No Line On the Horizon-The most underrated album not just by U2 but music in general.

[Vlad n U 2]

I think people are forgetting the fact that this guy said it's the most underrated album by ANY band.

Yeah, and if anyone would want to go that far then everyone would be arguing 'till the cows come home.

 

[Dfit00]

Why does it matter what the general public thinks? I mean art is personal, and I think if YOU like the album than that is all that matters. U2 needs to stop focusing on what is "cool" and "popular" and just focus on making the art they want to make. It may be "underrated" by the general public, but when you look at history there are countless things the general public have been wrong about. Do I personally think NLOTH is underrated? Sure. But does it matter to me as a listener? No, not really.

It's totally derived from opinion, not from fact. A lot of people seem to forget this.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

having been a Duran fan since the early days- yes they pretty much always play the hits from 81-85 plus a handful of others from later years. much as I like the songs it gets tedious hearing them every time. I know with DD that they try different songs, but lose confidence in their ability to play them, so revert back to the ones they've played the most

i'm a huge fan of theirs as well and i totally agree. i've heard some of their rarer stuff (still mad that they played late bar at this concert i could've really tried to get to if i'd made more of an effort) in concert but so much of the setlist seems to be the same several old songs.

i do think u2 were a little quick to, i don't wanna say dismiss the album. but most of their albums since joshua tree have been immediate runaway hits. and especially in the past ten years, they've gone from being nominated for one grammy to ten for each album. so when all this didn't happen it was somewhat of a kneejerk reaction. okay, let's pull some of the different stuff off the new album and bring back the same old shit off that 20 million seller.

it's disappointing, personally. u2 needs to have a bit more faith in their material and not be so quick to dismiss it just because it's not hailed as a classic album by everyone in the world the second it's released.

 

[Miss_Pop]

GOYB was a poor lead sinlge-

Agree. From the first moment I realized for myself that "Vertigo" is better.

and they do this because they're playing to 80% of the audience who are probably casual fans who want to hear the hits- and U2 are aware of that as well.

And that annoys me really. And this is sad.

I think people are forgetting the fact that this guy said it's the most underrated album by ANY band.

If he did, I know some albums that were really underrated even more, for example, A-ha's "Memorial beach", that almost no one remember except real fans of the band.

 

[65980]

If he did, I know some albums that were really underrated even more, for example, A-ha's "Memorial beach", that almost no one remember except real fans of the band.

Indeed. I would find it hard to say that anything U2 has done since the mid-80s can be called "under-rated" since they're the most over-scrutinized band on the face of the earth. (Witness, for example, this forum -- "What do you think of Bono's note at 2:35 of 'Bad' on July 12th, 1985?")

Sometimes, if a record is good but not that popular with the public, it isn't a case of its being under-rated, it's just a case of its being not that good in the mainstream view.

 

[gherman]

Personally, I think the "most underrated U2 album" would have to be either Pop or NLOTH. I can't pick between the two.
Also, I think Congratulations by MGMT is pretty underrated. The public opinion on that one seems to be slowly improving, though.

Ugh... the new MGMT is pure shite

 

[nirniva]

(Witness, for example, this forum -- "What do you think of Bono's note at 2:35 of 'Bad' on July 12th, 1985?")

 

[LemonMelon]

Weezer's Pinkerton probably received the most unjustly cool reception of any album I can think of. It bombed commercially and actually did destroy their career; not because they never tasted commercial acceptance again, but because of what they had to resort to in order to do so. They were never the same again. Great album though.

 

[nirniva]

Weezer's Pinkerton probably received the most unjustly cool reception of any album I can think of. It bombed commercially and actually did destroy their career; not because they never tasted commercial acceptance again, but because of what they had to resort to in order to do so. They were never the same again. Great album though.

I, too, love Pinkerton...
Incidentally, have you heard that Weezer might be doing a Blue Album/Pinkerton tour? Two nights in each city, with the Blue Album being played in full the first night and Pinkerton being played the second.

 

[U2FanPeter]

It's a bad sign when you can sell 5 times as many concert tickets as you can cd copies of your new album. And the tickets are 5-10 times the price.

Boots didn't work as a single. Crazy was a weird single because of the different versino and "lazy" music video. Magnificent got blacklisted in Europe/UK radio because of U2's heavy support of changes in radio performance royalties. Don't underestimate the power of the last one in squashing this album.

 

[purpleoscar]

u2 (read: Mcguinness) were way over-exposed in 2004-2009.

i think it has been underrated only in terms of mainstream audience

+1

 

[BVS]

It's a bad sign when you can sell 5 times as many concert tickets as you can cd copies of your new album. And the tickets are 5-10 times the price.

No it's not.

Have you not been paying attention? No one buys music anymore.

 

[U2FanPeter]

No it's not.

Have you not been paying attention? No one buys music anymore.

It's not weird that more people want to spend nearly $300 for a 1 time concert than spend $10-15 for a cd of new music from the same band that you can keep for the rest of your life?

 

[BVS]

It's not weird that more people want to spend nearly $300 for a 1 time concert than spend $10-15 for a cd of new music from the same band that you can keep for the rest of your life?

You can't get the live experience for free on the internet.

 

[popacrobat]

wasn't their some absurd number of copies of no line illegally downloaded before the CD was even released? I forget the stat, but it was at least six digits.

 

[popacrobat]

I will say though, when the album leaked i actually was one of the first to purchase it off that australian website, so i didn't steal it!

 

[U2FanPeter]

You can't get the live experience for free on the internet.

I think evey u2 tour they sold more new CDs than tickets with the exception of 360 and North American Popmart.

 

[BVS]

I think evey u2 tour they sold more new CDs than tickets with the exception of 360 and North American Popmart.

