Thread for people who have heard the new album

[lemans]

Hey, don't put down the Verve. They're an awesome band.

"A NEW DECAAAAAAAAAADEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........."

 

[coemgen]

I'm going to start a thread for people who haven't heard the album yet.

 

[LemonMelon]

And "Cedars" reminds me of "Wake Up Dead Man," because of the tempo and because it ends so suddenly, on a somber note—and I guess because some of Bono's lyrics approach "Wake Up"'s quality, not in content, but in precision. It doesn't seem like one they'll break out for the tour.

When I first heard the clip for this track, I felt a Million Dollar Hotel vibe about it. Would you agree that perhaps those sessions may have had an influence on Cedars?

 

[Moser]

"A NEW DECAAAAAAAAAADEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........."

Dude, I want rock out with you! Throw in some Gravity Grave and has anybody mentioned COME ON!!!! yet?

Oh, about U2....I want to hear "Unknown Caller". I'm anticipating that song the most.

 

[rantor49]

And aniticpation isn't half the fun. Anticipation is a side-effect of expectation and longing, and neither are fun.

Classic

 

[Rosebud]

J2-D2, THANK YOU for your review. Now could you answer my question pretty please?

Hey, I got a question!

How would you describe the mood/theme of this album? Did it seem cohesive to you?

 

[J2-D2]

you said originally you couldn't.

Can you offer us specifics. We are all horribly jealous if you've heard it.

How did you hear it?
Do you actually have a copy?
Give us some solid details on songs (rather than, "edge has a solo in MOS, and Stand Up is U2 by numbers" these are thigns we've heard a million times before)

The first two questions are the ones I don't really want to get into, because I heard it in a professional capacity and was told to keep a lid on it. I don't actually think I could get into, like, trouble for doing this, but you'll forgive me, please, if I don't elaborate simply because on the off chance my boss found out about this thread, he would shake his head disappointedly.

What do you want to know? I summed up my thoughts on the songs, but at this point, seriously, I find myself reading the reviews that have come out and thinking, Yep, that's what I think, too, or That guy is a totally wrong douche. There's only so much one can say in prose about music, unless one is, like, Robert Christgau or David Fricke.

 

[J2-D2]

J2-D2 or anyone else who has heard the full song.

Could you please elaborate on Cedars of Lebanon?? I am wondering if it has any kind of solo similar to Love is Blindness or whether it ever turns in a different direction from the 30 second clips.

Thank you in advance!

No, it doesn't have a solo like "Love." (There's a bridge, I guess, but not a raging solo like that.) It's a quiet, simple song—very restrained.

 

[Moser]

My question is:

Is it better than POP? Because I am in love with POP

 

[lemans]

Dude, I want rock out with you! Throw in some Gravity Grave and has anybody mentioned COME ON!!!! yet?

Oh, about U2....I want to hear "Unknown Caller". I'm anticipating that song the most.

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA..........HERE I COME!!!! (fuck...that's a long drive!)
"AND HOW LONG WILL I RUN FORRRR!........"

 

[J2-D2]

When I first heard the clip for this track, I felt a Million Dollar Hotel vibe about it. Would you agree that perhaps those sessions may have had an influence on Cedars?

I'd buy that, although it never occurred to me. I definitely hear Passengers and Hotel throughout the album—"Moment" reminds me of "Miss Sarajevo."

 

[U2DMfan]

If you could say whether Fez-Being Born has a choral section, you could answer whether Tripoli was cut or renamed.

 

[dan_smee]

The first two questions are the ones I don't really want to get into, because I heard it in a professional capacity and was told to keep a lid on it. I don't actually think I could get into, like, trouble for doing this, but you'll forgive me, please, if I don't elaborate simply because on the off chance my boss found out about this thread, he would shake his head disappointedly.

What do you want to know? I summed up my thoughts on the songs, but at this point, seriously, I find myself reading the reviews that have come out and thinking, Yep, that's what I think, too, or That guy is a totally wrong douche. There's only so much one can say in prose about music, unless one is, like, Robert Christgau or David Fricke.

More specific things rather than, this song sounds like this.

We want to know things like what the transition from the intro into the verse sounds liek in unknown caller. How do edges solos sound. How does the chorus to... all the songs sound. Do they match up well to the beach clips?

Thanks for the reviews, and i dont mean to come off like a prick, we just have a lot of experience with people popping up and saying they've heard it when they haven't.

it's amazing how sad and pathetic some people can be

 

[Real Texan]

J2-D2 Thank you!

How would you rate this in their canon? I liked the last one, but it just didn't come together for me like the rest of their records, save for maybe POP.

 

[AtomicBono]

("Force quit! Move to trash!")

