What is un-challenging music?

[Aygo]

POP would sell? Of course it would sell! Everybody knows that is an "avantime" album with wrong promotion and "unfinished-like" material. Let's imagine that POP is released now. Put "Discothèque" as the first single with an "hip-hop-like, we're grooving in the disco" video (or something like this). It would be enough to reach 8 million copies today. It's all about marketing.

 

[glenn]

A lot of this is ambigous crap, each person is going to have their own thoughts on what is challenging. And anyone who says U2's recent music is "unchallenging", go listen to about 95% of the other artists out there today, and come back and tell me U2's music is unchallenging.

 

[u2granny]

I can't believe this argument is still going.

 

[Tennis05]

I really think that these descriptions of HTDAAB are incorrect. Ok, it isn't their punk record but it is deep and personal. AB is all about irony and suttle chaos. HTDAAB is different in that its more personal, describing feelings that are common to mankind (ie. loss, fear of death, love of a child. search for God, etc.) Unchallenging? How often do "challenging" bands make bridges like in ABOY or bring tears to your eyes from the lyrics like MD? It seems that whenever U2 try to create a new kind of beauty, we jump down their throats. How could it be unchallenging to speak from your heart for millions to hear about?

 

[rjhbonovox]

It is actually much easier to make an non-singalong song compared to a singalong song. One can effortlessly create a non-singalong song.

Yes Jick of course it is.....heheheh....you know I always thought that Kylie Minogue's singlaong tunes were beautiful crafted pieces of work! Now whats that classic of hers called the one that took so much songwriting skills "I should be so lucky,...... lucky, lucky, lucky,......I should be so lucky in love...." and repeat "I should be so lucky,...... lucky, lucky, lucky,......I should be so lucky in love...." heheheh top knotch singalonga song writing if ever I heard it!

 

[rjhbonovox]

I can't believe this argument is still going.

Hey this is a highly intelligent discussion and not an argument.

 

[rjhbonovox]

A lot of this is ambigous crap, each person is going to have their own thoughts on what is challenging. And anyone who says U2's recent music is "unchallenging", go listen to about 95% of the other artists out there today, and come back and tell me U2's music is unchallenging.

Yep the competition is crap....agreed. Thats why U2 are resting on past glories, they have no need to stretch themselves musically.

 

[Axver]

I do feel that SYCMIOYO is throwaway pop music, created for the singles market by a group obsessed to be number one in the hit parade! Still at least its worked!

Wow, yeah, when you write a song for your father's funeral, you're really trying to make pop music to sell singles.

You're being stupid and you know it.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

Here's my opinion.


The majority of Zeppelin's more popular songs/singles Stairway,

Oh yeah, that simplistic singalong pop hit.....

 

[glenn]

Yep the competition is crap....agreed. Thats why U2 are resting on past glories, they have no need to stretch themselves musically.

I guess you could look at that way, but I don't think that U2 is being lazy because their competition sucks.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Wow, yeah, when you write a song for your father's funeral, you're really trying to make pop music to sell singles.

You're being stupid and you know it.

For gods sake, whose on about the lyrics here? My argument is repetetive choruses that are made for the singles market. Even Bono said about the last album that they wanted to make an album where all the songs could be singles. Well they have continued in that vain with this album. Its plain too see.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Yep they maybe not quite as bad as the pop shite about but they are not far off with their newer material. Tracks such as SYCMIOYO/ All Because of you/A man and a woman/cobl/ stuck in a moment/ elevation, are bordering on the throwaway pop music genre.

Thowaway pop music. Like Abba and the Bee Gees maybe. The funny thing is that when I'm in a club and Dancing Queen comes on the kids all know it--and love it--and the song is almost 30 years old.
It's not deep, it's not meaningful but it is significant for whatever reason. It got inside the public consciousness and hasn't gone away. I'm sure Television put out Marguee Moon the same year Dancing Queen came out but almost no one remembers that album unless they bought it 30 years ago. It doesn't matter how "important" a music critic thinks that album was.
Those songs are lost to history.

p.s.- I rather like Television so spare me the impassioned defense of Tom Verlain you were about to write...

p.p.s.- Kylie Minogue...not talented or anything but that "Can't Get You Out of My Head" song is just about the most annoyingly catchy song of all time. So props there.
Oh, and she has an extremely attractive posterior as well.
Not that that matters. Much.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

For gods sake, whose on about the lyrics here? My argument is repetetive choruses that are made for the singles market. Even Bono said about the last album that they wanted to make an album where all the songs could be singles. Well they have continued in that vain with this album. Its plain too see.

Sigh. At what point did making singles become a bad thing.
The Beatles made singles.
The Beach Boys made singles.
The Rolling Stones made singles.
Elvis Pressley made singles.
Even Bob Dylan made singles.
That's what Bono was aiming at.

The above artists wrote songs with the intention of getting them played on radio. They wrote songs that they hoped millions of people would love, buy and listen too. There's nothing wrong with that and there's nothing inherently heroic with making a song that you're sure will NOT be a hit.
There's a lot of crap that doesn't get played on radio too.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

p.p.s.- Kylie Minogue...not talented or anything but that "Can't Get You Out of My Head" song is just about the most annoyingly catchy song of all time. So props there.
Oh, and she has an extremely attractive posterior as well.
Not that that matters. Much.

That matters much my friend!

Seriously, though... the same goes for Hammer and U Can't Touch This or a couple of Bryan Adams songs. Being in the public conscious counts for something IMO.

 

[rjhbonovox]

Thowaway pop music. Like Abba and the Bee Gees maybe. The funny thing is that when I'm in a club and Dancing Queen comes on the kids all know it--and love it--and the song is almost 30 years old.

p.p.s.- Kylie Minogue...not talented or anything but that "Can't Get You Out of My Head" song is just about the most annoyingly catchy song of all time. So props there.

Hey nothing against Abba, brilliant songwriters but they were writing songs for one reason, to be hit singles. U2 used to be about much more than that.

Kylie Minogue is shite music. Anoyingly catchy, jesus when a song gets in my head like that shite and I can't get rid of it......thats not a pleasant feeling thats a fuc#ing annoying feeling. I fuc#ing hate annoyingly catchy songs cos thats what they are fuc#ing ANNOYING!!!!!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

but that "Can't Get You Out of My Head" song is just about the most annoyingly catchy song of all time.

Yeah.

I like that song, actually ...

Angela

 

[intedomine]

A Man and A Woman is the most challenging U2 song since Discotheque and Mofo. U2 have never sounded like this.

Vertigo, City of Blinding Lights, Love and Peace or Else, Yahweh and Fast Cars are songs no one in rock and roll could ever write

U2 write music that is music only U2 could make and that is the epitome of "challenging music" in my opinion.

...and i will admit that I believe One Step Closer and All Because of You are indeed so-called "unchallenging" songs, yet that is not necessarilly a bad thing.

 

[intedomine]

I've recently begun to appreciate Kylie's music (even if she doen's write her own! It's fabulous!

Love at first sight, Better the Devil You Know and Slow are PoP masterpieces.

And the fact that Our Kylie is Victorian makes me even prouder to be a fan (even though I've been a closeted fan for most of my life.)

Bono-Kylie duet