OP
OP
cobl04
45:33
didn't mean to come off like that.
Please answer the following question.
- Thread starter cobl04
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Not at all. The exceptional quality of most of their eighties output keeps them in my top ten.
Tough question. My favourite band is Porcupine Tree, and their output of the last 10-15 years has probably given me the most consistent enjoyment of any band. However, it's hard to argue with the fact that Agalloch's three albums thus far have been all 5/5 efforts for me; I've never given 5 stars to three consecutive albums from any other band. And if we limit the timeframe to the last five years, then newer bands like Alcest, Pure Reason Revolution, and Russian Circles have been bringing the awesomeness in droves.
I'd say my tastes have just moved on from when I was 16 and become much more broad.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
I've enjoyed reading eveeryone's posts
my perspective is abit dfferent from some of yours as you'll see....
I don't always believe in hierarchys...i often go more for tiers... (and While R&R is in my ultra favorite form of music, I love some of the European & American Orchetral music of the 19th century, some 20th century, some Beethoven & Bach, some great Movie & TV Original Scores; some R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Folk, World, Misuc from India ~~ all move me almost or as much at times.
Is U2 in my Ultra Favorite Band/Performer Tier
>absolutely!!!!!
Do I Consider U2 To Be One Of The Best Bands Ever?
>absolutely YES !!!!!
Do I Think U2 Rates Up There In Ther Last 10 -15 In Comparson To Other Bands
>Especially with NLOTH> Oh, Yes! Absolutely!!!!
The Why's & Wherefore's
In my Ultra Favorites Tier: U2, Bruce Springsteen eps with The E Street Band, The Who, The Patti Smith Group,, Televison and The Beatles -- but they in many ways are in their own cataogry (more on them in a bit)
Thre is barely a day that goes by that I don't rejoice on hearing a U2 song on the radio (with very few exceptions). Once I get my CD Changer rehooked up to my boom box U2 & the others in my top tier will be back in play! Right now I listen to U2 through ther Official Vids and the Live Vids through the Net - which I've only finally been able to get at home for the first time about 2 months ago.
I can hardly get enough of NLOTH recorded and live. I think it's right up there with War<in original release at that time> (the album that totally pulled me in to become a more or less a superfan), JT and AB are Tier 1.
I think Zooropa, Pop & HTDAAB rank under those 4 as Tier 1.5 within their rankings. Over all Boy, Oct, UF & ATYCLB are tier 2. And on each of those cointines priceless gems of Music as well that individually would go into tier 1.
WHy, U2 why these other bands....... each has spoken to me in so many ways, levels, aspects /body/mind/heart/soul. Whether they are gone or not their music and SO Important the POWER of their LIVE Shows lives inside me forever!
Each of thse bands has the Anthemic aspect very stronglt in them, which I love, but they also have more internal, quieter songs as well> I also love many of those.
All of these Bands except Television engages(d) the Audience in live performance. Again some-thing I treasure.
U2 first came to my attention in fall 1980. I read a live reveiw of their London Marquee Club. The Editor of New York Rocker had gone over tosee a few bands. He said U2 were anthemic, connected with their audienc, and ambitious enough that if they could keep it together they could become one of the band that would make it to Stadium -Level. ( in 1980! he said this) That interested me and I kept an ear out fore them. And found them in Spring next year with the IWF/OOC single. I was very impressed with those 2 ongs even if the rest of the album mdidn't strike me as much. I would judge them eventually when ever i got to see them live!
Bono in one of their (whole band) earlist USA interviews (done after their debut /or rerturn to The Marquee Club/London in 1980 -BUT not printed till Spring 81 ....
Bono was saying how they were fans of The Who. One ofthe things that impressed them was the abilty of The Who to be hard-charging and also more soft - sometimes within the same song.That fact that they gave The Who props like that impressed. In that intervirew or one realatvely soon after they also gave props to the bands of CBCGB's.
I've been very lucky as a R&R fan to have found out about and follewed some bands fairly early in their careers; either within my Tri-State area like Sringsteen- (seeing them live during the first year of Born To Run in a medium-size theater A-MAZING ), The Who- my cousin in New Jersey turn me on to The Who with "The WHo Sell Out". Well aha my parents wouldn't let me see The Who intheir first round of gigs at a theater with other bands. But I saw them next year 3x'sin 1968 BUT BEFORE they debuted Tommy.
I did ssee them perform Tommy at the Filmore East OMG! ANd thier unpaprelled performance of 7/31/71 of Who's Next (even songs NOT on the WN album, some part of the failed "Life House" experiment).