Bono uses a Mac seriously that line makes me laugh. I kind of love it. so strange.

thanks for your comments I'm kind of excited that it's a "weird" album. U2 definitely hasn't had a weird album since the 90's. Weird albums

 

[dan_smee]

Bono uses a Mac seriously that line makes me laugh. I kind of love it. so strange.

thanks for your comments I'm kind of excited that it's a "weird" album. U2 definitely hasn't had a weird album since the 90's. Weird albums

He's always knocking around the studio with a macbook air. lucky bastard

 

[Moser]

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA..........HERE I COME!!!! (fuck...that's a long drive!)
"AND HOW LONG WILL I RUN FORRRR!........"

Terre Haute, Indiana...aka "The Dirty"....maybe it's best if I come to the big smoke? I travel at speeds of excess of 125 knots.

 

[Sicy]

I'm going to start a thread for people who haven't heard the album yet.

That will just get a cuz that's pretty much ALL of the forum lol.

 

[Moser]

Bono uses a Mac seriously that line makes me laugh. I kind of love it. so strange.

thanks for your comments I'm kind of excited that it's a "weird" album. U2 definitely hasn't had a weird album since the 90's. Weird albums

No, Bono uses Ubuntu.

 

[LemonMelon]

I'd buy that, although it never occurred to me. I definitely hear Passengers and Hotel throughout the album—"Moment" reminds me of "Miss Sarajevo."

Very cool. Thanks for the info. People have been pining for sequels to both of those projects for a long time now, myself included. Nice to hear that a little bit of both stuck with them.

 

[J2-D2]

J2-D2, THANK YOU for your review. Now could you answer my question pretty please?

Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it doesn't sound as cohesive as, say, Joshua Tree. You know how Unforgettable Fire kind of jumps from song-style to song-style? It's sort of like that, mixed with Zooropa's eclectic content.

I'm not sure what the theme is. Bono covers all the bases—God, justice, death, and difficulty of living your life the right way. In some ways, though, it feels like an amalgam of everything they've ever done, revisited and expanded upon. And maybe that's it—like, here's our past, and there's so much richness just in what's behind us that the end isn't in sight.

I don't want to make it sound like it's a retreat into an old sound, though. It's certainly U2, but it's a step forward, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Moser]

Do you predict this new album will alienate fan bases or draw in more fans?

 

[coemgen]

That will just get a cuz that's pretty much ALL of the forum lol.

I know. I was being sarcastic.

 

[JOFO]

My question is:

Is it better than POP? Because I am in love with POP

It's not 1997 and U2 are not trying to win the race of Brit electronica winning over America.
And, the first video is good.

Nah, there are some classic u2 songs on this record.
POP is wonderful andI love it, butthis is a totally different vibe. Is it a party record? I would say so.
Is it a "sit with headphones and decipher" record? I would also say so.


My only problem is this:
I now understand how Boots fits in the album; it's the turning point.
I think they were absolutely insane not to release Magnificent as the first single, along with much fanfare......

 

[lemans]

Well no....it depends on how you look at music.

It's going to make Viva La Vida or whatever the hell the subtitle is sound like Music For Elmo. (the Sesame Street character)


But.....it is not "guitar, bass, and drums".......no, no.

And that is ok with me.

Ok good. It's just that term "adult contemporary" makes me think of Sting wearing sandals or Bryan Adams coming through the speakers when I'm in my dentists' waiting room.

 

[J2-D2]

My question is:

Is it better than POP? Because I am in love with POP

The only two albums I've ever heard that were better than Pop are Achtung Baby and Zooropa. And sometimes I think Pop is better than they are.

 

[JOFO]

IMO:

Sting=

Bryan Adams=

 

[cseggleton]

would you rank this album ahead of atyclb and htdaab?

 

[JOFO]

BTW at times this record reminded me of Simple Minds and a bit of that Brit pop band with the female singer.....Tortoiuse?......no.....shit, what was the name?

 

[Rosebud]

Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it doesn't sound as cohesive as, say, Joshua Tree. You know how Unforgettable Fire kind of jumps from song-style to song-style? It's sort of like that, mixed with Zooropa's eclectic content.

I'm not sure what the theme is. Bono covers all the bases—God, justice, death, and difficulty of living your life the right way. In some ways, though, it feels like an amalgam of everything they've ever done, revisited and expanded upon. And maybe that's it—like, here's our past, and there's so much richness just in what's behind us that the end isn't in sight.

I don't want to make it sound like it's a retreat into an old sound, though. It's certainly U2, but it's a step forward, as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks very much for answering my question. That's an interesting answer indeed, and it also kind of supports the vibe I've been getting from the different reviews and the recent interviews with the band. The central idea, though topics as you say are eclectic, seems to be life experience. Is that why people are citing AC? Not in the old and safe context, but as a mature album? A lot of the songs, even if they're not from Bono's perspective, seem to be about experience (i.e. war correspondent, soldier in Afghanistan, etc.). Then -- because it's U2, God bless 'em -- a look back is also coupled with a "the possibilities are endless" idea for the future. Does that make any sense to you?

Not really sure where eyeliner fits into this, but whatevs.