I Listened To No Line On The Horizon Today

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It sits solidly in my bottom 2 albums along with October.

NLOTH - The alternative version is FAR superior in my opinion. That is actually a pretty great song but the version on the album is just too boring and "cold" as someone was saying. First weird lyrics choice in the "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH" part.

Magnificent - Probably the best song on the album along with Fez. A bit by the numbers but I liked it when it came out and I still do.

MoS - Pretty overrated. I find it too try-hard and clunky for me to enjoy it. I can see why some people rate it highly though.

Unknown Caller - A good idea but weird and clunky lyrics (seems to be the theme of this album) makes it mediocre.

Crazy Tonight - Has hints of a nice pop song but the final result is just annoying - much due to Bono unfortunately - especially the second verse annoys me.

GOYB - Worst first single in their career although not as atrocious as some would make out. Would have been ok if it was not a single, with better lyrics (again again) and if the "let me in the sound" part played a larger role. It was better live than on album.

SUC(k) - Just plain bad. Nothing interesting or redeeming about it. I much prefer experiments that fail (see Unknow Caller) than this crap.

Fez BB - A great little song. As someone said it hints of the album that could have been which is sad. Probably my favorite along with Magnificent.

White as Snow - I always liked this song although its pretty dark. Not a masterpiece or anything but I like it.

Breathe - Back in weird-territory with clunky riffs and strange lyric choices. Has hints of a great song in the chorus. Overall its too clunky though like Unknown Caller.

CoL - Never liked it. Spoken word with little to no melody. Seems like an Eno sketch that never made it into a real song. Would work better as the end to a great album than a bad one.
 
I like NLOTH. It's disorganized and the songs don't flow together at all, but I still like most of it and it sounds great in the car. I feel like it has turned into another Pop in some ways.
 
You think "universal acceptance" is the criterion for something being a masterpiece? You might want to read up on art history.

Perhaps recognition is a more appropriate word to use than acceptance.

U2, as we all know, have produced two such works - The Joshua Tree & Achtung Baby.
 
Perhaps recognition is a more appropriate word to use than acceptance.

U2, as we all know, have produced two such works - The Joshua Tree & Achtung Baby.

Recognition by who?

I regard TUF as a masterpiece. Which is it (as we all know).

And Rolling Stone calls AYCLB a "masterpiece".

On the other hand, The Observer says Joshua Tree isn't a masterpiece.
 
Recognition by who?

I regard TUF as a masterpiece. Which is it (as we all know).

And Rolling Stone calls AYCLB a "masterpiece".

On the other hand, The Observer says Joshua Tree isn't a masterpiece.

Right.

It's all subjective of course.

What determines a masterpiece is what we individually decide. Consensus is always nice -- when it agrees with what we already think.

Otherwise we tend to dismiss consensus.

As it should be.
 
The 'ATM machine' thing. There's lots of lyrics from Bono in recent years to go 'why?' and plenty on NLOTH but that isn't one of them. 'I was punching in the numbers at the ATM Machine'. Really? Just whiffs of people looking to get offended about something.

MOS - one of their masterpieces. 10/10.
 
Recognition by who?

I regard TUF as a masterpiece. Which is it (as we all know).

And Rolling Stone calls AYCLB a "masterpiece".

On the other hand, The Observer says Joshua Tree isn't a masterpiece.

Recognition by people in general, or at least those with an interest in/knowledge of popular music and the music industry. In other words, over time both critical and popular opinion on a particular album reaches a certain critical mass which then confers a particular status on it; a status which remains regardless of individual taste.

The two links you have provided kind of prove my point. The writer for Rolling Stone introduces his review for ATYCLB by proclaiming it as the U2's third masterpiece; after TJT and AB. The writer of the article in the Observer gives it the title " U2's 'The Joshua Tree' isn't the Masterpiece you Remember". The 'you' in the title operates in both singular and plural, again hinting at what I'm getting at.

TUF, War and others are indeed great albums. Indeed they are U2 classics, but TJT and AB are their seminal works to date.
 
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The 'ATM machine' thing. There's lots of lyrics from Bono in recent years to go 'why?' and plenty on NLOTH but that isn't one of them. 'I was punching in the numbers at the ATM Machine'. Really? Just whiffs of people looking to get offended about something.

MOS - one of their masterpieces. 10/10.
100% agreed.
 
idk if people being bothered by grotesque (if common) misuses of English counts as people looking for something to be offended about.

