Bono talks 3 albums again

[Rachel D.]

^ Good times.

 

[The Panther]

As far as being a band that makes albums, do U2 actually still exist?

Let's examine their recent history of long-playing recordings of new material:
2005 - nothing
2006 - nothing
2007 - nothing
2008 - nothing
2009 - okay album (which was rather short)
2010 - nothing
2011 - nothing
2012 - probably nothing

So, there you have it folks!! Try not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of their recent releases, which can stagger new fans under the sheer mountain of its volume.

At some point, I hope the band realizes that waiting for their fanbase to die before releasing a new record doesn't really make fiscal sense.

 

[LemonMelon]

2009 - okay album (which was rather short)

Bono lied about that shit.

 

[The Panther]

Imagine if you were 14 in 2005 and became a U2 fan. You're now 20 or 21 and you've experienced one U2 release.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

lol.... so true.... horrible to be a "new" U2 fan.....

at least you got a 2 year long tour.....

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

You'd also be just discovering all the past material, while still having an unbiased appreciation of newer stuff... so I think just discovering U2 would be just fine and dandy.

 

[cobl04]

Imagine if you were 14 in 2005 and became a U2 fan. You're now 20 or 21 and you've experienced one U2 release.

I didn't turn 15 until July 2005. Hutdab was the first U2 album I heard. They've been my absolute favourite band ever since.

 

[Galeongirl]

As far as being a band that makes albums, do U2 actually still exist?

Let's examine their recent history of long-playing recordings of new material:
2005 - nothing
2006 - nothing
2007 - nothing
2008 - nothing
2009 - okay album (which was rather short)
2010 - nothing
2011 - nothing
2012 - probably nothing

So, there you have it folks!! Try not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of their recent releases, which can stagger new fans under the sheer mountain of its volume.

At some point, I hope the band realizes that waiting for their fanbase to die before releasing a new record doesn't really make fiscal sense.

You really are pretty much ignoring a lot of songs here. I know you mean albums, but you said recordings of new material. If that's the case, then this is more accurate.

2005 - Nothing.
2006 - Window In The Skies, The Saints Are Coming
2007 - Nothing.
2008 - I Believe in Father Christmas
2009 - Great album, Winter
2010 - Nort Star, Mercy, Glastonbury, Return Of The Stingray Guitar, Every Breaking Wave, Boy Falls From The Sky, Soon
2011 - nothing
2012 - nothing

So they did give us quite a bit of new material, especially in 2010.

 

[digitize]

That list doesn't include Oh Berlin or She's Gonna Blow Your House Down. Or, for that matter, Wave of Sorrow, Angels Too Tied To The Ground, and Disappearing Act.

Also, 2005 has such beauties as Instant Karma and my personal favorite, One featuring Mary J. Blige.

 

[Galeongirl]

That list doesn't include Oh Berlin or She's Gonna Blow Your House Down. Or, for that matter, Wave of Sorrow, Angels Too Tied To The Ground, and Disappearing Act.

Yeah I didn't include the older songs. Fair point indeed.

and my personal favorite, One featuring Mary J. Blige.

*shudders*

*disowns*

 

[digitize]

I'm thinking about including the MJB version of One in the Rate The Song series, to see how many 0s it can get.

 

[ryancoke71]

Do it!!!!

 

[mama cass]

2011: spider-man songs, remember

 

[Registered Dude]

lets not forget Bono busking on Grafton street.. 2 years in a row!!

 

[gvox]

I'm thinking about including the MJB version of One in the Rate The Song series, to see how many 0s it can get.

You'll be sorely disappointed.

 

[PhilsFan]

Imagine if you were 14 in 2005 and became a U2 fan. You're now 20 or 21 and you've experienced one U2 release.

I was 14 in 2005 and became a U2 fan. I am now 21. It's a bit disheartening, not going to lie. They have released one album and played one show in my town since I became a fan seven years ago.

 

[Irvine511]

I was 14 in 2005 and became a U2 fan. I am now 21. It's a bit disheartening, not going to lie. They have released one album and played one show in my town since I became a fan seven years ago.

i became a big fan at 14 in the summer of 1992 and was just young enough to miss Zoo TV and we didn't have the internets back then so i learned about Zooropa from a review in Time (a paper version, too). if you missed an MTV News update from Kurt Loader, you had no idea what was going on.

i had to wait 5 years to see them live, too. it was tough.

the difference is, however, they're much closer to death now then back then.

that and they were cool then and everyone liked Bono.

anyway, i like the idea of something quiet and under-the-radar for 2012 and actually *not* tour, and then go all big and Danger Mouse on our 2013 asses with tour to follow.

 

[mama cass]

i feel so oooooold!!!

first got into them when i was 16 in 1986, but didn't see them til Achtung Baby - my mate told me he'd picked up tix that afternoon from Virgin Megastore so i ran across town and picked up some more, no queue, no nothing, instant tix for the equivalent of £20 a piece... ahhh those were the days...

 

[corianderstem]

I was moderately interested in them in the mid 80s, and then fell hard when Rattle and Hum came out (I was in high school at the time). First got to see them on Zoo TV.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I'm pretty much the same as Irvine. 13/14 for Achtung, but missed ZooTV, saw them first on Popmart.

