To all of the fans that have been with U2 since the beginning

[EdgeIsTooSexy]

I see alot of comments from people that have been fans of the band 4 a while saying they were disappointed with htdaab and atyclb.
im a younger fan [17] and ive liked them for about 5 years now.
i love every album and i dont see why some fans werent impressed with U2 then.
yeah, they didnt create a vastly different sound between the two albums but seriously who could?
I just dont get it.
?

 

[Zoots]

I don't know. It's hard to narrow it down to one thing like lyrics or hooks or image. It's a bit of everything. Well, first of all I don't hate atyclb or htdaab by any stretch of the imagination but I do prefer everything that came before... Boy - Pop. I think part of the reason may be my own connection to what type of a band and what kind of image U2 projected in the 90s. I only got into them with Achtung as far as I can remember. And when ATYCLB came out, it was thematically and musically a total 180 and it threw me off. I did not expect songs as down-to-earth as Stuck In A Moment or Sometimes or even songs as pop as Vertigo and Elevation. It didn't sound to me like even the same band that did stuff like Mofo, Miami, Velvet Dress etc. Of course I've grown to like the recent stuff but it doesn't compare to the 80s and 90s to me. I can't quite explain it any better.

 

[JCOSTER]

Been a fan since 1980 and love it all.

 

[kingofsorrow]

i've been listening to those irish bastards for 18 yrs and i still hate them.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

So many people call themselves "U2 fans". But this not a concrete block, these are people from all over the world with different lives, different backgrounds, different age, different behaviour, different knowledge about U2 and their music – and different tastes. So don't count too much, of what others like or dislike – just find your own way to and with the ouvre of Bono & Co. It's an individual thing in the end.
For me personally I do hate the butching of U2's last album(s). But it has always been this way, a kind of psychological phenomenon: When I bought my first album in 1984, there was much discussion among the (few) people who cared here in Germany back than about this Irish underground band, whether this album was a failure, a step in the wrong direction. And I do remember, that people who were old enough to attend on of the gigs then, were not only happy. Some of them complained: Why so few songs from 'Boy', 'October' and 'War' in the setlists? And why so many from the new album? Hm, one might get the familiar pattern ...
When 'The Unforgettable Fire' – now after the Live Aid breakthrough – was hailed by many as a masterpiece, and three years later 'The Joshua Tree' came out, I d know people, who lost their interest in U2 supposed to "have betrayed their punkish roots and leaning too much towards the USA". Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern ...
Even louder were the voices, when 'Rattle And Hum' entered the record store. "Why this US-tribute?", "Why so many cover versions? I do prefer new material ...", "This is not a complete album on its own ..." Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern – and in case of this special album sadly even U2 believe some of this bullshit written and said about 'Rattle', which is a great, great album, too.
Don't force me to write, what was said and written, when the four more experimental albums were recorded, that "chopped down The Joshua Tree": 'Achtung Baby', 'Zooropa', 'Passengers' and 'Pop' – but it was exectly the same, that some fans 'criticize' with the last two records. "U2 do wrong, this is too much reoetaing themselves, the lyrics are too weak, the sound is not fine produced bla, bla, bla, bla".
So listen to the tunes. When you fall in love with them fine. When you don't like them – there are many, many bands in the universe, someone can turn to ...

 

[kingofsorrow]

