I don't really know how to respond to your post rihannsu, because I get what you're saying, but I don't necessarily agree.
To say I don't like the last two albums isn't true. I do like them a lot. ATYCLB is still one of my favorite albums. It has three of my favorite U2 songs on it. It's the album that got me into U2. It holds a very special place in my heart.
Bomb is a different story. It's good, yes, but not by U2 standards IMO. Now, you can say that it has a lot of heart and contemplate the deeper purpose of U2's music to try and justify anything U2 does, but in my mind the fact remains that the album is too safe. It's the sound of U2 resting on the safety of ATYCLB. They'll even admit that their goal is to be the biggest band in the world. Unfortunately in today's world, to do that you most likely can't break down walls, so to speak.
The state of popular music today isn't good. It's mostly about instant gratification. Remember when we heard the leaked video version of Vertigo and it had the cut near the end of the bridge that sounded like a record winding down? That was the original plan for the song but they had to cut it because they thought the average young radio listener couldn't handle that split second of silence in a song. Just a small example, but you get my point. Artistic integrity isn't of much value in the popular music scene today, but the popular music scene is exactly what U2 are aiming for.
Bono is always talking about how the band never wants to look back, but keep looking forward. They're a rock band, so of course they're saying they never want to look back musically. But what did they do with Bomb? The entire album was a look back. It wasn't daring in any way. It was a collection of sounds taken directly from their past albums with nothing new at all. The most creative song on the entire album was One Step Closer and they already had an album of songs like that called Passangers. The album broke down absolutely no walls musically. It didn't move the band forward in any way. We can talk about the band's goal of bringing us closer to God and getting us to love eachother all we want, and that's fine, but the main issue always has been and always will be the quality of the music. You're almost making it sound like U2 can do no wrong because of the intentions behind their songs.
I'm not saying U2 should be a certain way. I'm saying U2 should stick to what they say and move on. I've been hearing U2's music sounding exactly the same for the past seven years and I'm ready for the band to take a step forward. The reason this band is respected is because they weren't willing to play it safe in the past. They went through the biggest change I've ever seen any band go through with Achtung Baby. That was huge when you think about it. The most popular band in the world completely recreated themselves and it made them more respected than ever. It earned them respect. Not the respect an old, aging rocker who rambles on about love and world peace gets, but the respect that musical and artistic geniuse gets. The music was new and daring for the band, the lyrical style was new and poetic and it actually meant something. The band was busting down walls left and right.
That's not what U2 looks like today. I don't need them to go through another unbelievably huge change and redefine what kind of band they are, but I want to see them to keep busting down some walls. The heart of U2 will always be there, and I'll always love their message, but if they keep presnting their message the same way year after years I don't see why I should have much interest.