Who the hell cares, he is some writer for Fortune magazine whose writing and opinion is not even taken as anything more than a guesswork by his target audience: investors. Same kind of guy who would have gone with the trend and told everyone to invest everything in Enron back around 1998-2000. Sell magazines, that is his goal, not sound financial decisions that maximize your wealth. He'll say outrageous things, that is why much of this "expert advice" just in general is to be taken with a grain of salt, they have been wrong about any number of issues all having one thing in common: common sense suggests the opposite of what they are saying. Invest in one company or my personal favorite, real estate will stay hot forever. Those are risks, principles of diversification and cycles are as old as economic thought, who was right? Goes for any topic in life, take 'expert advice' as just one piece of the equation on things, never a substitute for common sense.
Back to the matter at hand, the statement is objectively, not subjectively false. Achtung Baby is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums in rock history, both that and Rattle and Hum showed U2 could do just about anything, make it sound good and translate it live effortlessly all with their own unique touch. Zooropa had stay, dirty day zooropa and wanderer, enough said. Pop may have been their weakest outing, but only because it did not match popular expectations for U2. It is objectively a brilliant album that deals wonderfully with the themes of darkness and decadence with a hint of hope to come. Thematically cohesive exploration of a new and distinct sound for U2, coupled with a perfect portrayl of it all through the mammoth Popmart tour. Gone, Please and LNOE are 3 of their better songs, the whole album and era suffers from the fact that the whole world only knows a giant lemon and discoteque. ATYCLB- widley considered a great album with a return to form for the U2 sound- lyrics had deeply personal touch added to by the aftermath of 9/11. Knee jerk reaction- not one of my favorites, not enough rock for me, but on closer examination, I always look at BD, Walk On, elevation, kite and In a little while and say its a damn good album. Granted it took live performances to make Elevation any good at all, but ATYCLB is a better album then any band made in 2000, that is for damn sure. Walk on, kite and in a little while are easily some of the best, most inspirational lyrics they have ever written. HTDAAB- people hate it, I love it and have never been shy about saying it here. This album thematically and through its sound is a true exploration of elements of all of U2's career, with a special focus on their early days- the lost innocence, the angst, the world at the crossroads of its existence, etc. City of Blinding Lights, Crumbs, LAPOE, All Because of you, Vertigo brought the rock back while yahweh, sometimes, original, miracle drug and a man and a woman beautifully portray the band as still being on the same journey they started in 1976, older, more life experience, different situations in their personal lives, but still humble, still with alot to learn, still with that same sense of curiosity and longing for fullfillment. Rightfully so, Bomb and ATYCLB did very well in sales, in the critics' corner, at the Grammys, etc. U2 has won more awards and sold more albums post Joshua Tree then they did up until then, that is a fact.
Birger is entitled to his opinion on U2- he can dislike them all he wants this is a free country. However, he is not entitled to his own facts and is objectively wrong in his statement. Look at almost any other band(I have seen alot of bands in the job I do) throughout history and U2 is objectively the better band regardless of one's personal opinion. They are just that good, and many people I talk to that have no particular allegiance to them have told me that in honest moments.
and move on..
exactly my thoughts!
plenty of people hate U2, who cares?
I respect every people thougths 
Best knock-back ever! 
