agreed. U2 are one of a kind. Take Bruce Springsteen for example - He is a god of rock and tours like there is no tomorrow (and my god I wish he would get that hot ass to Australia some time), but hasn't written a song that could hit the charts and the crowds like Vertigo in decades. The Stones are another one - they're still touring, and rokcing out crowds of 80 000 but they don't have the song writting oopmh anymore. U2 stand out in that respect, so its easier to have faith that they'll keep hitting the mark again and again until they know that they no longer have it.
Well, I agree. U2 is did something amazing with Vertigo. But we also have to accept that Rock is not mainstream anymore (in U.S.). Songs like Radio Nowhere (Bruce Springsteen), Supernatural Superserious (R.E.M.) or Streets of Love (Stones), for example, would be massive hits 15-20 years ago, but today they have no impact at all. Vertigo actually is something really weird in these days and I would be very surprised if the new single makes any impact on American charts that are not rock-related.
And Aerosmith is more pop, but still manage to write hits too... let's see what happens with their new album.
P.S. - Coldplay did it, so why not U2, right?