SOE 31: Yes, we have no bananas

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Yahweh_OMG said:
Can t open the link
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Contest: Album listening session with the band at Abbey Road Studios (Nov. 15) Listen to Absolute Radio tomorrow for contest details. u2songs | Songs of Experience Promotional Tour |

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Got tickets to the Trafalgar Square gig - well pleased!

FYI to those who also got tickets - the tickets are not transferable, so one of the two people who go must be the person who got the tickets. They will check ID at the venue.
 
What are the odds Bono will wear the rediculous hat again?

The lennon shades are a stretch as it is.
 
The listening party next week is awesome!! I would think they are doing it so they can let those people out onto social media to talk about it. So we should start to get a lot more real fan reviews to sift through.
 
Anyone know when the deadline was for people to claim their London tickets? Clutching at straws:)
 
lazarus said:
Some of the lyrics in Breathe are less-than-stellar, and Bono's overuse of the word "sing" (as well as "song" and "sound") is as bad as "heart", "kneel", and "soul" if you've been paying attention, but at least the rapid-fire delivery was outside the norm for him. Nothing wrong with shaking things up and I think much of it is refreshing and has some character. Some find a bit like "ju ju man" embarrassing but I find it amusingly charming, and there's some actual humor in following it with "Doc says you're fine, or dying". That's very Bob Dylan.

The chorus is rote, but it's sung with conviction. And I do think there's one legit gem of a line in "the roar that lies on the other side of silence".

Musically, at least it has a pulse and the guitar solo is probably underrated at this point, just as good if not better than the one on Unknown Caller.
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Let me in the sound appears a few times on the album...for a reason. Remember moon/sun use on AB ? Fire/sky on JT ? Writers will pile on certain words when they stumble upon a theme... :shrug: even if it is heart/soul/kneel.

Breathe is one of their best rock songs in the 00's, interesting lyrics (I'm running down the road like loose electricity, while the band in my head plays a striptease is one of his better moments in this era), good beat from Larry too.
 
Axver said:
The start of Winter quite clearly resembles Viva La Vida. I remember people on here in 2009 losing their shit about that (and blaming Eno for it).
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Aside from that, Winter should be banned for that Edge-on-autopilot guitar.
 
My first memories of U2 are as an early teen when my dad was blasting AB from every stereo system in the house. I remember him playing air guitar to Zoo Station and pumping his fist with delight. I also remember him reading newspaper articles aloud about the forthcoming Zooropa companion piece. He couldn't be more excited. I also recall at this time our family stopped going to church, as my dad said there was no better spiritual lesson than listening to a U2 album. Despite registering the musical perfection of songs like EBTTRT and One, and later getting attached to So Cruel for personal reasons, I played it cool because liking what your dad liked wasn't...well...cool. I remember my dad being disappointed with Pop. My personal recollections as a late teen are of the Discotheque music video on MTV, Mofo, muscle suit, and wondering if/how this was the same band that offered earlier treasures like Bad and Bullet. Despite my prior efforts to downplay anything my dad liked, I went about discovering the back catalogue around this time. I came to appreciate Pop on my own years later. Into my 20s, the gravitas of U2 became real and I remember the anticipation and "return to form" with the release of BD. After a couple of awkward early listens due to the production (heartbeat drums and other poppy elements), the chorus eventually carried the day and the song was striking. More than that, I saw them live for the first time and purchased the Elevation Tour DVD. My college roommates and I watched the DVD repeatedly - U2 was everywhere. ATYCLB was hit or miss for me, good songs and forgettable songs (toward the end of the record), but the messaging of the album circulating around 9/11 was profound. The Super Bowl performance only highlighted their impeccable timing and relevance. Then Vertigo. Having not appreciated Zoo TV at the time, Vertigo was the peak of U2 commercialism for me. It was a staple anthem at every stadium and I quite enjoyed it. That said, I was disappointed overall with HTDAAB and considered it their worst album to date. The songs just didn't resonate, maybe and admittedly, because they were being compared to the impact of ATYCLB. I also remember the loudness...oh the loudness...ABOY gave me a wretched headache. I bought the Bomb DVD, again with heightened standards of that earlier time, but it too paled in comparison to Elevation Tour. The sheen was wearing off a bit. Still, the anticipation and excitement of a new U2 album release process was real to me and it revved up with the beach clips (my first introduction to this website). New U2 music was an event. I remember being intrigued my the minimalism of the record cover and I too hoped for "experimental" U2 after the fleeting rock approach of HTDAAB. I remember comparing Boots to Alice In Chains (those harmonies) and the tone of the song has always remained creative and intriguing to me, if not a particularly good tune. I enjoyed the rest of the album, especially the "experimental" tracks like NLOTH and Being Born and the overall production, but it didn't age well. Maybe because it didn't have a strong single, like BD and Vertigo before it, to buoy it. Some of the melodies linger, but I haven't listened to it in its entirety in years. I remember feeling a bit of renewed energy with Invisible. Hearing it on the radio for the first time was exciting as was another marriage to the Super Bowl. The electronic intro once again sparked that old, perhaps inevitable, wishful thinking and self-convincing that maybe there would be another AB in them. Of course, no. The track was a blip of interest ultimately buried by album delays and general malaise. The "event" of a U2 release was gone by the time SOI dropped, but I do remember scrambling to hear the new songs after the surprise release. By this point, my expectations were tempered. I generally accepted that at this stage of their careers, the band was aiming for the low-hanging fruit - pop relevance - as opposed to any inspired statement or innovation. As a fan, the goal then becomes to find a couple hidden gems within the albums, which I did, with EBW and Troubles. Troubles offers authentic U2 atmospherics which, unfortunately, now gets tacked on to the end of a record instead of being the driving undercurrent of an album approach a la TUF. I found a couple other enticing tracks, but again, the overall album was ultimately forgettable and what I consider U2 paint by numbers. I have no desire to go back to it. Truth be told - it's the only U2 album I don't own on CD. So now here we are as fans, perhaps reacting with unrealistic if not unfair expectations for a band that has set its course for the last leg of a career. Not only that, but we as fans age and discover other priorities and more meaningful sources of satisfaction. No matter the quality, new U2 songs won't carry the emotional weight of those songs first heard during formative years. All this being said, I still hope for moments of enjoyment and anticipation in the U2 new album release process that was once such a grand event. I like reading descriptions. I like hearing songs for the first time. And at this point, I can only be pleasantly surprised when I discover those gems. Hopefully, we get a few on SOE. The overreaction and criticism just isn't worth it.
 
