Maybe the naysayers of NLOTH have some truth...

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The naysayers have some truth in their arguements. So do the yaysayers. Music is subjective (that's righ Een!) and you can hear whatever you want in it. Some like it, some don't, whoopdy-doo what have we learnt today kids?

that's right,

Music is subjective
 
Here are the problems with the article:

1) HTDAAB was released right after Thanksgiving - meaning holiday $ales were kicking in. HTDAAB sold over 200K copies in the U.S. the first five weeks of its release. In March, the #1 album may only sell 150K copies. For NLOTH to achieve sales of 400-500K in March is impressive.

2) ATYCLB had the mega-hit, "Beautiful Day". First week sales? 428K in the U.S. NLOTH appears to be on pace to match that.

3) "POP" was released in March. Back then, there were no illegal downloads to steal away sales. First week sales were 347K. NLOTH appears to be headed toward a significantly higher total.

4) AB's first week sales were a mere 295K in the U.S. It went on to be certified as 8x Platinum in the U.S. If this were 1991, this article might question why sales for U2 - the juggernauts that released JT and R&H - were so low as well. But the second and third singles from AB were huge and generated monster sales for the album. GOYB is similar to "The Fly" - informed the public of new U2 and that it may be a slightly different sound. That's it. Now it's up to the next few singles to really sell NLOTH.

5) Like it or not, the members of U2 are nearing 50. Age plays a role. This is why Coldplay can have big numbers. But even they needed a huge single to help.

6) The economy is abysmal. If one doesn't have a job and needs to determine whether $$ should be put aside for an album or for food or bills, guess which one wins? People are more worried about paying bills than rushing out to enjoy something liesurely.

Bottom line: the first week sales are pretty much were most of us who play in the "Peeling Off" forum predicted. This article focuses on a very small part - the fact that GOYB wasn't huge. Neither was "The Fly" or "Numb" (as "Numb" wasn't even available for purchase as a single). Yet, "Zooropa" is the only U2 album in the SoundScan era to spend more than one week at #1.

Plus, at this point in their lives, does U2 really need another monster selling album? Didn't they already prove themselves with the last two albums (that sold over 20M copies worldwide, despite illegal downloads)?

If the second and third single take off and the tour is popular, NLOTH will linger for a while, just like ATYCLB and HTDAAB. Sales may not be overwhelming, but they will be consistent. And consistent weekly sales will add up. In other words, weeks 2 through 102 are just as, if not more important, than week 1.
 
Hhhhmmmmm... Both albums arre #1 and #2 downloads on Itunes, Magnificent was in the top 10 singles downloads on Itunes and its NOT a single, Boots was a gutsy first single and we can see it is nowhere near the best song, U2 has played 4 songs on Letterman to rave reviews and reception accross the globe?

Ya, this album is a big fucking failure and we should all just forget about the bad. They have no relevance anymore in music and are 4 big fucking losers.:doh:
 
Well I am with the people who just plain love the music...I don't care about sales what band did better or worse then U2 on the charts...what song should or should not have been released as the first single...really it doesn't matter to me...I loved GOYB when I first heard it and still love it now...I love :heart:NLOTH in general and I enjoy listening to it almost everyday.. :drool:
I over analyze a lot of stuff in my life..music is not one of them :)
 
artdirector said:
mmmm.. i thought about bono's haircut too. The last time it was short it was during pop. but this album has better songs than pop. Pop had one good song "GONE" NLOTH has at least 5. NLOTH, MAGNIFICENT, MOMENT OF SURRENDER and I'LL GO CRAZY..and boots/breathe (tied in my book)
Click to expand...

So Discotheque,Mofo,Staring At The Sun,Please,and Wake Up Dead Man are not good songs.We are all entitled to our opinion but I will take any of these songs over Crazy Tonight Anyday.
 
all i have to say is, POP was made 12 years ago....if I hold NLOTH in the same regard in 12 years as I do POP, thats a good thing. So let another u2 "flop" begin for all I care.

