Mission 'COBL'accomplished

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U2DMfan said:


Very true.

Which makes it even more shocking that conceivably U2's last top 10 hit in America ever, will be Discotheque, a song that Bono says wasn't a big enough hit.
:scratch:
Click to expand...

Bono is referring to radio airplay, not sales.
 
Of course Crazy Frog will get song of the year. I strongly suggest to tell your whole nation that you live in not to buy it is the worst thing I have ever heard.

Did COBL debut in the UK this week?
 
U2DMfan said:


Very true.

Which makes it even more shocking that conceivably U2's last top 10 hit in America ever, will be Discotheque, a song that Bono says wasn't a big enough hit.
:scratch:
Click to expand...

:applaud: Go go Discotheque!!

It's surprising Beautiful Day didn't make it in the top ten, it got a lot of airplay and it had two great b-sides on the single...

Was COBL even released here in America?? :scratch: U2 did pretty well with Vertigo, but after that their songs seem to have gotten less and less noticed...

Oh well, at least the number one song in our country isn't a blasted RINGTONE.
 
AtomicBono said:


:applaud: Go go Discotheque!!

It's surprising Beautiful Day didn't make it in the top ten, it got a lot of airplay and it had two great b-sides on the single...

Was COBL even released here in America?? :scratch: U2 did pretty well with Vertigo, but after that their songs seem to have gotten less and less noticed...

Oh well, at least the number one song in our country isn't a blasted RINGTONE.
Click to expand...

well the point really was that Bono slags off Discotheque for not being a #1, when it was a top 10, and yet I bet he thinks Vertigo was a smash success and it peaked at #35 here.

I think a #35 for U2 all things considered isn't bad at all.
It's just Bono and his supposed logic about relevance. U2 couldn't buy a #1 song in America, they have only two, and not one since 1987. All he is doing is finding new ways to apologize for POP's poor album sales in America.

I wonder what he thinks about ABOY not even cracking the top 100 and Sometimes hitting #97?

Do you think he'll slag those songs off in the future? I highly doubt it, unless sales for HTDAAB plummet for some unexpected reason.

But this is what they supposedly want to do. "Compete with hip-hop" or whatever phrase of the week he is using. It's bullshit, and I don't buy it. No self respecting titanic band like U2 would be so ignorant to think they could compete on the American charts with hip-hop.

If he does, then he has to think it's a massive failure. Look at those numbers. I mean, sure they don't mean a damn thing to anyone with a clue, but Bono is the one who keeps saying it. They made an album to compete outside of their supposed "niche" to rub shoulders with hip-hop on the charts.

Doing this with an album with one top 40 hit. The average rapper or hip-hop artist can fart on an album and get a top 10 or 20 hit.
You have to really think he doesn't beleive this bullshit.

I don't want to see U2 have a top 10 hit in America because I couldn't imagine what kind of song it would be to get all the teeny kids to buy it. The climate was different in 1987, the market for a band like U2 in the mainstream was huge. Now, that market is already filled or gone, and the rock scene is getting much better and the hip-hop and pop fans stick to their "niche" where is U2? Out to "compete" with hip-hop and other chart topping artists.

It's a bullshit premise. I don't buy it. They are too smart.
 
Beautiful Day and Vertigo may not have been Top Ten hits...but a song like BD is likely more recogniable to more people today than any of the thirty odd songs that were ahead of it when it peaked.

Remember...Stairway to Heaven was never even released as a single and is certainly one of rock's most famous songs. In the long run, the success of singles mean nothing.

LN

...and BTW, we all know Vertigo would have done better if downloaded tunes were counted at the time.
 
Hmmm. It seems only hiphop fans actually buy singles from stores now. (at least in Australia.) All of my friends loved Veritgo, but I don't think any of them actually bought it.


BEVERLY56 said:
'Scuse me for asking - what is "the frog"?

(Old and doesn't get it!)

:der:
Click to expand...

THE most annoying ringtone imaginable. It's meant to be a frog making motorbike noises. IMO it doesn't really sound like anything but crap.