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So how are everyone's opinions holding up/shifting on the current songs???

For me,

TBT is staying good with me. I have been listening to it more rarely, and each time I do, i think, Damn, this is really good, and i'm happy to hear it. It stays at about a 7 for me.

Get Out - This one keeps growing on me and rising in my ratings. It just has that U2 something to it, that makes it special. 7.5 or so now. I can say I would rather listen to it than about 5 songs from SOI...

Little Things. I have such high hopes for this song. The sticking point with me so far has been Bono's delivery. His singing just seems a bit weak and off point many times on the live versions. The good part, is that that is the most obvious improvement that will come with a studio version. Tight, clean, perfect vocals. And I hope it just seems a bit more... put together... Its hard to explain. But its like i just want someone to grab the song by the beginning and the end, and hold it together to make it flow just right...
Either way, i think it has the possibility of being an 8-8.5 for me.

The Blackout - Loving this song. Did right away and still do. I think the studio version improves on the live version on everything except a certain drum parts. The mix is too muddy for me overall, but beyond that, I love it, and am really happy to have this non-poppy, non-rawk, song. But a darker, cooler tune to balance out the record. A solid 8 for me right now.
Hope we get a couple other tunes on the record to balance things as well. I believe that Love is All We Have Left will be one of those songs.

American Soul - ugh. I started out liking quite a bit. But it's just not holding up for me. It's not so much the volcano chorus. I never really minded that. But the lyrics just kill me. And I'm not a big stickler on lyrics, I'm really not. But I would much rather have nonsense lyrics like Elevation on a rawk song than this super literal/political/hug the world type lyrics.
He might as well be singing about calling your congressman or something, cause its just too far for me. It rocks pretty well, but I still like Volcano much better.
On Volcano, especially the chorus, bono's voice and delivery was straight out of Boy/October and i loved it.
American Soul sounds like if they did Get On Your Boots during the HTDDAB period...
Sort of hits me like Lucifer's Hands. I wanted to like it so badly, but just too much of it added up to me not liking it much. I would put it at a 5 for me right now. Right as SFS level or worse. Which is my least fave tune on SOI.
 
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womanfish said:
So how are everyone's opinions holding up/shifting on the current songs???

For me,

TBT is staying good with me. I have been listening to it more rarely, and each time I do, i think, Damn, this is really good, and i'm happy to hear it. It stays at about a 7 for me.

Get Out - This one keeps growing on me and rising in my ratings. It just has that U2 something to it, that makes it special. 7.5 or so now. I can say I would rather listen to it than about 5 songs from SOI...

Little Things. I have such high hopes for this song. The sticking point with me so far has been Bono's delivery. His singing just seems a bit weak and off point many times on the live versions. The good part, is that that is the most obvious improvement that will come with a studio version. Tight, clean, perfect vocals. And I hope it just seems a bit more... put together... Its hard to explain. But its like i just want someone to grab the song by the beginning and the end, and hold it together to make it flow just right...
Either way, i think it has the possibility of being an 8-8.5 for me.

American Soul - ugh. I started out liking quite a bit. But it's just not holding up for me. It's not so much the volcano chorus. I never really minded that. But the lyrics just kill me. And I'm not a big stickler on lyrics, I'm really not. But I would much rather have nonsense lyrics like Elevation on a rawk song than this super literal/political/hug the world type lyrics. He might as well be singing about calling your congressman or something, cause its just to far for me. It rocks pretty well, but I still like Volcano much better.
Volcano, especially the chorus, bono's voice and delivery was straight out of Boy/October and i loved it. Am.Soul sounds like if they did Get On Your Boots during the HTDDAB period...
Sort of hits me like Lucifer's Hands. I wanted to like it so badly, but just too much of it added up to me not liking it much. I would put it at a 5 for me right now. Right as SFS level or worse. Which is my least fave tune on SOI.
Click to expand...
You missed Blackout.
 
