Re: Re: Re: GOOD NEWS!
jick said:
1. Whoever equates chart success with a songs being one of the "Best Of" must be on crack.
This is a "Best Of" release. "Best Of" albums ALWAYS encompass past hit songs, several fan and artist favorites and one or two new songs designed to promote the album. "Best Of" does not mean J's personal list of his favorite U2 90's era songs. With "Discotheque" being such a huge hit, there is little question that it will be featured on this album.
Also, the fact that this song was such a huge hit shows that clearly it was enjoyed by many, making it one of U2's "best." The fact that YOU hate it means little.
2. Impressions are deceiving and don't reflect reality. And it's not even an impression your formed since you admittedly just received it.
What?
3. Over-interpreting a "remix" is equating it with a "single version" or an "edit". A remix is a remix plain and simple, but when it is the band themselves who undertake to remix the song and not some DJ, then that should say something.
You seemed to have ignored the fact that U2 have remixed many of their past songs themselves. Were all of those songs "disasters" as well?
Also, MANY artists have released albums containing nothing BUT remixes - and these were remixes of some of their most popular tunes. I'm not just talking about the P. Diddy's or the J.Lo's of the world either - I also mean such 80's alternative artists like The Cure. It is VERY popular for artists to remix or redo previously released tracks for a "Best Of" compilation, remix album or charity album.
U2 are releasing previously released material. You can choose to be ultra-negative, which you clearly are, and state that it's only because "Pop" was so poor that U2 are remixing these songs - OR - you can view these remixes as U2's way of giving us something new so that we aren't just buying the "same old/same old" again. The first "Best Of" featured material that was, at the time, at least 10 years old. As such, that collection did not require remixes as the goal was to remind fans of this older material. But this second "Best Of" contains material that is but a few years old. U2 may want to remix some songs to put a new spin on something that was recently released. In other words, they are doing this to entice more people into buying the album. Maybe it is just a marketing ploy, but it's an excellent one. Instead of giving fans the exact same version of a song they have on another album, why not present something slightly different and make the purchase worthwhile?
All of that said, even I acquiesced that U2 may also be doing this for their ego. "Pop" was a slight set-back (if you can call an album that sold 6 million copies worldwide and a tour that grossed over $170M a "set-back") and perhaps U2 are reviewing this work to see if they can improve upon it. Life rarely presents this opportunity to reflect upon the past. I'm glad U2 is pursuing it.
4. They focus on POP because they are stumped on how to make it presentable to be represented in either a b-side capacity or some cameo appearance in the best of. They don't need to focus on their brilliant 90's work, they can throw anything in and the public would hail them as geniuses, but for POP it's another story.
This is ALL your opinion. I don't feel that "Pop" was this *disaster* of an album. U2 said early on that they "rushed" the album. Well, now that they have an opportunity to examine these songs again, why not fine tune them?
Plus, I hardly doubt we'll hear any major changes to any of these songs - just a few tweaks as we did with the singles. If U2 are planning to release a few "Pop" tracks as b-sides, then slight remixes might be perfect.
5. You took the words right out of my mouth, Pop was a "set-back".
Yes, compared to the 18 million copies JT sold, the 11 million copies R&H sold, the 14 million copies AB sold and the 11 million copies ATYCLB has sold to date, "Pop" was a setback. Clearly U2 are used to monster-selling albums. That didn't happen with "Pop." But as even Madonna once said, an album that sells 6 million copies worldwide is hardly a failure.
6. Prepared to get stunned, unless they put in a "remix" of Discotheque.
I think it is YOU who should get ready to be stunned. I cannot imagine U2 releasing a 90's "Best Of" without one of their biggest 90's hits on it.
7. If single selection is what your attribute to POP's horrendous quality and lack of any redeeming musical or lyrical value whatsoever, then you must be naive.
I'm not even sure what that poorly written sentence means, so I won't address it fully other than to say that "Pop" was an artistic treasure. Some songs didn't work, some did - that's the nature of art. To say that it lacks any redeeming musical or lyrical value only demonstrates your own naivete and limited appreciation of music.