Anyway, the ringtone was/is very popular, so some DJ got the idea to turn it into a song. Now the song is #1 in the UK, and will surely make it's way around the world, destroying all decent music in its path.

(At least that's my take on the situation :shrug: )
 
LeafsNation said:
Beautiful Day and Vertigo may not have been Top Ten hits...but a song like BD is likely more recogniable to more people today than any of the thirty odd songs that were ahead of it when it peaked.

Remember...Stairway to Heaven was never even released as a single and is certainly one of rock's most famous songs. In the long run, the success of singles mean nothing.

LN

...and BTW, we all know Vertigo would have done better if downloaded tunes were counted at the time.
Click to expand...

Oh, you dont have to tell me about the irrelevance of the charts.
I am full aware of how insignifigant they have been for years.

Apparently, it's Bono who hasn't got the memo.
 
Meghan said:
Hmmm. It seems only hiphop fans actually buy singles from stores now. (at least in Australia.) All of my friends loved Veritgo, but I don't think any of them actually bought it.
Click to expand...

I think Vertigo was a bigger hit in America than Discotheque was, yet there is such a disparity on the singles charts.

It would lead any reasonable person to believe those singles charts can't measure anything with any amount of accuracy.

Bono and his reasoning flies in the face of this understanding.
So either he is feeding out some bullshit, or he's just misunderstood. I suppose either one is possible, but I've got to think they are too smart to really beleive they could achieve much chart success here in America.

So why would he be bullshitting about it?
Oh I've got ideas. Mostly I think it's his way of defending the more mainstream sound of the last two albums. It's likely that it's exactly the sound they want to make, but this band won't rest on the laurels of the album itself, they do the opposite. They crave the attention and the popularity. Bono calls it relevance.
 
U2DMfan said:


well the point really was that Bono slags off Discotheque for not being a #1, when it was a top 10, and yet I bet he thinks Vertigo was a smash success and it peaked at #35 here.

I think a #35 for U2 all things considered isn't bad at all.
It's just Bono and his supposed logic about relevance. U2 couldn't buy a #1 song in America, they have only two, and not one since 1987. All he is doing is finding new ways to apologize for POP's poor album sales in America.

I wonder what he thinks about ABOY not even cracking the top 100 and Sometimes hitting #97?

Do you think he'll slag those songs off in the future? I highly doubt it, unless sales for HTDAAB plummet for some unexpected reason.

But this is what they supposedly want to do. "Compete with hip-hop" or whatever phrase of the week he is using. It's bullshit, and I don't buy it. No self respecting titanic band like U2 would be so ignorant to think they could compete on the American charts with hip-hop.

If he does, then he has to think it's a massive failure. Look at those numbers. I mean, sure they don't mean a damn thing to anyone with a clue, but Bono is the one who keeps saying it. They made an album to compete outside of their supposed "niche" to rub shoulders with hip-hop on the charts.

Doing this with an album with one top 40 hit. The average rapper or hip-hop artist can fart on an album and get a top 10 or 20 hit.
You have to really think he doesn't beleive this bullshit.

I don't want to see U2 have a top 10 hit in America because I couldn't imagine what kind of song it would be to get all the teeny kids to buy it. The climate was different in 1987, the market for a band like U2 in the mainstream was huge. Now, that market is already filled or gone, and the rock scene is getting much better and the hip-hop and pop fans stick to their "niche" where is U2? Out to "compete" with hip-hop and other chart topping artists.

It's a bullshit premise. I don't buy it. They are too smart.
Click to expand...

Bono is talking about being on the radio, not so much the charts. In that sense, Beautiful day and Vertigo - broke download records - did very well.

Stuck was 35, Beautiful day was 22, and Vertigo was 33 - I agree that's pretty good for a rock band in their 40s. (I do think All because of you broke top 10 on radio play charts - Modern rock was it?)
I thought with Vertigo being a hit, All because of you would do much better on the charts. :shrug: (they should have tried with In a little while in US as a single)

That said, the songs did far better elsewhere - it's only US market that requires so much work.

