U2 working with pop songwriter for new album

[BVS]

I don't see how some see those songs having the same formula, I guess it just depends on your definition of formula.

Personally none of those songs are very high on my list, although they all fare better live. All three suffer from pretty bad lyrics. Vertigo has some cool moments with biblical references to tempation and being in a band but get thrown off with the "too playful" Spanish and 'hello' lyrics.

GOYB had the most potential. The bridge alone while being very simple is one of the better bridges U2 have done in a long time, and the 'you don't know how...' pre-chourus is just beautiful. GOYB suffered from having too quirky of lyrics, it was as if Bono was trying to do Michael Stipe politics and failed. If this song had a lyric that people could relate to and sing to this song and album would have been much much different, imo.

 

[mama cass]

I prefer Vertigo to Elevation and I prefer GOYB to Vertigo.

ahh ok!

 

[LadySpinHead]

Aerosmith on the other hand turned into a bunch of utter whores in their quest to stay relevant in pop culture.

U2 fans seem to be deathly frightened of turning into the Stones. They should be afraid of becoming Aerosmith.

The day Bono becomes a judge on American Idol is the day I turn in my fan card and bid you all adieu.

 

[Von Schloopen]

I knew the Aerosmith thingy had to come back to American Idol.

Aerosmith haven't put out a proper studio album in 11 years. And that blues covers record from 2004 seems like a strange way pander to the charts. Was harmonica all over the top 40 in 2004 and I just missed it? It was 8 years ago.

If they're whoring they're doing it wrong. So it must be American Idol.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

The three songs in this current conversation are my three least favorite U2 songs in terms of their 'known' songs. Well.. songs with intentions of having people know them.

And all for the same reason.

 

[digitize]

GOYB had the most potential. The bridge alone while being very simple is one of the better bridges U2 have done in a long time, and the 'you don't know how...' pre-chourus is just beautiful. GOYB suffered from having too quirky of lyrics, it was as if Bono was trying to do Michael Stipe politics and failed. If this song had a lyric that people could relate to and sing to this song and album would have been much much different, imo.

I think you're right... Boots has very Stipe-esque lyrics. Although I like them, to be honest. Partially just because they have a quality that U2 lyrics generally didn't have after Pop, at least before NLOTH: there's more to them than what is readily apparent on the surface. It's not a song about "sexy boots", it has a cool political message buried beneath it.

That being said, it probably could have done better. On the surface, the song seems kind of stupid and meaningless, and it's definitely not something for mass appeal. It should never have been released as a single.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I knew the Aerosmith thingy had to come back to American Idol.

Aerosmith haven't put out a proper studio album in 11 years. And that blues covers record from 2004 seems like a strange way pander to the charts. Was harmonica all over the top 40 in 2004 and I just missed it? It was 8 years ago.

If they're whoring they're doing it wrong. So it must be American Idol.

Aerosmith feat. Britney Spears, N´Sync - Walk This Way (Super Bowl 2001) - YouTube

and that's not even mentioning that their biggest hit ever was written by diane warren.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I don't see how some see those songs having the same formula, I guess it just depends on your definition of formula.

Personally none of those songs are very high on my list, although they all fare better live. All three suffer from pretty bad lyrics. Vertigo has some cool moments with biblical references to tempation and being in a band but get thrown off with the "too playful" Spanish and 'hello' lyrics.

GOYB had the most potential. The bridge alone while being very simple is one of the better bridges U2 have done in a long time, and the 'you don't know how...' pre-chourus is just beautiful. GOYB suffered from having too quirky of lyrics, it was as if Bono was trying to do Michael Stipe politics and failed. If this song had a lyric that people could relate to and sing to this song and album would have been much much different, imo.

the entire "sexy boots" thing is nauseatingly bad. i like the music... hate hate hate the lyrics.

then again, i can say that about a large portion of no line on the horizion. there are some great, great lyrics from bono on there... and some absolute doozys as well. unknown caller is a prime example. love the music, cringe at the lyrics. i know it's beloved here, but i cringe at the lyrics to magnificent as well.

love the lyric on moment of surrender and cedars of lebanon though.

 

[Von Schloopen]

Aerosmith feat. Britney Spears, N´Sync - Walk This Way (Super Bowl 2001) - YouTube

and that's not even mentioning that their biggest hit ever was written by diane warren.

Wasn't that 3 years after U2 pranced around with Boyzone? I know, I know, rock and pop are not supposed to mix.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

wrong thread.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Wasn't that 3 years after U2 pranced around with Boyzone? I know, I know, rock and pop are not supposed to mix.

ok we'll just agree to disagree on this one because i feel like shoving my head through a brick wall.