Plus I am very confident through time I will still like NLOTH more than POP, as much as I love the latter.

The album was released 3 days ago...

One thing I want to say is...doesn't anyone else feel a lot of the bad reviews are more about an anti-u2 sentiment or especially Bono bashing than it is about the music? I get a lot of comments like "I'm so sick of u2. I hope Bono and them just go away". It's like its a personal thing just cuz they don't like them.

I think if Coldplay release "Magnificent" identical to the U2 version, its a smash hit bigger than if u2 did it. I mean "Lost" was a hit....yes.... "you can be a big fish in a little pond" line and all.
 
RademR said:
all i have to say is, POP was made 12 years ago...
Click to expand...


I just cannot believe this fact....

It feels like yesterday and I remember listening to it for the first time so clearly.....
 
:hmm: ya i know...and they've only put out 3 albums since.
well, 2/3 are classics in my book so i guess the long gaps are ok by me
 
At least they've made a proper album this time than regurgating the same shit for the last 2 albums. I mean is this a very big surprise that this album might not sell as well as the past 2. The last 2 albums were obviously made for the American market where all they want to hear is Edge playing the same old coke riff and a nice catchy chorus that every fuc#er can sing along to in a big stadium! As far as I'm concerned it makes no difference to me if this album doesn't sell well. Its the best they've done since Pop which was also a brilliant album. By the way NLOTH isn't as good as Pop though!:wink:
 
doctorwho said:
Here are the problems with the article:

1) HTDAAB was released right after Thanksgiving - meaning holiday $ales were kicking in. HTDAAB sold over 200K copies in the U.S. the first five weeks of its release. In March, the #1 album may only sell 150K copies. For NLOTH to achieve sales of 400-500K in March is impressive.

2) ATYCLB had the mega-hit, "Beautiful Day". First week sales? 428K in the U.S. NLOTH appears to be on pace to match that.

3) "POP" was released in March. Back then, there were no illegal downloads to steal away sales. First week sales were 347K. NLOTH appears to be headed toward a significantly higher total.

4) AB's first week sales were a mere 295K in the U.S. It went on to be certified as 8x Platinum in the U.S. If this were 1991, this article might question why sales for U2 - the juggernauts that released JT and R&H - were so low as well. But the second and third singles from AB were huge and generated monster sales for the album. GOYB is similar to "The Fly" - informed the public of new U2 and that it may be a slightly different sound. That's it. Now it's up to the next few singles to really sell NLOTH.

5) Like it or not, the members of U2 are nearing 50. Age plays a role. This is why Coldplay can have big numbers. But even they needed a huge single to help.

6) The economy is abysmal. If one doesn't have a job and needs to determine whether $$ should be put aside for an album or for food or bills, guess which one wins? People are more worried about paying bills than rushing out to enjoy something liesurely.

Bottom line: the first week sales are pretty much were most of us who play in the "Peeling Off" forum predicted. This article focuses on a very small part - the fact that GOYB wasn't huge. Neither was "The Fly" or "Numb" (as "Numb" wasn't even available for purchase as a single). Yet, "Zooropa" is the only U2 album in the SoundScan era to spend more than one week at #1.

Plus, at this point in their lives, does U2 really need another monster selling album? Didn't they already prove themselves with the last two albums (that sold over 20M copies worldwide, despite illegal downloads)?

If the second and third single take off and the tour is popular, NLOTH will linger for a while, just like ATYCLB and HTDAAB. Sales may not be overwhelming, but they will be consistent. And consistent weekly sales will add up. In other words, weeks 2 through 102 are just as, if not more important, than week 1.
Click to expand...

You all just got Dr Whoed.
 
No way is NLOTH crap and I am still surprised by the amount of negativity. If you don't like it fair enough, but slagging it off, saying hardly any of it is any good is just pointless, you might as well not bother posting here.
 
