Your unpopular U2 opinions here!

[VintagePunk]

I agree with you on most of these, but the white dopes on punk line is fucking brilliant!


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Agreed. It's a shout out to the song "White Punks on Dope" by The Tubes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFltXDMQsQQ

 

[Bad Exit]

What does quality mean to you? To me, the production is flatter and less interesting, Edge hasn't come up with an interesting guitar part in years, the arrangements are more formulaic

I disagree... I don't believe the production is flatter, I'd agree that it's overproduced in any case.

I think that the overproduced songs can be annoying since they don't sound as natural/raw as earlier material, but I've experienced that once I accepted that that's the "new" U2 (just like I had to do the same after Achtung Baby compared to 80's U2), the production is better overall even if different to what they used to do/be.

What do you mean by "interesting"? If you mean "innovative and balls", I already admitted they're lacking in that department. (Same applies with the "arrangements more formulaic" argument).

Other than that, I belive "interesting" is pretty subjective... I find very interesting (and great quality) what Edge does in COBL, SYCMIOYO, OOTS, MD, NLOTH, FEZ, Magnificent, Boots, Mercy, Winter and I could keep going on and on.

Get somebody who knows about music and never have heard of U2, give them War and Bomb... I believe they'll tell you that Bomb has way better quality than War.
Less balls, but more quality.

I can accept however that you don't find it interesting, or that you don't find quality in the more formulaic music, but I know many people would disagree with you. It's just opinions.

there's a reason why the general public has only latched onto a handful of songs from an entire 15 year period.

There's several reasons for that, I don't believe "musical quality" is one of them.

And obviously the lyrics are worse, but you didn't include that.

Not sure about that.
I hate sexyboots and standupforyourlove... but I'm not sure everything can be dismissed like that.
On the other hand, I really don't "speak" english, so I'm not sure how cheesy/good/bad/cool/dadrock the lyrics are. I usually don't understand almost anything in the songs and I have to look for the lyrics to know what he's singing anyway. Sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't.
Still not sure they're really "worse" than itsalrightitsalrightitsalrightshemovesinmisteriousways.

It's not that the last four albums have been bad, but I wouldn't use any one of them as an introduction.

I agree with you on this.

U2 is capable of so much more.

50+ year olds U2? not sure.

 

[VintagePunk]

Perhaps then another unpopular opinion for me would be POP being one of their worst albums lyrically.

"You know you're chewing bubble gum, you know what that is but you still want some. You just can't get enough if that lovey dovey stuff.

"It's the blind, leading the blond. It's the stuff, the stuff of country songs.

"There's an insect in your ear
If you scratch it won't disappear
It's gonna itch and burn and sting
You want to see what the scratching brings
Waves that leave me out of reach
Breaking on your back like a beach"

"Jesus, you made the world in seven, your in charge of heaven"(to me this is something a child would write because it rhymes)

Miami...my mammy(the whole song for the most part is awful)

Playboy mansion is one of my favorite songs on the album but lyrically...it's really just random rhyming (coke is a mystery and Michael Jackson history)

"Holy dunc, space junk coming in for the splash
White dopes on punk staring into the flash.
Lookin' for the baby Jesus under the trash
Mother, mother-suckin' rock an' roll."

And these are only the cringeworthy lyrics that I can remember.

Not saying the millennium U2 is superior to this necessarily but on par if nothing else.


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Probably with the exception of the Playboy Mansion line you mentioned, I love all of these lyrics, and I don't get the sense with them (as I do with many of the 2000 clunkers - e.g. "freedom has the scent....") that Bono self-consciously came up with them and thought "that's the best phrase ever!" I think they do what they're meant to - intentional nonsense words (as in Mofo and Discotheque), to show superficiality. SatS is to show discomfort and irritation. I won't mention everything, but it just seems to me that the album is about excess and superficiality and discomfort with that, and someone who is not in a good place personally or spiritually, and the lyrics reflect that nicely.

 

[LemonMelon]

I tend to measure lyrics less on clunkers and more by how revealing or creative they are, so Pop ranks highly for me, while SOI ranks somewhat low. I feel like Bono runs over a lot of well-trod ground on SOI (childhood, relationships, another song about his mom, self-conscious references to being in a band, something something YOU ARE ROCK N ROLL), whereas my first reaction to Pop was "where the hell did that come from? Who wrote this?" So he's out of his comfort zone and occasionally falls short. Overall, it works for me.

"Holy dunc, space junk coming in for the splash
White dopes on punk staring into the flash.
Lookin' for the baby Jesus under the trash
Mother, mother-suckin' rock an' roll."

And this stanza rules. Obviously yet another song about his mom, but the way it blends in pop culture with his lament is clever and very fresh.

