***Survivor: Dead, Like a Blood Red Bleeding Thingie (Albums Rd 4)

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Please vote OFF the album you like the LEAST

  • Boy

    Votes: 20 15.6%

  • War

    Votes: 13 10.2%

  • The Unforgettable Fire

    Votes: 11 8.6%

  • The Joshua Tree

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Rattle and Hum

    Votes: 32 25.0%

  • Achtung Baby

    Votes: 2 1.6%

  • Zooropa

    Votes: 11 8.6%

  • Pop

    Votes: 11 8.6%

  • All That You Can't Leave Behind

    Votes: 24 18.8%

  • How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

    Votes: 4 3.1%
  • Total voters
    128
  • Poll closed .
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lazarus said:


Well, not to condescend because you're younger, but perhaps not being around at the time lessens the impact of AB. If you knew U2 beforehand, it was quite a shock.

Also, the music world was so lame in 1991, what U2 did on that album was really revolutionary, blending the Eastern European industrial aesthetic to pop music, and on top of it using hip hop elements on several tracks. Now it might sound old hat.

Even so, I don't understand how one could rate the "filler" of albums like The Unforgettable Fire over the lesser-played tracks on AB.

And don't just take Bono's word for it. I'm pretty sure Adam was quoted as saying that before the 90's they were just playing around. I'm not trying to downgrade The Joshua Tree; I respect those who prefer it to AB. But the idea that AB isn't even in their Top 4 albums is laughable to me. I doubt there's many Interference members who don't read your ranking and roll their eyes.

Everyone has their own opinion...but when you go against the overwhelming critical, commercial, and fan-based consensus you're just WRONG.


laz
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Opinions can't be wrong. Fact can be. And, again, when it comes to greatness of albums, there is no fact. Only opinion. In my opinion Loudermilk's album "The Red Record" is better than anything any other band has ever done. Including, yes, including Achtung Baby. Does this make it a fact? No. It makes it an opinion. I am the only one who can say if my opinions are right or wrong. Who are you to judge my opinions?
 
beli said:


I disagree. There is no right or wrong with artistic taste. People like what they like. Any concensus, perceived or actual, should not have a bearing on anyones musical tastes.

This goes back to the Dead Poets Society argument mentioned earlier in the thread by fan by the name of "the tourist".
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Thank you!
 
lazarus said:
Well, not to condescend because you're younger, but perhaps not being around at the time lessens the impact of AB. If you knew U2 beforehand, it was quite a shock.
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I find it interesting that you used that argument, as I explicitly stated that I was born in 1987 [eighteen today, actually] to avoid accusations of being "some old fart who hates the fact U2 ever changed from the eighties." There seems to be a stereotype that older fans prefer the eighties while newer fans prefer the nineties, and I was hoping to counter that, but it seems that backfired on me. In any case, I grew up in a family of U2 fans. I'm well aware of how dramatic the change from RAH to AB was.

Even so, I don't understand how one could rate the "filler" of albums like The Unforgettable Fire over the lesser-played tracks on AB.
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Because the ten tracks on UF flow together with an incredible cohesion that Achtung Baby simply does not have. EBTTRT --> One --> UTEOTW has to be one of the most dreadful tracklistings on a U2 album as those songs do not belong together. The Achtung Baby album simply isn't interwoven like UF is. I'll take the flow of The Unforgettable Fire --> Promenade --> 4th Of July --> Bad over anything on AB any day.

Bono and Adam can say whatever they want about how they believe Achtung is their greatest album. That doesn't change my opinion. And that's what it comes down to - subjective opinion. In my eyes, Achtung Baby is a good album with some great tracks, and Interferencers can roll their eyes out of their skulls at my rankings if they dislike it that much. I'll quite happily stick with my eighties U2. I find that Spanish Eyes and Luminous Times are better than half of AB and they were b-sides.
 
Axver said:


I find it interesting that you used that argument, as I explicitly stated that I was born in 1987 [eighteen today, actually] to avoid accusations of being "some old fart who hates the fact U2 ever changed from the eighties." There seems to be a stereotype that older fans prefer the eighties while newer fans prefer the nineties, and I was hoping to counter that, but it seems that backfired on me.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm your alter-ego in countering that particular stereotype. I'm one of those 'old farts' but, as much as I love eighties U2, I prefer nineties to the present U2. I love Unforgettable Fire (listened to it yesterday in fact) but to me Achtung Baby from start to finish just takes me to so many more places than UF or any other U2 album. I don't know if that makes sense but I can't think of any other way to describe it right now. Plus AB was the album that supposedly 'saved' U2 so I have a soft spot for it just as I have for Boy, the album that launched U2.

