My reaction too. While the Vertigo Tour had some great setlists, I just remember having an empty feeling compared to the Elevation Tour. Though I will say that U2 made up for it a bit on the Chicago 9/21/05 show. That was a really good show, but still fell short to the feeling in the room they had on Elevation.
Edge was probably watching Vichot take Stage 8 of Paris-Nice. Maybe it'll be the impetus for a new direction since Tour De France is already take. U2 seem like more of Giro band to me though.
After reading this a second time, you gotta wonder maybe Tedder's work with U2 in the studio is completed already??? If that's the case it makes sense they could be working with Epworth to mix everything???
After reading this a second time, you gotta wonder maybe Tedder's work with U2 in the studio is completed already??? If that's the case it makes sense they could be working with Epworth to mix everything???
Looks like this will be their first ever record without Lillywhite, Eno, Lanois, or Flood. Every record they've made has had at least one of those guys. It'll be interesting to hear what they sound like with a completely new team.
I still hope they bring in Flood to mix it because they've never sounded as good as they do when they're in his hands.
Looks like this will be their first ever record without Lillywhite, Eno, Lanois, or Flood. Every record they've made has had at least one of those guys. It'll be interesting to hear what they sound like with a completely new team.
I still hope they bring in Flood to mix it because they've never sounded as good as they do when they're in his hands.
They did Vertigo x2 at my Vertigo show as well. I was 12 at the time and it was my first concert. Because of that, I thought it was normal to play the same song as opener and closer for years.
Since a moderator here took a personal attack on my character recently regarding my ability to apologize, I will be above that and say that I'm sorry if my comment offended you, though I still highly urge you to examine the above scenarios.
Would've appreciated if you'd at least replied to my PM before this. But, fair enough. Being as tired of anything relating to Nick v gvox as I am, I was too quick to jump on you when I thought you were continuing the antagonism. So I, too, apologize for being unfair.
U2's choice of collaborators has slipped just a bit since 1984. Imagine if they'd worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis or Mutt Lange ... that's basically what they're doing now.
Given the praise heaped on this hack by Iovine, I wonder if this terrible idea goes back to him.
And yes, it's a terrible idea. It might not lead to a terrible result, but it's a bad idea.
I'm guessing it was a Will.I.Am situation. They had some poppy single they wanted to expose to a set of younger ears for some feedback. Maybe he helped them with the structure of an existing song or something, but I doubt there was any unique "writing" between U2 and Tedder. Tweaking, I'd guess. In any event, I'd be surprised if he has more than one credit on the album - two at most.
And although I am not a fan of One Republic or any of that kind of blatant pop with a rock sheen, they have at least three or four songs better than anything Will.I.Am ever shat out (or totally regurgitated). Counting Stars is a solid pop song. You don't see U2 bringing in Adam Levine or just any ol' pop/rpck hack. I mean, fuck...that might be the end for me.
I'm guessing it was a Will.I.Am situation. They had some poppy single they wanted to expose to a set of younger ears for some feedback. Maybe he helped them with the structure of an existing song or something, but I doubt there was any unique "writing" between U2 and Tedder. Tweaking, I'd guess. In any event, I'd be surprised if he has more than one credit on the album - two at most.
And although I am not a fan of One Republic or any of that kind of blatant pop with a rock sheen, they have at least three or four songs better than anything Will.I.Am ever shat out (or totally regurgitated). Counting Stars is a solid pop song. You don't see U2 bringing in Adam Levine or just any ol' pop/rpck hack. I mean, fuck...that might be the end for me.
I'm guessing it was a Will.I.Am situation. They had some poppy single they wanted to expose to a set of younger ears for some feedback. Maybe he helped them with the structure of an existing song or something, but I doubt there was any unique "writing" between U2 and Tedder. Tweaking, I'd guess. In any event, I'd be surprised if he has more than one credit on the album - two at most.
And although I am not a fan of One Republic or any of that kind of blatant pop with a rock sheen, they have at least three or four songs better than anything Will.I.Am ever shat out (or totally regurgitated). Counting Stars is a solid pop song. You don't see U2 bringing in Adam Levine or just any ol' pop/rpck hack. I mean, fuck...that might be the end for me.
I'm starting to think that there really won't be two albums: I remember Adam saying that they had their 12 songs, probably all mixed by Danger Mouse. I'm starting to think half of them were crap, with about 5-6 "mixed and ready to go" but the other half are now being tweaked by Epworth/ Tedder.
I think that's probably the point. Nothing about this cycle has been normal or predictable.
This is my 3rd album where I actually "paid attention". For Bomb I really didn't care much how/what they did, as I was slowly making my way back into the fandom with fresh eyes. (I'd grown up on them, hated them during ATYCLB, and was willing to try again with Bomb. )
For NLOTH? I got pissed at them in fall of 08 and was ready to turn my fan card in again. But I was super psyched by spring of 09 and even tolerated the flood of leak puns because I was so ready to just get the damn thing.
This time? I'm eerily calm about the entire process. No tantrums, no freakouts, no panic. Which is hilarious given that it's the most unpredictable album cycle to date.
You mean other bands where the drummer is lucky to even be in a band in the first place, like, oh, Coldplay's? Or where they regularly bring in session guys to do albums and tours?
In U2, which is a 1/4 (formerly 1/5) democracy, if one member doesn't like it, it's probably not going to happen. It's not about Larry, per se, it's about any other 3 members having respect for any one of them.
I hate to raise the subject but Rush would be a similar situation. Do they even have lyrics without their drummer? Woops, no album. Neil's pissed, amirite? lol
Well sure it's possible, and one of them being admitted to rehab for substance abuse would also be another perfect credible reason, wouldn't it? Doesn't mean it's so..
Yes, ok...significance? Notably as far as I recall the rest of the band (Edge noted?) had something to say about this as well.
But..I thought he was the one that only wanted to do pop hits? Is this what it's supposed to be all about? So confused..
And fucking rightly so. But wait - they actually did release that! I thought he had Ultimate Veto Power? oops
See (again): Peart, Neil
Larry hates hip hop. And jokes. No laughter allowed.
Whatever U2 do, I hope they don't take Jimmy Iovine's advice. Here's an anecdote from Trent Reznor:
"We were on Interscope. And I have had Jimmy Iovine, the president on that label, come up to me on every record from [2005's] With Teeth onwards saying I should do some sort of urban thing — it was Timbaland for awhile, then it was Pharrell for awhile — because 'that's how you sell records.' "The idea seemed so preposterous and insulting. I'm not talking 'Let's go make a record with Dr. Dre' because that would be kind of cool. What he's talking about is making your record sound like what's on the radio, whether it's appropriate or not. And that's what Chris did. "I think that when somebody who is respected like he is goes that route, it sends the message that it's OK to give up any kind of core values you had to be the fashion of the moment. I don't think it's OK. I think it's harmful."
To quote Bono, it seemed that "God was in the room" during pretty much every Elevation Tour I have watched. The one I saw in Vancouver was amazing. Something about the spirit they had then....almost a resurgence from the aftermath of their disappointment with Popmart, and now back to arenas. "After the flood, all the colors came out," was most definitely the vibe of that tour. Was a special time to be a U2 fan. Vertigo on the other hand seemed more corporate, and more political. "Streets" lost a bit of its etherealness with the Africa tie in, as great as the intention was. Just my opinion of course.