I know that Patti Smith can be a polarizing figue. I lover her!!! and her Band! A great rock critic once said Patti Smith eas the first woman Rocker guys wanted not "to do" her but to BE her. She's powerful and tough but sh'e also very lyrical sometimes vunerable. Patti met Larry pretty earlier on while she/band was touring in Irelenad & Britain. I first heard about her in ?73 beofre she had fully put a whole band together ( Lenny Kaye was backing her onn guitar as she did her Poetry) and saw them debut at The Bottom Line with Horses in 75!
Rmember people Punk/New Wave started here FIRST in NYC/ USA!!!
Briefly Televsion made some of the most beautiful and charging music recorded and live ever BUT they never connected to the audience they way these other band have.
I haven't even mentions the scores & scores of the bands that are in my Fav and like alot Tiers of R&R performers, many who i have also seen live.
SO you can see that U2 coming into my life after I had had already incredilbe R&R experiences with incredible bands of the 60's & 70's. They had to prove to me they HAD "it". And they did!
As to what I like of the Music of the last 10 - 15 years....... it's complicated.
I had some terrble times around 15 yrs ago which played havoc with my income level; since then which limited my abilty to see bands live (compared to the amount of bands I saw between 65 - 93ish). Add in NYC-FM Radio was getting more restrictive. Lower income kept me from getting tech that would have re-expanded my alt-indie connections much faster.
I heard/read about about dozens upon dozens of bands without hearing them on the radio or in concert. It was hard to get my favoroite College Radio DJ once I moved esp AFTR he was let go from one of his 2 long-time Commercial radio gigs. He played practically every type of music there is, plus alot of R&R!
Finally in the past 20 months or so a new commercial radio station has arrived 101.9 FM WRXP . they play classic, alt & new. I've been ablre to put names to some of the songs i've heard over the past 10 plus years that I didin't know!
Bands I like (whether togwther now or not) so far Interpole, The Strokes, Cold Play, some Stone Roses, Oaissis, Stone Temple Pilots, there's plenty more but these are the ones that immediately pop into my head. And going back sowhat further Pearl Jam & "the Chilles".
With one exception - The Foo Fighters. It seems as I continue to put band names & songs titles with the music I've heard...TFF have been showing up alot in some of tghe songs I've liked the best!
I just heard they are working on a new album. I'm exscited!
And finallyblahblah 
well I have had decades & decades of a R&R life!
The Beatles....... what can I say abou tthem....
Well, they changed everyhthing in The USA as far as R&R went..... the BeachBoys and Jan & Dean were around with their California/Surf sound. but then there were pople like uhhh...( I didn't listen to them) Pat Boone? other much softer soiunding perfomers... (read: Bland)
But the Beatles - I do partly beleive that (as was posited by some academic) the shock/horror/malasie that hit America after JFK's Assasination when the Beatles (their singles had come out possibly before NOv 22, 63 but not done much at first) hit the USA for Performances everything "exploded".
You had the British Invasion (Stones, YardBirds DC5 etc) then the Amercian bnads (not just The Beach Boys) including new ones react. The Beatles discover LSD and Psychedelia, the San Farcisco & Hippie scence explodes, After the Beatles Split -The John Yoko Band join their Amercan Counter-parts like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young etc agsinst The Vietnam War ( i saw all 3 of them). The Beatles were like a giant rock thrown into a quiet lake.... splashes and ripples untold expaned to the shorelines, and bounced back on each other....
But their remeains one question which will never be answered about The Beatles > greatest LIVE Band?
I've read report after report of how incredible they were in The Clubs of their times like "the Cavern" but that before alot of their material had been recorded I think.
I did see them- teice 64 % 65 , but under the crazy time of 50,000 of mostly screaming teens ( ha I was a Tween 11 & then 12). Yeah I did my share of screaming BUT i also listened tghe best I could . The 2nd time ( we - my freind her dad and my other friends) they had doiubled tghe amplicfication! Steve Van Zandt ( Sopranoes/ E Street band) said there was an acoustic anomily that allowed fans along the first base line (like him and us) to hear them. I really did hear most of the second show. It was pretty great BUT again intense out of the ordinary .
SO we'll never know since they stopped touring after Help they had some songs from Rubber Soul- the begining of their musical transformation recoding wise.
I would have loved to have seen them perform more from Rubber Soul, Revolver, of course Srgnt Pepper's The WHITE album, but that remeains a Mystery to all us Beatles Fans. unles there are countless dimensions as some physisists say were there are paprellel Earths..... there's maybe one were they continued to play live.
