Best Album Survivor: Round One

[gvox]

I don't really understand why some people are somewhat convinced that Pop was going to go first. Sure, it's not the most loved album and has raised loads of debate, but I think Interference as a whole rates it as a fairly good album. A masterpiece? No. But the collective opinion seems to be more positive than not.

It's not a bad album at all. It took a bit longer to grow on me than other previous releases, but that's because I did kindof feel like they were late to the dance so to speak and so I had to kindof shelve that to really get into the songs for what they were.

 

[djerdap]

Were like sooo indie and hip for, you know, recognizing the sheer brilliance of such an obscure masterpiece.

NOT

Its not hatred, its just not a fucking good album! It's a collection of soundscapes..movie background noise. Half of the tracks aren't even songs! It's not even technically part of the U2 discography!

To hear someone actually say that Passengers trumps ANY U2 album, RnH included, just makes me laugh. Ridiculous! Ms Sarajevo and Your Blue Room are the LONE saving graces of this experiment. I'd take Miami - FUCKING MIAMI! - over most of the other tracks.

First of all, not many here have declared it a masterpiece. I certainly don't consider it one, since it is a mixed bag, but I also think it has some of the most beautiful stuff U2 and Eno have ever put on a record. The high points hit me emotionally certainly more than that other album where U2 and Eno shared songwriting credits. Whether it is "technically" a part of U2's discography is such a tired discussion and it brings no argument whatsoever about the quality of the music.

Secondly, as LM has already pointed out, it's woefully ignorant to discard soundscapes and ambient instrumental music as "movie background noise", as that should be some kind of a derogatory term. I happen to listen and love a lot of beautiful instrumental film soundtracks. Outside of those, there is tons of fantastic ambient and electronic music that doesn't have a single syllable uttered, and hardly follow any kind of a traditional song structure. On Passengers, a classic example would be Beach Sequence, a track that I believe is one of the most beautiful little musical pieces U2 had done.

And finally and most importantly - I like Miami. Especially the rocking live version.

 

[iron yuppie]

What this survivor should be is a series of threads in which individual members tell us what to think. Then we vote on who has been the most dogmatic. That would be entertaining.

 

[cobl04]

What this survivor should be is a series of threads in which individual members tell us what to think. Then we vote on who has been the most dogmatic. That would be entertaining.

Yes.

 

[iron yuppie]

Outside of those, there is tons of fantastic ambient and electronic music that doesn't have a single syllable uttered, and hardly follow any kind of a traditional song structure.

And jazz as well. Some of the most affecting music I have ever heard is jazz.

Doesn't Bono make a speech sometime on R&H when he says Miles Davis inspired one of the songs? Then the song has absolutely nothing in common with Miles Davis or jazz at all?

 

[gvox]

I've no idea what jazz is, of course, because my definition of music is so absurdly narrow.

Ambient...electronica? What are these?

Any good?

 

[iron yuppie]

Well, how else are we to read this comment?

"It's a collection of soundscapes..movie background noise. Half of the tracks aren't even songs!"

It doesn't exactly suggest an appreciation for ambient music. But great if you do like ambient. What's your favorite from that genre?

 

[gvox]

It doesn't exactly suggest an appreciation for ambient music.

I've got plenty of appreciation for good ambient music and have been listening to it for a good 25+ years. I just don't think most of what's on Passengers qualifies. There are a couple bright spots, but not enough to make this one of U2's best albums. Having said that, I'll reiterate that Ms Sarajevo is one of the best songs I've ever heard and Your Blue Room is also very beautiful.

But.. if I have to take the album as a whole, and stack it against one of my favorite records of my youth, it's not measuring up.

Gloria
I Threw A Brick
Rejoice
Tomorrow
October
With A Shout
Scarlet

and to a lesser extent
I Fall Down
Stranger In A Strange Land

 

[gvox]

What's your favorite from that genre?

Just saw this...waaayyy to diverse a genre to really pick one favorite. I mean ambient crosses/overlaps into other genres, also!

But if I were to talk about favorite ambient stuff used in soundtracks, we're talking stuff like Tangerine Dream..some Brian Eno of course. Vangelis is classic. I was indoctrinated on Jarre by my somewhat..eccentric aunt, and have an appreciation for his stuff also.

But that flavor of ambient is not something I seek day in day out. Have to be in a certain..mood, I guess . I actually really like ambient jazz, house, electronic, though.

 

[Axver]

Get the fuck out of here, ATYCLB.

I think the level of voting for October and Passengers, two of U2's best albums, is shameful.

 

[trevgreg]

I think the level of voting for October and Passengers, two of U2's best albums, is shameful.

