Isn't it funny how things change??? Hutdab.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
when the album first came out I thought it was U2's 2nd worst album after POP
(with basically the same mistakes: no flow, too many producers, some songs that are really sub par as far as U2 is concerned ...)
and though part of me still thinks this is true I listen to the album more than to just about any other U2 album

so I guess I warmed up to it
 
Zootlesque said:


:huh: Can't people express their opinion on stuff you like??? It's not like the original poster said something along the lines of ZOMG HUTDAB SUX!!! just to get a rise out of people. It was a pretty well thought out post. How about not even fucking saying anything if you can't take criticism of something that you like? Geez!

Personally I've been enjoying listening to the album lately. I even re-arranged the order and have to say I love it.

Of course everyone can express an opinion, and LU's post was an opinion. It's as valid as anyone else's.
 
I was almost embarrassed by it early on, but I think since the tour ended, and I guess entering the cycle of the 'new' album and whatever hope that brings, I just kind of ignore Atomic Bomb now. I haven't deliberately listened to any track from it for ages. At least a year, maybe more. U2 doing lightweight, MOR pop-rock isn't for me, and I think a real shame for them.
 
Rosebud said:


Of course everyone can express an opinion, and LU's post was an opinion. It's as valid as anyone else's.

No. There is a difference between stating your opinion and constantly whining about people you don't agree with. The latter grows old very fast.
 
Salome said:
when the album first came out I thought it was U2's 2nd worst album after POP


he said WHAT???
12412695_400x400.jpg


:angry:
 
COBL_04 said:
My U2 journey really began with How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Discussing here, I always do forget, how many guys here have a relatively short relationship & experience with U2.:yes:
Regarding HTDAAB nothing has changed for me: a great album with nice tracks. From the sound & production an absolute upgrade from ATYCLB, which I don't appreciate that much as a studio work.
Now in the long run, it may not be a definite U2 album as a unit, which might be labelled for the masterpieces TJT, AB or POP – but it still is a classic U2 album for me, with single beautiful tunes that really have touched me studio & especially live. That's all, folks, and I thank U2 for that.
 
Some individual good songs such as COBL and Fast Cars, but for the first time in my 20odd years of fandom there are songs that I can't stand, such as Miracle Drug, All because of you isn't too far behind.
I actually quite like a man and a woman and SYCMIOYO though I know they're not that popular here.
Like many others have said, its an album that doesn't have that many layers, once you have heard it a few times there is nothing new to discover, unlike all the other U2 albums. That said, it's not a bad album, just disappointing by U2's incredibly high standards.
I don't think they have lost it though, I have high hopes for the new record.
 
Zootlesque said:


No. There is a difference between stating your opinion and constantly whining about people you don't agree with. The latter grows old very fast.

I think last unicorn was referring to the years of posts that did bash Bomb (actually, make that bashing of pretty much anything U2 did in the last 8 years or so). :shrug:
 
My opinion of HTDAAB hasn't really changed much: not a great album, and somewhat missing the spark that even U2's weakest albums have about them, but still a good solid effort with some excellent songs. It actually works for me better as a complete album than most U2 albums, which often tend to be overshadowed by their best tracks to the point where I simply don't feel like listening to the rest. They still haven't made a truly great and consistently great album as far as I'm concerned.
 
U2girl said:


I think last unicorn was referring to the years of posts that did bash Bomb (actually, make that bashing of pretty much anything U2 did in the last 8 years or so). :shrug:

Right. it's getting tired. Saying something negative about certain albums and songs seems to be a big taboo on this board, some people are really being bullys about their opinion. But when someone starts bashing U2's recent releases, a lot of people jump into these threads saying: I've told you so. It's a kind of "us against them" thing. You're on one side, you're okay. You're on the other side .... well better not.
 
All I'm saying is that the original poster COBL_04 did not deserve this post...

last unicorn said:
Wow, another HTDAAB bashing thread.

:happy:


:|

He even linked us to his own thread praising the album to the heavens! And he explained pretty well why he doesn't like it much anymore. It seems that according to posters like you, nobody is even allowed to dislike the Bomb. :huh:
 
Aside from Rattle & Hum, for me it's an album that seriously lacks vision and cohesion, but think about how wacko the recording sessions were with the failure of the Chris Thomas experiment. It was probably never destined to become a classic.

But as an album of individual songs, it's quite exhillarating.

Vertigo is a U2 Classic. Huge call maybe, but I have never tired of it, even though I thought I would. I might even go as far as to say it's the strongest song on the album, and while it was and still is quintessential U2, moodwise it is unlike anything else U2 have ever done, and ultimately it is a song other bands could never come close to writing, such is the magic that U2 can give a song.