I'd like to see them push the quieter/meditative album out first too, with little fanfare, no tour. Go off the deep end with it. Release it as Passengers II if need be. Save the U2 brand for the big-bang DM album, give themselves even more room to relax and go with whatever happens with it.

 

[Irvine511]

Release it as Passengers II if need be.

you know, if it's all meditative Eno/Lanois stuff, why not do this? the tour just ended. people are still annoyed by Bono. you just went super-populist with those setlists in the stadiums. throw the people who sang along to every word when you played "Zooropa" (and thought it was fucking awesome) a bone, reset, then burn up the arenas with your final sky-scraping "big" album with the big music that you know you do better than anybody else, ever.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It really annoyed me when Eno said they just dumped all the 'great' deep end/Moroccan influence stuff as too arty or whatever and then started deliberately crafting the album in a more U2ey direction. And then Bono spends the next three years banging on about how great the No Line off cuts were. Even when promoting No Line he seemed more passionate about his 'Songs of Ascent' dreams than about No Line itself. Sad to think they might come up with stuff *they* adore, but feel they can't release because of brand expectations.

But wait! It's not your only brand!

Now is a good time for it. No one wants a new U2 album now (let alone a tour) and the band need a no pressure re-discovery thingy.

Not a fucking chance though.

 

[Irvine511]

Not a fucking chance though.

perhaps the marketplace is saturated enough, like it was in 1995?

 

[Mrs. Garrison]

i feel so oooooold!!!

first got into them when i was 16 in 1986, but didn't see them til Achtung Baby - my mate told me he'd picked up tix that afternoon from Virgin Megastore so i ran across town and picked up some more, no queue, no nothing, instant tix for the equivalent of £20 a piece... ahhh those were the days...

 

[LemonMelon]

I got into U2 when I was 10, back in 2001, and everybody loved them back then. ATYCLB wasn't exactly a new album when I bought it, but I got to experience that period of renewed public interest in U2. HTDAAB felt like a victory lap in light of that.

Looking back on it, I'm not even remotely surprised that NLOTH underperformed. Oversaturation of U2 from 2000-2006 or so, plus a lack of a strong single more or less sealed its fate. But hey, I'm not crying about it. I managed to be a fan during a period when everyone was on U2's junk, and that was fun for a while, but I don't exist through the opinions of others anyway.

If U2 wants to help their public image, they should just hide out in the studio and start releasing albums in an understated fashion, avoid the bloated tours and convince everyone that it's still about the music. I know it still is (if you go GA, the spectacle actually gets you closer to the band), but Boots and Crazy Tonight didn't say that out loud.

 

[mama cass]

I'm pretty much the same as Irvine. 13/14 for Achtung, but missed ZooTV, saw them first on Popmart.

I'd like to see them push the quieter/meditative album out first too, with little fanfare, no tour. Go off the deep end with it. Release it as Passengers II if need be. Save the U2 brand for the big-bang DM album, give themselves even more room to relax and go with whatever happens with it.

yeah i was thinking maybe they could release it as a side project or something, without all the bells and whistles... loads of bands do that kind of thing... i think it would be great!

it could be something a little out of the mainstream, a little bit hush hush, something that isn't in your face and that music-lovers have to look for to find... and that might even become a cult classic

[/deluded ramblings of an old lady]

 

[Rachel D.]

yeah i was thinking maybe they could release it as a side project or something, without all the bells and whistles... loads of bands do that kind of thing... i think it would be great!

it could be something a little out of the mainstream, a little bit hush hush, something that isn't in your face and that music-lovers have to look for to find... and that might even become a cult classic

[/deluded ramblings of an old lady]

That sounds like a good idea, especially for an album like SOA.

 

[bonocomet]

yeah i was thinking maybe they could release it as a side project or something, without all the bells and whistles... loads of bands do that kind of thing... i think it would be great!

it could be something a little out of the mainstream, a little bit hush hush, something that isn't in your face and that music-lovers have to look for to find... and that might even become a cult classic

[/deluded ramblings of an old lady]

No no not deluded at all. I think that's what we all thought it was going to be! I think even U2 thought it was going to be!

 

[zoopop]

Man I can't believe I'm back in this forum. It feels like yesterday NLOTH was released

U2 needs to go underground on the next release. Just put it out without the riff raff. It seemed this was the route the band was taking prior to NLOTH then all of sudden the hype machine got too big for them.

SOA deserves a release after hearing about it for nearly 3 years and Bono talks it up. I like the idea of:

SOA released Fall 2012 ( Vinyl only....jk)

Danger Mouse/Big album Fall 2013

Big tour Spring/Summer/Fall 2014

 

[Scorpionac]

Now is a good time for it. No one wants a new U2 album now (let alone a tour) and the band need a no pressure re-discovery thingy.

Exactly.

U2 doesn't need to concern themselves necessarily with their brand or with sending their product through the giant promo hype machine. Just release the thing, build up some good will with music fans, and fuel up for Going Big next time around.