Shuttlecock XVIII - SAVE US, REFU-JESUS

[Kieran McConville]

You guys must hear/see it more than I do, I admit. The influence thing, I mean. See, when I made my comment last night, a little tipsy, it was creative and artistic nobodies like The Killers, Live and Coldplay that I had in my mind (Snow Patrol et al weren't much better imo).

People like Eddie Vedder are no doubt huge admirers, but I felt like Pearl Jam's musical touchstones lay elsewhere (in the seventies, to be precise).

I could see it with early Radiohead, maybe as late as sections of OK Computer, but they've moved far, far away from that as they've gone on.

 

[Axver]

Richard Ashcroft clearly thought he was Bono for a time there.

And since the turn of the millennium they've both been writing trite songs with stupid messages like Love Is Noise or Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I think Richard Ashcroft thought he was Jesus for a time there, but he got over it (I guess he did).

 

[Kieran McConville]

"Home, that's where the hurt is..." hums Larry Mullen while spray painting obscenities all over Bono's living room, eloping with crate of Budweiser

 

[Axver]

I think Richard Ashcroft thought he was Jesus for a time there, but he got over it (I guess he did).

He's been a million different people from one day to the next.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Boom!

 

[kiwilad]

Re Cobl's comment on Edge's playing - yup. I've been listening to Boy on repeat the last fortnight and the thing that strikes me about that album is his phrasing. Ok there are some instances of basic chords, ie Electric Co, but on the whole he seemed intent on adding something unique to each song.
Instead of chords there are repeated riffs, ie An Cat Dubh. Instead of standard chords he drones the bottom two strings in Shadows, creating a completely different texture. He was 18 when that album was recorded and he was relentlessly inventive.

Fast forward to yesterday. Get Out is played live. Without listening too closely I can't think of much guitar at all on the studio version's verses. So I was interested to see if live it was synth-heavy or if Edge had something creative to add to the verses.

Nope. Strumming them chords, a bit of mutey-scratchy here and there. This is The Fucking Edge. The master of space and minimalism. The master of tone and touch. The guy who once said he saw notes as precious, not to be thrown around willy nilly.

I still love the guy's playing when he's on. But more often than not these days he just hasn't turned up. He gave himself an extra year to make these songs more live-sounding, and all we get in Get Out's verses is fucking bar-chords.

So. Has he simply run out of ideas? Or has he been around so long that he's finding it almost impossible not to sound like a caricature of himself, so shies away from creativity altogether?

I really don't know.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Or option c. he (and Bono) has nursed a massive inferiority complex to full bloom, and now believes that how professional, boring, hack artists do it is what they should be doing. See, they were doing it wrong before.

 

[kiwilad]

Or option c. he (and Bono) has nursed a massive inferiority complex to full bloom, and now believes that how professional, boring, hack artists do it is what they should be doing. See, they were doing it wrong before.

Option C is unfortunately quite possible.

 

[Axver]

Great post, kiwilad.

I wonder if some of it has come from the misguided attitude that "a great song is one you can play on an acoustic guitar in a pub".

It's such total nonsense.

 

[Kieran McConville]

If you can't play it around a campfire, it's not a proper song.

 

[kiwilad]

If you can't play it around a campfire, it's not a proper song.

If it can't be sung a-capella it isn't a proper song.

Stand by for Songs of Monasteries

 

[Axver]

If it can't be sung a-capella it isn't a proper song.

Stand by for Songs of Monasteries

Prepare for the Interference flamewars about whether the songs with Gregorian chants are better or worse than those with Byzantine chants.

 

[Kieran McConville]

I'd pay serious money to see U2 perform their material in Byzantine chant, with their backs to the audience, addressing heaven.

 

[Kieran McConville]

If it can't be sung a-capella it isn't a proper song.

Stand by for Songs of Monasteries

I'd like to see U2 do Billy Joel's 'The Longest Time' a capella (well, what am I saying, that is what it is). In Byzantine chant.

 

[nielsgov]

I wonder if some of it has come from the misguided attitude that "a great song is one you can play on an acoustic guitar in a pub".

