ShellBeThere said:phew, this debate is getting....windy....so I can't resist blowing some more myself!
I stand by my stating my opinion that kelly clarkson's song 'because of you' is crap. Don't mean to make anyone feel bad by it, just my opinion.
I surely didn't mean to say I think the grammys are worthless or that most people have no taste or anything negative like that--I was just happy to get a recommendation on something I'd never heard of and agreeing that we/thepublic get forcefed a lot of bad music and don't get exposed to some potentially good stuff. I think it's great U2 got the grammys, and I think they hugely deserved them, and don't see it as meaningless at all. I don't have a problem with 'pop' (as in popular not U2 "Pop", which I also loved!) sensibilities either, but still expect it to be 'good', and HTDAAB was very good indeed.
it's like movies ...
we could all disagree about the academy awards and such as well, and there too it's all a matter of 'taste' ultimately of course. But one can also comment on the culture of the award, who tends to get nominated, why, etc., *and* talk about what we think a good movie should do or avoid.
I recall being utterly appalled when Beautiful Mind won lots of stuff, for example, because I thought it was utter crap, but I surely didn't mean to be getting high and mighty on any level...
I guess it was a little much to go on about soul-pitying, so if I've offended any kelly clarkson fans I hereby apologize!
I agree ...and maybe now with the big ol' stamp of mainstream approval they'll feel safe to get artier again...I love both versions of U2, but the idea of them getting Pop-y again sends shivers of thrill down my spine, I do admit! Now of course, I had to get reacquainted with them in 2000+ before I went back to see what I'd mostly missed in the 90s, so for me at least there was definitely something to their reasoning vis a vis stepping back from Pop...
cheers! [/B]
Consider though that POP received more radio airplay in the USA than either ATYCLB or HTDAAB. Many would consider that album to be the flashier, sexy, more accessible album at least from the standpoint of the songs released.
If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that U2 had "soldout" in the 1990s, I'd be a very rich man.
While some might find this surprising, much of the criticism thrown at HTDAAB and ATYCLB, by some, was thrown at Achtung Baby and POP back when those albums were released.