So many people call themselves "U2 fans". But this not a concrete block, these are people from all over the world with different lives, different backgrounds, different age, different behaviour, different knowledge about U2 and their music – and different tastes. So don't count too much, of what others like or dislike – just find your own way to and with the ouvre of Bono & Co. It's an individual thing in the end.
For me personally I do hate the butching of U2's last album(s). But it has always been this way, a kind of psychological phenomenon: When I bought my first album in 1984, there was much discussion among the (few) people who cared here in Germany back than about this Irish underground band, whether this album was a failure, a step in the wrong direction. And I do remember, that people who were old enough to attend on of the gigs then, were not only happy. Some of them complained: Why so few songs from 'Boy', 'October' and 'War' in the setlists? And why so many from the new album? Hm, one might get the familiar pattern ...
When 'The Unforgettable Fire' – now after the Live Aid breakthrough – was hailed by many as a masterpiece, and three years later 'The Joshua Tree' came out, I d know people, who lost their interest in U2 supposed to "have betrayed their punkish roots and leaning too much towards the USA". Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern ...
Even louder were the voices, when 'Rattle And Hum' entered the record store. "Why this US-tribute?", "Why so many cover versions? I do prefer new material ...", "This is not a complete album on its own ..." Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern – and in case of this special album sadly even U2 believe some of this bullshit written and said about 'Rattle', which is a great, great album, too.
Don't force me to write, what was said and written, when the four more experimental albums were recorded, that "chopped down The Joshua Tree": 'Achtung Baby', 'Zooropa', 'Passengers' and 'Pop' – but it was exectly the same, that some fans 'criticize' with the last two records. "U2 do wrong, this is too much reoetaing themselves, the lyrics are too weak, the sound is not fine produced bla, bla, bla, bla".
So listen to the tunes. When you fall in love with them fine. When you don't like them – there are many, many bands in the universe, someone can turn to ...

OH SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[jacobus]

i am a fan since 1983... i love all the albums until POP. after i rate ATYCLB as mediocre and HTDAAB is just crap.
i thought about much why i feel this way... i really don't know...but the main reason i think is the overpolished way of their last album. and many of the songs just aren't good enough.
i hope they do better next time

 

[babyman]

Well, I think that being a fan does not mean necessarly that everything your "idle" does is excellent. In the end, we're all human beings, so they can make good or bad albums and we can have good or bad tastes. Critics, by critics I mean constructive critics, are the salt of everything, 'cos it's through these that you can improve yourself. And I say that the real true fan is the one who criticizes you sometimes, instead of the one who applauds and cries for every noise. It can't be everytime a written law, not because it's U2 I'm gonna set them in charge of Heaven. When I like something, then I applaud, when not, I critic, but it's always a personal point of view, which can be right or wrong. What counts is to be not gratuitous and bad, because then it's a stupid critic, and this is useless. The same U2, like all the other "TRUE" artists, wait for critics, to take the chance to make comparisions, and eventually try to improve.

 

[last unicorn]

I agree about being critical, and most of all about an opinion being a personal, subjective opinion. Thus it always upsets me if people come here and say: This is crap; or: This is boring or something like that as if this was a fact. What is boring to one person, may be great for the other, what is "crap" for one person, may mean something specital to another person. Personally, I accept that not everyone can have the same opinion, different people, different opinions, and it's good that way, but I sometimes feel personally insulted when someone shouts: This is crap and everyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. There are U2 songs that mean an awful lot to me and I accept that other people don't share this particular feeling, and I can live with: I don't like that song much better than with the sometimes aggressive mode that some people are degrading and slamming certain songs, albums, eras, as if their opinion was the ultimate truth. I think with some respect for a) the band and b) each other we could get along a lot better.

For me, personally, there are things about U2 I like more and some I like less, but I haven't discovered anything yet that would get me to rant about the band like some people do. Generally, I'm very thankful and glad to be living in their time and have them around after all these years. Still, it would be a little alarming to agree with EVERYTHING they do and to like everything they do. Being critical doesn't mean that I don't love the band, I guess it's more the opposite.

 

[babyman]

Being critical doesn't mean that I don't love the band, I guess it's more the opposite.

There is wisdom!

 

[DevilsShoes]

Yeah I agree too about being critical, I quite like critical evaluations, they're often more interesting than something that just seeks to praise unfailingly. I do think that a degree of criticism is always healthy (as long as it's not just slating the band for the sake of it) I think it's wrong for anyone to think U2 are beyond criticism and that everything they've ever done is equally brilliant, they've had their dips and peaks like any band, but I've stuck with them because of my abiding affection for them.

