Someday U2 will have a new album. Today is not that day. discuss.

[The Slow Loris]

Can we stop with all this "woe is U2" talk? They have benefited handsomely from the fanbase, with wealth and privilege beyond our wildest dreams. A little bit of criticism on an internet board is not going to hurt their feelings, for god's sake.

Criticism is great, and welcomed. But complaining without any real foundation other than our subjective and meandering expectations is quite another. It comes across as desperation and a complete lack of faith. U2 have been a fairly successful band. I think they have earned the benefit of the doubt insofar as they probably know what they're doing. Even their so called failures (according to the hardcore fans) like Atomic Bomb offered arguably their strongest collection--song for song--to date. Pop it in again sometime, and listen to it as though it's your first time, and relish in its songwriting prowess. Maybe there is no 'Streets' on there or a 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', but every song is at the very least a solid 7 or 8 out of 10. Not even The Joshua Tree or The Unforgettable Fire can claim that, and definitely not War. The only album that comes close, song for song, is Achtung Baby. And that album only exceeds it because of the heights of 'One' and 'Until The End of the World'. But that's really about it. People complain about the lyrics to 'Elevation' ("How can Bono rhyme sky with fly?"), when he's doing the exact same thing in 'Even Better Than The Real Thing'. Somehow younger Bono could pull it off, as he was beyond criticism because, well, "Achtung Baby was a re-invention, man...." Really? Not sure if that one flies for me. Well, so to speak

 

[stigman]

It would be nice to have Moby open for U2 at least once in a lifetime.

He opened for them at slane the second show!

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Sounds like some of us are lost in "the Interference"....

At the end of the day, this album will come out when it comes out, and all the naysayers are going to eat their collective hats, have their ecstatic conniption fits, proclaim this as The "Real" 3rd Masterpiece (no, really, this time, it is!), and then go back a couple years later to saying how U2 have lost it all over again. It's the same pattern with every single U2 album going back to The Unforgettable Fire (when U2 "abandoned their roots" and went "artsy"), or the JT (when they "sold out")...or (well, you get the idea...). Now, it's just exposed on internet fan sites for the world to see and perpetuate by exponential proportions. It's a shame really. This band has given so much to everyone who has taken the time to listen. I guess they should have known they'd be listening with two faces, not just two ears. What gets me is, after all these years of success, you'd think the faith would only get stronger that this band can "bounce back" (in quotes because I really don't know what they're supposedly bouncing back from....oh yeah, a record breaking tour? And oh yeah, one of those sell out, "artsy" albums without all the singles they went for on the previous album -- which by the way, was also slammed as being their worst Grammy, "Album of the Year" ever....can they ever win? lol).

Please don't even compare anything from War until Pop with either ATYCLB or HTDAAB. It is no contest. At least NLOTH can attempt to stand with the greats. Thank goodness for that.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Criticism is great, and welcomed. But complaining without any real foundation other than our subjective and meandering expectations is quite another.

Well, here's a newsflash. Everything posted here is subjective. Just because you say that songs on Atomic Bomb are 7 or 8 out of 10 doesn't make it so. And just because I call War to Pop as classic doesn't make it so.

 

[Nick66]

Criticism is great, and welcomed. But complaining without any real foundation other than our subjective and meandering expectations is quite another.

Please don't even compare anything from War until Pop with either ATYCLB or HTDAAB. It is no contest. At least NLOTH can attempt to stand with the greats. Thank goodness for that.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Great! Now this has become a latin message board or some shit.

 

[trevgreg]

Via Wikipedia:

De gustibus non est disputandum is a Latin maxim meaning "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes" (literally, "There is no disputing of tastes"). Sometimes the phrase is expanded as De gustibus et coloribus... referring to tastes and colors.

The implication is that everyone's personal preferences are merely subjective opinions that cannot be "right" or "wrong", so they should never be argued about as if they were.

Yeah, I can get behind that. Doesn't stop us though!

 

[Babyface82]

Just seen this on my Facebook feed. It's from a U2 fan in Dublin, posted in the last half hour:

(Not gonna post the poor guy's name, don't actually remember how he ended up friending me or vice versa!)