SYCMIOYO is a genuinely earnest ballad from the heart, A Man & A Woman is a refreshing excursion into unexplored musical territory that is quite teriffic in it's charming simplicity of sentiment. And some of these songs are just filthy good, and sometimes that's all you ask for, ear candy.
 
Last edited:
Zootlesque said:



He even linked us to his own thread praising the album to the heavens! And he explained pretty well why he doesn't like it much anymore. It seems that according to posters like you, nobody is even allowed to dislike the Bomb. :huh:

:up:

I agree Zoots :drool:

:wink:
 
Zootlesque said:
All I'm saying is that the original poster COBL_04 did not deserve this post...



He even linked us to his own thread praising the album to the heavens! And he explained pretty well why he doesn't like it much anymore. It seems that according to posters like you, nobody is even allowed to dislike the Bomb. :huh:

I don't mean to drag this on, but I really don't think that's what LU was saying. Her original post wasn't at all rude. It didn't go on and on about why the thread sucks. It was simply stating being tired of yet another thread dedicated to downing Bomb. A whole thread to do that to any album is a bit tiring to be sure, but you have to understand that we've had SO MANY threads solely for discussing how terrible Bomb is, it's like - "jeez, another one?" :sigh: That's all. A lot of you would probably have a fit if we started a thread like this for POP, right? But it's not even about which album it is, it's really just that this subject has been driven into the ground.
 
On this board it is ABSOLUTELY okay to dislike the Bomb. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be okay to like it. I'm part of a minority here.

And it's true that the original poster wasn't bashing, I apologize to COBL_04. My response really wasn't meant this way. It's just an open invitation for the usual suspects to come in and continue the bashing of this album that has been going on since its release.
 
I’ve always been a fan of HTDAAB. I rank it 5th-6th overall in the U2 discography. There are some really great songs by a U2 band that is late in their career. HTDAAB has a great B-sidetoo, one of U2’s best.

AMAAW
Crumbs
OSC
OOTS
Yahweh

Is a very unique collection of songs with a pretty solid attempt at a cohesive theme. Another part of “Bombs” greatness is the songs ability to carry over to the live realm rocking us fans to a frenzy. For me:

COBL
Vertigo
LPOE
Sometimes
Yahweh

Shined very bright during the “Vertigo” tour.

My only few complaints is the overall track order of the album & the production. It doesn’t flow or have a singular theme/story like other U2 albums. Even ATYCLB, has a theme. As for the production, some of the tracks are just over produced. And U2 should have taken a bit of a chance and officially put “Fast Cars” on the album.
 
I think the last album that really had a unifiying theme throughout was AB (maybe Zooropa). Everything they did since tried more (or less) but didn't really work as a cohesive unit.

Edge said ATYCLB was "just 11 great songs, there's not even an attempt to unify the material in any way".
 
last unicorn said:
On this board it is ABSOLUTELY okay to dislike the Bomb. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be okay to like it. I'm part of a minority here.

And it's true that the original poster wasn't bashing, I apologize to COBL_04. My response really wasn't meant this way. It's just an open invitation for the usual suspects to come in and continue the bashing of this album that has been going on since its release.


COBL_04 started a thread with a unique angle on the album that allowed a lot of us to reflect on how our opinion of the album has changed, particularly those of us young'uns who became fans in the 2000s.

The topic wasn't "OMG HUTDAB SUCKS" but about how things change. I could also say the same about War - it was, early in my fandom, my favorite U2 album, and now I'm kinda eh on it, whereas I used to dislike October and now I love it, and I used to like UF but now it's my favorite. I think it's a topic that's a bit original compared to the same old same old EYKIW topics we've seen lately.
 
zoopop said:
HTDAAB has a great B-sidetoo, one of U2’s best.

THIS is another reason some of us have grown to dislike it more than we used to. Once I heard what HTDAAB could have been with some of the unreleased songs, and b-sides better than the album songs, I got angry at the band for the "creative decisions" they'd made to emasculate the lyrics of Native Son into Vertigo, leave Smile off or stop working on it, and overwork other songs like ABOY and Yahweh (though I probably would have disliked Yahweh no matter what).

Is it fair to evaluate the album on what it could have been? Maybe not, but oh well.
 
Varitek said:



Is it fair to evaluate the album on what it could have been? Maybe not, but oh well.

Not evaluate the album, but discuss it's potential.