Airseven said:
My first memories of U2 are as an early teen when my dad was blasting AB from every stereo system in the house. I remember him playing air guitar to Zoo Station and pumping his fist with delight. I also remember him reading newspaper articles aloud about the forthcoming Zooropa companion piece. He couldn't be more excited. I also recall at this time our family stopped going to church, as my dad said there was no better spiritual lesson than listening to a U2 album. Despite registering the musical perfection of songs like EBTTRT and One, and later getting attached to So Cruel for personal reasons, I played it cool because liking what your dad liked wasn't...well...cool. I remember my dad being disappointed with Pop. My personal recollections as a late teen are of the Discotheque music video on MTV, Mofo, muscle suit, and wondering if/how this was the same band that offered earlier treasures like Bad and Bullet. Despite my prior efforts to downplay anything my dad liked, I went about discovering the back catalogue around this time. I came to appreciate Pop on my own years later. Into my 20s, the gravitas of U2 became real and I remember the anticipation and "return to form" with the release of BD. After a couple of awkward early listens due to the production (heartbeat drums and other poppy elements), the chorus eventually carried the day and the song was striking. More than that, I saw them live for the first time and purchased the Elevation Tour DVD. My college roommates and I watched the DVD repeatedly - U2 was everywhere. ATYCLB was hit or miss for me, good songs and forgettable songs (toward the end of the record), but the messaging of the album circulating around 9/11 was profound. The Super Bowl performance only highlighted their impeccable timing and relevance. Then Vertigo. Having not appreciated Zoo TV at the time, Vertigo was the peak of U2 commercialism for me. It was a staple anthem at every stadium and I quite enjoyed it. That said, I was disappointed overall with HTDAAB and considered it their worst album to date. The songs just didn't resonate, maybe and admittedly, because they were being compared to the impact of ATYCLB. I also remember the loudness...oh the loudness...ABOY gave me a wretched headache. I bought the Bomb DVD, again with heightened standards of that earlier time, but it too paled in comparison to Elevation Tour. The sheen was wearing off a bit. Still, the anticipation and excitement of a new U2 album release process was real to me and it revved up with the beach clips (my first introduction to this website). New U2 music was an event. I remember being intrigued my the minimalism of the record cover and I too hoped for "experimental" U2 after the fleeting rock approach of HTDAAB. I remember comparing Boots to Alice In Chains (those harmonies) and the tone of the song has always remained creative and intriguing to me, if not a particularly good tune. I enjoyed the rest of the album, especially the "experimental" tracks like NLOTH and Being Born and the overall production, but it didn't age well. Maybe because it didn't have a strong single, like BD and Vertigo before it, to buoy it. Some of the melodies linger, but I haven't listened to it in its entirety in years. I remember feeling a bit of renewed energy with Invisible. Hearing it on the radio for the first time was exciting as was another marriage to the Super Bowl. The electronic intro once again sparked that old, perhaps inevitable, wishful thinking and self-convincing that maybe there would be another AB in them. Of course, no. The track was a blip of interest ultimately buried by album delays and general malaise. The "event" of a U2 release was gone by the time SOI dropped, but I do remember scrambling to hear the new songs after the surprise release. By this point, my expectations were tempered. I generally accepted that at this stage of their careers, the band was aiming for the low-hanging fruit - pop relevance - as opposed to any inspired statement or innovation. As a fan, the goal then becomes to find a couple hidden gems within the albums, which I did, with EBW and Troubles. Troubles offers authentic U2 atmospherics which, unfortunately, now gets tacked on to the end of a record instead of being the driving undercurrent of an album approach a la TUF. I found a couple other enticing tracks, but again, the overall album was ultimately forgettable and what I consider U2 paint by numbers. I have no desire to go back to it. Truth be told - it's the only U2 album I don't own on CD. So now here we are as fans, perhaps reacting with unrealistic if not unfair expectations for a band that has set its course for the last leg of a career. Not only that, but we as fans age and discover other priorities and more meaningful sources of satisfaction. No matter the quality, new U2 songs won't carry the emotional weight of those songs first heard during formative years. All this being said, I still hope for moments of enjoyment and anticipation in the U2 new album release process that was once such a grand event. I like reading descriptions. I like hearing songs for the first time. And at this point, I can only be pleasantly surprised when I discover those gems. Hopefully, we get a few on SOE. The overreaction and criticism just isn't worth it.
Click to expand...

No eye relief.
 
Two thoughts -

they should have just put Crystal Ballroom on SOE, even though it was a bonus track before. That song is just so damn good, and way too damn good to not be on a proper album. would fit right in. Sigh...

And

I dare say Boots > American Soul...
I just listened to them back to back... At least Boots has some killer riffs in there.
 
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