Happy 5th Birthday to POP!

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Hawkmoon1021

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From what I can recall, POP came out in March 1997. If you listen to it now, I think it sounds just as fresh as the day it came out. (Anyone know the exact day?) So in honor of what many consider the ugly duckling (not me!) of U2's catalog, what are your 3 TOP POP songs? Mine change all the time, but here's how I feel today...

1. MOFO-When I first listened to this tune, it felt a bit contrived to me. I thought U2 were trying to sound techno, for techno's sake. Now it's my favorite tune off the album. The vocal and lyrics are great, and Edge plays like an astrounaut! Adam & Larry kick ass as well. I always hear something new every time I listen to it...like most of the POP tracks.

2. DO YOU FEEL LOVED-Adam & Edge are super on this track.

3. PLEASE-I know this is alot of peoples fave on the album. I agree. A great band song. Adam's bass towards the end is probably his best technical performance I can recall. His growth is just tremendous.

Hopefully the next best of will feature some of theses tunes so they can be rediscovered.
 
POP is a decent album. Its got a few good tunes but it really lacks the radio-friendly singles that their other albums are filled with. Especially ATYCLB.

Top 3:
GONE
STARING AT THE SUN
PLEASE

------------------
"You gotta put the women and children first, but you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York..."
 
Originally posted by tackleberry:
it really lacks the radio-friendly singles that their other albums are filled with. Especially ATYCLB.
Click to expand...

That's one reason I tend to like it so much.
 
Top 3:
(Please): I'm not sure I should count the album version because I feel the live versions or even the single version are so, so much better. But the lyrics, the melody, and the feeling of the song are marvellous whatever the specific arrangement

Wake Up Dead Man: Beautiful lyrics, so heartflet, and really heartbreaking. I listened to this song when I was in a crummy mood once... NOT a good idea, lemme tell ya! I love the haunting beautiful guitar and melody coming out from the garbled mess of modern lives and the raw passion of the storming chorus.

MOFO: When I first heard this song, I thought I'd enetered another planet, or at least U2 had... It gave me such a wallop over the head I was almost dazed, swept away in its maniac beats and bass and mesmerised by the soaring, raging guitar. BOOM. I always thought the song would have mainstream appeal and be a successful single, but then again what did I know, I was just some kid who totally loved it.

Since Please didn't totally count,
Discotheque: A lot of people dismiss this as being a throwaway pop song. Maybe it is, maybe that's the point. But it goes beyond that. It is so perfect and so catchy and the production is so layered and dreamy and mesmerising and it hits you hard and makes you rock. Many people knock on the lyrics, but to me, while they might not be specific, they speak of many things and are really interesting.

Hmmm, I can't stop now... here's some more honorable mentions for ya:

Do You Feel Loved: Didn't hit me at first, but now I've grown hugely fond of it. A sonic rollercoaster ride to somewhere very strange and wonderful. I think I want to have sex to this song.

Gone: The live version is better, but on the album it is certainly quite excellent.. anthemic and beautiful, and rocking.

Staring at the Sun: great singalong song, such a catchy chorus, great lyrics, I prefer the live acoustic version though.

If God Will Send His Angels: great slow number, I really love it. Starts so quiet and then rises to a beautiful ballad.

If You Wear That Velvet Dress: seductive, sultry, sexy, some really really cool grooves and amazing guitar work from Le Edge.

Miami: Strange, and unconventional. Definately not to everyone's liking, but it gets to me. I dig the beat and the weirdness and the lyrics are very poetic.

Playboy Mansion: groovy, overlooked commentary on modern society. many people seem to despise it, but I really like it. I think the lyrics are really clever, not contrived.

Last Night On Earth: My least favourite song on the album. Couldn't say why.. just hasn't hit me like the others. Live though, it is a very different story. I totally love the "I wanted to meet GOD! .. and they sold me religion" intro. tres cool.
 
the actual 5 year anniversary was yesterday. Too bad I missed it. I could have listened to it all loud and stuff. oh well.
 