Who knows, I'm no Nickelback fan but maybe the b-sides from the All The Right Reasons studio sessions were the greatest songs ever written. If this is the case, All The Right Reasons with an alternative tracklisting, might have made Dark Side Of The Moon, The Joshua Tree & OK Computer seem like piles of crap.
 
Here's the thing. With HTDAAB, I don't have any issues with the subjects U2 has decided to tackle with their songs... be it loss of family, science vs. spirituality, war, war between the sexes, death, celebrity, God, the government.....the subject matter really is irrelevent when discussing actual songwriting. Unfortunately, this time around, i feel U2 were relying too much on their songwriting topics to carry the songs and album thru..and as a result the songs and album suffered. SYCMIOYO...could have been a heartwrenching masterpiece, and i'm sure Bono does miss his father a great deal...but i feel that this time around Bono was thinking too much about creating the next "One", with the story of his father as background, instead of actually creating a piece of music carved out of his artistic soul. I think the stories and songs Bono created out of friends that were drug addicts (Bad, Running to stand still) and enemies (Please) and random sluts (An Cat Dubh) were much more inspired and creative VS a song about his own father. Let us not forget the songs about his mother (I Will Follow...Tommorrow...Mofo). This time around, instead of creating an original masterpiece..I think ONE part 2 was the motivation instead...and that's what i feel is the problem with most of the album. COBL is Streets Part 2, no matter how you look at it. U2 can write great songs about nothing, with no reference point...i just think this time they had all the right reference points with no songs to back up the inspiration.
 
I will say one thing...looking for an honest depiction of Bono and his father...one should look no further than "Dirty Day"...i think that song reaks of bitterness towards his father...at least at that time...and it feels real..which is more than i can say about SYCMIOYO...i think if you need a song title that long in the first place there's a problem...unless ure trying to be funny...like Type O Negative's hit song "Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty Of Infidelity".
 
ozeeko said:
Here's the thing. With HTDAAB, I don't have any issues with the subjects U2 has decided to tackle with their songs... be it loss of family, science vs. spirituality, war, war between the sexes, death, celebrity, God, the government.....the subject matter really is irrelevent when discussing actual songwriting. Unfortunately, this time around, i feel U2 were relying too much on their songwriting topics to carry the songs and album thru..and as a result the songs and album suffered. SYCMIOYO...could have been a heartwrenching masterpiece, and i'm sure Bono does miss his father a great deal...but i feel that this time around Bono was thinking too much about creating the next "One", with the story of his father as background, instead of actually creating a piece of music carved out of his artistic soul. I think the stories and songs Bono created out of friends that were drug addicts (Bad, Running to stand still) and enemies (Please) and random sluts (An Cat Dubh) were much more inspired and creative VS a song about his own father. Let us not forget the songs about his mother (I Will Follow...Tommorrow...Mofo). This time around, instead of creating an original masterpiece..I think ONE part 2 was the motivation instead...and that's what i feel is the problem with most of the album. COBL is Streets Part 2, no matter how you look at it. U2 can write great songs about nothing, with no reference point...i just think this time they had all the right reference points with no songs to back up the inspiration.

Ka-ching!
 
Varitek said:


THIS is another reason some of us have grown to dislike it more than we used to. Once I heard what HTDAAB could have been with some of the unreleased songs, and b-sides better than the album songs, I got angry at the band for the "creative decisions" they'd made to emasculate the lyrics of Native Son into Vertigo, leave Smile off or stop working on it, and overwork other songs like ABOY and Yahweh (though I probably would have disliked Yahweh no matter what).

Is it fair to evaluate the album on what it could have been? Maybe not, but oh well.

Interesting. When I heard those unreleased songs, I agreed with every single thing they did. Personally I wish they'd never done it - they never showed us alternative takes on an album before so why now ? After all Salome outtakes don't beat AB either.

Native Son was a weak attempt at U2 going political. Vertigo was the first single they need(ed) each time they release an album.

Sometimes alt is too sappy lyrically, and way too sugar-flavoured musically (the piano, the strings...come on). If nothing else, way to go Lillywhite for prompting Bono to add that beautiful/subtle chorus and the song becomes the tough father and son talk it should be.

Yahweh alt is ok, but I prefer the strings and the more noticeable guitar, it feels more like a closer on the album. The alternate version sounds too poppy.

ABOY alt - I miss the lyrics of that one. Hopefully Bono'll find another home for those, in another song. Musically, no contest. I still think Edge crammed to many guitars on the album version (and that didn't help) but that riff really makes the song.

Xanax and Wine sounds like something 90's U2 would come up with. Fast cars is more interesting with that Spanish flavoured guitar.

Smile is nice, but I think it's the right thing to release it that way.
 
Back
Top Bottom