Second, Bono's historical views of music is at times very...unique, to put it lightly. Was punk really about communicating to as many people as possible? If anything it was confronting and pushing away many people. Do you think punk-era Clash, Patti Smith, Sex Pistols and so on would like today's U2? I don't. I cringe every time that Bono brings up punk or "the 45".
Yes, but in Bono's defense, I will say that U2 came out of a couple different traditions. Punk for certain, but also the universal rock and roll language spoken by the Beatles, The Who and The Stones. I think they looked most to the Who at first as they were classic rock, but also considered to be some of the forerunners to punk rock(themes of youth rebellion, distrust of establishment, etc).
Carter Alan in Boston described U2 when he first played them as a cross between the Stones and The Ramones.
U2 cite The Clash and Patti Smith as major influences, and Patti Smith still performs with them/is a close friend today. Bono likes his "People got the power" and "rock and roll ******" snippets as well. Same with the Clash's rock the casbah and London Calling. They still have some punk credibility, Saints Are Coming with Green Day, etc. In my opinion, they should play up this side of themselves more as it highlights the dramatic differences in how they evolved as compared to say, Coldplay. We all know how the U2 sound evolved into melodies and atmospheres and sonic exploration, but the Boy-October-War sound is something you would never hear out of all the bands that people today think are just like them.
The sound may have been more punk initially, but U2 always from the beginning wanted to hit it big and stay there.
I like this thread alot, but as is the case all the time, we over analyze big time. Just the posts here suggest that if you took a poll, 95% of us would say they either hit the nail on the head or got it mostly right with NLOTH. Ok, so some of us don't like SUC or Crazy, but 9 out of 11 is not bad to have a solid consensus on, more or less! I think all of us hardcore fans could make a swap or 2 on every album.
I don't think U2 needs to reinvent the wheel or change their goals in the least bit. Maybe, a big maybe, is they need to tone down the attempts at being cool, but where has it been said they are trying to hard to be "cool" except for on here? I still think the biggest problem with NLOTH commercially was the choice of GOYB. A properly promoted NLOTH or Breathe could have done them wonders. GOYB works brilliantly as a fun song that is neither a single nor an album staple. Think of it at the same level as "Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World" : While MOS, NLOTH, Magnificent and Breathe do the upfront talking and F-BB, Was, UC and Cedars provide the intrigue, Boots serves as the cool song in the middle, just like TTTYARTW does to Wild Horses, LIB, So Cruel, Until the end, etc.
I only buy the "fuck the mainstream, it is tied indelibly to Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson and Rihanna" argument to a certain extent. Did people not hear Kings of Leon and The Killers getting massive airplay with Sex on Fire, Use Somebody and Human in 2008-09? Goes to show, real music can catch on and make a break through. Hell, this would not make me very popular here, but I think that Taylor Swift's success this year shows as much. Not my kind of music, but she is an incredibly talented songwriter with an excellent voice who is capable at an extremely young age of making a popular, mass appeal album that still retains artistic integrity. It is harder for U2 to do well in this climate, anyone would grant that, and given their age, it is not automatic anymore that radio will just play them, but the right choice of a song and promotion could have gone a long way.
I also still think Bono's comments regarding royalties affected NLOTH airplay as well. Not just BD and Vertigo, Walk On, Elevation, COBL, ABOY, even Saints and Window got some good airplay this decade mostly based on the fact that it was U2. Age is a factor, but its not as if U2 has been written off in the recent past because of it, they were still given plenty of time(airplay) to make their case w/new material as recently as 2006/7.
What convinces me of this is my hometown stations in Boston, the mecca of U2 airplay in America. You will get plenty of U2, but ever since Bono spoke out, it seems you will only get Still Haven't Found, MW and BD and nothing more. Streets is making a slight comeback, it seems. It is to the point that I am sick of hearing MW, a song I love, on the radio. The alternative stations even will play these 3 songs- not NLOTH, Magnificent or Breathe, even though they would be right up their alley. Nor do they play SBS or Gloria or IWF or Bad or OTH on a regular basis like they always did. It seems the radio is working a conspiracy to only play the U2 hits that play most to their stereotype among idiots as a band whose only goal is to write the same old mass appeal hit every time.
It is easy for the haters and the casual radio listener looking for someone new to get a chance to get disgusted and turn the dial as they say to themselves: "Great, lets hear how U2 Still Hasn't Found That Mysterious Beautiful Day." A lot of people for some reason or another just want U2 to go away, and the radio is helping feed their sentiments.