And it is true that sometimes the people who criticise the most are the people who care the most (not all of the time, but some of the time)

Anyway I really liked ATYCLB and still do, I think the songs are really strong, strong melodies, strong lyrics (for the most part) some really affecting stuff, Walk On and Kite still, get to me, but I also love the mysteriousness of New York. I felt a bit let down by HTDAAB, its not that its a bad album, just a bit uninspired in my view, the songs feel like U2 by the numbers, Vertigo, Miracle Drug, LAPOE, ABOY etc are all fine songs but I felt that they've done these kind of things before and better. I just feel that as a collection of songs theres been stronger. Maybe there were too many producers, or the direction of the album became blurred at a late stage.

Doesn't mean I'm gong to lose interest or become dissilusioned with them. There's always the new album. Like Bono says just because you didn't like your favourite directors last film doesn't mean you're not a fan anymore, just wait for his/her next film.

 

[U2DMfan]

I see alot of comments from people that have been fans of the band 4 a while saying they were disappointed with htdaab and atyclb.
im a younger fan [17] and ive liked them for about 5 years now.
i love every album and i dont see why some fans werent impressed with U2 then.
yeah, they didnt create a vastly different sound between the two albums but seriously who could?
I just dont get it.
?

If you feel the same way now about U2 as I did when I was 17, then that's a pretty awesome thing. Those like myself, who lose that feeling are the big loser in the equation.

I think there is a certain intensity among an artist and a fanbase that can only burn under a certain amount of realism. If you are an absolute ga-ga fanatic, you aren't seeing things in the right perspective in the first place and maybe it's better that way sometimes. Certainly makes it more enjoyable.

I personally think U2 has not been very impressive lately because the songs are pretty much plain vanilla. Not much mystery anymore, not very interesting. From the sounds of things, that may be about to change.

 

[U2opra]

I got into U2 when atyclb came out, so that makes me a late U2 fan. But, in all honesty, I prefer their earlier stuff when I listen to it. It just sounds kinda raw, extremely energetic, very mystical stuff.

So all in all, I guess even some of the later U2 fans prefer earlier stuff too.

 

[gman]

I been a fan since 1981. I see it like this.....while I rate ATYCLB and Bomb as my least favorite albums......... its only coz i feel that everything that went before was superior. It is by no means slagging the albums.
I do beleive that the last two albums have probably been more appealing to new fans than the likes of Boy, October or War (when i got into them). U2 back then was an aquired taste.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

I've been a fan since 89 and I love pretty much everything they have done in varying degrees...

Their last two albums are not my favorites but I still enjoy them and I feel they tend to take a lot of unwarranted abuse at the hands of other U2 fans…

Personally, I think this is for two reasons;

First: the last two albums have a very “safe”, polished and by the books sort of feel. I’m not saying this is a bad thing imo but there is a very “mainstream” feeling about their current sound which I think rubs some fans (primarily the ones who became fans during their “experimental” Achtung/Zooropa/Passengers/Pop period) the wrong way.

Second: U2 has marketed the shit out of the last two albums, more so than any of their previous work. Once again, I personally do not think this is a bad thing given the state of the music industry today but I can see where some might be turned off by the over saturation of songs like Beautiful Day and Vertigo and the idea the U2 is selling out -which I don’t believe is the case, but I can see it being perceived that way.

 

[Spinning_head]

I've been a fan since seeing 'em first on Youngline, on RTE - and I'm a fan of the vast majority of their work. There was something special about them at the beginning - and it's still there.

It's easy to be critical of someone we like. We feel let down if they disappoint us. That's a personal thing though. What I like someone else might hate. I HATE Bad - others seem to like it. Can't see why though

ATYCLB and HTDAAB, I think, are important albums. They've got some of Bono's best lyrics. They show his progression into a very good songwriter.

