New Album Prediction - Given Recent Events

[U2Fan101]

My prediction is that we will get something different from the last two albums. With the combination of hip-hop influences, Fast Cars being much more of a fan favorite and popular song that U2 ever imagined (I have friends who don't like U2's music but think Fast Cars is one of the greatest things they've ever heard), and the probability that they are getting tired of this sound they have had since 2000, I think we can expect something different. I agree that the next album will have both extremes on guitar - angry and intense, and then beautiful and poignant.

I don't view HTDAAB as a bad album anymore. And frankly, I rather enjoy it a lot. It's not one of my favorites, but I enjoy it for this reason:

All bands have an album that when it's released, may not be that great, but you can feel this awesomeness that is brewing in the background. It's going to happen, but it hasn't been discovered yet. To me, that is what HTDAAB is, you get this hint while listening to the album (or at least I do), that they're onto something, but they haven't quite gotten it. It's a combination of ATYCLB and what is to come, and my thinking is that what is to come is just going to blow our minds musically and lyrically.

I always use this as a reference -

Led Zeppelin's Coda.....not the greatest of their albums, but when I listen to it, I can FEEL something great was about to come and that the direction they were going in was going to be awesome. It just took an album of averageness (in my opinion) to actually get there. Unfortunately, they never got that chance to do that album that I truly felt would have blown LZ IV and Houses of the Holy away.

Likewise, something huge is coming that I truly think will top my favorite album (Pop), and will also make people say "The Joshua Tree? Achtung Baby? ATYCLB? HTDAAB? What are those albums?"

I'm being very optimistic, but I feel that this next album, based on HTDAAB will be considered the greatest album U2 has ever released. HTDAAB is good, and what makes it good is that thing brewing in it, that potential on it that I hear they will find on this upcoming one.

 

[MrBrau1]

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

I'm looking forward to seeing if the new album picks up from where POP left off (both musically and lyrically). It would be interesting to see what direction they were intending to go before they decided on the more simplistic approach of the 2000 years..this is definitely a very intriguing time to be following the band.

 

[Sleep Over Jack]

The day U2 doesn't tour an album is the day U2 dies as a band IMO. The live shows are too much of a vital part of what they do.

I disagree...playing live does not define their creativity. They could definitley survive an album without a supporting tour that was released fairly quickly, because they are just too popular to be casually shrugged off by the general public.

I'd love to see the imagination of songs like "Zooropa" (things that wouldn't necessarily come off well live) return to U2 albums..they shouldn't be limited to making songs that will sound good in stadiums. So then, I am in favour of releasing a creative album that doesn't take 4 years or needs a tour..if they want a tour, well there would be nothing stopping them planning that and another album soon after I would have thought.

 

[U2girl]

My prediction is that we will get something different from the last two albums. With the combination of hip-hop influences, Fast Cars being much more of a fan favorite and popular song that U2 ever imagined (I have friends who don't like U2's music but think Fast Cars is one of the greatest things they've ever heard), and the probability that they are getting tired of this sound they have had since 2000, I think we can expect something different. I agree that the next album will have both extremes on guitar - angry and intense, and then beautiful and poignant.

I don't view HTDAAB as a bad album anymore. And frankly, I rather enjoy it a lot. It's not one of my favorites, but I enjoy it for this reason:

All bands have an album that when it's released, may not be that great, but you can feel this awesomeness that is brewing in the background. It's going to happen, but it hasn't been discovered yet. To me, that is what HTDAAB is, you get this hint while listening to the album (or at least I do), that they're onto something, but they haven't quite gotten it. It's a combination of ATYCLB and what is to come, and my thinking is that what is to come is just going to blow our minds musically and lyrically.

I always use this as a reference -

Led Zeppelin's Coda.....not the greatest of their albums, but when I listen to it, I can FEEL something great was about to come and that the direction they were going in was going to be awesome. It just took an album of averageness (in my opinion) to actually get there. Unfortunately, they never got that chance to do that album that I truly felt would have blown LZ IV and Houses of the Holy away.