Just met Dallas Shoo up at HQ. Asked how the album was coming along. "Great - some amazing songs - you'll love it!"

When's it out

"We've been told next yer"

So no release dates of tour dates?

"no - not yet"

What's i sound like? Is it Achtung Baby-esque?

(look of surprise) "no no - not at all but very very exciting"

SO is the album at post production stage at this stage?

"God no. You'd think so!!! They're still writing stuff and Edge keeps coming up with new stuff. I'm actually off to him now!!"

Thanks Dalls - talk soon

Pics to follow

WTF The Edge, you, lovely perfectionist!!!!

 

[LemonMirrorSky]

Via Wikipedia:

De gustibus non est disputandum is a Latin maxim meaning "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes" (literally, "There is no disputing of tastes"). Sometimes the phrase is expanded as De gustibus et coloribus... referring to tastes and colors.

The implication is that everyone's personal preferences are merely subjective opinions that cannot be "right" or "wrong", so they should never be argued about as if they were.

Yeah, I can get behind that. Doesn't stop us though!

 

[The Slow Loris]

Please don't even compare anything from War until Pop with either ATYCLB or HTDAAB. It is no contest. At least NLOTH can attempt to stand with the greats. Thank goodness for that.

Despite moments of near brilliance ('Please', 'Velvet Dress', 'Gone'), ATYCLB is a much stronger album overall than Pop. The first 7 songs on ATYCLB represent the longest string of unadulterated melody--in its purest form--ever found on a U2 album.

 

[The_acrobat]

Despite moments of near brilliance ('Please', 'Velvet Dress', 'Gone'), ATYCLB is a much stronger album overall than Pop. The first 7 songs on ATYCLB represent the longest string of unadulterated melody--in its purest form--ever found on a U2 album.

I hate that ATYCLB and HTDAAB get lumped in together by lazy fans who just want to generalize that "90s is good 00s is bad". My OPINION is that ATYCLB is a fantastic album that actually moves U2 forward by looking back. Any album with a 1-6 run like that can't be bad. That album taps into a part of the human spirit, in a deeper way than U2 could've imagined. I love that album. When the album was being made, and during the initial part of it's release, U2 didn't know if it was going to be a hit, or if they were going to go the way of REM and all their other contemporaries. It was only after the success of the record, the grammys, the super bowl, and the sellout Elevation tour that modern day "corporate U2" really began.

HTDAAB are some carefully orchestrated songs designed for max appeal, using the success of the previous record as a blueprint. It sounds overcooked, overthought, and overproduced. I still like the album, but it didn't connect with me on a personal level (nor did NLOTH).

And I agree that ATYCLB > POP. Pop is almost a great record, but in the end, it lacks that element of humanity that made ATYCLB great (and many of their previous albums). Say what you want of 00s U2, most of it is true, but I will defend ATYCLB to my grave.

 

[purpleoscar]

"God no. You'd think so!!! They're still writing stuff and Edge keeps coming up with new stuff. I'm actually off to him now!!"[/I]

That's typical behaviour for this band and other bands to keep writing more stuff towards the end of an album. I'm sure they have songs that don't fit that can be left for another album until they finish this one. They also have some time to listen to their competition to see what they're up against. Adam said it before that they get jealous of other bands and try harder.

 

[last unicorn]

Yeah, I can somehow relate to that. When a project is supposed to come to an end, many artists feel the urge to add more stuff because finishing something is always some kind of radical thing, it's also about letting something go. And usually, if you are in the process of making something, inspiration comes from anything and everything, it develops its own dynamics. Then you start thinking: Oh, it would be a shame if we didn't include this or this etc.

Still, I want U2 to be confident and brave enough to finish that damn album in the very near future. There is still the possibility of a second album if they feel the need to release even more songs, but it's time for them to finish something and let it go.

 

[Van Cleef]

ATYCLB is a much stronger album overall than Pop.

This really made me laugh more than any other joke around here.

 

[U2DMfan]

I don't love ATYCLB and never have. But I respect that album well enough, I guess. I get what u2 were trying to do there and while I have my issues with it and always will, I can pretty well stomach it. Meaning the music itself.

HTDAAB is another matter altogether.

 

[The Slow Loris]

This really made me laugh more than any other joke around here.