 

[edurban]

See, you always discover something new: I thought HTDAAB was a well received album and I personally think it is much more powerful than ATYCLB in the old way. But I suppose it all has to do with my taste at his point.

I am a fan since 1993, so, say, half way through. My first album was Zooropa and I used to love it, now I can only listen to half of it. When Pop came out I was outraged and refused to listen to it for months...and even missed out on POPmart tours, what a shame. Now I really regret having felt that way because I believe Pop to be one of their best albums, and I now love every single song in it.

I suppose a lot has to do also with the times of our lives: music is art and as an art it is based on taste and feeling. Appreciation of art is such a subjective concept! Sometimes it's just not the right moment to appreciate some lyrics or tunes.

Also, I found that it does help a lot to know the reason behind U2's albums, the reason behind the words, the beats, the riffs.

So maybe the people not liking these two last albums (me included re:ATYCLB) need more time, need to put them in perspective, need to listen to them just once more, but in general, I don't think THEY would like us to love absolutely EVERYTHING they create, THEY would probably think we are passive no-brainers.

 

[derrick_rossign]

since i was only born in 92, i only gained a reasonable music knowlege a few years back, and thats when i became a u2 fan, when i watched beautiful day and elevation from the slane castle dvd. after that i explored their other work. at first, i was only really into joshua tree and atyclb, i thought the other stuff was crap. then i played achtung baby and realized its greatness. then i played pop only about a year ago and fell in love. i only recently fell in love with zooropa, a few weeks ago. htdaab has a lot of great songs, but as bono said, the album isnt as good as the sum of its parts. The u2 albums from the 80's dont have as many good songs on them as the 90s-00s, but the majority of their best songs came out then. so what im trying to say is, new fans can still enjoy the older stuff, it really depends on your view and interests. i mean, i used the think that u2's 90s work was garbage, but it is now my favorite u2 period.

 

[derrick_rossign]

I HATE Bad - others seem to like it. Can't see why though

overrated song i believe

 

[The_acrobat]

I actually hate how ATYCLB and HTDAAB are lumped together. They are very different albums. I love ATYCLB. It was just the right album for me in the fall of 2000, beginning college, life changing... it was perfect. I have a lot of sentimental attachments to that album. I'll never forget the way I felt the FIRST TIME I heard all of the songs. It was an amazing feeling. I feel that ATYCLB is a great album which stands the test of time. U2 knew what kind of album they wanted, and they made it well. The album is consistent and follows a general theme. "Elevation" actually seems a little bit stupid though, now that I'm older.

HTDAAB... I don't know what to say. Again, came at a crucial point in my life. College over... adulthood beginning, being lost, etc. I think I knew right away that this album didn't connect with me the way ATYCLB did back in 2000. I tried to force it to be my era defining album. I made myself believe it was a great album. But 3 years later (unbelievable!!) I admit that I don't think it's a very good album. There were too many producers, and they didn't know what kind of album they wanted to make at all. They spent too much time dicking around, and they lost sight of what their original intention was with this album, and it has no overall feel. "Sometimes" is almost cringeworthy to me now, as is Miracle Drug. Vertigo is obviously an attempt to write a hit single. Crumbs from your table is just a downright FILLER song, as is One Step Closer. The only songs I get anything from anymore is LAPOE, COBL and OOTS. Even the band dropped the songs by the end of the Vertigo tour. It got to the point where only 3 songs were being played some nights.

U2 need to make a new, excellent album, that will coincide with the next big phase in my life... getting married next summer, so fall 2008 I'll be coming to terms with married life. Perfect time for U2 to be there for me.

 

[last unicorn]

I don't get all this bashing for their last album, honestly, but that's just my personal opinion. I have never seen their last two albums as "one", like many other people here.

For me, ATYCLB is more of an "universal" album and especially after 9/11 it belonged to the world and was full of so much reference and meaning that hadn't been there before.

Bomb, on the other hand, is, to me, a very personal album, especially from Bono's perspective. Maybe I feel this way because I have read so much about it coming from the band and I can relate to some of this stuff.

