*Spoilers* - Rehearsals in Vancouver

[Nick66]

Any word if they've rehearsed OL or TCB?

 

[BVS]

OL yes, no word on TCB


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[Hallucination]

Why shouldn't they release Moment of Surrender or The Troubles as lead singles? In my view they are the best songs on their respective albums. It doesn't matter if they release Boots or Magnificent, nor Miracle or EBW. All of them are going to fail because no one gives a shit anymore. They would be far more likely to get good press and have success by releasing the best songs from new albums than hedging their bets and releasing a shitty rocker or a slow-burning ballad (and the four songs I mentioned above are all U2-by-numbers). Using my earlier examples, the first track we heard from Nick Cave's latest Push the Sky Away was We Know Who U R, which is a very quiet, slow, moody song. It didn't chart anywhere, doesn't matter. For Tom Waits' Bad as Me the lead single was Hell Broke Luce. Again, didn't chart anywhere, wasn't a "hit", but it doesn't matter. Critics and fans alike loved both. U2's strategy of releasing shitty rockers or a tired ballad alienates everyone. Plus, releasing the best songs might actually garner them some favour with taste-making music blogs, like Pitchfork or CoS or Stereogum or Popmatters or whatever. Instead, they hedge their bets and nobody wins.

(I do like Every Breaking Wave, for the record, they pull it off, but honestly it pales in comparison to their past attempts at the slow, stately ballad.)

Releasing the best song from albums doesn't necessarily mean it's a good fit for radio. Also I don't find The Troubles at all to be the best song on SOI. As far as a radio single goes it's way too slow and the casual / non fans will just fall asleep or switch the station. Radio singles aren't for hardcore fans and only hardcore fans would want something like The Troubles as a lead single. MOS maybe could have worked but again it's too slow and too long for a lead radio single. Your lead single should grab hold of the listener instantly and keep them. Think Beautiful Day and Vertigo. There's a reason why those were massive hits. Granted those were released in a time when U2 still had a younger audience. Still even with that factored into it when you have songs that are great and also perfect for radio(EBW & California) you release those ones as your lead. Not long epic slow songs or dreamy slow songs.

What artists like Tom Waits and Nick Cave do in regards to their singles or lack of singles isn't relevant to this conversation. Critics and fans of U2 alike both enjoy U2's new album and the songs on it but U2 is ina different position than the arists you mentioned. They want to be on radio, they want to compete on the charts. The point is U2 are VERY concerend with it and it's odd for a band who is that concerend with having a hit radio single to conistently chose the worst possible choice while ignoring the obvious best choice. Doing what Tom Waits or Nick Cave or whoever does wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for fans like us but it's not what U2 is trying to achieve so.....

 

[Hallucination]

I'm not sure what fits the bill from SOI, probably EBW for the catchiness. Then go with The Troubles second, to showcase the depth of the album once people have realised U2 are back.

But what do I know.

Going from a mid tempo ballad to and incredibly slow ballad as your 1, 2 punch for singles would be a bad idea. If you start with a ballad you should follow it up with an up beat song. Especially in U2s case where they are already considerd "soft". They couldn't and shouldn't ever go ballad , ballad. Start with an up beat song then you can g to the ballad but regardless The Troubles would not work well on radio. It work about as well as White as Snow would and I think both are great songs. Just not for radio.

 

[romi]

oh hey romi...

Day late; sorry.

 

[LemonMelon]

Going from a mid tempo ballad to and incredibly slow ballad as your 1, 2 punch for singles would be a bad idea. If you start with a ballad you should follow it up with an up beat song. Especially in U2s case where they are already considerd "soft". They couldn't and shouldn't ever go ballad , ballad. Start with an up beat song then you can g to the ballad but regardless The Troubles would not work well on radio. It work about as well as White as Snow would and I think both are great songs. Just not for radio.

Instead, they're going 1. rocker, 2. mid-tempo ballad, 3. incredibly slow and boring ballad.

 

[Hallucination]

Instead, they're going 1. rocker, 2. mid-tempo ballad, 3. incredibly slow and boring ballad.

It's a better formula than ballad, ballad and then trying to come back with something up tempo because by that time the ship has sailed on the album. BUT they screwed up because the lead single should NOT have been The Miracle. I agree whle heartedly. Song For Someone as the 3rd single makes abslutely zero sense. They blew it with The MIracle as the lead and they blew it by redoing EBW for radio and now SFS... I mean what the hell guys. They just have no clue the last two albums when it comes to releasing the right singles.


1. California
2. Every Breaking Wave
3. Volcano

That's how I'd have done it if I was in charge.

 

[dan_smee]

I don't think that's the U2.com countdown. The fan sites have been doing their own countdown.

It was on their Instagram, now it's gone. It had cedarwood road, boys hanging out in a bar backstage, edge showing the others how to shuffle. It was probably be up in the next few hours


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[KUEFC09U2]

It was on their Instagram, now it's gone. It had cedarwood road, boys hanging out in a bar backstage, edge showing the others how to shuffle. It was probably be up in the next few hours


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Not sure if serious......


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[dan_smee]

Not sure if serious......


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I am - it was there and they've taken it down.


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[Roland of Gilead]

It looked fairly legit to me with that bar scene and Edge doing his little shuffle, but I don't know shit.

 

[thavidesco]

It's a better formula than ballad, ballad and then trying to come back with something up tempo because by that time the ship has sailed on the album. BUT they screwed up because the lead single should NOT have been The Miracle. I agree whle heartedly. Song For Someone as the 3rd single makes abslutely zero sense. They blew it with The MIracle as the lead and they blew it by redoing EBW for radio and now SFS... I mean what the hell guys. They just have no clue the last two albums when it comes to releasing the right singles.


