Next Album Rumours Thread IV - 2 Sing 2 Furious

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U2 has been trying and failing to write Beautiful Day again for two decades now so that alone is enough to put ATYCLB ahead of the last two albums for me. Walk On, Kite and WILATW are also on a higher tier than almost anything on the last two albums. New York is way more atmospheric than anything they're willing to attempt anymore. I used to hate on ATYCLB but it's actually a really good batch of songs that's just held back by some weak performances and muted, slightly dated production.

The new song is boring but inoffensive. There are a few interesting chord changes, I like the shared falsetto section. It just sounds like a Bono solo song with the U2 name slapped onto it. I'll never listen to it again.
 
ferball415 said:
Around the Sun isn't *terrible* so much as bland and unremarkable. But agreed on the second point.
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Around the Sun is a boring album that becomes bad by virtue of its length. I can't believe it's nearly an hour long and there are barely enough ideas for an EP.
 
The John Tree said:
Listen - REM floundered for a little while and then finished strong with Accelerate and Collapse Into Now.

Unfortunately, U2 is still stuck in their “Around The Sun” phase.
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Whoa!!!!! Hold up there. Sorry, but as a HUGE REM fan, I gotta be honest. I love em, but I don't think there's been a bigger dive from greatness into almost unlistenable-ness than REM had. New Adventures released in 96 is my 3rd favorite album of theirs , then came UP, with maybe 3 or 4 good songs, then Reveal with about 3 sorta good songs, Same with Around the Sun.
but the rest weren't like, not bad, or ok. they were difficult to even get through. I literally thought they might have been trolling us by calling a song (The Worst Joke Ever).

Accelerate was an improvement, and to a litter lesser extent Collapse.

So no, U2 has never approached that level.
 
LemonMelon said:
U2 has been trying and failing to write Beautiful Day again for two decades now so that alone is enough to put ATYCLB ahead of the last two albums for me. Walk On, Kite and WILATW are also on a higher tier than almost anything on the last two albums. New York is way more atmospheric than anything they're willing to attempt anymore. I used to hate on ATYCLB but it's actually a really good batch of songs that's just held back by some weak performances and muted, slightly dated production.

The new song is boring but inoffensive. There are a few interesting chord changes, I like the shared falsetto section. It just sounds like a Bono solo song with the U2 name slapped onto it. I'll never listen to it again.
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That was/is the problem with "Beautiful Day": awesome song that was like a deal with [MacPhisto]. Its success has warped their thinking & expectations ever since. (Not to mention all those who would imitate them.) And yes, the past two albums make ATYCLB look like a minor masterpiece (which, maybe...).
 
womanfish said:
Whoa!!!!! Hold up there. Sorry, but as a HUGE REM fan, I gotta be honest. I love em, but I don't think there's been a bigger dive from greatness into almost unlistenable-ness than REM had. New Adventures released in 96 is my 3rd favorite album of theirs , then came UP, with maybe 3 or 4 good songs, then Reveal with about 3 sorta good songs, Same with Around the Sun.
but the rest weren't like, not bad, or ok. they were difficult to even get through. I literally thought they might have been trolling us by calling a song (The Worst Joke Ever).

Accelerate was an improvement, and to a litter lesser extent Collapse.

So no, U2 has never approached that level.
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I would consider those final two better than SOI/SOE. And at the very least, R.E.M. was just never as embarrassing in their bad stuff.
 
REM didn’t reeeeeeaaaallly close it out strong. Sure, the albums were decent but nothing as good as their 80’s/90’s work.
 
Shiny Happy People is great. Radio Song, however...yikes! And it's not even their worst song with a guest rapper!

Accelerate & Collapse Into Now are both excellent while not being as good as their 83-96 run. I'd take Up and Reveal over them too, but I love those albums. The thing with REM is that even when they missed it happened because the material wasn't there, not because they were trying for A Big Hit and overthinking everything everything in an attempt to get A Big Hit. They (Mills & Stipe, really - poor Peter!) overthought things in an attempt to be good. They were still worthy of unqualified respect, whereas U2...well, I love them, but it's had to respect a lot of their decisions over the last 15 years.

Also, add Staring Down the Barrel of Middle Distance and On the Fly to Accelerate and the record is a lot better. It would still sound like dogshit though. It's a major loudness wars casualty.
 
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womanfish said:
Whoa!!!!! Hold up there. Sorry, but as a HUGE REM fan, I gotta be honest. I love em, but I don't think there's been a bigger dive from greatness into almost unlistenable-ness than REM had. New Adventures released in 96 is my 3rd favorite album of theirs , then came UP, with maybe 3 or 4 good songs, then Reveal with about 3 sorta good songs, Same with Around the Sun.
but the rest weren't like, not bad, or ok. they were difficult to even get through. I literally thought they might have been trolling us by calling a song (The Worst Joke Ever).