So, you in late teens, 20's & early 30's if you keep your ears open, you might be luckly like me and find several groups over the next set of decades that will shine in their own way and be as magical to you as U2 has been to me and many of the posters here and of course through out Interference and elsewhere!
"No Line on The Horizon~~~~~ NO Line!!! "
* one major adendum-- as FM radio was put into place and soon dmemded by The FCC to initiate different programming if a AM station had a nerw FM counter-part over time these stations b4ecame more popular = more sdvertising which eventually led to tighten playlists , rebelions against that ( a tleast for a while) by other stations, more college radio and evetual split-up of the audeinces .
When the Beatles hit Pop Radio were were also listening to The Supremes, The Temptations, and more. Thre was more of a mix of black and white performers.......as said above......
I didn't know about say The NevilleBrohers until about the late 80's , early 90's? Thanks to that free-form DJ. I missed out on some great music back then... Earth Wind & Fire, Parliment Funkydelic........ not only The Stones / Zep etc but Thje Beatles coverd R&B as well....... shame we all kind of got split off for a long time.....
my perspective is abit dfferent from some of yours as you'll see....
I don't always believe in hierarchys...i often go more for tiers... (and While R&R is in my ultra favorite form of music, I love some of the European & American Orchetral music of the 19th century, some 20th century, some Beethoven & Bach, some great Movie & TV Original Scores; some R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Folk, World, Misuc from India ~~ all move me almost or as much at times.
Is U2 in my Ultra Favorite Band/Performer Tier
>absolutely!!!!!
Do I Consider U2 To Be One Of The Best Bands Ever?
>absolutely YES !!!!!
Do I Think U2 Rates Up There In Ther Last 10 -15 In Comparson To Other Bands
>Especially with NLOTH> Oh, Yes! Absolutely!!!!
The Why's & Wherefore's
In my Ultra Favorites Tier: U2, Bruce Springsteen eps with The E Street Band, The Who, The Patti Smith Group,, Televison and The Beatles -- but they in many ways are in their own cataogry (more on them in a bit)
Thre is barely a day that goes by that I don't rejoice on hearing a U2 song on the radio (with very few exceptions). Once I get my CD Changer rehooked up to my boom box U2 & the others in my top tier will be back in play! Right now I listen to U2 through ther Official Vids and the Live Vids through the Net - which I've only finally been able to get at home for the first time about 2 months ago.
I can hardly get enough of NLOTH recorded and live. I think it's right up there with War<in original release at that time> (the album that totally pulled me in to become a more or less a superfan), JT and AB are Tier 1.
I think Zooropa, Pop & HTDAAB rank under those 4 as Tier 1.5 within their rankings. Over all Boy, Oct, UF & ATYCLB are tier 2. And on each of those cointines priceless gems of Music as well that individually would go into tier 1.
WHy, U2 why these other bands....... each has spoken to me in so many ways, levels, aspects /body/mind/heart/soul. Whether they are gone or not their music and SO Important the POWER of their LIVE Shows lives inside me forever!
Each of thse bands has the Anthemic aspect very stronglt in them, which I love, but they also have more internal, quieter songs as well> I also love many of those.
All of these Bands except Television engages(d) the Audience in live performance. Again some-thing I treasure.
U2 first came to my attention in fall 1980. I read a live reveiw of their London Marquee Club. The Editor of New York Rocker had gone over tosee a few bands. He said U2 were anthemic, connected with their audienc, and ambitious enough that if they could keep it together they could become one of the band that would make it to Stadium -Level. ( in 1980! he said this) That interested me and I kept an ear out fore them. And found them in Spring next year with the IWF/OOC single. I was very impressed with those 2 ongs even if the rest of the album mdidn't strike me as much. I would judge them eventually when ever i got to see them live!
Bono in one of their (whole band) earlist USA interviews (done after their debut /or rerturn to The Marquee Club/London in 1980 -BUT not printed till Spring 81 ....
Bono was saying how they were fans of The Who. One ofthe things that impressed them was the abilty of The Who to be hard-charging and also more soft - sometimes within the same song.That fact that they gave The Who props like that impressed. In that intervirew or one realatvely soon after they also gave props to the bands of CBCGB's.
I've been very lucky as a R&R fan to have found out about and follewed some bands fairly early in their careers; either within my Tri-State area like Sringsteen- (seeing them live during the first year of Born To Run in a medium-size theater A-MAZING ), The Who- my cousin in New Jersey turn me on to The Who with "The WHo Sell Out". Well aha my parents wouldn't let me see The Who intheir first round of gigs at a theater with other bands. But I saw them next year 3x'sin 1968 BUT BEFORE they debuted Tommy.