U2 and their $12 million in world wide sales and 7 grammy awards had the last laugh, I suppose. It's still the only album in history to have more than one song win "record of the year" (won over back to back years, of course, with 'Beautiful Day' in 2001 and 'Walk On' in 2002). Pop just didn't connect with the world in nearly the same manner, as simple as that. Yes, it's not just about sales....but in overall impact, great albums are usually revered by the masses as well, just as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby were, just as Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A were. Pop had moments of brilliance, as mentioned above, but the album falls short of its scope, missing the mark it sets out to hit.

 

[Van Cleef]

U2 and their $12 million in world wide sales and 7 grammy awards had the last laugh, I suppose. It's still the only album in history to have more than one song win "record of the year" (won over back to back years, of course, with 'Beautiful Day' in 2001 and 'Walk On' in 2002). Pop just didn't connect with the world in nearly the same manner, as simple as that. Yes, it's not just about sales....but in overall impact, great albums are usually revered by the masses as well, just as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby were, just as Radiohead's OK Computer and Kid A were. Pop had moments of brilliance, as mentioned above, but the album falls short of its scope, missing the mark it sets out to hit.

You lost me at Grammy.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Boots is a great song if you know what the lyrics are about.

I know what the song is about.

It still sucks.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The only question is: Where is Danger Mouse?

Working with the black keys and uncle Jesse, apparently

 

[The Slow Loris]

You lost me at Grammy.

Then I suppose The Joshua Tree lost you as well.

 

[Van Cleef]

Then I suppose The Joshua Tree lost you as well.

Nope. The Joshua Tree was brilliant, Grammy or no Grammy.

 

[Nick66]

JT>ATYCLB>Pop.

 

[The Slow Loris]

Nope. The Joshua Tree was brilliant, Grammy or no Grammy.

At least we can agree on something.

 

[Irvine511]

Liking Pop doesn't make one cool.

Liking Bomb doesn't make one dumb.

 

[purpleoscar]

Yeah, I can somehow relate to that. When a project is supposed to come to an end, many artists feel the urge to add more stuff because finishing something is always some kind of radical thing, it's also about letting something go. And usually, if you are in the process of making something, inspiration comes from anything and everything, it develops its own dynamics. Then you start thinking: Oh, it would be a shame if we didn't include this or this etc.

Still, I want U2 to be confident and brave enough to finish that damn album in the very near future. There is still the possibility of a second album if they feel the need to release even more songs, but it's time for them to finish something and let it go.

I'm thinking more on the those lines that they have 6 great songs that will definitely be on the album and they are trying to get the inbetween songs that are good and move the album along without it sinking the record and also not leaving off what they shouldn't leave off. (Eg. Every breaking wave) Unless Every breaking wave was sucky and they actually improved upon it. Of course the worry is if they add songs like the NLOTH middle three that fans don't care for, but that's hard to predict from the songwriter's point of view. They worked so hard on Get on your boots (which I like) but it didn't register with the impact they expected. You also get the hesitation on NLOTH when Bono called the album "art" when it was played for the media. It was almost defensive in that the music wouldn't be immediate for people.

 

[ChargedVT]

I'm thinking they will be writing and recording up until somewhere in November. Post-production is usually about two months and quite often is still being done after the first single is released.
I'm expecting song titles to start filtering out shortly.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Liking Pop doesn't make one cool.

Liking Bomb doesn't make one dumb.

 

[The_acrobat]

Another reason to think Spring 2014. Coldplay will probably release their next album in fall of 2014. They are perceived to be "U2, Jr", but I doubt U2 will want to go head to head with the apparent heirs to their crown, because Coldplay will probably emerge victorious in that battle. U2 and Coldplay could also be "competing" at the 2015 Grammys.

U2 shouldn't be worried about Grammys, or competing with Coldplay. They should be using this time to make some truly great music without worrying about sales or marketability. But whatever.

 

[The_acrobat]

The above gets me thinking about something else:

Had NLOTH been released in fall 2008, it would've been in direct competition with Viva La Vida for sales, grammys, and everything else. VLV was HUGE and would've kicked U2's ass in front of the whole world, thus making them look weak and defeated. Might explain the delay?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Slow day?