Niceman
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Not sure about the delusions, but yeah age is a big part of what got them here.
U2: Band in Crisis?
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Not sure about the delusions, but yeah age is a big part of what got them here.
Niceman
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I'm not saying doom, but they're at a fork in the road. It's all been said above. No band has ever been as good as these guys at getting through these crisis, but this may be the biggest one.
The Rolling Stones had their most successful tours in the 90s and 00s, but no one would call that their golden age....
The Rolling Stones had their most successful tours in the 90s and 00s, but no one would call that their golden age....
Earnie Shavers
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Oh please. Saying there was little U2 could have done, and that people don't like rockstars to age and so 
- you're selling U2 amazingly short.
- you're selling U2 amazingly short.Earnie Shavers said:Oh please. Saying there was little U2 could have done, and that people don't like rockstars to age and so
Thats what i was thinking, i think its more the fans creating this "crisis"
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
U2 fans: ruining everything since {insert most appropriate date here}
nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Depeche Mode peaked in 1990 with Violator, and everything after was a law of quickly diminishing returns (Songs of Faith and Devotion didn't perform at nearly the same level). The Cure peaked in 1989 with Disintegration (1992's Wish did okay, but sold less). The rest of their 90s work was an exercise in futility. Additionally, Springsteen, Petty, Peter Gabriel, INXS, etc -- all huge in the 80s -- released albums in the early 90s in their usual styles, and all flopped. The whole point was that these bands/artists didn't change their styles, and suffered for it.
Of U2's 80s contemporaries, only Sting and R.E.M. made it into the 90s with any kind of real relevance without changing their style. For Sting, "Ten Summoner's Tales" was a huge seller, but he shifted to adult/contemporary quickly after that. R.E.M. peaked in 91/92 with "Out of Time"/"Automatic" (both monsters -- pun unintended).
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Earnie Shavers said:Oh please. Saying there was little U2 could have done, and that people don't like rockstars to age and so
Then which BANDS have done so?
Niceman
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Cure and DM fans will usually agree with you about what their "best" album was, but I don't think they'll be so quick to throw out the decade of work that followed. I can't agree that Sting had much relevance in the 90s.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
probably more of the cult heroes than the big, larger than life rockstars.
i know David Byrne seems to still have a pretty good perception. even Depeche Mode...
but they're probably on a different tier than U2.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
I want Michael Moore to make a documentary using this thread's title. It can use clips from Rattle And Hum to show the cracks beginning to form.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
this thread just got me to listen to WITS again for the first time in a while.
it's a very good song. i'm just saying. i hope the Rubin material shows up one day.
i also think that it's chart failure may have been why that project was scrapped.
it's a very good song. i'm just saying. i hope the Rubin material shows up one day.
i also think that it's chart failure may have been why that project was scrapped.
No spoken words
Blue Crack Supplier
I fail to see how you can be this nonchalant about things when the band are in a crisis. What's your problem?
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Irvine doesn't care about Irish people.
nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
I don't think we're talking about the quality of the work -- I think that "Us", for example, is head and shoulders above "So" where Peter Gabriel is concerned, and some of Springsteen's 90s material, most notably "Ghost of Tom Joad", is phenomenal. I'm partial to "Songs of Faith and Devotion" myself. But those albums were all on the downward spiral as far as fan interest was concerned.
U2 was the only big band from the 80s who was really able to shift into the 90s without missing much of a beat, and it took a conscious effort to do so.
"Ten Summoner's Tales" was a very well-received pop album, a huge hit for him after "Soul Cages." It launched his gargantuan "Fields of Gold," which was a huge cross-over hit. But interest in his work dwindled substantially as the decade wore on. The country songs probably didn't help.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
what's that? i can't hear you over the sound of my d-bag tickets to Philly next week.
i'm sure i'm going to hate it.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Right? Just stay home and listen to Achtung Baby, it's pretty much the same experience these days.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
or i'll just watch Live from Sydney for the 111th time on VH fucking S, just like in high school on a lonely Friday night, and weep over concerts i never saw and a band that never really existed.
corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
Irvine511: Poster In Crisis?
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
another thing: why do they keep playing songs from their albums in concert?
i already have their albums.
i already have their albums.
Popmartijn
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corianderstem
Blue Crack Distributor
That made me laugh really hard.
Salome
you are what you is
they have been ever since POP ended the 90s with Achtung (while not my favourite 90s album) being the only album of the decade that entered the public consciousness
the 00s have been more successful, but 1 album that doesn't create a U2 buzz is enough to get people wondering whether they can still do it
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
mikal said:
I think DM has lost favor outside their base and have been widely regarded as doing the same ol thing for quite awhile.
Solo artists don't seem to fit into the age issue like bands.
At the end of the day, people like to bitch.
For a long time people wanted ZOO TV 2. "Play LIB, Open with Zoo Station", etc...So they actually start off this tour not unlike ZOO, by playing lots of new songs right from the start. "Breathe is a terrible opener, they should open with Mofo", etc...So in 2011, they now open with a bunch of killer AB songs and get bitched out for dropping NLOTH songs.
Now people long for PopMart style setlists "Play a lot of songs off new album", "PopMart was so creative", etc...remember, they dropped Popmart songs that weren't "working" too. Miami? Do You Feel Loved? (Miami rocked and was great live, so stuff it)
I have been attending U2 shows since 1983. They don't radically mix up setlists, they do care about their "relevance" and just want to do good shows. And guess what? THEY STILL DO. The shows in 2009 were great since we got to hear some great new songs. And they are ripping up AB songs like they just recorded it in 2011.
And GOD, if another person wants to hear Fez, Winter or Cedars, I'm gonna kill someone. Those songs weren't played because they would be FUCKING BORING. Shit, if NLOTH got the axe, do you want a stadium to all take a piss break at the same time? Play a slow ass B-Side song, and that will do it.
Be thankful they are still putting out music you want to hear. Every, EVERY U2 show is a blessing. Whether they are playing songs off the latest album or a 30 year old one.
For a long time people wanted ZOO TV 2. "Play LIB, Open with Zoo Station", etc...So they actually start off this tour not unlike ZOO, by playing lots of new songs right from the start. "Breathe is a terrible opener, they should open with Mofo", etc...So in 2011, they now open with a bunch of killer AB songs and get bitched out for dropping NLOTH songs.
Now people long for PopMart style setlists "Play a lot of songs off new album", "PopMart was so creative", etc...remember, they dropped Popmart songs that weren't "working" too. Miami? Do You Feel Loved? (Miami rocked and was great live, so stuff it)
I have been attending U2 shows since 1983. They don't radically mix up setlists, they do care about their "relevance" and just want to do good shows. And guess what? THEY STILL DO. The shows in 2009 were great since we got to hear some great new songs. And they are ripping up AB songs like they just recorded it in 2011.
And GOD, if another person wants to hear Fez, Winter or Cedars, I'm gonna kill someone. Those songs weren't played because they would be FUCKING BORING. Shit, if NLOTH got the axe, do you want a stadium to all take a piss break at the same time? Play a slow ass B-Side song, and that will do it.
Be thankful they are still putting out music you want to hear. Every, EVERY U2 show is a blessing. Whether they are playing songs off the latest album or a 30 year old one.
coolian2
Blue Crack Supplier
Salome said:
daresay if you mention u2 in the 80s they'll quote the joshua tree only, and the awesome song off it, "in the name of love".
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