 

[VintagePunk]

I tend to measure lyrics less on clunkers and more by how revealing or creative they are, so Pop ranks highly for me, while SOI ranks somewhat low. I feel like Bono runs over a lot of well-trod ground on SOI (childhood, relationships, another song about his mom, self-conscious references to being in a band, something something YOU ARE ROCK N ROLL), whereas my first reaction to Pop was "where the hell did that come from? Who wrote this?" So he's out of his comfort zone and occasionally falls short. Overall, it works for me.



And this stanza rules. Obviously yet another song about his mom, but the way it blends in pop culture with his lament is clever and very fresh.

I definitely think that SoI is written to be lyrically more straightforward and less abstract than AB/Zooropa/Pop, but I also think that there can be beauty and value in simplicity. I don't know. To me, this album doesn't scream of Bono trying too hard to be lyrically brilliant, and in not doing so, he strikes a really good balance. I also know how you feel about this album, and that I'm not going to sway you, but I'll just say that for me, this album is WAY above NLOTH, which I have barely listened to, outside of the month or two after it was released.

Also, this album has me very interested in where the next album will be going, thematically.

 

[CosmoKramer]

I definitely think that SoI is written to be lyrically more straightforward and less abstract than AB/Zooropa/Pop, but I also think that there can be beauty and value in simplicity.

Also, this album has me very interested in where the next album will be going, thematically.

Very well said on both points.

I tend to appreciate the more simplistic/straight forward lyrics but like you said, there can and is beauty and value to be found(if done right and I think it was on SOI).

Most importantly, this album has me very excited for what's next.


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[VintagePunk]

Very well said on both points.

I tend to appreciate the more simplistic/straight forward lyrics but like you said, there can and is beauty and value to be found(if done right and I think it was on SOI).

Most importantly, this album has me very excited for what's next.


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Just to add to that thought, I think it's probably more difficult to write really well in a more simple manner than it is to write well using all sorts of abstractions and metaphors.

 

[The_acrobat]

As for the subject of the thread, I have one: I don't blame U2 for moving their business taxes to the Netherlands. Financially it was a smart move, and legally and ethically, there was nothing wrong with it, they weren't "robbing" Ireland of taxes, because it is based on income earned all over the world, and they and all their Irish employees still pay personal taxes in Ireland. Still, because of the bullshit they've had to put up with because of it, and the perception of people who use it against them without understanding exactly what business tax means in this context, I kind of wish they hadn't.

Well said!

I run a business, and even though my numbers are nothing like U2's, I still do whatever I can to pay as little taxes as possible. Everyone who slags U2 for this are huge hypocrites! They still pay more taxes in Ireland than most people I'm sure.



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[chocky]

I love:
A Man and a Woman
Babyface
Peace on Earth
Red Light

I hate:
Grace
Breathe
Cedars
This is Where You Can Reach Me Now

I'm a massive Manic Street Preachers fan but I don't like The Holy Bible.


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[lazarus]

Previously I only had a sliver of respect for the opinions of the people in this part of the forum.

This thread cut that in half.

 

[mikal]

By calling Bono fat, I caused him push it over the edge with his bike.

 

[Galeongirl]

I sometimes actually like Bono's speeches.. When I'm bored the rambles before the encore don't actually bother me as much as usual.


Oh we're speaking musically... then... nevermind.

 

[bobsaget77]

Get somebody who knows about music and never have heard of U2, give them War and Bomb... I believe they'll tell you that Bomb has way better quality than War.
Less balls, but more quality.

I'm going to compare this because I feel like it.

SBS vs Vertigo - SBS
Seconds vs MD - Seconds
NYD vs Sometimes - NYD
Like A Song vs LAPOE - Like A Song
Drowning Man vs COBL - Drowning Man
The Refugee vs ABOY - ABOY
2 Hearts vs Man/Woman - Man/Woman
Red Light vs Crumbs - Crumbs
Surrender vs OSC - OSC
40 vs OOTS- OOTS
40 vs Yahweh - 40
War wins 6-5. Clearly the 1st half of War is better. But the 2nd half of Bomb is much better than the 2nd half of war which makes it close.


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[VintagePunk]

By calling Bono fat, I caused him push it over the edge with his bike.

Your penance is that you'll forevermore write in incomplete sentences.

 

[iron yuppie]

Get somebody who knows about music and never have heard of U2, give them War and Bomb... I believe they'll tell you that Bomb has way better quality than War.
Less balls, but more quality.

The thing for me is that the "balls" or heart or whatever you want to call it is probably 75% of the fight. Their best albums are the ones where they sound wounded and defiant rather than ticking off the boxes on their U2 album checklist. War is the quintessential U2 album where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[Bad Exit]

well... this is unpopular indeed...

I'm going to compare this because I feel like it.

