U2's quest for the 'perfect pop song' -- new album talk continued

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Am I the only one who hears the words "pop song" and thinks Beatles and Kinks, not boy bands and divas?
 
I don't think that is true for most people here. If Bono would just stop name dropping questionable producers......
 
BVS said:
Well in interference? Yes. The rest of the world? Not so much...

It got turned into a bad word, and many in here subscribed to that notion.
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It's hard to know what type of pop music Bono is referring to, but given the artists and producers he name drops he's probably not talking about the pop he grew up with, he's talking about what pop is now, and that makes sense. Pop is always changing.

I don't think many people consider the Kinks to be a pop group (though they were), or that post-1966 Beatles were pop (they were) because pop has become something so different. I don't think people consider Nirvana or Oasis to be pop groups, but they are.

Pop is Rihanna, Katy Perry, and all that other stuff that sounds the same. If you listen to pop radio there is nothing even close to the Beatles or Kinks on there. That's not considered pop anymore, it's "classic rock." People who are knowledgeable about music, or have lived through several different styles of pop, have a different perspective.

If U2 want pop hits it would be ridiculous to try to make songs in the pop style of 1966 (or 76, or 86, or 96). They need to make pop music for 2012, and that's probably what Bono is talking about, not "It Won't Be Long," unless he's more delusional it seems.
 
Hollow Island said:
It's hard to know what type of pop music Bono is referring to, but given the artists and producers he name drops he's probably not talking about the pop he grew up with, he's talking about what pop is now, and that makes sense.
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Bono name drops everyone from the Beatles to DangerMouse, he's pretty eclectic when it comes to name dropping.
Hollow Island said:
I don't think many people consider the Kinks to be a pop group (though they were), or that post-1966 Beatles were pop (they were) because pop has become something so different. I don't think people consider Nirvana or Oasis to be pop groups, but they are.

Pop is Rihanna, Katy Perry, and all that other stuff that sounds the same. If you listen to pop radio there is nothing even close to the Beatles or Kinks on there. That's not considered pop anymore, it's "classic rock." People who are knowledgeable about music, or have lived through several different styles of pop, have a different perspective.
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I think it's hard to admit that Nirvana and Kinks were pop and then turn around and say "that's probably not what Bono is talking about". Bono grew up in the era when pop was used to describe these bands, I think if anything Bono is trying to prove to other bands that it isn't evil to want to be heard. It isn't evil to write the perfect pop song. I mean Danger Mouse has been a part of some of the best pop albums in a long time.


Hollow Island said:
If U2 want pop hits it would be ridiculous to try to make songs in the pop style of 1966 (or 76, or 86, or 96).
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The retro thing has worked for a lot of other bands :wink:
 
Edge is on fire again! :heart:

Bono on Spiderman,The Queen, Mitt Romney, U2, Ireland, the undocumented and more | Irish News and Politics spanning the US, Ireland and the World | IrishCentral

U2 is hardly through with making more of their own moments. Bono talks excitedly about recent studio work and a fruitful collaboration with Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, half of the former duo Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo Green.

“You know, there might be life in the old dog yet!” Bono says.

“We’ve hit a vein. We’re working with this special soul, Brian Burton. He listens in a very different way.”The sound, Bono says, is hardly old school U2.

“There are things that have always been in our music but maybe not being accentuated. It’s really very, very different. It’s shocking how different it is.”Edge, Bono says, is on fire. “He’s unbelievable when he works. I feel very sorry for his family,” Bono laughs. Larry and Adam are also pumped.

“There’s a bass line coming up that you literally cannot believe. It’s just unbelievable. So yeah, it’s exciting.”But Bono isn’t putting a timeline on when the music will be finished, or even if it will see the light of day. If the band isn’t completely thrilled with the end result it will go nowhere.

“We can still spoil it, and you know, I could be wrong,” Bono says. “And if so then people will not hear from us because there would be no reason for us to be around.