This thread is dumb. The album has been out for three days and has only had one single so far. Can we wait a month before we decide the album has failed?

also when NLOTH debuted at #1 in the UK it sold more than the rest of the top ten combined. yeah sounds like a failure to me...
 
Somedays I hope the band doesn't read this forum bc I want them to keep on making albums even if they're not as commercially successful bc it's not like they need the $ and I want them to continue to explore and polarize and guess what, I don't like every song on the album, but it's still a great piece of work!
 
Thanksandy said:
No way is NLOTH crap and I am still surprised by the amount of negativity. If you don't like it fair enough, but slagging it off, saying hardly any of it is any good is just pointless, you might as well not bother posting here.
Click to expand...

You're surprised by negativity on Interference? Lurk around more :wink:
 
Thanksandy said:
No way is NLOTH crap and I am still surprised by the amount of negativity. If you don't like it fair enough, but slagging it off, saying hardly any of it is any good is just pointless, you might as well not bother posting here.
Click to expand...


I think it is great to have "both" types of opinions on this forum. I would hate to read any threads if I thought everyone was going to love every album and every song. The "likes" and "dont likes" create wonderful discussions between fans. With that said, there are some people that go to extreme's with their opinions (both ways but mainly the "dont likes") when I think most of us are still trying to make up our minds and don’t want to hear someone bash something we like. Years ago, I posted that I thought Wake up Dead Man was an awful song and one poster basically attacked me (I still dont like the song). I did understand how my comment sparked that response and I should have wrote out my thoughts more constructively but it would have been easier for the poster to engage me in a conversation about it.
 
I could not give the slightest fuck how many albums U2 sells, or how well a single does. I do worry about the bands reaction should a really, truly great U2 album ever tank commercially - I fear Bono’s “two crap albums” rule will almost be entirely judged on that sort of thing - but that’s the extent of my interest in all of that.

If one of you came back from the future and told us that Songs of Ascent debuted in the US with only 100K sales in the first week, honestly, I’d say that almost guarantees that its going to be fucking fantastic. If it sold a million in its first week it probably just means it has duets with Beyonce on there or something.
 
rjhbonovox said:
At least they've made a proper album this time than regurgating the same shit for the last 2 albums. I mean is this a very big surprise that this album might not sell as well as the past 2. The last 2 albums were obviously made for the American market where all they want to hear is Edge playing the same old coke riff and a nice catchy chorus that every fuc#er can sing along to in a big stadium! As far as I'm concerned it makes no difference to me if this album doesn't sell well. Its the best they've done since Pop which was also a brilliant album. By the way NLOTH isn't as good as Pop though!:wink:
Click to expand...



Ironically enough, the live versions on Letterman this week were nothing but the "classic Coke Riff" on every tune.
The live versions of the tunes resort back to the WTSHNN riff and sound every time, even though the album version may be different.
 
JOFO said:
Ironically enough, the live versions on Letterman this week were nothing but the "classic Coke Riff" on every tune.
The live versions of the tunes resort back to the WTSHNN riff and sound every time, even though the album version may be different.
Click to expand...

Is that Sting???

:wink:
 
Pop had more than one good song!

Try about 7 great songs: MOFO, If God Would Send His Angels, Staring at the Sun, Gone, Velvet Dress, Please, Wake Up Dead Man

Two better than average but not great songs: Do You Feel Loved, Last Night on Earth

One okay song: Playboy Mansion

Two shit songs: Discotheque, Miami.

Any band in the world would be happy with that! Oh, and it sold about 6-8 million copies and was number one in over 30 different countries. Some flop!
 
Also, does the 400,000-500,000 first week sales projection mentioned in that article include online downloads purchases (not illegal free downloads, but actual purchases from places like iTunes and Amazon)? It's not clear to me that it does.

If actual CD sales are down from HTDAAB, perhaps that just indicates more people purchasing the album in download format, and isn't really a true decline in sales or interest in the band and its new album.
 
