Pop 25th Anniversary Thread... What do you want?

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It's a fantastic song, although I do think it's a bummer the intro drums are canned.
That's fair. I guess I like to imagine that it's a beat coming from someone's boombox on a street in NYC, and the sound grounds the beginning of a person's internal monologue that keeps building in intensity. The first couple minutes of that song have some of most beautiful Edge guitar tones and Eno synth sounds on any U2 song imo.
 
Hot take: New York might well be my favourite 21st-century U2 song

100% agreed.

Edit to add: New York is my favorite song U2 has released since Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me.

Yep. Definitely the high point of that album and tour (and of course gets dropped from subsequent tours), one of my favorites of the century as well.
 
Wild Honey is three minutes of solid, unforced fun.

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I'd take it over every song on HTDAAB

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That's fair. I guess I like to imagine that it's a beat coming from someone's boombox on a street in NYC, and the sound grounds the beginning of a person's internal monologue that keeps building in intensity. The first couple minutes of that song have some of most beautiful Edge guitar tones and Eno synth sounds on any U2 song imo.

New York managed to absolutely nail the vibe of a late night cab ride through lower manhattan - while also somehow perfectly capturing mid-marriage strife and turmoil (whether it's actually his or if he's describing someone else, who knows).

it's a great tune.

if these guys would ever get their shit together and not have to play the same damn set at every show, a back to back of New York into City of Blinding Lights at the Garden would bring the fucking roof down.
 
New York is the creative height of the album for me; it's almost Miami-like in its foundation and narrative (trying to stay related to POP here), but then when the chorus comes raging in, it's the best rock moment on the record. Never had a problem with that processed drum loop. Larry for as much as I love him definitely has some go-to phrasing/patterns. So, when they do things like this, I feel like it keeps it fresh.

Oh, and I'm here for the Grace defense. Don't love it, but I think the moody downbeat nature of it is perfect for closing the album and something unique. That guitar tone is lovely and Bono's voice has just the right amount of rough around the edges (that applies to the whole of the album though). I'll also defend IALW (my other favorite tied w NY) and WILATW.

There's a weak spot to All That and it's WH and POE. There's also a "I've heard this song way too freaking many times to not be annoyed" part of the album called Elevation (good song, just over it).
 
Oh, and I'm here for the Grace defense. Don't love it, but I think the moody downbeat nature of it is perfect for closing the album and something unique. That guitar tone is lovely and Bono's voice has just the right amount of rough around the edges (that applies to the whole of the album though).
Yeah, I like Grace. It's basically U2's take on The Velvet Underground's song Jesus, I think. It's not quite the masterpiece that the VU's song is (not a major slight, the VU's song is one of the best religious songs ever), but I like how warm and delicate it is.
 
Yeah, I like Grace. It's basically U2's take on The Velvet Underground's song Jesus, I think. It's not quite the masterpiece that the VU's song is (not a major slight, the VU's song is one of the best religious songs ever), but I like how warm and delicate it is.

Totally. It reminded me of Jesus from the moment I heard it. I love their utopian, sci fi take on that sound. Grace, with Edge's gentle tone and the phased keys, are as pretty as U2 ever got imo.

Running to Stand Still also reminds me of the third Velvets album.
 
That’s pretty good. He does a good job with those lyrics that are kind of super weird in many places.

Where would U2 be today if Pop had been an AB-level smash hit and sold 10m copies in the US and had three top 10 singles?
 
It would have been their biggest hit ever with 3 top 10 singles, assuming you mean top 10 in the US.
 
Where would U2 be today if Pop had been an AB-level smash hit and sold 10m copies in the US and had three top 10 singles?


This is fun to think about. The (p)optimist in me thinks they’d have been more prolific than an album every ~5 years since because they’d not have a giant olive on a swizzle stick and a broken disco lemon making them second guess themselves.

I think maybe they’d have followed a similar trajectory to what we got, except the cool down from the 90s and going back to basics wouldn’t have been so abrupt. Maybe one more album and tour coinciding with the turn of the century.

I don’t think the ATYCLB-analog in this wish fulfillment alternate universe would have been so “clean”. I can’t really explain it better than that because to me, ATYCLB sounds VERY MUCH like the “poster child” of early ‘00s ProTools recordings. I don’t mean that as a negative, just an observation. Might be a “Loudness Wars” thing, idk. I also just realized that I’ve not listened to the 2020 remaster (probably should).
 
Running to Stand Still also reminds me of the third Velvets album.
Yeah! It's not on the third album, but I remember someone pointing out that Running To Stand Still has a very similar chord progression to the VU's I'm Waiting For The Man (another song about heroin addiction).
 
Yeah! It's not on the third album, but I remember someone pointing out that Running To Stand Still has a very similar chord progression to the VU's I'm Waiting For The Man (another song about heroin addiction).

Heroin, not Waiting For The Man.
Heroin and RTSS are both D to G.
 
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