Convince me that POP is a great album!

[Reggie Thee Dog]

In Utero...my mistake!! Nevermind, while completely foreign to what was on the radio at that time, was produced by Butch Vig...slick and shiny production...and a damn fine album because of his production...

Steve Albini on the other hand, much more non-conventional approach to producing (or in In Utero's case, recording).

 

[lov12113]

i think it ridiculous to say that Irish musicians can't explore American blues music just because they're not American.

Except that's not really what the critics said. Plenty of non American acts do blues, and do it well/better than U2. Few of them act so preachy about it.
And rock and roll was white acts ripping off black musicians to begin with.

You can certainly make an argument for other non-American artists doing blues better than U2 and that is a fair criticism. However, many, many popular music artists are "preachy" about their political views, their fashion views, their worldviews. For critics to label U2 as being too "preachy" during the Rattle and Hum era is more a disdain for what u2 is preaching, and less a valid critique for the quality of their music. "Preachiness" is happening all the time by all kinds of outspoken popular music acts.

 

[lov12113]

To me, Pop felt like U2 was trying to re-invent themselves again, when that was not necessary. But you can clearly see that the 90's was the decade of U2 re-invention, with the amazing and necessary re-invention of Achtung Baby leading to re-invention becoming the new way U2 made albums. It was like their entire mode of operation was now changed to be about re-invention. It was madly successful with AB, so why not keep that trend on the next couple albums. Pop felt like another massive attempt to overhaul everything that didn't quite work, but gave us an interesting album, some good songs, and a decent tour.

 

[The Panther]

Pop was not a great album.

Moondance by Van Morrison was a great album. All Things Must Pass was a great album. Blue was a great album. Blood On The Tracks was a great album.

I hope I have now ended all potential threads on the status of Pop.

 

[digitize]

Pop was not a great album.

Moondance by Van Morrison was a great album. All Things Must Pass was a great album. Blue was a great album. Blood On The Tracks was a great album.

I hope I have now ended all potential threads on the status of Pop.

Oh, I understand now! Thanks for clearing up my confusion.

 

[mikal]

Pop was not a great album.

Moondance by Van Morrison was a great album. All Things Must Pass was a great album. Blue was a great album. Blood On The Tracks was a great album.

I hope I have now ended all potential threads on the status of Pop.

My opinions don't have nipples. They have breasts. And I say that Pop is a great album.

 

[OpenG180]

My opinions don't have nipples. They have breasts. And I say that Pop is a great album.

I'd go even further and call Pop a marvelous album. I think marvelousness beats greatness, right?

 

[Galeongirl]

My opinions don't have nipples. They have breasts. And I say that Pop is a great album.

My boobs agree with you.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

 

[The Panther]

Pop is not a great album.

 

[LemonMelon]

You are not the intended audience of this thread. Please go away.

 

[The Panther]

You are not the intended audience of this thread. Please go away.

This was not a great post.

 

[LemonMelon]

Your original post is not as great as Astral Weeks.

 

[Moony]

If you say you are a U2 fan and you don't like Pop at all then I can say you're probably not a U2 fan. Please is one of the greatest songs they have ever done, not to mention one of Bono's greatest vocal deliveries of all time. Lyrically it is beautiful, one of the greatest things U2 has ever done, except for One (which to be honest I don't think deserves the "best of" accolade some people give to it, but still good nonetheless.) and Unforgettable Fire.

And that's just Please. I think people get swept up in the beats and maybe that was the intent of "silly sounding songs" like Mofo and Discotheque, but there are some very good songs on the album. Gone is another great one and I think "suit of lights" is just one of those phrases that sticks to you. At least it does for me. Linguistically, it's incredibly appealing, like "thorn twist" from With Or Without You.

Wake Up Dead Man is one of those songs I think of on rainy days that have no end, or when North Korea threatens to annihilate their neighbors. I'm jewish but sometimes I really wish we had our own dead man to wake up and save us from this world. I digress. I think this song and Staring at the Sun go hand in hand and I often wish they had been placed closer together or even reversed in order. Throw in Last Night on Earth it becomes the perfect dystopia.