Have you heard of torrents?

 

[U2FanPeter]

Have you heard of torrents?

Labels have done studies on torrents that they chose not to release. The reason was they found that the biggest "thiefs" were actually those who bought the most.

If you are suggesting that 5 million people who bought BOMB or ATYCLB are instead listening to HORIZON from a free torrent then you are mistaken.

Apathy and finding a single were the issue.

 

[BVS]

Labels have done studies on torrents that they chose not to release. The reason was they found that the biggest "thiefs" were actually those who bought the most.

But you have privy of these "studies"? Sorry, but I call BS.

If you are suggesting that 5 million people who bought BOMB or ATYCLB are instead listening to HORIZON from a free torrent then you are mistaken.

Apathy and finding a single were the issue.

Yes, torrents have changed things quite a bit in the last 5 years, everyone knows this. Napster made a door dent, but torrents have made the crash. I'm not saying the sales would have been exactly the same, but it has a huge part in the big difference.

 

[U2FanPeter]

But you have privy of these "studies"? Sorry, but I call BS.

Yes, torrents have changed things quite a bit in the last 5 years, everyone knows this. Napster made a door dent, but torrents have made the crash. I'm not saying the sales would have been exactly the same, but it has a huge part in the big difference.

Some label heads and managers have gone on record saying studies have been held back circa 2007. Terry McBride is one name.

IMHO, it was labels/radio treating their audience like garbage that was the cause of the sales collapse. That and fans being bored of the 3 decade old cd format.

Torrents haven't brought book publishers, videogames or movie studios to their knees.

 

[digitize]

Some label heads and managers have gone on record saying studies have been held back circa 2007. Terry McBride is one name.

IMHO, it was labels/radio treating their audience like garbage that was the cause of the sales collapse. That and fans being bored of the 3 decade old cd format.

Torrents haven't brought book publishers, videogames or movie studios to their knees.

That's because books are uncomfortable to read on computers, video games take a bit of technical skill to pirate, and movies are really really big, and are often stored in annoying/proprietary formats.

 

[BVS]

Some label heads and managers have gone on record saying studies have been held back circa 2007. Terry McBride is one name.

IMHO, it was labels/radio treating their audience like garbage that was the cause of the sales collapse. That and fans being bored of the 3 decade old cd format.

Torrents haven't brought book publishers, videogames or movie studios to their knees.

Sorry, but you're arguing against all common sense and common knowledge. If you don't think torrents had anything to do with this then your head is in the sand.

 

[U2FanPeter]

That's because books are uncomfortable to read on computers, video games take a bit of technical skill to pirate, and movies are really really big, and are often stored in annoying/proprietary formats.

DVDs were once thought uncrackable. Once know how improves and storage is cheap Gaming and DVDs/Blu won't blame all their problems on downloaders.

Gaming and Movies studios each adapted to the new terrains of net savvy users. Music labels did little if anything beyond point fingers.

 

[BVS]

DVDs were once thought uncrackable. Once know how improves and storage is cheap Gaming and DVDs/Blu won't blame all their problems on downloaders.

Gaming and Movies studios each adapted to the new terrains of net savvy users. Music labels did little if anything beyond point fingers.

Well this is a much different argument don't you think? We're not arguing the strategy.

U2 work in the music industry and that industry has been effected, everyone knows that, you seem to be trying to ignore.

 

[U2FanPeter]

Sorry, but you're arguing against all common sense and common knowledge. If you don't think torrents had anything to do with this then your head is in the sand.

Torrents are an issue, but you seem to imply that 75% of U2 fans are listening to a pirated copy of the new album. "Common Knowledge" derived from PR firms hired by music labels. I think Torrents are as much an issue as say fare jumpers on public transit in cities without turnstiles(Vancouver is one city)

Regular(on the fence) u2 fans didn't buy it because they weren't given a big enough to listen to it. I saw a trio of 360 shows(16 U2 shows lifetime), yet have not picked up the cd yet. I played the album a bunch before release on my computer and deleted it. Haven't played the album since, though do have a vinyl copy that had the first 5 songs played to hear the sonic difference. I don't have a cd burner or ipod.

 

[BVS]

Torrents are an issue, but you seem to imply that 75% of U2 fans are listening to a pirated copy of the new album. "Common Knowledge" derived from PR firms hired by music labels. I think Torrents are as much an issue as say fare jumpers on public transit in cities without turnstiles(Vancouver is one city)

Regular(on the fence) u2 fans didn't buy it because they weren't given a big enough to listen to it. I saw a trio of 360 shows(16 U2 shows lifetime), yet have not picked up the cd yet. I played the album a bunch before release on my computer and deleted it. Haven't played the album since, though do have a vinyl copy that had the first 5 songs played to hear the sonic difference. I don't have a cd burner or ipod.

I think you're a little naive of their impact. I'm going to chalk this up with some of your other far fetched out of touch arguments.

 

[corianderstem]

ohmygodwhyareyouarguingaboutthis

 

[No spoken words]

ohmygodwhyareyouarguingaboutthis

You need to go watch a movie or listen to music or go read now.

For your own good.

Now.

 

[U2FanPeter]

Well this is a much different argument don't you think? We're not arguing the strategy.

U2 work in the music industry and that industry has been effected, everyone knows that, you seem to be trying to ignore.

CD sales are actually a minority of their entire income. Touring, radioplay, merch and radioplay make up the rest.

I still think it's a chicken/egg argument. What came first?:
-music labels treating fans like dirt
-fans discovered a method to freeload

What's interesting about torrent sites is some of them actually have better selection and listener feedback(ie: requests)than commercial download sites.

It's my common knowledge and common sense that people are backstabbing thiefs as you portray by their own human nature.