"The records are boring"

[John_Doe]

yes and that proves what? he is flexable? has had a major operation in order to suck his own testicles?

Imagine Bono doing this nowadays

 

[KUEFC09U2]

lol even "slash" couldnt do it "and slash is a far wose name than the edge"

 

[neutral]

i dont know what kind of music you listen to and i dont want to attack you personally!

just chill and know that some people dont like shit music!!

 

[shaun vox]

well my point is that slash does not have to bee someone he is not to be played on the radio and tv he does what he likes.

and when you do that you make some kick arrss songs.

but when you want to only be on the radio and be a media darling you have to change your image and sound aka u2!

the thing about slash is that he does not give a fuck what people like you think about his image or sound hes been doing it for some time and still likes to do it! not like some other posers i can think of !

 

[MrBrau1]

well my point is that slash does not have to bee someone he is not to be played on the radio and tv he does what he likes.

and when you do that you make some kick arrss songs.

but when you want to only be on the radio and be a media darling you have to change your image and sound aka u2!

the thing about slash is that he does not give a fuck what people like you think about his image or sound hes been doing it for some time and still likes to do it! not like some other posers i can think of !

Right. Because up until 2004, U2 had no desire to be played on the radio. Only in 2004 did they have this desire, so they changed their music radically to have it get played on the radio.

But wait, critics of this record say it sounds too much like U2, which would be the complete opposite of changing their sound to fit on the radio. You can't change your sound (from the U2 sound) to fit on the radio, then still sound like U2. Can you?

 

[Zoots]

The thing is... although U2 have always been radio-friendly, they spoilt us all by going as far away from the mainstream as they could to a very creative place with Zooropa and esp. Pop. When ATYCLB came, the disappointment was crushing. Still, I'm glad that they've accomplished so much already in so many genres.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

well my point is that slash does not have to bee someone he is not to be played on the radio and tv he does what he likes.

and when you do that you make some kick arrss songs.

but when you want to only be on the radio and be a media darling you have to change your image and sound aka u2!

the thing about slash is that he does not give a fuck what people like you think about his image or sound hes been doing it for some time and still likes to do it! not like some other posers i can think of !

Is Slash rock and roll? He was superb on AFD, but after that his solos became pompous as fuck.

 

[Zoomerang96]

and boring.

guitar solos are almost always lame.

 

[Zoomerang96]

i must admit having people like shaun appear to be on the same side of the fence as myself when it comes to talking to post-2000 u2, really isn't something i'm ever going to brag about.

 

[Dalton]

I remember an interview, from the early 90's... perhaps it was the mid-90's. Bono, post-Zooropa, with his scruffy chin and blue glasses explaining that people aren't buying rock albums anymore because "the records are boring". I taped that interview on an old video cassette, now stacked somewhere in my parents garage in a cardboard box...

... and this is exactly the quote I hear Bono saying as I listen to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb for the second time around. "The records are boring".

I remember Bono, while winning the Best Alternative Music Grammy for Zooropa, smugly shunning his competition, the Smashing Pumpkins, saying in his speech with a grin, that he'd like to see the Pumpkins sell out arena tours, suggesting perhaps that they could not. Of course, the Smashing Pumpkins then prompty released a successful double album that gained them fame and glory, and they sold out tours in arenas two years later.

I'm back to U2 and on the second song on HTDAAB. I almost feel myself wanting to skip ahead because the song is lacking the excitement or the substance that I used to crave out of this band. Is it too much to ask if the lyrics aren't screaming out to me anymore? I know that I go to Nickelback if I want radio-friendly formula rock, and I know that the context of this thought and associating U2 with it is sacriligious.

I read a review about coping with the second cr@p album (to which to my surprise, Pop was listed as the first cr@p album), yet, what I found even more alarming were the reviews praising HTDAAB as a masterpiece. It's amazing the difference in opinions.

I think my sister said it best when she told me that she's "more interested in what Bono's doing politically than what he's doing musically". We both sighed about it, and then I agreed with her.


I miss the exciting U2. With the occasional glimmer of magic in a few tracks here and there, I'm finding myself bored with this album. Oh, I'll give it another chance... and another, and another, etc, because it's U2. And the songs will grow on me because they're U2, but even then there's only a limit. That will only take me so far.

My sister, again, told me something quite telling tonight. She said, "I was watching U2's new music video on TV the other day, where they're in New York and perhaps it's a play on the Where The Streets Have No Name video, but they're on this truck driving through the streets of the city, and everyone is
freaking out and crying at the sight of them. But it only makes them look like they have big egos now... it actually looks silly. But the thing about this is, when I think back about it, all I can remember is their video. I don't remember the song. "

I don't like the new album. Neither does my sister.



Summary offerd to you by Dalton. All proceeds go to my tour funds.

