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Why is that wanting not to be mainstream radiohead fans want so much to have "universal" acclaim?
 
From this week podcast from "New York Times", Jon Pareles reviewed the album, and ranked it along side classics like AB, TJT, and HTDAAB. The podcast review lasted like 7 minutes or so. Positive score will be added to Metacritic.

Arts - Music - New York Times


And speaking of Metacritic, NOW got added and it's currently @ 71.

***Still no sign of Q, Sputnikmusic, MOJO, Filter magazine, "Ass"tin Chronicle, CDNow, or maybe NY Mag (hope they didn't review it).***
 
NOW Magazine // Music // U2

They are at a 71 due to reviews like the above (I posted a comment to the "review". I am sure all of you will all figure out the one is mine. I don't post comments about reviews because they are just opinions but come on, there was no substance or justification for this. Feel free to post comments as well, I would never suggest writing anything rude or mean but let people know what you think, after all we have a voice too.
 
:angry:How is it Metacritic have posted 30 reviews of Lily f@*king Allens new album and are yet taking forever and a day to post major reviews of one of the most widely reviewed albums on the planet........eh?
 
It's interesting how the Metacritic user rating is much higher for NLOTH (8.6) than the last 2 albums (both 6.9).

Some of the critics may not have given it the time of day but the true fans love it. :up:
 
roy said:
Some of the critics may not have given it the time of day but the true fans love it. :up:
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i think that's a lot of it. i think the rest is equal parts Bono-hate and the fact that U2 have such a weighty legacy that it's impossible not to compare present music to nostalgic memories of past glories. it can be hard to actually live in the moment and appreciate what's happening now. that requires thought and analysis, not snap and snark.
 
Irvine511 said:
i think that's a lot of it. i think the rest is equal parts Bono-hate and the fact that U2 have such a weighty legacy that it's impossible not to compare present music to nostalgic memories of past glories. it can be hard to actually live in the moment and appreciate what's happening now. that requires thought and analysis, not snap and snark.
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:up:

(IMO) As much as the Pitchforks and Now Magazines of this world may try to force failure upon this album or write these songs off with their scathing reviews, in the end they'll only serve to discredit themselves when NLOTH becomes the classic I think it's destined to be.
 
:mad: Metacritic now has it down to 69, because they added that horrible Austin Chronicle review. I don't understand what is going on with Metacritic, they are only adding in the negative reviews. Also, how do publications like NOW get qualified for Metacritic. What I saw of their magazine and website seems to be a bit of a joke.
 
UVWay said:
:mad: Metacritic now has it down to 69, because they added that horrible Austin Chronicle review. I don't understand what is going on with Metacritic, they are only adding in the negative reviews. Also, how do publications like NOW get qualified for Metacritic. What I saw of their magazine and website seems to be a bit of a joke.
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ouch
 
allcub said:
:up:

(IMO) As much as the Pitchforks and Now Magazines of this world may try to force failure upon this album or write these songs off with their scathing reviews, in the end they'll only serve to discredit themselves when NLOTH becomes the classic I think it's destined to be.
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NLOTH isn't a game-changer, like The Joshua Tree or OK Computer. It would've been a classic in 1985, but not in this day and age.
 
Q was added; and is back at 71, which is right about where "Viva La Vida" is about. I don't really feel a need to compare the two, but just mention it because they come up in discussion so much. I am not sure how Metacritic weights its reviews, but I think the album would be in the mid-70s without the laughable reviews from NOW, Austin Chronicle and Pitchfork. Really, considering the target that U2 is for the media, it is natural that a number of these "hipster" publications or websites would want to take them down. The major music magazines have all for the most part embraced the album. I think with time it will get its due. I don't know if it is a masterpiece, but it is definitely a great album and better then most of the "dreck" out there. Certainly, I think the performances this week have shown that these songs are great live. So, all in all, a good time to be a U2 fan. :D:applaud:
 
The reviews in the Netherlands and Belgium have been very positive. De OOR is the most important music magazine in the Netherlands and they never give grades but they are super pleased with the album and Humo in Belgium is over the moon about the new album. Most responses have been very, very positive.
 
yeah, it seems European critics embrace this album more than their American colleagues
 
The score of 71 relative to the ludicrous 79 awarded to HTDAAB could be down to two partly related factors;

1) NLOTH is a grower whose real impact comes with several months of listening. HTDAAB on the other hand gets worse and worse with repeated exploration.