I did ssee them perform Tommy at the Filmore East OMG! ANd thier unpaprelled performance of 7/31/71 of Who's Next (even songs NOT on the WN album, some part of the failed "Life House" experiment).
I know that Patti Smith can be a polarizing figue. I lover her!!! and her Band! A great rock critic once said Patti Smith eas the first woman Rocker guys wanted not "to do" her but to BE her. She's powerful and tough but sh'e also very lyrical sometimes vunerable. Patti met Larry pretty earlier on while she/band was touring in Irelenad & Britain. I first heard about her in ?73 beofre she had fully put a whole band together ( Lenny Kaye was backing her onn guitar as she did her Poetry) and saw them debut at The Bottom Line with Horses in 75!
Rmember people Punk/New Wave started here FIRST in NYC/ USA!!!
Briefly Televsion made some of the most beautiful and charging music recorded and live ever BUT they never connected to the audience they way these other band have.
I haven't even mentions the scores & scores of the bands that are in my Fav and like alot Tiers of R&R performers, many who i have also seen live.
SO you can see that U2 coming into my life after I had had already incredilbe R&R experiences with incredible bands of the 60's & 70's. They had to prove to me they HAD "it". And they did!
As to what I like of the Music of the last 10 - 15 years....... it's complicated.
I had some terrble times around 15 yrs ago which played havoc with my income level; since then which limited my abilty to see bands live (compared to the amount of bands I saw between 65 - 93ish). Add in NYC-FM Radio was getting more restrictive. Lower income kept me from getting tech that would have re-expanded my alt-indie connections much faster.
I heard/read about about dozens upon dozens of bands without hearing them on the radio or in concert. It was hard to get my favoroite College Radio DJ once I moved esp AFTR he was let go from one of his 2 long-time Commercial radio gigs. He played practically every type of music there is, plus alot of R&R!
Finally in the past 20 months or so a new commercial radio station has arrived 101.9 FM WRXP . they play classic, alt & new. I've been ablre to put names to some of the songs i've heard over the past 10 plus years that I didin't know!
Bands I like (whether togwther now or not) so far Interpole, The Strokes, Cold Play, some Stone Roses, Oaissis, Stone Temple Pilots, there's plenty more but these are the ones that immediately pop into my head. And going back sowhat further Pearl Jam & "the Chilles".
With one exception - The Foo Fighters. It seems as I continue to put band names & songs titles with the music I've heard...TFF have been showing up alot in some of tghe songs I've liked the best!
I just heard they are working on a new album. I'm exscited!
And finally
blahblah well I have had decades & decades of a R&R life! The Beatles....... what can I say abou tthem....
Well, they changed everyhthing in The USA as far as R&R went..... the BeachBoys and Jan & Dean were around with their California/Surf sound. but then there were pople like uhhh...( I didn't listen to them) Pat Boone? other much softer soiunding perfomers... (read: Bland)
But the Beatles - I do partly beleive that (as was posited by some academic) the shock/horror/malasie that hit America after JFK's Assasination when the Beatles (their singles had come out possibly before NOv 22, 63 but not done much at first) hit the USA for Performances everything "exploded".
You had the British Invasion (Stones, YardBirds DC5 etc) then the Amercian bnads (not just The Beach Boys) including new ones react. The Beatles discover LSD and Psychedelia, the San Farcisco & Hippie scence explodes, After the Beatles Split -The John Yoko Band join their Amercan Counter-parts like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young etc agsinst The Vietnam War ( i saw all 3 of them). The Beatles were like a giant rock thrown into a quiet lake.... splashes and ripples untold expaned to the shorelines, and bounced back on each other....
But their remeains one question which will never be answered about The Beatles > greatest LIVE Band?
I've read report after report of how incredible they were in The Clubs of their times like "the Cavern" but that before alot of their material had been recorded I think.
I did see them- teice 64 % 65 , but under the crazy time of 50,000 of mostly screaming teens ( ha I was a Tween 11 & then 12). Yeah I did my share of screaming BUT i also listened tghe best I could . The 2nd time ( we - my freind her dad and my other friends) they had doiubled tghe amplicfication! Steve Van Zandt ( Sopranoes/ E Street band) said there was an acoustic anomily that allowed fans along the first base line (like him and us) to hear them. I really did hear most of the second show. It was pretty great BUT again intense out of the ordinary .
SO we'll never know since they stopped touring after Help they had some songs from Rubber Soul- the begining of their musical transformation recoding wise.