1. California
2. Every Breaking Wave
3. Volcano

That's how I'd have done it if I was in charge.

Best choices, totally agree, even with the order

 

[dan_smee]

It looked fairly legit to me with that bar scene and Edge doing his little shuffle, but I don't know shit.

You saw it too?

 

[U2FanPeter]

Few songs with Bono last night from an knowledgeable email source I consider trustworthy. It's only a 2 hour flight from San Fran/Stanford..

No Line on the Horizon(song)
Bullet
Angel of Harlem
Moment of Surrender.

That brings the Vancouver rehearsal song count to 38, including the sometimes missing Vertigo and excluding the possible Johnny Cash cover.

 

[romi]

I like No Line but didn't like how it was performed on the last tour. Here's hoping for a bit more melody. Or even a bit of No Line 2.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Hey dan, I saw it yeah. Found a link on Twitter about 4-5 hours ago. BTW, I love puppies!!!

Hey Peter, your the best man. Can't say thanks enough, so I'll be saying it every other day at least.

No Line and MOS? Yes please!

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

No line and MOS are the best picks from NLOTH and I think the album should be represented.... Of course, Fez would be the best song IMO, but I gave up on it long time ago


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[LemonMelon]

1. California
2. Every Breaking Wave
3. Volcano

I could live with this. I'd go Crystal Ballroom instead of Volcano because it sounds very unique for the band and quite modern, but U2 wouldn't release a bonus track as a single.

SFS, lame as it is, was clearly written to be a single. I just don't want that side of U2 to be the one the public is acquainted with. Too late, I guess.

 

[SpiralStaircase]

It's a better formula than ballad, ballad and then trying to come back with something up tempo because by that time the ship has sailed on the album. BUT they screwed up because the lead single should NOT have been The Miracle. I agree whle heartedly. Song For Someone as the 3rd single makes abslutely zero sense. They blew it with The MIracle as the lead and they blew it by redoing EBW for radio and now SFS... I mean what the hell guys. They just have no clue the last two albums when it comes to releasing the right singles.


1. California
2. Every Breaking Wave
3. Volcano

That's how I'd have done it if I was in charge.

As far back as JT they were making odd choices for singles - perhaps it's in hindsight but Red Hill Mining Town for ANY single, let alone second? Ridiculous. And great as The Fly is, it's not a lead off single. I agree California would have been a far better choice of SoI.

 

[ClaytonsKitten]

The 8 days video is up - and features edge doing the mysterious ways solo (not the slide solo) shuffle a-la popmart Mexico City


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MW slide solo confirmed in ''8 days...'' instagram video..

*waits for thread to explode re: slide solo*

The vids/pics were on the U2 instagram acct. ( @U2 )

The shuffle that goes with the MW slide solo didn't have them playing MW though...Cedarwood Road was the background track.


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[BigMacPhisto]

California was absolutely the best choice for a single and fits in perfectly with Triple-A radio which is the format most supportive of U2 in the United States. The track is not only super-catchy but also delivers the emotional heft that U2 is known for. Big missed opportunity for the band.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Single 4? In time for 2nd leg?

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Single 4? In time for 2nd leg?

Can see them releasing it for summer, it's a summer song IMO


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[Hallucination]

I could live with this. I'd go Crystal Ballroom instead of Volcano because it sounds very unique for the band and quite modern, but U2 wouldn't release a bonus track as a single.

SFS, lame as it is, was clearly written to be a single. I just don't want that side of U2 to be the one the public is acquainted with. Too late, I guess.

I agree. It was a toss up between Volcano and Crystal Ballroom for the third single but for the same reasons I chose Volcano. Part of me thinks that intro to Volcano though would really grab people. Its a U2 sounding song but just different enough.

I love Song For Someone but not for a single. It's like a deep cut late in the album but at the begining of the album. I really don't like where it is in the track listing. It should've been aroudn the 7-9 position

Single 4? In time for 2nd leg?

I think it's just too late for anything on this album to catch on. I would hope that before the second leg they release SOE and have a lead single off that album........ I know that won't happen though.

I like No Line but didn't like how it was performed on the last tour. Here's hoping for a bit more melody. Or even a bit of No Line 2.

I was never really a fan of the album version or how they played it live but I thought the alternate version was great and would've even made for a good single. It had some "pop" to it. Would be cool if they played it that way.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Does the single choice really matter when they release every song at once?

 

[LemonMelon]

Since a lot of people resented having the album forced on them in the first place and deleted it on contact, it does matter somewhat. They're more likely to be an exposed to a new U2 single on the radio than for a song from the album to pop up on shuffle (assuming they hadn't already deleted it).

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

for the second and third singles perhaps... i was referring to The Miracle. While I don't think The Miracle is an all time great single choice or anything like that, i certainly think it could have done better if it had some time to breath on it's own

 

[Axver]

Few songs with Bono last night from an knowledgeable email source I consider trustworthy. It's only a 2 hour flight from San Fran/Stanford..

No Line on the Horizon(song)
Bullet
Angel of Harlem
Moment of Surrender.

That brings the Vancouver rehearsal song count to 38, including the sometimes missing Vertigo and excluding the possible Johnny Cash cover.

Huh, so there's the NLOTH material. Maybe that album's not dead after all.

 

[prbiker15]

Few songs with Bono last night from an knowledgeable email source I consider trustworthy. It's only a 2 hour flight from San Fran/Stanford..

No Line on the Horizon(song)
Bullet
Angel of Harlem
Moment of Surrender.

That brings the Vancouver rehearsal song count to 38, including the sometimes missing Vertigo and excluding the possible Johnny Cash cover.

Thanks Peter! Great to see NLOTH (the song) is being considered.

 

[grietim]

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