“There’s no sense of entitlement with these men. They are absolutely, you know, as honest right now as they were when making our first album, Boy.
“They don’t expect there to be an audience for us every time we go and put an album out. We have to dig down very deep"
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this was posted in the "proposed map" thread.. but I thought I'd post it here too.. as I always forget to read stickyied threads
 
We’re working with this special soul, Brian Burton. He listens in a very different way.”The sound, Bono says, is hardly old school U2.
“There are things that have always been in our music but maybe not being accentuated. It’s really very, very different.

Excellent.
 
I like what he said about Danger Mouse and how it's "hardly old school U2". I want something refreshing, something we haven't really heard from U2 before. However you can really never know with Bono, he could just be blabbering on. But just from reading a few things from that little part RegisteredDude posted (Danger Mouse, the bass line, not being old school U2) I am getting a bit excited about what could come next. Hopefully Danger Mouse will kick some new life into the band and they can really get something going and have a release by sometime next year. (I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one)

P.S. I can't believe Edge is on fire! Again! Don't get the extinguisher guys!
 
Well, it's a possibility that they'll just call it quits.

However, as with Bono's usual hyperbole, the band's probably no where near that state. If i had to guess, i'd say Bono's talk of "you might not hear from us" and having "no reason for us to be around" (or "having to have something to offer) is just a new soundbite, like "edge is on fire" etc.

He's been saying it so much lately, it could just be a troubling thought on his mind. But i think it's just as likely that it's a new way for him to portray the band. With the early 00's comeback album of ATCYLB, they were "reapplying for the job of the biggest band on the planet", now it could be for the next comeback that they "have to offer something the world wants or needs".

Maybe i'm being too cynical, and these truly are his thoughts... but he's been saying almost the exact same line since the Achtung baby re-release. But hell, even if it is just a line he's parroting to all the journalists he encounters, it's still a great one - to feel like the next album has to be fantastic, that it has to be worth it, a worthwhile addition to their catalogue rather than just 'yet another release', is a great mindset to be in!
I just suspect that Bono's playing up fears of the band splitting to portray them as humbled after their perceived failure with NLOTH.


Regarding Bono's descriptions of their new direction: there did seem to be some critical backlash against NLOTH when people realised it wasn't the 'sonic leap' that had been promised (i was slightly disappointed too, even if i love the album) - so i hope that this time round, Bono actually means it when he calls u2's change "shocking", or if the album does become more 'classic u2', then it's promoted as such.
 
with The Edge both being on fire and his mom dying, he's having a tough week so far.
 
LuckyNumber7 said:
Am I the only one bothered by that news and actually considering them just never releasing anything?
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Bothered by what? There's nothing really news-worthy in it (surprise!).

It's not a surprise they're not going to release it if they aren't thrilled with it.

It's not a surprise there's no timeline for it to be finished.

It's definitely not a surprise that they could still "spoil it."

That said, I liked hearing even a vague tidbit about the Danger Mouse stuff.
 
notice though that Bono doesn't mention Larry in that interview? maybe he's not in the band anymore.
 
Thumbs up for Bono's pop reference points: Marvin Gaye trumps American Idol or whatever everyone is worried about.
 
Yeah, agreed. People frightened by all this "pop" talk should really take heart.

I maintain that just because they're working with "pop" producers who have been partly responsible for some ... uh ... questionable music, that doesn't mean it's not still going to sound like a friggin' U2 song. You know? Yeah.

When asked about the current state of pop music, Bono feels there’s a place for everyone.

“I think that the world needs all music, and if you’ve got a great song on the radio your day is just better for it,” he says. “We need pop music. It’s a big thing in the world.

....Because, you know, when you’re walking down the street or getting out of a taxi and you hear songs coming out of a boutique or whatever, you can just feel the pulse of a city."