Mostly, I love that the album is basically a musical progression of growth and maturity. I've read that Bono said the first three songs are the party and the rest is the hangover. I see it more like the first three songs are U2 trying to join the party, i.e. the dance music and boybands that conquered the latter half of the nineties, but ultimately giving in to the fact that they are the scorpion in that classic story. It's an album that shows melancholy and melody perfectly blended. In fact, take a look at Mofo, a song that is basically a party on E, but it's lyrics are damn sad. It's a great intro to the rest of the album that alternates between hope and despair. The Playboy Mansion highlights this pretty well.

Not my favorite album, but it's up there. There are quite a few gems. If you were going to throw any album to the proverbial wolves, it should be October. Just my two cents (and first post!)

 

[Vlaco]

Great post and welcome

I disagree with two statements though

If you say you are a U2 fan and you don't like Pop at all then I can say you're probably not a U2 fan.

If you were going to throw any album to the proverbial wolves, it should be October. Just my two cents (and first post!)

1. To each their own.
2. October = Bomb, right?

 

[OpenG180]

If you say you are a U2 fan and you don't like Pop at all then I can say you're probably not a U2 fan. Please is one of the greatest songs they have ever done, not to mention one of Bono's greatest vocal deliveries of all time. Lyrically it is beautiful, one of the greatest things U2 has ever done, except for One (which to be honest I don't think deserves the "best of" accolade some people give to it, but still good nonetheless.) and Unforgettable Fire.

And that's just Please. I think people get swept up in the beats and maybe that was the intent of "silly sounding songs" like Mofo and Discotheque, but there are some very good songs on the album. Gone is another great one and I think "suit of lights" is just one of those phrases that sticks to you. At least it does for me. Linguistically, it's incredibly appealing, like "thorn twist" from With Or Without You.

Wake Up Dead Man is one of those songs I think of on rainy days that have no end, or when North Korea threatens to annihilate their neighbors. I'm jewish but sometimes I really wish we had our own dead man to wake up and save us from this world. I digress. I think this song and Staring at the Sun go hand in hand and I often wish they had been placed closer together or even reversed in order. Throw in Last Night on Earth it becomes the perfect dystopia.

Mostly, I love that the album is basically a musical progression of growth and maturity. I've read that Bono said the first three songs are the party and the rest is the hangover. I see it more like the first three songs are U2 trying to join the party, i.e. the dance music and boybands that conquered the latter half of the nineties, but ultimately giving in to the fact that they are the scorpion in that classic story. It's an album that shows melancholy and melody perfectly blended. In fact, take a look at Mofo, a song that is basically a party on E, but it's lyrics are damn sad. It's a great intro to the rest of the album that alternates between hope and despair. The Playboy Mansion highlights this pretty well.

Not my favorite album, but it's up there. There are quite a few gems. If you were going to throw any album to the proverbial wolves, it should be October. Just my two cents (and first post!)

Everything's perfect except throwing October to the wolves. Feed them with ATYCLB and HTDAAB instead.

 

[Nick66]

If you say you are a U2 fan and you don't like Pop at all then I can say you're probably not a U2 fan.

If you were going to throw any album to the proverbial wolves, it should be October. Just my two cents (and first post!)

Hmmmm. So you're not a U2 fan if you don't like the U2 album that sounds the least like U2?

But you can be a U2 fan and throw October to the wolves?

Rrrrriiiigggght.

Anyway, welcome. You'll do very well here.

 

[Moony]

On the contrary, I think Pop sounds exactly like U2. Maybe not the first three songs, but at least Mofo is lyrically U2. But wasn't it the point to mock current Pop music, hence the title? Please could fit on just about any 90s+ U2 album, as can Wake Up Dead Man, Gone, Last Night on Earth.