2) U2 are suffering from a critical backlash that began in 2006 when people started to realise HTDAAB was not so good after all.
 
Wait no longer, kids - Mark Prindle's review is up!

http://www.markprindle.com/u2a.htm#no

No Line On The Horizon - Interscope 2009
Rating = 5/10

CLOSED LETTER TO DAVID FRICKE OF ROLLING STONE
(so nobody else read it)

Dear Mr. Fricke,

Exactly how awful does an album have to be for you to give it less than 4 stars out of 5?

You gave Guns 'N Roses' horrific Chinese Democracy 4 stars out of 5, calling the overworked and underwritten trash heap a "great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record." You gave Smashing Pumpkins' worthless Zeitgeist 4 stars out of 5, referring to its pig-squealed generic shit-rock as "impressive and convincing" and comparing it to "Tony Iommi all over....Robert Smith." And now you've even topped yourself, awarding No Line On The Horizon -- possibly U2's worst record of all time -- a perfect 5 stars out of 5!

5 stars out of 5!? Are you kidding me? Did you somehow miss the four godawful songs in a row right there in the middle? The awkward group vocals that they unsuccessfully try to squeeze into two different songs? The 'we're still cool' hipster funk bullshit and boring self-important melodrama that make up the entire second half?

These aren't strengths!

Okay, let's take a closer look at your review to see if we can figure out what in Sam Hell is going on around here:

"'I was born to sing for you/I didn't have a choice but to lift you up,' Bono declares early on this album, in a song called "Magnificent." He does it in an oddly low register, a heated hush just above the shimmer of the Edge's guitar and the iron-horse roll of bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Bono is soon up in thin air with those familiar rodeo yells, on his way to the chorus, which ends with him just singing the word 'magnificent,' repeating it with relish, stretching the syllables.

But he does it not in self-congratulation, more like wonder and respect, as if in middle age, on his band's 11th studio album, he still can't believe his gift — and luck. Bono knows he was born with a good weapon for making the right kind of trouble: the clean gleam and rocket's arc of that voice. 'It was one dull morning/I woke the world with bawling,' he boasted in 'Out of Control,' written by Bono on his 18th birthday and issued on U2's Irish debut EP."

Okay, that's a good intro. "Magnificent" is indeed a wonderful song - one of the very, very few to be found on this album. Let's continue.

"He is still singing about singing, all over No Line on the Horizon, U2's first album in nearly five years and their best, in its textural exploration and tenacious melodic grip, since 1991's Achtung Baby."

Now see, that's where I have to stop you. "Tenacious melodic grip"? Beyond track two, this album has NO melodic grip. The album starts off on a delightful foot, with both the title track and "Magnificent" soaring spiritually like the finest of U2's post-War work. This searching-but-optimistic tone continues to less melodic impact on the next two tracks before bottoming out with the hookless U2-by-numbers "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" (featuring such vomitous lyrics as "Every generation gets a chance to save the world"). And that's the spiritual, melodic portion of the record - the first five songs. Next are two hideous attempts to prove they're still fresh and funky -- including boogie rocker "Get On Your Boots," unquestionably the weakest single they've ever released. Finally, having proven they're out here to show everybody a Good Time!, they suddenly become ultra-serious (and surprisingly cold) for four final songs that they clearly consider to be of great importance. So important, in fact, that bothering to include a melody would just be clouding the issue.

In short, the CD is strongest near the beginning, because that's when they at least try to create beautiful, spiritual music -- at times questioning, but ultimately optimistic. This, to me, is where U2 excels at this late date in their career. I relistened to All That You Can't Leave Behind the other day expecting to hate its guts and lower its grade to a 5, but I darn-near loved the thing. Yes, it has some weak tracks (like the last song), but so many of them are just GORGEOUS! The combination of a melodic chord progression and Bono's soaring voice makes for a very lovely piece of sonic thingy.