Accelerate was an improvement, and to a litter lesser extent Collapse.

So no, U2 has never approached that level.
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I agree that U2 isn’t quite at that level.

But I think we could be approaching it.
 
I wish any of these recent pop bids from U2 were as good as Shiny Happy People. Kate Pierson's vocal is such a cheat code on that one.
 
Hollow Island said:
Hey hey, U2's recent work is flawed but they've never made anything as irredeemably terrible as Around the Sun. I hoped U2 had an Accelerate or Collapse Into Now in them but it's looking unlikely.
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ferball415 said:
Around the Sun isn't *terrible* so much as bland and unremarkable. But agreed on the second point.
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LemonMelon said:
Around the Sun is a boring album that becomes bad by virtue of its length. I can't believe it's nearly an hour long and there are barely enough ideas for an EP.
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Yeah. Reveal really turned me off but it at least seemed to have some kind of personality. Around the Sun was a true creative nadir, but made worse by being an absolute slog.

Accelerate was a course correction to two downbeat albums in the way that Monster was, the difference is that Monster fucking rocks in a much heavier way and has a number of great songs. Accelerate is fun but rather slight and there's only a couple songs that I think are really memorable. Also, I'm Gonna DJ is maybe their worst album closer.

Collapse Into Now was more diverse stylistically and for that alone an improvement. But I'd still rate it below Up.

Anyway, SOI and SOE may have their issues, but they have a lot more vitality and creativity than anything R.E.M. released this century, from Reveal onwards.

LemonMelon said:
It just sounds like a Bono solo song with the U2 name slapped onto it. I'll never listen to it again.
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This is exactly what I thought when I was listening to it.

And I was only going to quote the first part of that, and realized the second line is probably true as well.
 
LemonMelon said:
I wish any of these recent pop bids from U2 were as good as Shiny Happy People. Kate Pierson's vocal is such a cheat code on that one.
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Yeah she is the savior of that song. But still, REM had embarrassing times. Unfortunately I think a large amount of people looked at REM as sort of this silly, quirky band because of Radio Song (yes it was a single), Stand, Shiny Happy, and a bit with Sidewinder. I don’t think a lot of people took the time to know the greatness of their earlier work.
 
Shiny Happy People has a killer riff.

I find REM's silly bubblegum excursions endearing.
 
womanfish said:
This is always a fascinating discussion. For me, I pretty much lay one offs aside. I haven't liked a one off song from U2 for a long time. Hold Me Thrill Me and Night and Day were outstanding one offs, and that's great. Its a bonus.
.

But speaking of albums, it's not just pre/post 2000. There are people that only like the first 3 albums. Because that's the style they liked. There are some that adore UF and JT and that's about it. There are some that love everything up through JT. Then a larger group that would go from Boy through Achtung, possibly Boy through Zooropa, and then some through POP. If people went beyond POP, they probably are in for the long haul.

Also, there were a huge amount of people that became fans during ATYCLB and Bomb. Then went back to discover their older work.

For me, I was listening to the first 4 albums with my brothers when I was 10 and 11, JT hit when I was 12, and then Achtung when I was 16. So Truly the core time when your musical taste is being formed.
But for me, now. Although I would choose the 90's material over pretty much anything else, I can appreciate the whole 42 year catalog. It all speaks to me in different ways. And I am neither a post-2000 hater, nor am I a MAGA freak love show for everything the band does.
I readily criticize when i think something sucks, but the band has put out enough excellent material 2000 to present, that it would be stupid for me to abandon them.

For me ATYCLB, Bomb, R&H and October were their low points for me. But there are fantastic songs on each of them, but with a lot I don't care for. That's what bothers me about pre-2000's fans, and the fans that just seem to hate on the last two records.

Yes, No Line had 3 really bad songs on it. But so did All That, and so did Bomb and so did October, and R&H was just a mess for the most part with a few standout songs, and other mediocre ones. And lets not forget War and UF, which both have a couple of poor songs on there. SOI and SOE fall into the same category. Some really great songs, a few bad ones. Nothing much has changed.

If you don't like the style they moved onto, sure. Then quit being disappointed or disgusted, and know your journey with the band may have ended, But to me, if someone likes ATYCLB then I see no reason why they wouldn't like SOI or SOE. If you Like Achtung and Bomb then No Line should be right up your alley (except the 3 shitty songs) lol.