I would have loved to have seen them perform more from Rubber Soul, Revolver, of course Srgnt Pepper's The WHITE album, but that remeains a Mystery to all us Beatles Fans. unles there are countless dimensions as some physisists say were there are paprellel Earths..... there's maybe one were they continued to play live.
So, you in late teens, 20's & early 30's if you keep your ears open, you might be luckly like me and find several groups over the next set of decades that will shine in their own way and be as magical to you as U2 has been to me and many of the posters here and of course through out Interference and elsewhere!
"No Line on The Horizon~~~~~ NO Line!!! "
* one major adendum-- as FM radio was put into place and soon dmemded by The FCC to initiate different programming if a AM station had a nerw FM counter-part over time these stations b4ecame more popular = more sdvertising which eventually led to tighten playlists , rebelions against that ( a tleast for a while) by other stations, more college radio and evetual split-up of the audeinces .
When the Beatles hit Pop Radio were were also listening to The Supremes, The Temptations, and more. Thre was more of a mix of black and white performers.......as said above......
I didn't know about say The NevilleBrohers until about the late 80's , early 90's? Thanks to that free-form DJ. I missed out on some great music back then... Earth Wind & Fire, Parliment Funkydelic........ not only The Stones / Zep etc but Thje Beatles coverd R&B as well....... shame we all kind of got split off for a long time.....
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
sorry for the typos and a bit of unclarity in a few places.i got knocked out of my post trying to fix it in the 60 min windiow to do so!
OP
OP
cobl04
45:33
i don't think i've ever made a post half that long
you can add LCD Soundsystem to my list too. first album came out in 05 i think, and there's been two since, and nary a bad song on any of them. to think i couldn't name a song of theirs at the start of this year
plus their live show is phenomenal. it felt like the best night out clubbing ever.
you can add LCD Soundsystem to my list too. first album came out in 05 i think, and there's been two since, and nary a bad song on any of them. to think i couldn't name a song of theirs at the start of this year
plus their live show is phenomenal. it felt like the best night out clubbing ever.
nothing_left
The Fly
YES!
A year ago I knew just some their greatest hits like With or without you, One and so on. And then I thought that there had to be something more and one day I downloaded their discography. That was the best thing I could ever done, I think. Like you said, no other music speaks to you the way their. I like to think that U2 is the Band that I was looking for since I started to listen to music at all. U2 is my heart, my best friend and they won't leave me alone. They won't exchange me for better model. That's why I feel so much stronger and I became much stronger that I was a year ago.
Tough question. Hard for me to choose, I'm just 18 yrs old. But I think for me it's System of a down.
Chill Mike D
War Child
I guess they are. They didn't really overtake Guns N Roses until I got into high school. Yeah, I'd say U2 is my favorite band, but they're closely followed by Led Zeppelin.
As far as recent music goes, I have all of Daniel Lanois' albums and eagerly await his Black Dub album.
As far as recent music goes, I have all of Daniel Lanois' albums and eagerly await his Black Dub album.
secretly alone
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
I wasn't among those who said that was my favorite period, but...not to be rude or anything, mainstream music has become utterly shite in my eyes in the past...idk, 15 years. Since the late 90's. I don't listen to the radio anymore. In my opinion, U2 is one of the last artists that doesn't make crap these days.
OP
OP
cobl04
45:33
I wasn't among those who said that was my favorite period, but...not to be rude or anything, mainstream music has become utterly shite in my eyes in the past...idk, 15 years. Since the late 90's. I don't listen to the radio anymore. In my opinion, U2 is one of the last artists that doesn't make crap these days.
you'll get absolutely no arguments from me about mainstream radio music. i don't listen to it either (though i'll admit some of the dumb pop songs are catchy) but if you dig further than just mainstream radio you'll find there are hundreds of acts out there today making brilliant music.
Niceman
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
U2 has been my favorite band since 1989. The Cure is probably my second favorite, Faith No More my third.
1987-1989 INXS was my favorite band. I thought Kick was a better album than The Joshua Tree, and I'm still not sure I was wrong!
1987-1989 INXS was my favorite band. I thought Kick was a better album than The Joshua Tree, and I'm still not sure I was wrong!
secretly alone
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
you'll get absolutely no arguments from me about mainstream radio music. i don't listen to it either (though i'll admit some of the dumb pop songs are catchy) but if you dig further than just mainstream radio you'll find there are hundreds of acts out there today making brilliant music.