You're free to do so, but obviously that's neither the premise I said nor is how it works.

You clearly have listened to U2, and you have emotions and judgements already attached to both albums and eras, and it's pointless (except for the fun part) to compare two albums song vs song.

The music in City of Blinding Lights or SYCMIOYO -to name a couple- is better than the music in Sunday Bloody Sunday or in New Year's Day, even if SBS and NYD are the better songs overall.

The thing for me is that the "balls" or heart or whatever you want to call it is probably 75% of the fight. Their best albums are the ones where they sound wounded and defiant rather than ticking off the boxes on their U2 album checklist. War is the quintessential U2 album where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

So you're saying that War is a better album than Bomb, and I'm not arguing that.

I'm arguing just about the music.
Bomb was made by better musicians than those who made War.
The quality of the songs is better in Bomb than in War.
That doesn't mean that Bomb is better overall than War.

---

I believe Outlando's d'Amour is a better album than Synchronicity... and I believe that Synchronicity has better music than Outlandos.

Roger Waters >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Gilmour.
Yet I accept that Gilmour creates better music.

 

[Bluer White]

The Elevation era.

From Boston, to Slane, to the Super Bowl gig.

Their most sincere performances.

 

[lemonfly]

The thing for me is that the "balls" or heart or whatever you want to call it is probably 75% of the fight. Their best albums are the ones where they sound wounded and defiant rather than ticking off the boxes on their U2 album checklist. War is the quintessential U2 album where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Their best albums are indeed the ones where they weren't trying to hold onto their "relevance" (whatever that means). From Boy through to Pop they conveyed an adventurous, almost fearless spirit in their music. Not everything was musically "perfect", but it didn't need to be. I didn't get into U2 because they were super-gifted muscians because they never were. But they were able to convey the entire spectrum of emotions which no other band could do so successfully. When they started looking over their shoulder fearing the dreaded reaper of irrelevance was sneaking up on them, their music lost something that was (quint)essential, and it looks like it's gone for good.

 

[VintagePunk]

Their best albums are the ones where they sound wounded and defiant rather than ticking off the boxes on their U2 album checklist.

This, exactly.

To me, very roughly and loosely speaking, the early 80s were them growing up, with all of the turmoil that comes with it. The later 80s were them looking for something more, I always get a restless vibe from the songs of that era. The 90s are darker and cynical and probably a result of the personal and spiritual toll that fame had on them. By the 2000s, they were in their 40s and probably far too settled to feel those wounds and defiance, which is great for them, they're old and comfortable and mostly content, but it makes for (in general) less interesting songs, lyrically. I think though that by revisiting their youth in SoI, from an older and wiser perspective, they've (mostly successfully) managed to recapture some of the wounds and defiance, and I think that's why this album appeals to me so much - certainly more than anything else from the 2000's.

 

[DaveC]

Their best albums are indeed the ones where they weren't trying to hold onto their "relevance" (whatever that means). From Boy through to Pop they conveyed an adventurous, almost fearless spirit in their music. Not everything was musically "perfect", but it didn't need to be. I didn't get into U2 because they were super-gifted muscians because they never were. But they were able to convey the entire spectrum of emotions which no other band could do so successfully. When they started looking over their shoulder fearing the dreaded reaper of irrelevance was sneaking up on them, their music lost something that was (quint)essential, and it looks like it's gone for good.

This, exactly.

To me, very roughly and loosely speaking, the early 80s were them growing up, with all of the turmoil that comes with it. The later 80s were them looking for something more, I always get a restless vibe from the songs of that era. The 90s are darker and cynical and probably a result of the personal and spiritual toll that fame had on them. By the 2000s, they were in their 40s and probably far too settled to feel those wounds and defiance, which is great for them, they're old and comfortable and mostly content, but it makes for (in general) less interesting songs, lyrically. I think though that by revisiting their youth in SoI, from an older and wiser perspective, they've (mostly successfully) managed to recapture some of the wounds and defiance, and I think that's why this album appeals to me so much - certainly more than anything else from the 2000's.

This pretty much exactly sums up my outlook. Well stated, to both of you

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Elvis Presley and America doesn't deserve to be called a song. It should never have been on TUF. It should never have existed. Someone should have said, "Hey guys, this sucks. Let's put The Three Sunrises on this album instead!" But nooooo, they had to put that stream of consciousness crap on there. Bah humbug!


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Agreed.

 

[digitize]

I tend to measure lyrics less on clunkers and more by how revealing or creative they are, so Pop ranks highly for me, while SOI ranks somewhat low. I feel like Bono runs over a lot of well-trod ground on SOI (childhood, relationships, another song about his mom, self-conscious references to being in a band, something something YOU ARE ROCK N ROLL), whereas my first reaction to Pop was "where the hell did that come from? Who wrote this?" So he's out of his comfort zone and occasionally falls short. Overall, it works for me.