This album is who they are, who they have been for a decade and who they will be in the foreseeable future, period.

So I would suggest, if you still aren't on board after this one, just move on or try and be constructive in your discussions (at the least).

And if you somehow think this album is below the 21st century U2 standard, clean your ears out.
 
walkon274 said:
Check out this article about general reception so far of NLOTH. I wonder if we're seeing Pop all over again. Initial rave reviews, corny and unreceived first single, then album fades to black.

Why Is U2 Projecting So Low? | U2 news article from @U2

Note the article's point on how the masses have concluded GOYB blows. That's what some of us got destroyed on here for saying, yet the statistics show our initial disappointment with the song has been echoed by the general music audience.

Does anyone think that this may be the beginning of the end of them? Just a thought. Personally, I love Magnificent and Breathe, but the rest of the album just doesn't do it for me.
Click to expand...

well if GOYB blows then keep on blowing cos i love that song despite not being my favorite from the album! Too many negative threads! Who cares about what other people think? I just care that I like the new album and thats all that matters really!
 
EmitFlesti said:
Pop had more than one good song!

Try about 7 great songs: MOFO, If God Would Send His Angels, Staring at the Sun, Gone, Velvet Dress, Please, Wake Up Dead Man

Two better than average but not great songs: Do You Feel Loved, Last Night on Earth

One okay song: Playboy Mansion

Two shit songs: Discotheque, Miami.

Any band in the world would be happy with that! Oh, and it sold about 6-8 million copies and was number one in over 30 different countries. Some flop!
Click to expand...

Discotheque is in no way a shit song. It's one of the best on Pop, imo.
 
Look at who dominates radio and music sales for the most part anyway. Given the taste of the masses, why would anyone want to be concerned about what they think? Just make good music.

One of the best albums I've heard recently is John Frusciante's "Empyrean". Will it get any mainstream media attention, radio play, or grammy nominations? Nope. Who cares?; it's great music anyway. Let the masses miss out if they're that aesthetically obtuse.

Likewise, in a sane world where artistic merit really matters, Nick Cave and Sigur Ros should have dominated the Grammy's this year based on the quality of their 2008 releases (actually Nick Cave should get album of the year every year he releases an album, but I digress). Sadly, I bet most of the people who vote for those kinds of awards have never heard of either of these artists. They think only in terms of mainstream success, "American Idol/Pop Idol"-style music and giant corporation promotions and sales. Thier loss.
 
Making good music does not always equal sales. The tour hasn't started yet so we don't know largely how well the album will sell. If it sells 5 million worldwide it's going to be a disappointment to the industry but not to me. We have to wait and see.

The sad thing is that some people would actually like it if U2 went down in sales so they could use that as a yardstick on how good the album is. Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys didn't sell well in the U.S. but it's a great album nonetheless.

Listeners have to ask themselves. "Do I like the album MORE if more people like it? If I do then what does that say about my taste in music?"
 
Damn, can we at least wait until the tour starts to have these discussions?

And I'm so amazed that Pop generates so much passion in the U2 community..and if chart positions are your thing, then please don't blast Discotheque as it's the last top 10 song U2's had in the US, and it went gold, meaning, I guess, that the general American public actually liked it
 
NLOTH will never be Pop, not at this point of their carreer.

Besides, Pop is a great album.

I don't care about the "masses", I don't even think it's legitimate to say something like that after the album has only been released for a week.

The album is a grower and it is not the typical radiofriendly single material, it's basically what the fans wanted. Now we suddenly worry about the "masses" not liking it, that's ridiculous.

I have read so many really positive reviews, I was surprised, I expected much more bashing. I've read positive reviews from sources that had been bashing U2 for years now. And I love the album, that's all that matters in the end.

I think it's sad that some fans cannot simply enjoy the new music and be glad that the band is still around. I couldn't be more happy about the way things currently are.
 
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