Oh, I don't doubt that. I actually lied a little...I do occasionally listen to a rock radio station from the city that plays a very wide variety of stuff. I found it when I was switching around one day and heard Wire
I like a lot of what I hear on that station, and it's sad what makes it to the top of the charts is what makes it there. I don't know what that says about a majority of people That being said, if I was to be perfectly honest, I'm just too lazy to delve into all that. Thoroughly exploring a band takes a lot of time and energy...and U2 was a one time deal. I'm not too interested in whether or not they are the greatest musicians...music is not about technical ability to me. It's about feeling, and that sets U2 a mile apart from others. Sure, it can be argued that I'm being silly, or close minded, or sentimentally attached...maybe I am. I'm ok with that. So yeah, U2 are my favorite band, and more. I feel like most everyone on this forum, even if I was surprised to see that U2 weren't even their favorite, completely understands that emotional connection
/sappy incoherence
gherman
New Yorker
1.) U2
2.) Editors
3.) The Beatles
2.) Editors
3.) The Beatles
gherman
New Yorker
I've enjoyed reading eveeryone's posts
my perspective is abit dfferent from some of yours as you'll see....
I don't always believe in hierarchys...i often go more for tiers... (and While R&R is in my ultra favorite form of music, I love some of the European & American Orchetral music of the 19th century, some 20th century, some Beethoven & Bach, some great Movie & TV Original Scores; some R&B, Soul, Funk, Gospel, Folk, World, Misuc from India ~~ all move me almost or as much at times.
Is U2 in my Ultra Favorite Band/Performer Tier
>absolutely!!!!!
Do I Consider U2 To Be One Of The Best Bands Ever?
>absolutely YES !!!!!
Do I Think U2 Rates Up There In Ther Last 10 -15 In Comparson To Other Bands
>Especially with NLOTH> Oh, Yes! Absolutely!!!!
The Why's & Wherefore's
In my Ultra Favorites Tier: U2, Bruce Springsteen eps with The E Street Band, The Who, The Patti Smith Group,, Televison and The Beatles -- but they in many ways are in their own cataogry (more on them in a bit)
Thre is barely a day that goes by that I don't rejoice on hearing a U2 song on the radio (with very few exceptions). Once I get my CD Changer rehooked up to my boom box U2 & the others in my top tier will be back in play! Right now I listen to U2 through ther Official Vids and the Live Vids through the Net - which I've only finally been able to get at home for the first time about 2 months ago.
I can hardly get enough of NLOTH recorded and live. I think it's right up there with War<in original release at that time> (the album that totally pulled me in to become a more or less a superfan), JT and AB are Tier 1.
I think Zooropa, Pop & HTDAAB rank under those 4 as Tier 1.5 within their rankings. Over all Boy, Oct, UF & ATYCLB are tier 2. And on each of those cointines priceless gems of Music as well that individually would go into tier 1.
WHy, U2 why these other bands....... each has spoken to me in so many ways, levels, aspects /body/mind/heart/soul. Whether they are gone or not their music and SO Important the POWER of their LIVE Shows lives inside me forever!
Each of thse bands has the Anthemic aspect very stronglt in them, which I love, but they also have more internal, quieter songs as well> I also love many of those.
All of these Bands except Television engages(d) the Audience in live performance. Again some-thing I treasure.
U2 first came to my attention in fall 1980. I read a live reveiw of their London Marquee Club. The Editor of New York Rocker had gone over tosee a few bands. He said U2 were anthemic, connected with their audienc, and ambitious enough that if they could keep it together they could become one of the band that would make it to Stadium -Level. ( in 1980! he said this) That interested me and I kept an ear out fore them. And found them in Spring next year with the IWF/OOC single. I was very impressed with those 2 ongs even if the rest of the album mdidn't strike me as much. I would judge them eventually when ever i got to see them live!
Bono in one of their (whole band) earlist USA interviews (done after their debut /or rerturn to The Marquee Club/London in 1980 -BUT not printed till Spring 81 ....
Bono was saying how they were fans of The Who. One ofthe things that impressed them was the abilty of The Who to be hard-charging and also more soft - sometimes within the same song.That fact that they gave The Who props like that impressed. In that intervirew or one realatvely soon after they also gave props to the bands of CBCGB's.
I've been very lucky as a R&R fan to have found out about and follewed some bands fairly early in their careers; either within my Tri-State area like Sringsteen- (seeing them live during the first year of Born To Run in a medium-size theater A-MAZING ), The Who- my cousin in New Jersey turn me on to The Who with "The WHo Sell Out". Well aha my parents wouldn't let me see The Who intheir first round of gigs at a theater with other bands. But I saw them next year 3x'sin 1968 BUT BEFORE they debuted Tommy.