As such, their decision to devote the latter half of the disc to lame funk-boogie and depressing folk/world musings was not, in my view, a well-considered one. For the sake of full disclosure, I should add that I do get a kick out of the viola/guitar rocker "Breathe," but mainly because I don't think I've ever heard a viola/guitar rocker before!

Incidentally, I got bored with the whole "letter to David Fricke" conceit when I realized that his review mostly focuses on the meaning of Bono's lyrics. Who fucking cares what old Boner has to say? Especially when The Vadge doesn't have any decent guitar parts to add! And Larry Mullen? Yeah, he should've been MULLEN (mullin') OVER SOME NEW SONG IDEAS, IF YOU ASK ME!

It's not that I don't think U2 should experiment with their sound; after all, if the young rockers of War fame hadn't experimented with quieter, more spiritual music, The Joshua Tree would never have happened. Furthermore, they already demonstrated with How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb that the established combination of 'pretty songs' plus 'Bono's voice' doesn't necessarily equal 'anything worth listening to.' My real problem is that most of these songs simply aren't very good. And I realize that's impossibly vague and violently subjective, but as a music fan, I find much of this music lacking the creative and melodic qualities that characterize good music.

I like certain aspects of the songs: the grim atmosphere of "Cedars of Lebanon," the gospel soul-searching of "Moment Of Surrender," the exuberant wordless chorus cry of "Unknown Caller." But the melodies are barely there, and the album is full of rotten vocal decisions. Bono has one of the most sonically beautiful voices in pop music. So why is he hoarsely singing everything on one note in the title track? Why is he just sort of talking in "Cedars of Lebanon"? Why do they bury him under a bunch of dopey group vocals in "Unknown Caller" and "Fez-Being Born"?

In conclusion, WAY TO GO ADAM CLAYTON, YOU RUINED THE ALBUM!
Click to expand...

Sure, I disagree with some of it, but it's still a goddamn Mark Prindle review!
 
jamaral said:
Who is Mark Prindle?:hmm:
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I was wondering the same thing. Am I supposed to know who he is :huh:

I have to admit the end of the review made me laugh a lot :lol:

I disagree with most of the review but as far as the negative ones go at least this one is funny, and he manages to articulate some of the things he likes and dislikes. The best negative review I've read, if that even makes sense.
 
last unicorn said:
An ass, obviously.

I'm glad it's Adam who ruined the album, not Bono, for a change.
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Yeah, anybody who disagrees with you on anything is an "ass".

Prindle's an independent reviewer, probably my favourite out there. Just thought I'd share it with you guys, even though it's not a major site.
 
The Sad Punk said:
Wait no longer, kids - Mark Prindle's review is up!

Prindle Record Reviews - U2

Sure, I disagree with some of it, but it's still a goddamn Mark Prindle review!
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Yeah. I've been reading his reviews for some years now, and though I often disagree with him I like his style, which is weird because most of the reviewers who write in a similar fashion get on my nerves from get go. Maybe it's because his reviews aren't drenched with the kind of self-importance that makes my teeth hurt when I try to read Pitchfork. And some of them are just so bloody funny! :D
 
I'm supposed to put stock into what a publication named 'The Badger Herald' says?

Also, I don't think the 79 score for the Bomb is unfair, it just means the NLOTH is significantly lower than it should be, but its not an instantly accessible album as that was, if people give that aren't as obsessive as we gave it time to resonate it would probably be past their deadlines, but AB wasn't instantly loved either.
 
asr said:
The Badger Herald: ArtsEtc.: ‘No Line on the Horizon’ leaves nothing whatsoever


ouch!
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Ouch indeed; but considering U2 was more "punk" and less "mainstream" when his mama was in school, not surprising.

I would expect college radio and college newspapers to be at the top of the "let's bash U2" crowd -- U2 is not perceived as "their generation" so its a bit like me trying to figure out the list linked below -- I'm 44 so I missed the Frightened Rabbit and Gabe Dixon Band are really cool memo.

Baseball Toaster: The Juice Blog : Top 10 Albums of 2008-Scott's List (Revised edition)
 
I think Metacritic listed the negetive reviews as much as they could but positive reviews are few and far between. I wonder... something fishy is going there.:hmm::hmm::hmm:
 
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