Likewise, something huge is coming that I truly think will top my favorite album (Pop), and will also make people say "The Joshua Tree? Achtung Baby? ATYCLB? HTDAAB? What are those albums?"

I'm being very optimistic, but I feel that this next album, based on HTDAAB will be considered the greatest album U2 has ever released. HTDAAB is good, and what makes it good is that thing brewing in it, that potential on it that I hear they will find on this upcoming one.

I agree.

Not only does U2 seem to have reached the end of the "classic" sound - hinted at on ATYCLB with Walk on and Kite - that features on much of the Bomb (Fast cars and Mercy sound like nothing they've done in the last 5 years), I think they will focus on making, finally, an album this time.

Meaning unity of sound and themes, and a more focused Bono.
I really think they can do better than Zooropa, Pop, ATYCLB or Bomb - not necessarily topping JT and AB but I believe they can make the 3rd masterpiece.

 

[Numb1075]

All bands have an album that when it's released, may not be that great, but you can feel this awesomeness that is brewing in the background. It's going to happen, but it hasn't been discovered yet. To me, that is what HTDAAB is, you get this hint while listening to the album (or at least I do), that they're onto something, but they haven't quite gotten it.

That's a real good summary of HTDAAB. I think that as well but couldn't formulate it into words like that.

If they can get the right person in there to steer them in the right direction, the next album could be the 3 masterpiece.

 

[J_NP]

How many times every bloody post about u2's music will end up in a bashing a u2 release or most of the cases HTDAAB , Interference is havin some good day huh.....

 

[mofo82]

I don't view HTDAAB as a bad album anymore. And frankly, I rather enjoy it a lot. It's not one of my favorites, but I enjoy it for this reason:

All bands have an album that when it's released, may not be that great, but you can feel this awesomeness that is brewing in the background. It's going to happen, but it hasn't been discovered yet. To me, that is what HTDAAB is, you get this hint while listening to the album (or at least I do), that they're onto something, but they haven't quite gotten it. It's a combination of ATYCLB and what is to come, and my thinking is that what is to come is just going to blow our minds musically and lyrically.

I always use this as a reference -

Led Zeppelin's Coda.....not the greatest of their albums, but when I listen to it, I can FEEL something great was about to come and that the direction they were going in was going to be awesome. It just took an album of averageness (in my opinion) to actually get there. Unfortunately, they never got that chance to do that album that I truly felt would have blown LZ IV and Houses of the Holy away.

I'm being very optimistic, but I feel that this next album, based on HTDAAB will be considered the greatest album U2 has ever released. HTDAAB is good, and what makes it good is that thing brewing in it, that potential on it that I hear they will find on this upcoming one.

Great post U2Fan101 . As Numb 1075 said, I've felt the same way but could never put it into words. I knew when I first heard HTDAAB that it was not a blistering, mind-blowing masterpiece that I would forever praise as U2's holy grail, but I knew it was special and you can hear some growth in their recording/ playing abilities. It seems that U2 is on the brink of finding a newer identity in their music. When you listen to Vertigo shows, for example Chicago IV, you can see and hear a new comfort and easy swing in tempo from JT material to ATYCLB to HTDAAB material to AB back to Boy throughout the setlist, but rarely a sound from Pop (I have to add that even listening to Discotheque from Vertigo Chicago 5, as sweet as it was, I don't feel it was a good fit, but id did need the Vertigo tour rehab )

For instance, I just watched Popmart Mexico City last night and I never realized until watching just how disjointed the performance was. Individually, the songs (LNOE, Gone, HMTMKMKM, Mofo) stand on their own but sound like they were copied and pasted into the classic setlist.

The point I'm going for here is that U2 has gone back through their repoitior and found a musical identity in their classic tunes and current work. The Vertigo Tour cemented the relationship of old and new, and you can hear them come full circle. I mean, they found a way to get Electric Co. back into rotation!! I don't think they could have done that without Vertigo or ABOY. It sounds like they realized that, as the energy of their shows never dwindled or there were no major changes or disputes we heard of in the show. We didn't see HTDAAB songs give way to early hits as what happened at Popmart. I also feel really optimistic about the future of U2's music, no matter how long it takes them to create their next album.