Wow- 5 years... yay for Pop!

b0126.gif


Pop is definitely one of my favorite albums. Can't say there was a time that I ever disliked it. As for my top songs? Uh, dang, I don't think I can do it... but I'll try.
Ok, the top three are in NO particular order! And, there's some ties in here...

1) Mofo/Gone/Discotheque/IYWTVD
2) Wake up Dead Man/LNOE/Miami/Playboy Mansion
3)Do You Feel Loved/SATS/Please/IGWSHA

Whoo, yeah that was tough. hooray for Pop!
 
Originally posted by SkeeK:
the actual 5 year anniversary was yesterday. Too bad I missed it. I could have listened to it all loud and stuff. oh well.
Click to expand...

I guess my guess was pretty close!

For the hell of it, here are my favorite live POP songs, the ones I think are better than the album versions.

Please-I don't think I need to elaborate here...I like the album version as well.

Last Night On Earth-Catches fire live. Bono & Edge's guitar & vocal interplay is great...Edge goes off at the end.

Gone-Edge's guitar replaces the piano, plus his backing vocals enhances the song. Smokes the studio version-no pun intended...
 
Pop deserves more respect than it gets, IMO. It's a great collection of songs, and that would be enough for any other artist. But, we're spoiled by U2, and we expect some sort of "thematic" masterpiece, a la the desert in JT, or a night on the town in AB. Pop didn't have that cohesion, so the fact that it has some really great songs often gets ignored.

my $.02

-Mike
 
I think that POP is a great record.
IMO, even better than ATYCLB ( as an album ).

My favorite songs are:

1) Gone
2) Please ( I prefer the album version )
3) Staring At The Sun

All songs are even better live!
Please is also the greatest U2 video ever.
I really love the video for STS too.
 
like tiny dancer said, it's hard to believe it's been five years **sigh**

I have as good or better memories of Pop and PopMart as I do Elevation last year....

*the announcement in Feb. 97 that U2 would be opening their world tour in Las Vegas in two months time!!!!

*the release of the album and the reaction by the DJs in Vegas

*the weekend in Vegas (you knew I was leading up to that!!!)

*two weeks later, the weekend in Phoenix and getting to meet Bono!!

*six weeks later, getting to see them twice in Oakland, including fourth row seats

overall, a blast
biggrin.gif


there's nothing like DYFL and Mofo live, and there will never be again since you know they'll never play them ever again
frown.gif
 
Aaahhh POP. I know it was critcized here in the US but this was my 1st U2 album and I loved and still love it. I brought it when I heard Discotheque. I wasn't into music back then but when ATYCLB came out I became a U2 fan.
My favorite POP SONGS

1. Discotheque
2. Do You Feel Loved
3. Gone
4. Please
5. Staring at the Sun
6. MOFO


------------------
~*~Keep your head up cause a new day's gonna come...Midnight--Oh...she can't sleep she's afraid to dream...My Spanish Rose~*~
 
My top 3 faves off the album:

1. If God Will Send His Angels
2. Please
3. Gone

My opinion about Gone on this last tour was that U2 kept it in the setlist over the hit singles from Pop for the most part as an advertisement to those who may have lost interest in U2 with Zooropa and Pop, and became fans again with this album and tour, and to those that just became fans with ATYCLB. There was a major dip in US album sales with Pop. I know a couple U2 fans who bought everything up to Achtung Baby, lost interest with Zooropa and Pop, and then became big fans again with ATYCLB and the Elevation tour. They bought the DVD, and thought Stay and Gone were great songs and wanted to know where they were from, and now they want to borrow my Zooropa and Pop cds that they skipped over years ago.

[This message has been edited by ericb (edited 03-04-2002).]

[This message has been edited by ericb (edited 03-04-2002).]
 
1)Please (live version,'nuff said)
2)Mofo (real heavy lyrics, crazy beat)
3)IYWTVD (poetic lyrics, damn sexy!)
4)IGWSHA (just beautiful)
5)Gone, Miami, and basically every other song on that album is great!
(my #3 favorite album after JT and AB).
 
The week POP came out and friend and I drove to the Grand Canyon listening to the new album the whole time. It's hard to believe that was five years ago. But it is still one of my favorite albums. As far as I'm concerned POP squishes ATYCLB like a little grape.