And this stanza rules. Obviously yet another song about his mom, but the way it blends in pop culture with his lament is clever and very fresh.

Brilliantly stated. I feel the same way.


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[david]

I disagree... I don't believe the production is flatter, I'd agree that it's overproduced in any case.

I think that the overproduced songs can be annoying since they don't sound as natural/raw as earlier material, but I've experienced that once I accepted that that's the "new" U2 (just like I had to do the same after Achtung Baby compared to 80's U2), the production is better overall even if different to what they used to do/be.


Get somebody who knows about music and never have heard of U2, give them War and Bomb... I believe they'll tell you that Bomb has way better quality than War.
Less balls, but more quality.

Time and the context of it play a part. I got the WAR album in 1993 and I thought most of the album sounded terribly dated due to its production and this was ten years after it was released. However some tracks still stood out due to timeless songwriting quality. But beating an obvious drum.. Most of the WAR tracks sounded better live and their live versions went onto greater legacy. I agree that production can horribly date certain albums and respective songs.

 

[nbelcik]

I actually quite like all of U2's 2000s albums and I think I like Bomb the most out of all the 2000s albums. COBL and SYCMIOYO are top 25 songs for me. I should clarify that I'm not including SOI in the 2000s albums because I think it represents a new era for U2.


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[VintagePunk]

I should clarify that I'm not including SOI in the 2000s albums because I think it represents a new era for U2.


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This is a very good point. I cannot ever take part in ranking U2 songs or albums, because for me they each suit a different listening mood, so I can only discount what I do not like, which is the back half of ATYCLB except for New York, and huge swaths of NLOTH. Anyway, my point being, I find it very difficult to accurately assess a new U2 album and put it in its proper perspective till the next album comes out. I'm fairly confident in saying though that I think SoI will remain pretty high for me.

 

[corianderstem]

Elvis Presley and America doesn't deserve to be called a song. It should never have been on TUF. It should never have existed. Someone should have said, "Hey guys, this sucks. Let's put The Three Sunrises on this album instead!" But nooooo, they had to put that stream of consciousness crap on there. Bah humbug!

This.

... the white dopes on punk line is fucking brilliant!

That.

As for the subject of the thread, I have one: I don't blame U2 for moving their business taxes to the Netherlands. Financially it was a smart move, and legally and ethically, there was nothing wrong with it, they weren't "robbing" Ireland of taxes, because it is based on income earned all over the world, and they and all their Irish employees still pay personal taxes in Ireland.

This thing, too.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Previously I only had a sliver of respect for the opinions of the people in this part of the forum.

This thread cut that in half.

Do you think your narcissist opinions of people on this site actually matter?

 

[bobsaget77]

The Adelaide concert was better than the Sydney concert on ZooTV.
The versions of Running To Stand Still and Streets are out of this world


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[YBORCITY]

This, exactly.

To me, very roughly and loosely speaking, the early 80s were them growing up, with all of the turmoil that comes with it. The later 80s were them looking for something more, I always get a restless vibe from the songs of that era. The 90s are darker and cynical and probably a result of the personal and spiritual toll that fame had on them. By the 2000s, they were in their 40s and probably far too settled to feel those wounds and defiance, which is great for them, they're old and comfortable and mostly content, but it makes for (in general) less interesting songs, lyrically. I think though that by revisiting their youth in SoI, from an older and wiser perspective, they've (mostly successfully) managed to recapture some of the wounds and defiance, and I think that's why this album appeals to me so much - certainly more than anything else from the 2000's.

Wow, what a great post Cheers!!!

I thought of another unpopular opinion of mine.. I really liked Crazy Tonight and I kinda missed them playing "straight" in concert, like they did early in the tour.

 

[Chief43]

This, exactly.

To me, very roughly and loosely speaking, the early 80s were them growing up, with all of the turmoil that comes with it. The later 80s were them looking for something more, I always get a restless vibe from the songs of that era. The 90s are darker and cynical and probably a result of the personal and spiritual toll that fame had on them. By the 2000s, they were in their 40s and probably far too settled to feel those wounds and defiance, which is great for them, they're old and comfortable and mostly content, but it makes for (in general) less interesting songs, lyrically. I think though that by revisiting their youth in SoI, from an older and wiser perspective, they've (mostly successfully) managed to recapture some of the wounds and defiance, and I think that's why this album appeals to me so much - certainly more than anything else from the 2000's.

?

When you are content in life it gets harder to draw on inspiration derived from anger, grief and darkness. That's what I think makes SOI a clever album as it delves into their childhood including troubling experiences.

Sent from down the rabbit hole