2015 U2 Tour - General Discussion Thread VI :)

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"We probably should've allowed it ('No Line …') to be as experimental as it started out – Eno would've loved it if we would've left it that way," says the Edge, backstage at the Bell Centre arena that hosted the band's Montreal residency. "But the weight of expectation from our other work influenced our decision to try to write some songs that pushed things in a more accessible direction..."

That is the most interesting part of the interview. He is perfectly right. This time I will proudly brag when I say he summed up what I was writing here since the album came out.
 
NLOTH
MOS
Breathe
Fez/Being Born

Great songs from NLOTH. All have the magical U2 touch.

I think the one thing needed on NLOTH was a solid U2 ballad. MOS is a ballad in some ways but doesn't sound like U2.

I agree with this, but to throw my 2 cents in about what qualities new u2 music might need to be successful:

Sure, age comes into it - it's probably harder for u2 to have a hit when they're in their mid-50's and trying to connect with a young mid-20's (and younger) audience, but hey, they had a hit with vertigo in their mid 40's, which was pushing it. Maybe i'm too optimistic, but i think if a song is good enough, under the right circumstances it'll do well regardless of how old the artist is.

I think U2's most successful tunes (e.g. ISHFWILF, With or Without You, One etc) have a few important qualities: They have great/memorable guitar hooks and vocals, that i feel just have that 'spark' that immediately grabs you. They have a unique (especially for the time) sound. And, they have a 'feel good' factor - I can easily see people singing their hearts out to the aforementioned songs at a u2 show, or hearing them at a party, at a radio, at a bar etc, because classic u2 songs just have that upbeat, spirit lifting vibe.

Now, i think U2 have some beautiful new material. NLOTH (the title track), MoS, Every breaking wave, all incredible songs in my opinion. But i believe they lack the same 'spark' that their other, more successful songs have.

It's hard to describe because it's kind of intangible and obviously subjective, but to me they lack that kind of feel good vibe, and i think they (mostly) lack memorable riffs and lines to sing. Every breaking wave and Invisible are probably the closest they've come for me recently to sounding like 'hits', but i feel they each lack something - EBW has a beautiful and catchy chorus, but is a very dark song. Invisible sounds more upbeat, but doesn't have a catchy hook on the same level as say, Beautiful day.

This is something i literally just thought of, i'm sure i could be proven wrong, but maybe what U2 could need is a song with a big upbeat vibe? Melodically, everything on SoI and NLOTH sounds so dark to me, with no vocals/riffs (with a couple exceptions) really hitting me in the chest the way that Beautiful day, One, Pride etc do.

Take ISHFWILF: Instantly recognisable (and catchy) guitar riff, very catchy chorus vocal, and generally very upbeat mood. Newer u2 material has real beauty, but i find it's not quite reaching these criteria, at least never all 3 at the same time.
 
One thing that really does confuse me is Edge's musical contribution these days (if he is indeed set on making 'hits').

For me (and i'm sure for a lot of other people), one of the things that got me into U2, and kept me listening, was the great guitar (and hey, even piano) riffs.

SBS, ISHFWILLF, WoWY, WTSHNN (holy shit, thank god for acronyms)...

They have riffs that are instantly recognisable, and widely loved. They helped put U2 on the musical map. If a guitar player (doesn't have to even be a professional) plucks the notes to ISHFWWLF, or Beautiful Day, or vertigo, even non-fans will likely know it. How many times can that be said for anything on NLOTH or SoI? Sure there are a few attempts, like Boots, but for the most part the guitar riffs are very much secondary to the song as a whole (whereas before they seemed to define the songs), if they're even they're at all.

I know they've taken a step towards crafting songs from the ground up, but i think they've ironically done so at the expense of good guitar riffs that really helped u2 become popular.
 
AB wasn´t thrashy. It was heavy processed, perfectly produced record full of ground breaking songs while everyone else was doing grunge or dancefloor.

ATYCLB didn´t endure as far as I know, except Beautiful Day. Luckily. Til this day I feel embarrassed for the band for the autopilot safe pop direction they went for on that record.

I agree with you about Joshua Tree and SOI if you have mentioned it :)

I was going to respond to this, but then I remembered that it's you, and responding to your nonsense with any kind of thought and logic would be a complete waste of time.

:)
 
i think you're the only one. everyone else loves it.

I hate to agree with thavidesco but it's U2's worst album. Fact. :wink:

As for it enduring, I'd say Beautiful Day has well and truly endured, and Stuck in a Moment and Elevation have done well for themselves. But the rest of the album? People will talk about JT or AB as much as individual songs from it, but ATYCLB I think has lost some shine as people just reach for two or three songs and forget the album they came from or ignore most of its content.

Though I guess this depends to an extent on geography. ATYCLB seems to hold a certain stature in the US that I don't think is replicated elsewhere.
 
It's like they're being excessively self-conscious and completely lacking self-awareness at the same time.

Insane stuff.

This x1000

Oh, U2. You never stick to your guns. Frustrating.

:love: the GIF because I'm 14 episodes from finishing HIMYM.

Get ready for the feels.

That's a great point... Joshua Tree was earnest arena rock in a time where everyone was doing trashy throw away music, and it's endured.

Achtung Baby was U2 getting trashy as everyone else was getting serious. It, too, lived on.

Even All That You Can't Leave Behind was a departure from the plastic sound of the early 2000s. As much as many here don't want to admit it, it's endured.

U2 have been at their best when they've bucked the trends, rather than try to match the trends.