 

[roy]

Right. Because up until 2004, U2 had no desire to be played on the radio. Only in 2004 did they have this desire, so they changed their music radically to have it get played on the radio.

But wait, critics of this record say it sounds too much like U2, which would be the complete opposite of changing their sound to fit on the radio. You can't change your sound (from the U2 sound) to fit on the radio, then still sound like U2. Can you?

 

[roy]

well my point is that slash does not have to bee someone he is not to be played on the radio and tv he does what he likes.

and when you do that you make some kick arrss songs.

but when you want to only be on the radio and be a media darling you have to change your image and sound aka u2!

the thing about slash is that he does not give a fuck what people like you think about his image or sound hes been doing it for some time and still likes to do it! not like some other posers i can think of !

Slash, are we seriously talking about Slasher from Guns & Roses.

Then again, I can see how he appeals to 14 year old boys...

 

[yimou]

yes and that proves what? he is flexable? has had a major operation in order to suck his own testicles?

Thats what i call a real party trick

 

[boriel]

the first time i listened to How to Dismantle, i was disappointed frankly. But then (please no flames here) I haven't liked a U2 album since Achtung Baby. But i listened again, this time with head phones. I began to hear things that i missed the first time, so i listened again, and again. It took about 4 times of listening - alone and undistracted-to realize that (IMHO) even if the lyrics aren't all noteworthy, and even if the particular tune isnt fantastic, there are real flashes of brilliance in this album. Layer after layer of guitar and bass and drums, and Bono's voice is the strongest and cleanest its been in some years.

I do personally like the album now. I find the songs uplifting and somewhat spiritual in context, and it now ranks among my four favorites. I personally think its *the* best or at least 2nd best that they've ever put out.

just my two cents worth.

 

[shaun vox]

im watching the history mix 1990-2000 dvd.(to get ready for the u2 shows)

and man that stuff is better than atyclb and htdaab!!!!!!

rock&roll is supposed to be big and loud and thats what zootv and pop-mart were.

now its small and very accessible!

but i still love u2!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LiveFire]

I still can't see this as anything other than hard core fans just giving the band a pass on this album.

There's a big difference between really enjoying an album and the album being a good album. The album is not a very good album although people may enjoy it quite a bit.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

So this is just hard core fans giving a pass on the album? How do you explain that U2 have gain a lot of new fans lately? How do you explain that tickets are ripped away like never before?

The album isn't loud, so therefore it's not that good?
Frankly, I'm glad that this album isn't full of guitar solos. I don't like them.

And people should leave the old U2 behind. U2 have. They don't want to go back to AB or JT. They could if they wanted to, but they don't want to. It is as simple as that.

 

[roy]

[B

The album isn't loud, so therefore it's not that good?
Frankly, I'm glad that this album isn't full of guitar solos. I don't like them.

[/B]

The sad thing is these kind of teenagers don't appreciate great 'Pop' songs. They think Pop = Britney Spears and yet Slash is, somehow, bizarely, cool.

I would hazard a guess that those that don't like HTDAAB can't even appreciate the ultimate Pop band i.e., The Beatles.

 

[Zoots]

The sad thing is these kind of teenagers don't appreciate great 'Pop' songs. They think Pop = Britney Spears and yet Slash is, somehow, bizarely, cool.

I would hazard a guess that those that don't like HTDAAB can't even appreciate the ultimate Pop band i.e., The Beatles.

Let's face it here. Even though HTDAAB is pretty good, they are not making anything even remotely adventurous or daring as say, Zooropa or Pop. I don't think it's guitar solos and Slash-like poses that the old fans miss. It's the 'we don't give a fuck about whether this album is gonna sell. We're gonna make it cos this is what we want to make right now' attitude that many miss these days. To me, that attitude is way more attractive than a 'let's try to please EVERYBODY, sell lots of records and become the biggest band in the world' one. Sorry.

PS: And I'm not talking about teenagers. I'm talking about old fans like yours truly. I'm 26.

 

[jojoline]

Maybe we should divide the forus.

Like half the forums for flamers and hald the forums for lovers.

The problem is U2 have that many fans who all joined at different stages and all want different things.

If you think of the different types of fans that Achtung Baby brought in compared to the Joshua Tree, wllthey are worlds apart in many ways.

And no one album release can really cater for the difference tastes of those fans. So some will like it, some will love it and some will loathe it.

Unforgettable Fire is my favorite album and I love HTDAAB.

 

[CPTLCTYGOOFBALL]

well my point is that slash does not have to bee someone he is not to be played on the radio and tv he does what he likes.

and when you do that you make some kick arrss songs.

but when you want to only be on the radio and be a media darling you have to change your image and sound aka u2!