 

[Hollow Island]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIy9q81plG0
and that's not even mentioning that their biggest hit ever was written by diane warren.

Doing that kind of thing is what I worry U2 will do. I'm not a big Aerosmith fan, but it was really sad when they turned into Celine Dion.

Hopefully U2 have enough self respect to avoid that fate. They're working with Danger Mouse, so that's a good sign that their artistic judgement isn't gone. I think they should totally give up on trying to write formulaic pop songs because it's been a really long time since they've done a good one. For a while it was their strength, but not any more.

 

[Niceman]

I'm fairly certain that U2's artistic judgment isn't gone.

 

[Von Schloopen]

I'm fairly certain that U2's artistic judgment isn't gone.

I know it's not gone. I listened to "No Line On The Horizon" on Saturday afternoon. I don't understand what anyone is worried about.

 

[Rachel D.]

I think GOYB's lyrics were too negative compared to BD and Vertigo. A song mentioning Satan, bomb scares, ghosts, and dark dreams isn't really very catchy to sing along to, especially to the average Top 40 listener. (When I say that, a soccer mom with a minivan full of kids comes to mind.) And I'm not saying that U2 should try to appeal to that demographic (I wish they wouldn't worry about that so much), but I just think that maybe that's why GOYB didn't catch on and BD and Vertigo did.

 

[DevilsShoes]

Not being a big Aerosmith fan I could be wrong, but I'm not sure they've ever really been that relevant. They've had a few big hits along the way sure, but could you ever really say they've ever been truly in sync with the zeitgeist?

Obviously American Idol has been key in keeping the band at the forefront of people's minds, but is anyone actually eagerly anticipating their next release, aside from the die-hard fans, I mean?

The question I keep asking myself is, how many hits can one band have?

Let's be honest, U2 have had more than their fair share already, surely there comes a time when that particular well runs dry. I'm not saying there's a limit to writing quality tunes but...take the three most creative members of The Beatles for example. Both Lennon and Harrison had pretty much written all their hits by the early/mid 70's. McCartney's populist touch carried him all the way the early 80's but since then, the pop charts have been all but indifferent to him.

The same with Dylan, Bowie, Jagger, even Elton John. In all likelihood these guys have already produced their most iconic material, and that's fair enough to be honest.

Unlike all these other artists, U2's chart-busting power has lasted almost 3 decades. Maybe the question should be not how many hits can one band have, but how lucky can one band be?

 

[purpleoscar]

how lucky can one band be?

The luck of the Irish.

 

[DevilsShoes]

 

[corianderstem]

Wasn't that 3 years after U2 pranced around with Boyzone? I know, I know, rock and pop are not supposed to mix.

I don't think Aerosmith performing with pop acts is comparable to having a boy band have a brief cameo in a music video.

 

[U2DMfan]

Not being a big Aerosmith fan I could be wrong, but I'm not sure they've ever really been that relevant. They've had a few big hits along the way sure, but could you ever really say they've ever been truly in sync with the zeitgeist?

Obviously American Idol has been key in keeping the band at the forefront of people's minds, but is anyone actually eagerly anticipating their next release, aside from the die-hard fans, I mean?

You're probably too young. And (apparently) not being an American wouldn't help. "Aerosmith territory" has nothing to do with the present. Everything Headache has said about this is 100% right.

Aerosmith in the 1970's was amazing. Then they put out a shit album around 1980, got all strung out, broke up, got back together and had a HUGE comeback. Bigger (in America) than U2's comeback in 2000/2001.

On that note, think of 1987-1993. The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, Zooropa. Aerosmith was bigger in America over that period than U2.

They were too mainstream by their reunion in the mid-80's to reach what I would deem as 'zeitgeist', or what is "cool". They were just fucking massive.

And they made that comeback on the backs of people like Desmond Child.
Long before Diane Warren and American Idol or whatever, Desmond Child was writing for them, on their 1987 album Permanent Vacation. They were whoring themselves out, in songwriting terms, just to get relevant. And it worked.

As Headache said, and as I have said. The Stones are a punchline only because they are old. But they never compromised their integrity to the degree Aerosmith went to. And that's the simple distinction.

When you start outsourcing songwriting, (in many circles) you're fucked as a respected rock artist. And this is the fear some may have for U2. I don't know U2 would ever go there...but they are a lot more likely to do it in 2012 than they ever were prior to (just say) 1997. And before someone mentions this, Eno and Lanois assisting the songwriting on NLOTH or even TUF or whatever else in between, is not the same fucking thing.