U2 stopped being a "niche" band in 1987.
Of course, the music has changed and hip hop is ruling the charts (and age isn't on U2's side) - but you know what? I'm all for U2, or Coldplay, and other bands to enter charts and be out there - there should be an alternative for the Britney's and 50 Cents and Limp bizkits of the world.

Also, I prefer U2 doing what they're doing now, their own way, then getting a hip hop producer and start singing about cars, girls and bling bling. Of getting songwriting help.

btw: it was Adam and Larry who wanted more hits, remember?

ATYCLB went up against Jay Z and Outkast, HTDAAB went up against Eminem and Shania Twain - yup, U2 sure is sounding like mainstream.
 
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U2girl said:


Bono is talking about being on the radio, not so much the charts. In that sense, Beautiful day and Vertigo - broke download records - did very well.

Stuck was 35, Beautiful day was 22, and Vertigo was 33 - I agree that's pretty good for a rock band in their 40s. (I do think All because of you broke top 10 on radio play charts - Modern rock was it?)
I thought with Vertigo being a hit, All because of you would do much better on the charts. :shrug: (they should have tried with In a little while in US as a single)

That said, the songs did far better elsewhere - it's only US market that requires so much work.

U2 stopped being a "niche" band in 1987.
Of course, the music has changed and hip hop is ruling the charts (and age isn't on U2's side) - but you know what? I'm all for U2, or Coldplay, and other bands to enter charts and be out there - there should be an alternative for the Britney's and 50 Cents and Limp bizkits of the world.

Also, I prefer U2 doing what they're doing now, their own way, then getting a hip hop producer and start singing about cars, girls and bling bling. Of getting songwriting help.

btw: it was Adam and Larry who wanted more hits, remember?

ATYCLB went up against Jay Z and Outkast, HTDAAB went up against Eminem and Shania Twain - yup, U2 sure is sounding like mainstream.
Click to expand...

yes, but the singles charts in America used BDS, as well as Soundscan. Soundscan counts the copies sold, BDS counts the number of times played on the radio (for the selected stations, most corporate stations). So the radio play defintely does reflect the single chart positions.

Bono is saying he wants to be heard on the radio, so he is saying he wants chart hits, these American single charts measure sales and airplay.

I'm all for U2 wanting to be heard and out there on MTV and radio, I am not so excited about them changing their musical direction to be more accesible to do so. You and I will disagree on this all day long. I think U2 did fine as far as sales, charts, relevance whatever you want to call it for the better part of two decades without pandering to the middle.

Alternatives to pop music are everywhere. When one of the stalwarts of the "alternative" generation decides to fight pop music with interesting forms of rock and roll in pops arena, that makes perfect sense, when they fight in the pop arena, with more poppy music, it's just playing to the new audience.

And yes, it was Adam and Larry who wanted more hits, which supports my point that Bono is bullshitting, and making excuses. It's what I said earlier, he is explaining away the creative direction of the band by saying they want to take on hip-hop ,when in actuality, maybe it's the only record Adam and Larry would tour to support. He doesn't beleive he can compete with hip-hop, but he wants us too. Maybe the only alternative to this brand of U2 is them breaking up. In that case, I'll take 5 more albums like the last two before I'd like to see them break up over creative differences.

The fact ATYCLB and HTDAAB went up against mainstream artists in it's week of release means absolutely nothing but that Interscope slotted U2 against big non-rock releases. It doesn't mean if they went against Radiohead and Interpol it would prove ATYCLB and HTDAAB to be mainstream, it doesn't mean anything either way, that is all a numbers game, about trying to maximize sales. I don't care about what is or isn't mainstream. The idea of really aiming at the mainstream with the idea of becoming popular is not a new thing to U2, it's about the music.
I think the music shifted to make it a lot easier to become as popular as possible. Was it compromised? I am still trying to decide one way or another on that.

I am leaning towards the Larry/Adam divisions of the band idea.
I am not all doom and gloom. I'd just rather talk about U2's music than watch TV.
 
