Flying FuManchu said:
Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, etc... are US publications and that hailed POP. I believe a lot of US publications gave POP sterling reviews when the album was first released, so the hailed as crap thing is IMO off. As for the fans... outside of CD sales, I never got the notions that the fans hailed it as crap.
You're right - the critics did give good reviews. There's always the naysayers, but overall reviews were quite good.
However, critics only go so far. If critics really meant that much, a lot of summer blockbusters would flop horribly - but the public sees them because that's the entertainment they are seeking.
The same happened with "Pop". Critics gave it good reviews and the early demand for new U2 gave "Discotheque" a huge push - enough to have it debut at #10 once the CD single was released in the U.S. (back then, to chart on the Hot 100, a CD single release was needed - not true now).
However, that's when the backlash began. People did NOT like "Discotheque". I had people personally coming up to me saying how much they hated that song - as if *I* had anything to do with it. I heard radio stations in Boston didn't want to play the song any more as they received complaints whenever they did. For whatever reason, despite the song becoming a Top 10 hit, people didn't like it. Not sure if it was the video, or if people interpreted Bono's lyrics as nothing more than fluff, or if people went "now U2 has gone too far" or any other reason - but this is what killed "Pop".
"Staring at the Sun" gave "Pop" some stability for about a 4-6 weeks, but as soon as "Staring..." started to drop on the charts, so did "Pop", and it could never recover. The release of "Last Night on Earth" did absolutely nothing for "Pop". The tour did nothing for "Pop".
"Pop" sold 1.5M copies in the U.S. HTDAAB has already sold 1.12M copies - in just 13 days. If HTDAAB follows the pattern set by ATYCLB, it'll see another drop in sales this week - but perhaps enough to keep it in the Top 10. Then, it should see sales increases the next two weeks due to Christmas. It'll drop again after Christmas, but still see strong sales due to people spending any holiday gifts (like Best Buy cards) or $$. Plus, kids will be out of school that week, causing a push in sales.
In other words, no new iPod commercial is needed now.
However, if U2 want to make sure that the album stays strong on the charts until the tour starts, they need ABoY to get lots of radio play. And they might need to do some sort of promotional push (appearing on Letterman or Leno, for example) to keep the album going strong. If ABoY is a hit, it'll keep the album going strong until the tour starts. Then, just as the tour starts (or right before), U2 need to release a powerful third single. "One" was released at that time in 1992, following "Mysterious Ways". I recommend the release of "Sometimes..." at that point. A nice powerful slow song like that could really give the album a boost, again provided its heard on the radio. That's key - U2 needs to ensure they get airtime in some manner.
But I have to agree with others - another iPod commercial, at least at this point, might reek of desperation and sell-out (despite hearing Kravitz sell his songs to the Gap or ABC or seeing countless stars promoting all sorts of stuff on TV). It may be a curse, but because U2 is held to such a high standard, any type of promotion they do - even if it's music related, like the iPod (which is a fantastic idea!) - is considered a "sell out". For any other artist, no one would care.
