I agree with you on U2's incredible run, though I'd probably cut it off after Zooropa.
However, I really don't get the 00's hate around here, which actually seems to have gotten even more pronounced in the short time I've been here. I do think Bomb was mediocre, at best, and I count is among their bottom three. Basically U2 on cruise control.
But I thought ATYCLB was a breath of fresh air and there are frankly just a lot of great pop and rock songs on that record. It was exactly what U2 needed to do at exactly the right time. But you know my feelings on that.
NLOTH was a mixed bag...occasionally brilliant (e.g. MOS), but incredibly uneven. Still, it was a departure from the last record, and a bold one at that. Though I'm not sure I'm as fond as the record as I was when it came out, the stuff that I like on it I like quite a bit. The best stuff on it is better than the best stuff on ATYLCB, but it's not as complete a record. And again, it's miles ahead of Bomb.
So yeah, their 00's input can't compare with what came before, but as you pointed out, they had a tough act to follow with everything that came before. IMO they did about as well as could be expected for a band in their position, assuming that a big part of their motivation was selling records. With that in mind, I do think the 00's hate here is a little over the top.
It's not that i
hate the 00'S. I think they were inevitable in terms of decline in quality. What i have a profound dislike of is U2's attitude in the 00's. That whole "we're re-applying for the job [of] best band in the world" shit. I fell in love with U2 in 1991. And i fell in love with both the music and the attitude they had back then. And it was a very different attitude. When i read a Q interview with U2 just before releasing ATYCLB, i knew (or had a feeling) that
this U2 were not really my thing. I remember listening to The Ground Beneath her Feet (which i know you don't like) and thinking: this is
it. That's the path i want to see U2 walk. A mature one. And a coherent one too. Then came Elevation. Sorry, but this is a shitty song IMO. I could not believe the same band who gave us Your Blue Room, Please and Ground Beneath few years before was producing
merda like Elevation. Stuck, BD (never understood why ppl love it so much), Peace on Earth, Grace etc, none of them appeals to me. Kite, Walk On, When i look and New York are
good, not great. About HTDAAB, it really is a terrible album, musically speaking. And i can't listen to it on CD or mp3 because it is one of the major victims of the loudness war. I really love some songs on NLOTH (Magnificent, MOS, Cedars, Fez and i
like Breathe and Unknown Caller). But i can't call it a very good album.
What i mean is, U2 would decline. But they could, at least, have had a different attitude. Of course, they made great songs after the
golden period. MOS being a fine example. But all the others major acts had great songs too after their golden periods. If U2 continues producing music (which i believe they will), i know they will have a great song or two on the next albums. But are those songs and those albums really
necessary? To me, the 00's were not necessary. And i'm pretty sure the 10's will not be necessary either. And with a band like U2, i don't want a song being composed and played just for the sake of it. Just to try being the
best band in the World again. I wanna feel like it's
necessary. I wanna feel like they have to make those songs and that we, the audience, have to listen to them because they actually have something to communicate.