That quote just makes me think he's wishing back to the days of 2004-2005, when Vertigo was all over the damned place. They just want to find that again; it doesn't mean they're going to come out with the next Call Me Maybe.
 
LemonMelon said:
I think "we've hit a vein" deserves a spot on the U2 bingo card.
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gold%20vein.jpg
 
BVS said:
Bono name drops everyone from the Beatles to DangerMouse, he's pretty eclectic when it comes to name dropping.

I think it's hard to admit that Nirvana and Kinks were pop and then turn around and say "that's probably not what Bono is talking about". Bono grew up in the era when pop was used to describe these bands, I think if anything Bono is trying to prove to other bands that it isn't evil to want to be heard. It isn't evil to write the perfect pop song. I mean Danger Mouse has been a part of some of the best pop albums in a long time.



The retro thing has worked for a lot of other bands :wink:
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You can assume that when Bono talks about chasing pop songs and being on the top of the pops he's thinking of the pop he grew up with, but I'm pretty sure he's aware enough to know that that kind of music isn't on the pop radio stations or charts.

As for "trying to prove to other bands that it isn't evil to want to be heard. It isn't evil to write the perfect pop song."...what? Good job on regurgitating the neurotic, self-important gibberish he's been dishing for 30 years. It's moronic.

Who's he trying to say that too, anyway? So called "indie rock," which in the 90s, when it wanted to stay underground, was the most traditionally poppy music around?
 
Von Schloopen said:
Thumbs up for Bono's pop reference points: Marvin Gaye trumps American Idol or whatever everyone is worried about.
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I think your inferring a little too much from his reference to Gaye. It doesn't have anything to do with the kind of music they might make.
 
Von Schloopen said:
what?
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I was telling BVS the HE can make an assumption. I know that you're trying to look for a contradiction, but you're just showing that A) you didn't finish the sentence or B) your reading comprehension isn't very strong.

"You (BVS) can assume that when Bono talks about chasing pop songs and being on the top of the pops he's thinking of the pop he grew up with, but I'm pretty sure he's aware enough to know that that kind of music isn't on the pop radio stations or charts."

"It's hard to know what type of pop music Bono is referring to, but given the artists and producers he name drops he's probably not talking about the pop he grew up,"

Pretty much saying the same thing.
 
Hollow Island said:
As for "trying to prove to other bands that it isn't evil to want to be heard. It isn't evil to write the perfect pop song."...what? Good job on regurgitating the neurotic, self-important gibberish he's been dishing for 30 years. It's moronic.
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I think it goes back to something he said over a decade ago about how he wishes Pearl Jam and Radiohead wouldn't go out of their way to avoid being heard, and saying something like "could you imagine how the landscape of radio would sound if you could hear Eddie's voice or Radiohead's music". He was talking about how it would drown out the boy bands if more real artists weren't avoiding it so much.
 
BVS said:
Right, but HE's inferring too much.
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Yeah, because the Marvin Gaye reference is unrelated to a discussion about what kind of music they may or may not make (ie. the concerns about "American Idol" style pop). He's taking a statement from a discussion about one thing and applying it to another to suit his purposes.
 
BVS said:
I think it goes back to something he said over a decade ago about how he wishes Pearl Jam and Radiohead wouldn't go out of their way to avoid being heard, and saying something like "could you imagine how the landscape of radio would sound if you could hear Eddie's voice or Radiohead's music". He was talking about how it would drown out the boy bands if more real artists weren't avoiding it so much.
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And he keeps on saying it... he should really stop telling bands what to do! It's very arrogant to think he can show bands that it's OK to do certain things THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE.

If you want to talk about Pearl Jam and Radiohead, they were both massive and did not enjoy it, so they changed their situation (and are still huge, and on the radio - PJ and Radiohead had bigger hits on their last records than U2 did). If he wants to begrudge them, fine, but it's extremely unfair. Expecially Radiohead, because as far as I know Kid A is pretty much the consensus pick for best record of the 00s.
 
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