I can feel all of these songs, but maybe the songs from the last album in a more subjective, personal way, they don't have this "global" aura around them. And I like their last album because Bono's voice and singing was better on it.

I don't see a song like Crumbs as a filler, maybe because I know what it is about and how close this is to Bono. What I don't like about the album is that it has to many producers and you can clearly hear that. It's true, that it is less coherent as an album, it's more a collection of songs, that's true. But doesn't ATYCLB appear more coherent now because of the significance it has gained as a kind of "soundtrack" to crucial times?

And I'll never understand why they put Fast Cars, a song I genuinly love, in the end of Bomb, the album setlist isn't really great.

There are songs on both albums that appeal more or less to me, depending on my mood. BUT there is, honestly, not one single song on them that I cannot stand.

 

[last unicorn]

acrobat, do you expect U2 to play at your wedding?

 

[EdgeIsTooSexy]

I guess it's just the matter of your opinion.
I don't see atyclb and htdaab as "one" album either.
I find their meanings are different from each other.
When I first got into U2 the earlier stuff really impressed me of course, being my first album was Under A Blood Red Sky. But then I heard Achtung Baby and was blown away.
I like all of their albums. of course there are some songs that I dont like but all of their albums hold a special place in my heart

 

[65980]

Agree with Unicorn

I have to agree with "last unicorn" on this. I am baffled by all these U2 fans on here bitching about How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (and, to a lesser extent, All That You Can't Leave Behind).

I could agree to some extent that the production-job on ATYCLB is rather smooth, 'pop'-oriented, and aiming for the mainstream (the band proudly admitted as much). The sound and style of HTDAAB is loud and pretty raw, I think -- the guitars cut deep, the bass is full; it's just great -- production sounds just like 'Boy' to me but as played by guys who are 24 years older.

In any case, no matter how long you've been a fan (for me, since about 1988 when I was still a kid), surely you can't think that U2's hard-sell of late is new or out of character? This doesn't hold up to close scrutiny. Do any of you "long-timers" remember Rattle And Hum? Let's see, it had a major marketing push from Island, a cheesy video with Bono pimp-rolling on the streets of L.A., a major-release theatrical film to accompany it, and a highly pretentious book with pseudo-U2 philosophy in it being passed off as Lao-Tze or something. Anyone remember PopMart? The press conference to announce it was held at K-Mart and they proudly spoke in every interview of trying to sell their songs to people -- the only difference between that and the Vertigo tour is that back then they spoke tongue-in-cheek, and now they speak without irony.

Some fans on here need to get a reality-check and realize that the reason they're overly critical of the past two albums is because they're getting old and the times have passed them by. Today's technology and confused music-marketplace make U2 look like geniuses (to me) for utilizing i-Tunes and other sources to market their wares.

I believe in 20 years or something, no one will remember the marketing schemes behind 'Vertigo' and everyone will enjoy it as an essential slice of loud rock'n'roll, just like the accompanying album. HTDAAB has Vertigo, Miracle Drug, All Because Of You, City Of Blinding Lights... that's at least 4 essential rock tracks, which is more than the Rolling Stones have had since 1972.

 

[phillyfan26]

I personally don't have any problem with the mainstream and the marketing and all the crap people whine about. I dislike ATYCLB and HTDAAB beacuse, er, I just don't think the songs are that good.

I think people get overly critical just as much as people get overly defensive.

