What were U2's 'Jump the Shark' moments?

[The Panther]

Just to further clarify the (way out of fashion) "jump the shark" term -- it is something that happens ONCE, and thereafter there is a terminal decline in quality.

Therefore, there cannot be several U2 'jump the shark' moments. There can be only 1, if there is one.

I think if I had to choose one, it would be the entire Pop project. But U2 never really did 'jump the shark' as it were. They've just been in a gradual, not sharp, decline since about 1994.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I think there have been numerous fuck ups, but I don't think they've "jumped the shark."

You don't see Bono out singing songs about DirecTV's rewind feature.

 

[Axver]

Just to further clarify the (way out of fashion) "jump the shark" term -- it is something that happens ONCE, and thereafter there is a terminal decline in quality.

Therefore, there cannot be several U2 'jump the shark' moments. There can be only 1, if there is one.

I think if I had to choose one, it would be the entire Pop project. But U2 never really did 'jump the shark' as it were. They've just been in a gradual, not sharp, decline since about 1994.

This is why I'm sticking with the Vertigo iPod commercial. Up until that point, U2 had at least some popular and critical credibility - it had ebbed and flowed, but it was there. They were coming off a much-lauded tour. Even the single itself did well. But the ad remains an example in "ugh U2 fuck off" narratives and the quality of output has been dire in the 12 years since. "The band that healed America" to "shitty dad rock sung a knob egotist of a frontman hiding their income in tax havens and forcing their music onto us."

You don't see Bono out singing songs about DirecTV's rewind feature.

Can't be worse than Stand Up Comedy.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

This is why I'm sticking with the Vertigo iPod commercial. Up until that point, U2 had at least some popular and critical credibility - it had ebbed and flowed, but it was there. They were coming off a much-lauded tour. Even the single itself did well. But the ad remains an example in "ugh U2 fuck off" narratives and the quality of output has been dire in the 12 years since. "The band that healed America" to "shitty dad rock sung a knob egotist of a frontman hiding their income in tax havens and forcing their music onto us."



Can't be worse than Stand Up Comedy.

I couldn't possibly disagree more.

The original Apple partnership revolutionized how modern music acts and technology interact. It ended a period where musical acts were fighting against new media and began one where they embraced it. It was a truly game changing moment.

The second Apple partnership, not so much. But I again see it as a fuck up and not a shark jump. At least not yet. We'll see what happens next.

 

[BVS]

I couldn't possibly disagree more.

The original Apple partnership revolutionized how modern music acts and technology interact. It ended a period where musical acts were fighting against new media and began one where they embraced it. It was a truly game changing moment.

The second Apple partnership, not so much. But I again see it as a fuck up and not a shark jump. At least not yet. We'll see what happens next.

THIS


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[Axver]

I couldn't possibly disagree more.

The original Apple partnership revolutionized how modern music acts and technology interact. It ended a period where musical acts were fighting against new media and began one where they embraced it. It was a truly game changing moment.

The second Apple partnership, not so much. But I again see it as a fuck up and not a shark jump. At least not yet. We'll see what happens next.

Sure, it was influential, I don't disagree with you there. But that ad got massively over-exposed. It started to become a "fuck off Bono" thing, like the tax haven or the political campaigning or, yes, the distribution of SOI.

But as noted, the initial shark-jump doesn't have to be a bad thing in and of itself - it's the terminal decline from that point. U2 have definitely been in a downward spiral post-Vertigo.

And I don't think the distribution of SOI was a shark-jump because U2's name was mud before that happened. It just confirmed why the band today has a large and vocal group of detractors.

 

[brooklynmike]

I don't think there have been any shark jumps. For every cringeworthy moment they've bounced back even stronger. Music-wise, and image-wise.

They have made some bad decisions along the way, but you're not going to be perfect when you're constantly taking risks- especially when you're in unchartered territory in an industry where you're under the microscope.

For me, each bounce back makes me love them even more. It's like watching your favorite boxer slug it out until the final round, get knocked down, back up at a 9 count to go on and win the title. It's like watching the Boston Red Sox come back from 3-1 deficit against the Yankees is 2004 (however, I am a Yankee fan).

In the case of U2, if it had to happen, I think any shark jump would be employed in an attempt to regain relevance. There have been plenty of potential shark jumps, but in my mind they've come back strong each time.

 

[Hewson]

You don't see Bono out singing songs about DirecTV's rewind feature.

Maybe reconsider having that second child.

 

[Hewson]

Can't be worse than Stand Up Comedy.

Oh but it is:

 

[U2girl]

The ipod ad was a great idea to introduce the band to a new audience.

The second Apple campaign was a great and innovative idea to launch the album that really should have come from a much younger act (like Beyonce) or someone less mainstream (like Radiohead).

But take a ubiquitous act with a ubiquitous singer turned activist and...

As for anti Bono sentiment, it started decades ago. Rattle and Hum, anyone ? More recently, try the anti-tax campaign. Or the Spiderman debacle.

And I really don't think most people here consider NLOTH or SOI worse than HTDAAB (or ATYCLB for that matter) by any stretch of the imagination. If lesser quality means no classic albums, well, they're going down in quality with all their post AB output. That's ok. Most bands do their best work in their 30s and 20s.

But they do have a problem : they can't seem to write a great (lead) single anymore and it tanks the albums. They ought to do better than Bootsy Miracles.

