah like you say its all a matter of opinion. Nloth was always a ten track album for me.i loved nloth when it came out but now i only go back to nloth,mos and breathe. I listen to boots live now again.

Ill reserve my judgement on soi until a few years time. I think thats when you can really judge an album. But at the moment its a masterpiece to me.i listened to it 3 times already today :)
 
last unicorn said:
How you can not like White as snow and Cedars is beyond me, but that's just my opinion. I love these songs, for me, they are genius. In spite of all the enthusiasm I have for Songs of Innocent, I try not to forget NLOTH as one of my favorite U2 albums. Fez is still one of my favorite songs and while I'm glad U2 moved on and tried something new with new producers, I'm still fond of the Eno/Lanois stuff in a very nostalgic, almost melancholic way.
Click to expand...


I'm actually with renowba here....hate Ceaders of Lebonon and don't care at all for WAS. Those were actually by far my least played tracks from NLOTH, per iTunes song counts at least :)


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference
 
Best album U2 has produced in 20 years. All the songs are great and have an interconnected theme.
 
Moser said:
I'm going to blow my speakers out on Miracle. It's probably my favorite rock song in the past two years.
Click to expand...

GREAT song...the backlash is because it's the first single and it's in the vein of Vertigo/GOYB...but completely different...:rockon:

I've played this song the most...and I can't get it out of my head. Love the simple chanting chorus...:yes:
 
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