There's a lot of competition but this must be the most infuriating thing Bono's said this past decade.

I'd love to see them play Streets acoustically. Or UTEOTW, or New Year's Day, or Pride, or...

U2's strength never was writing beautiful pop songs like The Beatles. Are any of their classics actually good stripped back, without Edge's wall of sound?

 

[kiwilad]

There's a lot of competition but this must be the most infuriating thing Bono's said this past decade.

I'd love to see them play Streets acoustically. Or UTEOTW, or New Year's Day, or Pride, or...

U2's strength never was writing beautiful pop songs like The Beatles. Are any of their classics actually good stripped back, without Edge's wall of sound?

Stay.

 

[kiwilad]

But I get and agree with your point. If 'god walks into the room' or whoever the fuck they want to call it these days, and god gives them a Stay, or an Angel of Harlem, fine, take it.

Just don't hire Ryan PopFuck Tedder to hep you find it.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Stop trying to help God Bono across the road like a little old lady!

 

[kiwilad]

Bono said he couldn't work out what it was all about,
And so he hired Tedder

 

[Kieran McConville]

Now he's got himself up on the 48th floor
got to find out
find out what he's living for

 

[kiwilad]

Pies

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Re Cobl's comment on Edge's playing - yup. I've been listening to Boy on repeat the last fortnight and the thing that strikes me about that album is his phrasing. Ok there are some instances of basic chords, ie Electric Co, but on the whole he seemed intent on adding something unique to each song.
Instead of chords there are repeated riffs, ie An Cat Dubh. Instead of standard chords he drones the bottom two strings in Shadows, creating a completely different texture. He was 18 when that album was recorded and he was relentlessly inventive.

Fast forward to yesterday. Get Out is played live. Without listening too closely I can't think of much guitar at all on the studio version's verses. So I was interested to see if live it was synth-heavy or if Edge had something creative to add to the verses.

Nope. Strumming them chords, a bit of mutey-scratchy here and there. This is The Fucking Edge. The master of space and minimalism. The master of tone and touch. The guy who once said he saw notes as precious, not to be thrown around willy nilly.

I still love the guy's playing when he's on. But more often than not these days he just hasn't turned up. He gave himself an extra year to make these songs more live-sounding, and all we get in Get Out's verses is fucking bar-chords.

So. Has he simply run out of ideas? Or has he been around so long that he's finding it almost impossible not to sound like a caricature of himself, so shies away from creativity altogether?

I really don't know.

I do think that it's the fear of sounding like himself.

Remember how he wanted to scratch Beautiful Day because the guitar part sounded too much like "classic coke" Edge... Now go on 17 years from that.

It's a shame.

I still have hope that there's some great Edge in the album. I'm really looking forward to the studio version of Little Things to see what the ending sounds like. If it's neutered I think I might cry.

 

[martha]

Mike Sullivan from Russian Circles has The Joshua Tree on his list of albums that influnced him.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[corianderstem]

I'd pay serious money to see U2 perform their material in Byzantine chant, with their backs to the audience, addressing heaven.

That would be the U2 we'd have gotten if they'd decided to go down that religious path in the early 80s.

It's like an alternate universe U2.

Me, I'm holding out for the alternate universe U2 where they are all giant prawns playing music.

 

[Hewson]

Prepare for the Interference flamewars about whether the songs with Gregorian chants are better or worse than those with Byzantine chants.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Prepare for the Interference flamewars about whether the songs with Gregorian chants are better or worse than those with Byzantine chants.

Don't get me started.

Gregorian is superior, obviously.

 

[lazarus]

This may sound crazy, but I think having to see that idiotic acronym for Get Out over and over is going to be the thing that finally makes me leave this forum.

It drives me up the wall.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

That does sound crazy

 

[kabigon]

This may sound crazy, but I think having to see that idiotic acronym for Get Out over and over is going to be the thing that finally makes me leave this forum.

It drives me up the wall.

I hear Kajagoogoo will cover Gooyow at Kooyong Stadium.