 

[bono_man2002]

When Bono and Edge finally consummated their ongoing unresolved sexual tension. It was never the same after that.

 

[corianderstem]

I was thinking more:

But that's because I am very old.

 

[corianderstem]

(Hi! I'm a double post.)

 

[Oregoropa]

The SOI release would have been great if Apple tweaked it so that it wouldn't have gone directly into phone users that had their settings to automatically draw from the cloud. I remember reading a story about a guy who played his iTunes while showering and a track from SOI came on and it killed his cleansing mojo. Probably SFS.


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[david]

Damn, ruined that dudes shower.


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[MrPryck2U]

I was thinking more:

But that's because I am very old.

I was a big fan of Moonlighting. When Dave and Maddie finally did the deed, it was the beginning of the end for the show.

 

[Kieran McConville]

This is why I'm sticking with the Vertigo iPod commercial. Up until that point, U2 had at least some popular and critical credibility - it had ebbed and flowed, but it was there. They were coming off a much-lauded tour. Even the single itself did well. But the ad remains an example in "ugh U2 fuck off" narratives and the quality of output has been dire in the 12 years since. "The band that healed America" to "shitty dad rock sung a knob egotist of a frontman hiding their income in tax havens and forcing their music onto us."

Also if memory serves me the whole ipod commercial fed into the South Park episode with Bono ('Hello Hello!'), and probably helped cement an image of U2 at their most obnoxious and oblivious. 12 years of mostly indifferent work since certainly have not helped.

 

[cobl04]

I disagree with Ax actually, my memory of all that is mostly positive. It might have pissed some people off but I think it was largely a success.

I think all of us are far too biased to accurately say what the moment was. Realistically it was probably Rattle & Hum. They recovered from that amazingly well, though. So either Pop & Popmart was the shark jump moment or it was a second, and more final, one. I agree that's unfair considering how fucking amazing Pop is and Popmart was, but putting all our biases aside...

They did recover from Pop well with the whole "reapplying for the top job" bullshit, but there's a lot of fans here who dislike ATYCLB which suggests that Pop was the moment they lost it.

 

[cobl04]

For me personally, aside from playing IALW every fucking night on 360, I would argue this is the shark jump moment, at least for me.

Now I'd long since stopped caring so much about U2 so it didn't bother me that much. But if I still cared deeply about them that would have broken my heart. There's so much wrong with it.

 

[CosmoKramer]

The term Jump the Shark is a misnomer. 30 million people tuned in to watch The Fonz jump that shark and Happy Days continued on for another 7 seasons.

Do you remember the shorts he was wearing paired with a leather jacket on water skies?


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[Hewson]

Do you remember the shorts he was wearing paired with a leather jacket on water skies?

 

[Kieran McConville]

For me personally, aside from playing IALW every fucking night on 360, I would argue this is the shark jump moment, at least for me.

Now I'd long since stopped caring so much about U2 so it didn't bother me that much. But if I still cared deeply about them that would have broken my heart. There's so much wrong with it.

Don't even get me started on that one. I think it pretty much killed Songs of Innocence dead on arrival (well that and releasing The ballad of Joey Ramone as lead single).

 

[cobl04]

It's mind-boggling the lack of self-awareness. Two of the richest white men on the planet touching figures and putting an album on every iPhone. Jesus.

 

[mikal]

Sure, it was influential, I don't disagree with you there. But that ad got massively over-exposed. It started to become a "fuck off Bono" thing, like the tax haven or the political campaigning or, yes, the distribution of SOI.



But as noted, the initial shark-jump doesn't have to be a bad thing in and of itself - it's the terminal decline from that point. U2 have definitely been in a downward spiral post-Vertigo.

That's like saying that Bulls fucked up for winning so many titles resulting in a backlash.


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

Also if memory serves me the whole ipod commercial fed into the South Park episode with Bono ('Hello Hello!'), and probably helped cement an image of U2 at their most obnoxious and oblivious. 12 years of mostly indifferent work since certainly have not helped.

South Park has ripped on just about every single pop culture and political figure of the last 20 years, but only U2 fans think that it's had a direct correlation to people disliking the person.

 

[mikal]

South Park has ripped on just about every single pop culture and political figure of the last 20 years, but only U2 fans think that it's had a direct correlation to people disliking the person.

Right?

http://www.vulture.com/2013/02/every-celebrity-ever-mocked-on-south-park-over-16-seasons.html


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[cobl04]

South Park has ripped on just about every single pop culture and political figure of the last 20 years, but only U2 fans think that it's had a direct correlation to people disliking the person.

Lol. As a Kanye fan every two seconds I hear someone dismiss his entire career because of the 'gay fish' sketch. Come on.

 

[mikal]

And if anything, South Park made fun of Bono haters as much as Bono himself in that episode.


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[Headache in a Suitcase]

Lol. As a Kanye fan every two seconds I hear someone dismiss his entire career because of the 'gay fish' sketch. Come on.

Yes, Kanye's career has been forever damaged by South Park. I wonder if he'll ever be able to recover.

 

[Kieran McConville]

South Park has ripped on just about every single pop culture and political figure of the last 20 years, but only U2 fans think that it's had a direct correlation to people disliking the person.

Yes I know all that. It was just a handy shorthand reference because if you ask me the South Park guys caught Bono quite well, circa then.