 

[blueskyzg]

So many people call themselves "U2 fans". But this not a concrete block, these are people from all over the world with different lives, different backgrounds, different age, different behaviour, different knowledge about U2 and their music – and different tastes. So don't count too much, of what others like or dislike – just find your own way to and with the ouvre of Bono & Co. It's an individual thing in the end.
For me personally I do hate the butching of U2's last album(s). But it has always been this way, a kind of psychological phenomenon: When I bought my first album in 1984, there was much discussion among the (few) people who cared here in Germany back than about this Irish underground band, whether this album was a failure, a step in the wrong direction. And I do remember, that people who were old enough to attend on of the gigs then, were not only happy. Some of them complained: Why so few songs from 'Boy', 'October' and 'War' in the setlists? And why so many from the new album? Hm, one might get the familiar pattern ...
When 'The Unforgettable Fire' – now after the Live Aid breakthrough – was hailed by many as a masterpiece, and three years later 'The Joshua Tree' came out, I d know people, who lost their interest in U2 supposed to "have betrayed their punkish roots and leaning too much towards the USA". Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern ...
Even louder were the voices, when 'Rattle And Hum' entered the record store. "Why this US-tribute?", "Why so many cover versions? I do prefer new material ...", "This is not a complete album on its own ..." Hm, one might get familiar with this pattern – and in case of this special album sadly even U2 believe some of this bullshit written and said about 'Rattle', which is a great, great album, too.
Don't force me to write, what was said and written, when the four more experimental albums were recorded, that "chopped down The Joshua Tree": 'Achtung Baby', 'Zooropa', 'Passengers' and 'Pop' – but it was exectly the same, that some fans 'criticize' with the last two records. "U2 do wrong, this is too much reoetaing themselves, the lyrics are too weak, the sound is not fine produced bla, bla, bla, bla".
So listen to the tunes. When you fall in love with them fine. When you don't like them – there are many, many bands in the universe, someone can turn to ...

Agree!

 

[Snowlock]

20 year fan here. I like it all, love 90% of their output.

ATYCLB is the album they _had_ to make after Zooropa, Passengers and Pop, in order to get back on top.

HTDAAB is a combination I think of their artistic preference and a creative hangover from ATYCLB, which is why it's such a fractured album, imo. Great in places, weak in others, and over produced over-all.

However, U2's mass market appeal in the 2000's have given us 8 dvds, their near-entire catalog on iTunes, a future 3D movie, and now hopefully the 20th Anniversary remaster of Josh Tree with hopefully more of the same to follow. So there's a silver lining here even if you hate the new stuff; it's the engine that's keeping the market going for the old stuff.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

However, U2's mass market appeal in the 2000's have given us 8 dvds, their near-entire catalog on iTunes, a future 3D movie, and now hopefully the 20th Anniversary remaster of Josh Tree with hopefully more of the same to follow. So there's a silver lining here even if you hate the new stuff; it's the engine that's keeping the market going for the old stuff.

I think some might see this as more of a problem than a solution though. Instead of spending time releasing new material they would rather re-package old material and basically sell it back to us a second time.

 

[Snowlock]

I think some might see this as more of a problem than a solution though. Instead of spending time releasing new material they would rather re-package old material and basically sell it back to us a second time.

True enough if it were an either or sort of thing, which is completely erroneous. There was all that outcry last year because U2 18 was being released "instead of" a new album. It's just not true. It's not like Bono, Adam, Larry & Edge are at the editing table working on digitizing the Popmart show for a DVD release or remixing the tracks for U2 18 instead of in the studio cranking out the new album. They've got people who've got people for that. U2 probably don't even know what the tracklist for U2 18 is!

You could make the argument that it's Bono's activism that slows things down, and I'd agree (but not condemn it) but that has nothing to do with their releases or the market for them.

As to the repackage and sell it back, there's no gun to your head or anything. It's totally your choice. Different types of fans out there, obviously, but I'm salivating at the Release package of Josh Tree at nearly all levels, can't wait for the new mix, interested in what the additional tracks will be (though I'm prepared for disappointment regarding them) and absolutely thrilled at the possibility of the Paris show.

Finally having ZooTV Sydney & Popmart Mexico on DVD were exciting things for me as the VHS copies I had sucked.

I loved U2 18 too for the videos, new songs & Milan clips.

 

[ZOOTVTOURist]

Agree!

Thanx for the flowers, but that's just the way it is - and always will be, as we might assume ...