------------------
Children by the millions sing for Alex Chilton
 
I remember when Pop came out...

I was 15 and had been a fan for only 2 years. March 3rd was a school day, so I had to wait until after school to buy it. I kept calling the music store from the pay phone between classes to make sure they hadn't run out yet. *lol*
biggrin.gif



------------------
"Hallelujah, Heaven's white rose,
The doors you open...I just can't close..."
 
b0126.gif

Boom Cha! Boom Cha! Discotheque!

Fave tracks: Do You Feel Loved, Mofo, Staring at the Sun, Last Night on Earth, and Wake Up Dead Man.

Happy Birthday, POP!

------------------
The Irish been coming here for years. Feels like they own the place.

All That You Can't Leave Behind is my album of the year! :p

Love,
Emily

Visit my webpage for U2 wallpapers:
www.geocities.com/springtime5348/index.html
 
The album is like a fine wine

------------------
I'm not living
I'm just killing time
 
I think the main reason that POP didn't meet sales expectations in the US had nothing to do with the sound of the album. As I said here before, I think it's the way the album was presented to the public. Having Discotheque as the 1st single & video was such a curveball, that most U2 fans, including myself, were completely baffled by it. I just remembered when that video ended for the 1st time saying to myself, "What the hell was that?" I love the tune, but there was nothing in there to show fans why they loved U2 in the 1st place. It seemed like lets be different for the sake of being different...at least that's what I felt at first look. It took me a couple run throughs to get the joke. I also think the Kmart tour launch was lost on a lot of people. If the image for POP was presented closer to ATYCLB and the 1st single was SATS, or LNOE people would have a whole different take on POP in the US. Unfortunately, image is just important as the music to most people...
 
POP is an amazing album. I have always loved it, and could never understand how people couldn't. It's so innovative and beautiful. Top three faves:

Please
Gone
Mofo

Take those, and play 'em live, you got three of the best kick ass tunes ever.
 
Favorite POP tracks:

*Do You Feel Loved
*Mofo
*Last Night on Earth
*Gone
*Please
*Miami
*and of course, Boom-Cha!...Discotheque!
wink.gif


------------------
when a good time turns around
you must whip it
you will never live it down
unless you whip it
no one gets their way
until they whip it
i say whip it
whip it good
 
I remember being on vacation in MIAMI when it was released....on the beach, nice breeze, headphones on..........
every time I listen to POP it takes me back there....a great memory......AND a great album, under appreciated for its variety and quite possibly a few of U2's most interesting tracks of all time: MOFO, Disco., Do you Feel Loved, Please.
ah hell, there are only two songs that were filler: Playboy and Miami....the rest are brilliant. I actually enjoy listening to it more than ATYCLB, as a whole.
 
Originally posted by Hawkmoon1021:
Having Discotheque as the 1st single & video was such a curveball, that most U2 fans, including myself, were completely baffled by it. I just remembered when that video ended for the 1st time saying to myself, "What the hell was that?" I love the tune, but there was nothing in there to show fans why they loved U2 in the 1st place.

I should clarify a bit. I shouldn't say nothing there to show fans why they loved U2 in the 1st place. There was the experimentation & willingness to change, plus the awesome guitar sounds Edge makes...again, this was just my 1st reaction. I love it now, but still don't think it should have been the 1st single from a commercial standpoint.

Oh, the album cover is cool too.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Basstrap:
The album is like a fine wine
Click to expand...

Absolutely true. It ages well and sounds better every time I listen to it.

Top three?
- Gone
- Discotheque
- Mofo
 
5 years eh?

The day Pop came out was the day I left Melbourne, my friends and family to spend all that time since travelling around the world. It was like a last night on Earth for me. I got the album at midnight and listened to it in my apartment - everything was gone except for my stereo.

At the time the two songs that hit me were Do you feel loved and Gone - both completely blew me away on first listen. Velvet Dress is my favourite sleeper.

I raise a glass and toast to POP.

It may have been the ugly duckling as far as US critics thought, but for me it is one swan of a U2 album.
 
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