I did ssee them perform Tommy at the Filmore East OMG! ANd thier unpaprelled performance of 7/31/71 of Who's Next (even songs NOT on the WN album, some part of the failed "Life House" experiment).
I know that Patti Smith can be a polarizing figue. I lover her!!! and her Band! A great rock critic once said Patti Smith eas the first woman Rocker guys wanted not "to do" her but to BE her. She's powerful and tough but sh'e also very lyrical sometimes vunerable. Patti met Larry pretty earlier on while she/band was touring in Irelenad & Britain. I first heard about her in ?73 beofre she had fully put a whole band together ( Lenny Kaye was backing her onn guitar as she did her Poetry) and saw them debut at The Bottom Line with Horses in 75!
Rmember people Punk/New Wave started here FIRST in NYC/ USA!!!
Briefly Televsion made some of the most beautiful and charging music recorded and live ever BUT they never connected to the audience they way these other band have.
I haven't even mentions the scores & scores of the bands that are in my Fav and like alot Tiers of R&R performers, many who i have also seen live.
SO you can see that U2 coming into my life after I had had already incredilbe R&R experiences with incredible bands of the 60's & 70's. They had to prove to me they HAD "it". And they did!
As to what I like of the Music of the last 10 - 15 years....... it's complicated.
I had some terrble times around 15 yrs ago which played havoc with my income level; since then which limited my abilty to see bands live (compared to the amount of bands I saw between 65 - 93ish). Add in NYC-FM Radio was getting more restrictive. Lower income kept me from getting tech that would have re-expanded my alt-indie connections much faster.
I heard/read about about dozens upon dozens of bands without hearing them on the radio or in concert. It was hard to get my favoroite College Radio DJ once I moved esp AFTR he was let go from one of his 2 long-time Commercial radio gigs. He played practically every type of music there is, plus alot of R&R!
Finally in the past 20 months or so a new commercial radio station has arrived 101.9 FM WRXP . they play classic, alt & new. I've been ablre to put names to some of the songs i've heard over the past 10 plus years that I didin't know!
Bands I like (whether togwther now or not) so far Interpole, The Strokes, Cold Play, some Stone Roses, Oaissis, Stone Temple Pilots, there's plenty more but these are the ones that immediately pop into my head. And going back sowhat further Pearl Jam & "the Chilles".
With one exception - The Foo Fighters. It seems as I continue to put band names & songs titles with the music I've heard...TFF have been showing up alot in some of tghe songs I've liked the best!
I just heard they are working on a new album. I'm exscited!
And finally
The Beatles....... what can I say abou tthem....
Well, they changed everyhthing in The USA as far as R&R went..... the BeachBoys and Jan & Dean were around with their California/Surf sound. but then there were pople like uhhh...( I didn't listen to them) Pat Boone? other much softer soiunding perfomers... (read: Bland)
But the Beatles - I do partly beleive that (as was posited by some academic) the shock/horror/malasie that hit America after JFK's Assasination when the Beatles (their singles had come out possibly before NOv 22, 63 but not done much at first) hit the USA for Performances everything "exploded".
You had the British Invasion (Stones, YardBirds DC5 etc) then the Amercian bnads (not just The Beach Boys) including new ones react. The Beatles discover LSD and Psychedelia, the San Farcisco & Hippie scence explodes, After the Beatles Split -The John Yoko Band join their Amercan Counter-parts like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young etc agsinst The Vietnam War ( i saw all 3 of them). The Beatles were like a giant rock thrown into a quiet lake.... splashes and ripples untold expaned to the shorelines, and bounced back on each other....
But their remeains one question which will never be answered about The Beatles > greatest LIVE Band?
I've read report after report of how incredible they were in The Clubs of their times like "the Cavern" but that before alot of their material had been recorded I think.
I did see them- teice 64 % 65 , but under the crazy time of 50,000 of mostly screaming teens ( ha I was a Tween 11 & then 12). Yeah I did my share of screaming BUT i also listened tghe best I could . The 2nd time ( we - my freind her dad and my other friends) they had doiubled tghe amplicfication! Steve Van Zandt ( Sopranoes/ E Street band) said there was an acoustic anomily that allowed fans along the first base line (like him and us) to hear them. I really did hear most of the second show. It was pretty great BUT again intense out of the ordinary .
SO we'll never know since they stopped touring after Help they had some songs from Rubber Soul- the begining of their musical transformation recoding wise.
I would have loved to have seen them perform more from Rubber Soul, Revolver, of course Srgnt Pepper's The WHITE album, but that remeains a Mystery to all us Beatles Fans. unles there are countless dimensions as some physisists say were there are paprellel Earths..... there's maybe one were they continued to play live.