I think we're going to be okay pal. If it were any other two albums, the same debate would be going on over them by somebody else!

 

[Salome]

I would wager that on an Eno forum Passengers would also get kicked out first in a Survivor thread. Especially since the 'Eno tracks' are particularly, surprisingly, boring.
Even (far) more than R&H, Passengers would improve a lot by being 30 minutes shorter.

 

[Nick66]

Passengers isn't my favourite "U2" album, and even just judging it for what it is (and not against other U2 records), it's purely average, at best, as far as ambient music goes. Certainly when compared to a lot of Eno's other stuff.

Having said that, calling it mostly "filler" (or "background") is way off the mark and really displays a complete misunderstanding of what the record is. A lot of this "filler" nonsense was also thrown around by several people here when commenting on TUF and TUF/JT B-sides as well during the Rate the Song series. Just because something doesn't sound like a "song" as you know it doesn't make it "filler".

Really, OS1 probably shouldn't have been included in this at all, because it's so different it's really impossible to "compare" it to U2's conventional releases.

In any event, neither October or OS1 rank among U2's best albums, but they aren't the two worst either by a long shot.

Oh, and anyone who thinks R&H is U2's worst album really has no business listening to this band.

 

[cobl04]

I don't understand why people have such an aversion to it being included... as if Passengers being included in these competitions is an affront to the honour of the band

 

[bono_man2002]

Doesn't Bono make a speech sometime on R&H when he says Miles Davis inspired one of the songs? Then the song has absolutely nothing in common with Miles Davis or jazz at all?

Miracle Drug, I think (on the Chicago DVD)

I voted Rattle & Hum, just because I didn't think it was fair to vote for any of the first three albums.

 

[cobl04]

I think you can hear a bit of Miracle Drug in Bitches Brew, wouldn't you agree iYup?

 

[LemonMelon]

What the fuck is wrong with Bono sometimes, really?

Doesn't Bono make a speech sometime on R&H when he says Miles Davis inspired one of the songs? Then the song has absolutely nothing in common with Miles Davis or jazz at all?

ok edge play the bluezz!!!

 

[Nick66]

I don't understand why people have such an aversion to it being included... as if Passengers being included in these competitions is an affront to the honour of the band

I'm not sure anyone used the words "aversion" or "honour" in commenting on its inclusion.

Oh wait. You did.

 

[gvox]

I would wager that on an Eno forum Passengers would also get kicked out first in a Survivor thread. Especially since the 'Eno tracks' are particularly, surprisingly, boring.
Even (far) more than R&H, Passengers would improve a lot by being 30 minutes shorter.

Yup

 

[OpenG180]

So, according to Interference, Bomb is a better album than October.

Well, to paraphrase the french proverb, it's better to read that than be blind!

 

[gvox]

I don't understand why people have such an aversion to it being included... as if Passengers being included in these competitions is an affront to the honour of the band

I don't have an aversion, I just don't think it belongs. To wit: U2 doesn't even consider it part of their official discography, really, and band members themselves have distanced themselves from it.

As a U2 record, I think it falls way short of the mark of any consideration. As an ambient project, as others have noted, it's mediocre at best. The best work on it, recognized by most, are actual "songs" in the more traditional sense both from a U2, and musical, standpoint. This is a fairly widely held opinion, I don't see anyone saying One Minute Warning is the best song on the album. People are saying "Ms Sarajevo" or "Your Blue Room". Sometimes I wonder whether they even belong on that record.

I go back to the origin of this poll series - was it not sortof like "you're on a desert island, which U2 album could you live without"?

And if I take every single last album that U2 has put out and ask myself which record can I can honestly say that my musical life would not be affected one way or the other if it never existed, Passengers fits that bill hands down. Ms Sarajevo and Your Blue Room would have almost certainly been released on their own, and I'd still have them on the Best Of.

Therefore in the way I interpret this contest ie "Survivor"...there is no other U2 album I could be fine with living without, more so than Passengers.

And I'd go a step further and say that anyone who was actually around when October came out would never - ever! - vote out October before Passengers, and perhaps even a couple other U2 records. It is actually a very vital piece of the U2 canon, for many!

 

[iron yuppie]

What this survivor should be is a series of threads in which individual members tell us what to think. Then we vote on who has been the most dogmatic.

Oh, and anyone who thinks R&H is U2's worst album really has no business listening to this band.

My money's on you, Nick. Please don't disappoint me.

 

[Galeongirl]

My money's on you, Nick. Please don't disappoint me.

I think Gvox is quite the contender too.

 

[Nick66]

My money's on you, Nick. Please don't disappoint me.

I believe you're confused.

 

[gvox]

I think Gvox is quite the contender too.