 

[Niceman]

I know it's not gone. I listened to "No Line On The Horizon" on Saturday afternoon. I don't understand what anyone is worried about.

 

[U2DMfan]

I knew the Aerosmith thingy had to come back to American Idol.

Aerosmith haven't put out a proper studio album in 11 years. And that blues covers record from 2004 seems like a strange way pander to the charts. Was harmonica all over the top 40 in 2004 and I just missed it? It was 8 years ago.

If they're whoring they're doing it wrong. So it must be American Idol.

Both the true apex and nadir of "Aerosmith Territory" is "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", predating Steven Tyler on AI by...about 15 years.

 

[Niceman]

It's a reflection of how starved we all are for news, but this thread deserves some kind of an award - even for Interference. Lots of people in the music and film industry make deals happen by starting rumors. I find it a lot more likely that this guy tweeted in order to make something happen than I find it that 30 years into their career, just a couple of years after writing NLOTH, U2 finally decide to let someone else write their songs. It's ludicrous. Even for Interference, this thread is a massive over-reaction.

No news here.

 

[super fly guy]

While we are all in meltdown,Bono is in israel!

 

[rjhbonovox]

While we are all in meltdown,Bono is in israel!

Penning the next album with Falk perhaps?

 

[Niceman]

While we are all in meltdown,Bono is in israel!

If that guy claims his throne as the second son of God we are going to have to wait FOREVER for a new U2 album!!!!!

 

[purpleoscar]

Or finishing off Songs of Ascent?

 

[HBK-79]

Elevation > Vertigo > GOYB

I don't think boots sounds anything like vertigo whatsoever. Vertigo is a classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus rock song. Same thing goes for Elevation, and the same goes for thousands of rock and pop songs since the 60s and earlier.

Boots doesn't even have a chorus. It doesn't follow that classic pattern whatsoever. Yes, it has a guitar riff and a staccato cadence to the vocal delivery. That's where the comparisons end. Thematically it's not in the same ballpark as the other two.

I don't see how some see those songs having the same formula, I guess it just depends on your definition of formula.

I wasn't referring to song quality or song structure. I was talking about the overall vibe of each of those three songs. Elevation, Vertigo, and GOYB are all driving rockers designed to get a stadium full of people jumping.

Both the true apex and nadir of "Aerosmith Territory" is "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", predating Steven Tyler on AI by...about 15 years.

I remember when Aerosmith won a bunch of Teen Choice Awards for that song, and for another song (Jaded?). I felt embarrassed for Steven and Joe performing in front of an audience full of *NSYNC-obsessed pubescent girls.

I can't imagine Bono and Edge doing the same thing in front of an audience full of Bieber-obsessed pubescent girls.

And they made that comeback on the backs of people like Desmond Child.
Long before Diane Warren and American Idol or whatever, Desmond Child was writing for them, on their 1987 album Permanent Vacation. They were whoring themselves out, in songwriting terms, just to get relevant. And it worked.

You read my mind.

To me, Aerosmith crapped out when they actually reunited in the 80s. They fled to the same professional songwriters who penned songs for Bon Jovi.

The same thing happened to Heart. The Wilson sisters hired teams of professional songwriters in order to stay relevant in the 80s.

IDK. All these 70s bands turned into virtual 80s hair bands before permanently leaving the mainstream.

 

[Von Schloopen]

I don't think Aerosmith performing with pop acts is comparable to having a boy band have a brief cameo in a music video.

Meh. Colour me one of those folks who doesn't care when pop and rock play friends. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Though I do find people offended by such associations fascinating. It's almost always the rock fan who's deeply hurt and swears off the rock artist as dishonest or evil. You don't see Stevie Wonder fans killing themselves cause he sang a tune with Justin Timberlake. If they like the tune, they like the tune. If not, they move on. The focus is on the music, not the litany of rules and regulations that seem to cripple the rock world.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Meh. Colour me one of those folks who doesn't care when pop and rock play friends. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. Though I do find people offended by such associations fascinating. It's almost always the rock fan who's deeply hurt and swears off the rock artist as dishonest or evil. You don't see Stevie Wonder fans killing themselves cause he sang a tune with Justin Timberlake. If they like the tune, they like the tune. If not, they move on. The focus is on the music, not the litany of rules and regulations that seem to cripple the rock world.

I happen to like Justin Timberlake's solo material very much.

Pop is one thing. There's nothing wrong with pop music. But there's two things here... one, there's a difference between a rock star rubbing up against a talented pop star, and that super bowl performance... which ironically enough was so bad that, along with 9/11, led to the NFL getting U2 to perform the next year.

Two... a band that called themselves the baddest band on the planet should never perform with Joey Fatone.