MOS is still a great song though
 
I'm still kind of saddened when I hear the one-two punch of NLOTH/Magnificent. I love those songs. I Like MOS but think Bono is a bit over the top for me. Fez and Breathe are top notch for me, but not classic.

NLOTH the song was a siren call to the nervy, creative, confident U2 that we hadn't heard since Pop, but they sadly lost their nerve.
 
I agree with you impression of "Magnificent". It's basically the Magnificat, or Mary singing to Jesus from the Bible. Never heard much discussion about that slant.

It reminds me of an old friend and I talking about POP, and I told him that I thought a certain song was about God, and he replied "They're all about God". Maybe hyperbole, but I see what he meant!
 
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Replying to Digitize:

I agree with you impression of "Magnificent". It's basically the Magnificat, or Mary singing to Jesus from the Bible. Never heard much discussion about that slant.

It reminds me of an old friend and I talking about POP, and I told him that I thought a certain song was about God, and he replied "They're all about God". Maybe hyperbole, but I see what he meant!
 
Replying to Digitize:

I agree with you impression of "Magnificent". It's basically the Magnificat, or Mary singing to Jesus from the Bible. Never heard much discussion about that slant.

It reminds me of an old friend and I talking about POP, and I told him that I thought a certain song was about God, and he replied "They're all about God". Maybe hyperbole, but I see what he meant!

Never thought about Magnificent being about Our Lady singing to Christ, I really like that interpretation.

It's one of my favourite U2 songs of this century, shame it meanders a bit at the end, but the first two and a half minutes are sublime.
 
I listened through No Line on the plane today. Loved it. Every song is pretty good in my opinion. It's a bit edgy, and quite unique and creative. Very strong opening sequence of songs. It feels like most songs on the album are 5-10% away from being absolute classics, but just didn't quite get polished, or got over-polished.
Between the atmospherics, the organ/bell keyboard, and the chant singing it really is quite unique and inventive sound wise. Too bad it wasn't just a touch more catchy / finished.
 
After listening to Songs of Experience and feeling a bit underwhelmed (so far), I went back and listened to No Line. I love this album....it's probably my favorite since Achtung.

I honestly don't get some of the hate that some people have. Unlike SOI/SOE, this album has the depth and really feels cohesive as a whole. Magnificent and Moment of Surrender are two of the best U2 tracks in a long time. I'd put Moment right up there with One. You can't go wrong with Eno/Lanois production. This album is seriously underrated.
 
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NLOTH the song was a siren call to the nervy, creative, confident U2 that we hadn't heard since Pop, but they sadly lost their nerve.

It reminds me alot of Zooropa (the song). Personally I love it, and think it's a great, rousing track to open the album with. It definitely puts images in my head (of landscapes, etc), which some of the best U2 songs have always done.
 
1. NLOTH. Really like it. NLOTH 2 was better.
2. Magnificient. Thinly sung generic disco song. Cool opening, but feels like a bait and switch. "OOOOH RAWK!!! Nope, disco."
3. MOS. To long. Cool otherwise.
4. Unknown Caller. How'd this weird demo get on an album?
5. Crazy. It's okay. You're listening to U2. You're going to get a song like this.
6. GOYB. Why did they try to write Vertigo again? They shouldn't have pasted the 'In The Sound' part on such a weak song. Worst lyrics Bono's written.
7. SUC. Sadly, I think the Christian message is what turns off many. "Soul Rocking" is silly. Rest is good. Sounds like it was assembled with Pro Tools and needed a proper solo.
8. FezBB. Top Notch filler
9. White As Snow. It's a fine song, but it should've been a choice between it and Cedars. I'd rather have a finished 'Winter' here. And I don't mean the one from Brothers.
10. Breathe. Someone earlier brilliantly said (and I paraphrase), "a great rock song set to a 3/4 waltz" and that's exactly what it was. Plus, a cockatoo? Still bugs me.
11. Cedars. See my comment on 9.
 
I think NLOTH suffers from a major case of overthinking. It took way too long and they have since admitted that they still weren’t happy with it. Meanwhile, Bono and Edge were involved with that Spider-Man musical that I still think was a huge waste of time. It seemed like with NLOTH, they went “Oh no, it’s been five years, we’d better put something out! Quick, finish this and stick it together!” I don’t think Bono really had much to say, as he made up these characters and stories for the songs, which didn’t really go anywhere. I love NLOTH and have some great memories from the 360 era, but it didn’t reach its full potential (much like Pop).
 
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