I don't think October is interesting to say the least. There are a few good songs on there, mostly the main title (which doesn't sound like U2, but is a glorious poem nonetheless) and Gloria (which does). I haven't heard the rest of them in a long time, so I guess it would be unkind to throw it to the wolves, but if I had to play "which of these isn't like the rest" October would definitely top that list.

As far as All That You Can't Bother to Type Out and How to Dismantle a CD Title, there are some really good songs in there, particularly the former. In fact, that album solidified my fan status altogether, even though the last half of the album is dozy in my opinion. How to Dismantle is just okay. The problem with 00s U2 is that Bono is over and above himself with politics and making each song have a statement instead of his playful vagueness that made songs in the past that were about politics palatable. One is one of those, although it's arguable that One has many meanings.

I can't hear a song like Love and Peace Or Else and think about anything except what he wants me to think. It lacks the Bono charm of playfulness and ambiguity.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[LadySpinHead]

All That You Can't Bother to Type Out and How to Dismantle a CD Title

nicely done

 

[mikal]

Moony. I like you. Please post more. I'm dead serious.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Mostly, I love that the album is basically a musical progression of growth and maturity. I've read that Bono said the first three songs are the party and the rest is the hangover. I see it more like the first three songs are U2 trying to join the party, i.e. the dance music and boybands that conquered the latter half of the nineties, but ultimately giving in to the fact that they are the scorpion in that classic story. It's an album that shows melancholy and melody perfectly blended. In fact, take a look at Mofo, a song that is basically a party on E, but it's lyrics are damn sad. It's a great intro to the rest of the album that alternates between hope and despair. The Playboy Mansion highlights this pretty well.

Well said!

Actually, come to think of it... that awkward silence between the ending of Mofo and the beginning of IGWSHA highlights the "party and hangover afterwards" theory well.

Welcome to the forum. A worthy first post in praise of Pop.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

I don't think October is interesting to say the least. There are a few good songs on there, mostly the main title (which doesn't sound like U2, but is a glorious poem nonetheless) and Gloria (which does). I haven't heard the rest of them in a long time, so I guess it would be unkind to throw it to the wolves, but if I had to play "which of these isn't like the rest" October would definitely top that list.

There's more to October than that. Trust me. There's Rejoice which arguably has Larry's best performance ever! There's Tomorrow with the Irish music and heartfelt tribute to Bono's mother. There's With A Shout with a kicking rhythm section. There's the wonderful and atmospheric Scarlet. I would still probably rate this album quite low in their discography but it would be above Atomic Bomb... not sure about ATYCLB.

 

[Moony]

Moony. I like you. Please post more. I'm dead serious.

Haha, thanks. I think I'm long-winded, but I'll try. Looks like I've worked out the quote button, hurrah!

 

[Moony]

There's more to October than that. Trust me. There's Rejoice which arguably has Larry's best performance ever! There's Tomorrow with the Irish music and heartfelt tribute to Bono's mother. There's With A Shout with a kicking rhythm section. There's the wonderful and atmospheric Scarlet. I would still probably rate this album quite low in their discography but it would be above Atomic Bomb... not sure about ATYCLB.

Like I said, I haven't heard it in quite some time. It's possible I may have never even listened to it all the way through either. I'll give it a shot one of these days.

I really don't get the Leave Behind hate. Sure, it's a bit pop, but it's got way more soul in it than Atomic Bomb. Less soul than Pop in some ways, though. I've always thought that Beautiful Day was a tad on the cheese side, but I wouldn't take it back from all those moments I've lived through an actual beautiful day and thought about the song. Additionally, it was my cousin's walk-in song at her wedding reception and it really did make the evening light up for her. What's wrong with a purely joyful song, ya cynics?! I'm just joshing.

Thanks for the welcome. I hate being a noob on forums.

 

[U2girl]

Great vocal delivery and only real U2 fans like Pop.

 

[trevgreg]

Everything's perfect except throwing October to the wolves. Feed them with ATYCLB and HTDAAB instead.

Nope, they were right. Gloria can stay though.

Truth be told, I don't mind a few other songs on there from time to time. Still not a consistent-enough work though, imo.