Axver said:


Because the ten tracks on UF flow together with an incredible cohesion that Achtung Baby simply does not have. EBTTRT --> One --> UTEOTW has to be one of the most dreadful tracklistings on a U2 album as those songs do not belong together. The Achtung Baby album simply isn't interwoven like UF is. I'll take the flow of The Unforgettable Fire --> Promenade --> 4th Of July --> Bad over anything on AB any day.
Click to expand...

But to me that is one of the appeals of AB. It isn't smooth and comfortable. It careens from one emotion to another and back again just like life. The song order is jarring because it's meant to be that way.

But, like you said, to each his own. And happy birthday Axver!
 
Axver said:


I find it interesting that you used that argument, as I explicitly stated that I was born in 1987 [eighteen today, actually] to avoid accusations of being "some old fart who hates the fact U2 ever changed from the eighties." There seems to be a stereotype that older fans prefer the eighties while newer fans prefer the nineties, and I was hoping to counter that, but it seems that backfired on me. In any case, I grew up in a family of U2 fans. I'm well aware of how dramatic the change from RAH to AB was.



Because the ten tracks on UF flow together with an incredible cohesion that Achtung Baby simply does not have. EBTTRT --> One --> UTEOTW has to be one of the most dreadful tracklistings on a U2 album as those songs do not belong together. The Achtung Baby album simply isn't interwoven like UF is. I'll take the flow of The Unforgettable Fire --> Promenade --> 4th Of July --> Bad over anything on AB any day.

Bono and Adam can say whatever they want about how they believe Achtung is their greatest album. That doesn't change my opinion. And that's what it comes down to - subjective opinion. In my eyes, Achtung Baby is a good album with some great tracks, and Interferencers can roll their eyes out of their skulls at my rankings if they dislike it that much. I'll quite happily stick with my eighties U2. I find that Spanish Eyes and Luminous Times are better than half of AB and they were b-sides.
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I agree, AB has some great tracks (One, UTEOFTW, SC, Fly, LIB) but IMO there are too many commercial songs, boring songs, that completely jar with the rest of the album.
 
What a fun argument. Opinions vs. Facts: The Neverending Battle!.... Good times.
 
Rattle and Hum?!?!?!?
:shocked:

Even with Angel of Harlem?!! The happiest U2 song ever?!

Even with All I Want Is You?!

Even with When Loves Comes to Town?! B.B. motherfricking King with the Edge?!!

Even with Heartland?

And the song Bob Dylan(!!!) co-wrote, Love Rescue Me?!

What about God Part II? Or Van Diemen's Land? Or Desire?! Silver and Gold!! Hawkmoon 269!!!




:sad:
 
Zootomic said:
But to me that is one of the appeals of AB. It isn't smooth and comfortable. It careens from one emotion to another and back again just like life. The song order is jarring because it's meant to be that way.
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That's an interesting perspective, but personally, I prefer an album that is intertwined and cohesively linked to create one experience. I love UF because I can turn it on and become lost in the music as the atmosphere washes over me and takes me to all kinds of incredible landscapes created by sound. There's definitely something to be said for a jarring album like Achtung Baby that makes you feel the entire kaleidoscope of emotions, but in terms of preference, I will happily take UF or JT.

(And regarding the claims that Rattle And Hum isn't cohesive - thematically, it definitely is. U2 explore their roots, their heroes, and America. It doesn't break theme. And Heartland's one of the most perfect pieces of music ever made. Aaaand RAH provided some songs that were sensational on the Lovetown Tour.)

Also, thanks to everyone who offered birthday wishes!
 
LyricalDrug said:
Rattle and Hum?!?!?!?
:shocked:

Even with Angel of Harlem?!! The happiest U2 song ever?!

Even with All I Want Is You?!

Even with When Loves Comes to Town?! B.B. motherfricking King with the Edge?!!

Even with Heartland?

And the song Bob Dylan(!!!) co-wrote, Love Rescue Me?!

What about God Part II? Or Van Diemen's Land? Or Desire?! Silver and Gold!! Hawkmoon 269!!!




:sad:
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Totally incomprehensible.

RAH deserves to be saved for Heartland alone.

And I know we're not voting on live performances, but RAH provided some SENSATIONAL live songs. I cannot believe U2 did not put out a CD or video of Lovetown live. Hawkmoon 269, God Part II, Desire/All Along The Watchtower, and everything else about that tour was perfect.

Though I would contend that Beautiful Day is the happiest U2 song ever.
 
only about 4 or 5 minutes to go now :faint:

I can't set up the new poll until I have the results of the old one. The first post in the new thread is required before the poll setup :mad:
 
Watching the demise of Rattle And Hum slowly became painful as pulling teeth and I'm glad to see that the dentist has left the building.
 
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