U2DMfan said:


yes, but the singles charts in America used BDS, as well as Soundscan. Soundscan counts the copies sold, BDS counts the number of times played on the radio (for the selected stations, most corporate stations). So the radio play defintely does reflect the single chart positions.

Bono is saying he wants to be heard on the radio, so he is saying he wants chart hits, these American single charts measure sales and airplay.

I'm all for U2 wanting to be heard and out there on MTV and radio, I am not so excited about them changing their musical direction to be more accesible to do so. You and I will disagree on this all day long. I think U2 did fine as far as sales, charts, relevance whatever you want to call it for the better part of two decades without pandering to the middle.

Alternatives to pop music are everywhere. When one of the stalwarts of the "alternative" generation decides to fight pop music with interesting forms of rock and roll in pops arena, that makes perfect sense, when they fight in the pop arena, with more poppy music, it's just playing to the new audience.

And yes, it was Adam and Larry who wanted more hits, which supports my point that Bono is bullshitting, and making excuses. It's what I said earlier, he is explaining away the creative direction of the band by saying they want to take on hip-hop ,when in actuality, maybe it's the only record Adam and Larry would tour to support. He doesn't beleive he can compete with hip-hop, but he wants us too. Maybe the only alternative to this brand of U2 is them breaking up. In that case, I'll take 5 more albums like the last two before I'd like to see them break up over creative differences.

The fact ATYCLB and HTDAAB went up against mainstream artists in it's week of release means absolutely nothing but that Interscope slotted U2 against big non-rock releases. It doesn't mean if they went against Radiohead and Interpol it would prove ATYCLB and HTDAAB to be mainstream, it doesn't mean anything either way, that is all a numbers game, about trying to maximize sales. I don't care about what is or isn't mainstream. The idea of really aiming at the mainstream with the idea of becoming popular is not a new thing to U2, it's about the music.
I think the music shifted to make it a lot easier to become as popular as possible. Was it compromised? I am still trying to decide one way or another on that.

I am leaning towards the Larry/Adam divisions of the band idea.
I am not all doom and gloom. I'd just rather talk about U2's music than watch TV.
Click to expand...

Billboard counts copies sold, right?
U2 is doing better in the modern rock and rock charts, based in airplay. (case in point All because of you, who was even picked as a single because it got lots of radio play)

U2 is playing to new audiences with each new album.

How is Bono bullshitting? He wants to be on the radio = popularity = hits (charts or radio play, doesn't matter). Hits = what Adam and Larry wanted, and Edge went with as well - as their idea of rock embraces being popular. Popular in US = hip hop. So yes, they are (for better or worse) taking it on.

Where did you read or see anything about Adam and Larry not touring behind a U2 album? Adam said the next album won't be like the Bomb, but different (Bono said experimental and accessible) - will he and Larry leave, then?
I don't think creative differences would break them up after 25 years.

I was referring to the "mainstream" sounding complaints of the last two albums. Since U2 has been working on getting back in the US market, it's interesting to have a look at what is mainstream on the charts.
 
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I wonder if part of the problem when it comes to charts for U2 (with respect to airplay) is that U2 fits into so many different categories. At least here in Canada, Vertigo, ABOY, and SYCMIOYO could be heard on Mainstream rock radio, Modern rock radio, and on Classic Rock Radio (and in the case of SYCMIOYO, adult radio). In any given hour, between four stations I listen to, I could hear at least a few songs off HTDAAB. That might mean percieved demand for the songs from the point of view of one station might not seem that great because so many other stations would be playing them too.
 
Why do you put so much importance in US market??? Is it the only market in the world...

I can assure that here in Europe (for exmaple) SYCMIOYO still is in the top 20 in some country charts (Portugal one of them) and Vertigo stayed in the top 5 for weeks... The same would happen to ABOY if it was released here, believe me. It's not a question of singles selling but radio and TV airplay, and U2's doing very well this way...

I believe that COBL will follow an identical way in the charts than SYCMIOYO. I don't believe that it can get #1, but it'll surely get in the top5
 
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