Look, U2 have changed their image many times since the 80s. After Rattle and Hum people had had enough of U2. U2 had had enough of U2. Had they gone ahead and put The Joshua Tree part 2 out, or gone deeper into the blues-soul-country music they were dipping their toes into on Rattle and Hum they would not have substained the level of popularity and Buzz that they generated in the late 80s. So they changed. As much for themselves probably, as much as the fact that they KNEW they HAD to change.

Out of that change they came out with AB which took them to the top again. After The huge success of AB they were able to experiment with new sounds, dip their toes into some sonic territories they never had during the 80s. And they Road this wave from zooropa-Passengers- Pop-but after Popmart is was apparent that people had had enough of the new U2-U2 with a wink almost. And I suspect U2 had had enough.

And so began U2 post 2000.


What I'm saying is U2 have Always had their eye on the prize-the top. It's nothing new.

Noone can critize anyones opinion, so it doesn't bother me if someone doesn't like the new album. I didn't like Pop, but just because I didn't like it, it doesn't mean it sucked, or even that U2 had lost their direction-They were making the music they wanted to make, just like they are now-Take it or leave it.

People moan that U2 are putting out albums that "The People" want . Why would it be any less selling out if they put out an album YOU want?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I fall under the category of U2 fan who loves to see them evolve and change and push themselves. I sincerely hope that the commercial success of the last two albums gives them the buffer to do that again. That's not a condemnation of HTDAAB. It's a fantastic album. It's just not, to me, the great, deep, thrilling experience the U2 albums that I love (ie all others except ATYCLB) have been.

 

[lmjhitman]

I fall under the category of U2 fan who loves to see them evolve and change and push themselves.

indeed. well said.

 

[MrBrau1]

I fall into the category of U2 fans who like it when they write good songs(Kite, Gone, Crumbs, Bad, Zooropa, Acrobat, Tomorrow, etc.) The song is more important than the attitude. The song is more important than the experimentation. The song is more important than the guitar solo. The song is more important than the drum machine or the synth.

 

[Zoots]

I fall into the category of U2 fans who like it when they write good songs(Kite, Gone, Crumbs, Bad, Zooropa, Acrobat, Tomorrow, etc.) The song is more important than the attitude. The song is more important than the experimentation. The song is more important than the guitar solo. The song is more important than the drum machine or the synth.

So you want your fav band to have a boring discography full of well written songs and nothing else. Haven't you heard that Attitude is Everything? All those things you mentioned like the attitude, the experimentation, the guitar solos, the drum machines, new sounds are what add the spice to U2's music. That variety and sense of adventure is the primary reason U2 does things for me on so many levels that other bands don't. What's the matter with you, I thought you liked innovativeness when you mentioned the Beatles and Bowie as your other favorites?

 

[MrBrau1]

So you want your fav band to have a boring discography full of well written songs and nothing else. Haven't you heard that Attitude is Everything? All those things you mentioned like the attitude, the experimentation, the guitar solos, the drum machines, new sounds are what add the spice to U2's music. That variety and sense of adventure is the primary reason U2 does things for me on so many levels that other bands don't. What's the matter with you, I thought you liked innovativeness when you mentioned the Beatles and Bowie as your other favorites?

I don't consider well written songs boring.

 

[Zoots]

I don't consider well written songs boring.

So you don't like the Beatles for the bells and whistles of Sgt. Peppers or the imagery of I Am The Walrus? You don't like Bowie's zillion personas and sound experiments in Berlin? You only like the songs themselves?

 

[MrBrau1]

So you don't like the Beatles for the bells and whistles of Sgt. Peppers or the imagery of I Am The Walrus? You don't like Bowie's zillion personas and sound experiments in Berlin? You only like the songs themselves?

I never said that. All the bells and whistles in the world mean nothing w/o a good song to hang them on. Bowie and The Beatles made sound experiments that hung on good songs. Which is why they were amazing. All the clicks and whistles in the world won't don't impress me if the song sucks, check out Viva Davidoff by Passengers.

 

[CPTLCTYGOOFBALL]

So you don't like the Beatles for the bells and whistles of Sgt. Peppers or the imagery of I Am The Walrus? You don't like Bowie's zillion personas and sound experiments in Berlin? You only like the songs themselves?

There were the bells and whistles of Sgt Pepper which were great, but their next full album was the White album, which was as opposite to SP as you can imagine-very stripped down and amazing.
Good music doesn't need bells and whistles to be good-strong structured songs can be just as amazing IMO

 

[Zoots]

Okay, nobody said that they liked only the embellishments of the Pop era. Speaking for myself, I liked how the attitude as well as sound effects added to the amazing songs like Gone, Do You Feel Loved, Stay, IGWSHA among many others. I haven't listened to Passengers yet. But I liked how the sense of adventure and experimentation of the 90s boosted the songs, not taking their place instead.