I think after 42 years, that each album they release, we kinda now wait and see if it will be the one that just doesn't do it for us anymore. And that's ok. Their next one may be that one for me. But I have a feeling it will have about 2 bad songs, 5 good/very good songs and 4 great songs on it, and that will be good enough for me.
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Hear hear! :applaud:

At this point in life, I'm more than happy getting a few "notable" songs out of each album my favorite bands release. If it's more than that, then that's an added bonus.
 
trevgreg said:
Hear hear! :applaud:

At this point in life, I'm more than happy getting a few "notable" songs out of each album my favorite bands release. If it's more than that, then that's an added bonus.
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They are a ton of really good younger bands that still make music a ton of fun, especially in the hard rock category.
 
Ok, since we have some fresh faces here. And REM has come up. I have a question that I really am too lazy to make a new thread about.

Who had the greatest five years of music output in Alt/modern/indie rock history. I am leaving out just straight rock, cause i really don't want to have to talk about The Beatles and Zep and the like.

So here are a few to get things going

R.E.M. 1986 to 1991

Life's Rich Pageant (My number 1 REM album)
Document (My number 2)
Green
Out of Time

R.E.M. 1991 to 1996

Out of Time
Automatic For The People
Monster
New Adventures in Hi-Fi

U2 1983 to 1988

War
Unforgettable Fire
The Joshua Tree
Rattle and Hum

U2 1987 to 1991

The Joshua Tree
Rattle and Hum
Achtung Baby

The Smiths 1984 to 1987 (Jesus Christ!)

The Smiths
Meat is Murder
The Queen is Dead
Strangeways Here We Come

Radiohead 1995 to 2000

The Bends
OK Computer
Kid A

The Pixies 1988 to 1991

Surfer Rosa
Doolittle
Trompe Le Monde

The Replacements 1984 to 1989

Let It Be
Tim
Pleased To Meet Me
Don't Tell a Soul

Nirvana 1989 to 1993

Bleach
Nevermind
In Utero

Not really a big Nirvana guy, but figured I'd put em on there.

What do you think?

I lean toward REM or The Smiths just because of the sheer volume they had within a 5 year span. But U2 with 2 perfect albums does get close.

Please give your thoughts on the ones here and add any new ones you think could contend.

GO!
 
So, I’ve had a few hours away after maybe 3 listens, and I’ve just listened again. I pretty much remembered the melody and every word. Love it or hate it, it has an infectious quality that will play well in certain demos with certain audiences.

The fact it is a bit vanilla and beige, or that it doesn’t peak are probably causing people to over hyperbolise it’s deficiencies rather than be happy about some of the good points. And it is irrefutable that some elements of this song represent real progress away from some of the most frustrating and “bad” elements of recent U2 outputs - lyrical vomit, one dimensional melodies, perfunctory chord progressions, dynamic range - all things they have really struggled with for neigh on 20 years. This song is one big positive stride away from all of those issues. The lyrics are still saccharine, but they have integrity of concept, and are constructed more thoughtfully. The melody is interesting.

I think it’s far better than The Miracle or GOOYOW or American Soul. It shits on Boots. It’s sin is it’s boringness - which I would argue is a symptom of placement and purpose. It’s for a kids movie and sonically it is appropriate.

The longer I sit with it, the more comfortable I am. I don’t love it, but it could have been FAR worse. It’s a B-.
 
The Cure - 1981-1985

Faith
Pornography
Non-album singles Let’s Go To Bed, The Walk, The Love Cats
The Top (the weakest entry here)
The Head On The Door

Alternately, The Cure - 1985-1989

The Head On The Door
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Disintegration
 
I’ll throw in a few additions:

Sleater-Kinney 1997 to 2002

Dig Me Out
The Hot Rock
All Hands on the Bad One
One Beat

Depeche Mode 1986 to 1991

Black Celebration
Music for the Masses
Violator

Pj Harvey 1995 to 2000

To Bring You My Love
Is This Desire?
Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 1992 to 1997

Henry’s Dream
Let Love In
Murder Ballads
Boatman’s Call
 
the tourist said:
The Cure - 1981-1985

Faith
Pornography
Non-album singles Let’s Go To Bed, The Walk, The Love Cats
The Top (the weakest entry here)
The Head On The Door

Alternately, The Cure - 1985-1989

The Head On The Door
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Disintegration
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Nice! my relative ignorance of any deep knowledge of The Cure led me to not guess on the best period for them. But yes, this is very good.
 
The Cure 1981-1985
U2 1983-1987
The Smiths 1983-1987
Replacements 1984-1988
Radiohead 1995-2000 (6 years instead of 5 but whatever, I couldn't skip The Bends or Kid A)
 
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