:up:

Well this all escalated quickly didn't it

Surprised this is all you've said!

I think there's been a lot of great stuff to come out of this band since the year 2000. But it's incredibly frustrating to have all our worst fears about how we think this band thinks confirmed for us in such blatant terms.
 
I don't listen to ATYCLB much anymore, as the production hasn't dated well and it's pretty inconsistent from a quality perspective, but the big songs have endured.
 
SOI was in trouble before it was even released. The delays, releasing Invisible as a stand alone single,almost testing the water scared to release the full album etc. Honestly, I'm worried about U2 for me SOI was a fairly average to poor album and I wonder if they have it in them to produce another great record. The live shows despite being great have turned into (mostly) greatest hits shows and certainly at the I&E gig I was at, most of the crowd weren't interested in the new stuff and didn't seem to even know it. Something didn't feel right during the gig for me, perhaps I'm just being pessimistic but something feels wrong. Still, U2 remain my favourite band ever and live there unbeatable. I just hope they've got the creative power or want to continue.
 
it did. everyone basically loves it. BD is an all-time classic. Stuck still gets radio play and is widely loved. Walk On as well, though less radio play. Elevation makes people dance in concerts. many people own the album, because people bought albums in 2000. it's likely the 3rd or 4th most popular U2 album of all time, and a confirmation of their strengths.

it endures.

Absolutely. Radiowise it's probably their 3rd biggest album, after JT and AB. Might actually beat AB actually here, since I hear far more ATYCLB songs than AB (Mysterious Ways and One pretty much, the occasional EBTTRT). ATYCLB songs that get regular play are Beautiful Day, Elevation, Stuck, Walk On. Pretty much all singles get played and I hear one at least once every two days. Electrical Storm gets surprising airplay here too.

ATYCLB will never be one of my personal favourites, but to say that it's not an important album in u2 history and that the general crowd loves it is just completely retarded.
 
Absolutely. Radiowise it's probably their 3rd biggest album, after JT and AB. Might actually beat AB actually here, since I hear far more ATYCLB songs than AB (Mysterious Ways and One pretty much, the occasional EBTTRT). ATYCLB songs that get regular play are Beautiful Day, Elevation, Stuck, Walk On. Pretty much all singles get played and I hear one at least once every two days. Electrical Storm gets surprising airplay here too.

ATYCLB will never be one of my personal favourites, but to say that it's not an important album in u2 history and that the general crowd loves it is just completely retarded.

where are you from?
 
So you don't live in the internet then

Well I do live in a symbiotic relationship with my laptop.. :wink:


I've worked from home the past two days so I had the radio on.

Yesterday: Stuck in a Moment in the morning, Beautiful Day in the afternoon.
Today: Ordinary Love in the morning, and right now Vertigo is being played.

Yeah, their 00s albums are hated by everyone. :wink:
 
I don't think I've ever heard Walk On on the radio in Australia.

Back in 2000, it was my favourite song on ATYCLB and I kept hoping to hear it on the radio. Gold Coast radio thrashed Beautiful Day, Stuck, and Elevation, but I never caught Walk On. I didn't find it out it had actually been released as a single until after I got the Internet at home in 2002.

(It feels so quaint now to think back to a time where you'd have this momentous occasion of "getting the Internet at home".)
 
ATYCLB was hugely played back then. Beautiful Day was even the most played videoclip ever, along with Californication from RHCP.
 
Beautiful Day is the only song from ATYCLB I ever hear on radio nowadays. I'd say the song has endured, the album no so much. (as far as general public is concerned)
 
The HITZ have endured. The album? Hardly.

Full albums survive in the world of fandom anyway - casual, hardcore and inbetween alike. A song like Trip Through Your Wires is hardly going to be recognized and beloved in the "general public".

Taking that into consideration, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby are bonified classics. All That You Can't Leave Behind on the other hand has a much more mixed reaction. I for one do not know personally a single U2 fan who really likes that album. So yeah, it's all relative.
 
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Used to hear everlasting love on the radio all the time. Recently I've been forced to listen to a particular station, who despite all their promises of 'variety', plays wowy every single time U2 is mentioned.
 
I hear BD and Vertigo on our station at work a ton; they're some of our most played songs. They also play Magnificent, ABOY, A Man and A Woman, and Sweetest thing quite a bit. They'll occasionally play Streets, ISHF, MW, and EBTTRT. But that's about it. I take it they really like the 2000's era U2.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Oh God, I made the mistake of watching 06/24 Streets on YouTube.

Buncha old people cautiously dancing as if they're unsure if it's still cool or not. What the hell happened to you U2 fans? Back in the day you all had energy. Now you whip out your iPhones and maybe decide to sway. Or not.

Do us all a favor, and drink six Red Bull before you go to Chicago III and IV, please. FFS.
 
Do us all a favor, and drink six Red Bull before you go to Chicago III and IV, please. FFS.

Jumping up and down to Streets for the entire song is hard on us old folks' knees, man.

And if we all drank six Red Bulls, you'd be bitching that all us olds kept leaving the show to go pee.

:angry:

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I need a brace to be able to stand all night. If I jump, the people around me won't appreciate it as I'd have to be carried off. :wink: And I'm not even old yet. Just a little sports accident years ago that never got fixed. I fear the day my joints start failing me.

But I try to pretend to jump during streets. Just bouncing on my feet.
 
Actually , people would have some more space to jump around if you where carried off, I only see benefits :sexywink:
 
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