So, you in late teens, 20's & early 30's if you keep your ears open, you might be luckly like me and find several groups over the next set of decades that will shine in their own way and be as magical to you as U2 has been to me and many of the posters here and of course through out Interference and elsewhere!
"No Line on The Horizon~~~~~ NO Line!!! "
* one major adendum-- as FM radio was put into place and soon dmemded by The FCC to initiate different programming if a AM station had a nerw FM counter-part over time these stations b4ecame more popular = more sdvertising which eventually led to tighten playlists , rebelions against that ( a tleast for a while) by other stations, more college radio and evetual split-up of the audeinces .
When the Beatles hit Pop Radio were were also listening to The Supremes, The Temptations, and more. Thre was more of a mix of black and white performers.......as said above......
I didn't know about say The NevilleBrohers until about the late 80's , early 90's? Thanks to that free-form DJ. I missed out on some great music back then... Earth Wind & Fire, Parliment Funkydelic........ not only The Stones / Zep etc but Thje Beatles coverd R&B as well....... shame we all kind of got split off for a long time.....
Question? How many people actually read a post this long?
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Jeez, if you don't want to read a long post, don't read it.
Quoting the entire thing again just to comment on its length isn't all that helpful, either. Just more work for the finger on the scroll wheel.
Quoting the entire thing again just to comment on its length isn't all that helpful, either. Just more work for the finger on the scroll wheel.
indra
ONE love, blood, life
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2004
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- 12,689
BoMac
Self-righteous bullshitter
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
after all I read books.
What are these "books" that you speak of?
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Oh man, someone's going to get deported now.
Or maybe just a paddlin'. That's at least worth a paddlin'.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
i don't think i've ever made a post half that long
it was very very late where I am. It was stream-of-conciousness .
I can see today how i could have writen & structered it to be shorter.
Did you bother to read any of it, or just toss out an insult.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
I did. Doesn't seem that long to me...after all I read books.
me too. And long magazine articles!
OP
OP
cobl04
45:33
i read your post, it was good. i wasn't insulting you.
damn the internet and its non-ability to translate tone
damn the internet and its non-ability to translate tone
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
You could have said exactly what you did say & with the lol and then added, 'but it was good'.... and then maybe... add a
all is forgiven!
DondeEsta
The Fly
yep, I don't consider their late period material their worst at all, it's actually their recent stuff I listen to most (hides).
But from the past 10-15 years U2 would be second to Radiohead.
But from the past 10-15 years U2 would be second to Radiohead.
The Edgetarian
Refugee
I don't ever feel like setting bands and artists up on a precise medal pedestal. it can be actually confusing for myself and I'd just feel guilty of preferring one to another when their styles can be different. I just may listen one a bit more than the other on some periods, depending on mood or their activity status etc. But those bands that always get chills in my spine and I tend to get the best kick out of & I always want to keep myself aware of are definately U2, Soundgarden (or on that matter any Chris Cornell project) and Air. And then there are some more bands that I love to listen to and that I list among favourites, but I just don't have or feel the same kind of excitement for those like I have for the mentioned ones.
11o´clock
Refugee
They ARE my favorite band and I´ve only been a u2 fan for nearly 5 years, but I consider them the soundtrack of my life.
I tell you that my first favorite band was Gorillaz when I was a teenager (I´m 22 now.) Then I started to listen to U2 (while I was a Gorillaz fan, I only knew few u2 song and I wasn´t interested on them) and it was in that time (2006) when I realized that Gorillaz has never been my favorite one. Because I´ve never identified with their lyrics, I wasn´t interested on analize any lyric in that time and...it isn´t my type of music. So, U2, by a miracle, changed that way of think on me. They make me feel what other bands don´t or not very much.
I tell you that my first favorite band was Gorillaz when I was a teenager (I´m 22 now.) Then I started to listen to U2 (while I was a Gorillaz fan, I only knew few u2 song and I wasn´t interested on them) and it was in that time (2006) when I realized that Gorillaz has never been my favorite one. Because I´ve never identified with their lyrics, I wasn´t interested on analize any lyric in that time and...it isn´t my type of music. So, U2, by a miracle, changed that way of think on me. They make me feel what other bands don´t or not very much.
11o´clock
Refugee
I sometimes do it too.
U2 is wonderful, but it´s not everything and the only one band that exists.
gman
New Yorker
U2 are my No1, and have been for the last 29 yrs. I have often said...so much is my liking for them, i could quite happily have all my music taken from me and just left with my u2 stuff and al be happy. For me....they will never be surpassed
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