Butt Bridge, Dublin, Ireland Superthread

[Serena Vox]

Just about to head into university ...

Must find good excuse to bail early, must find good excuse to bail early, must find good excuse to bail early ...

Eat a spoiled something on the way in!

 

[Axver]

When and where did this happen?

Haha, I was about to post this.

He may have been decent in the October/War period, with occasional flashes of decency on subsequent eighties albums and NLOTH, but greatness is something well beyond Larry's reach.

I'd say the only musician in U2 who has ever really achieved greatness in any form is Edge. And if you have a generous definition of 'musician' that includes lyricists, then Bono wrote some pretty great stuff in 1984-88.

 

[Alisaura]

Hey Ali!
Long time no see.

Yeah, I'm not too bad I guess. Just making stuff, nothing new!

Hope you're not coming down with an ear infection.

Yay for making stuff! I wish I had more time for making stuff. Stuff is good.

This seems to be Larry's drumming before he actually became a great drummer. Just full of drum fills.

Needz moar cowbell! Any drummer's style can be improved with cowbell. And I can think of some people who preferred early Larry's drumming to later Larry...

Rejoice Most of October, in fact!

 

[Alisaura]

Oh yes, overnight, 2009 became the best year for hits in U2gigs' history.

Also, I think that deserves a :FUCKYEAH:!!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

When and where did this happen?

... .

I sincerely hope Larry is okay ...

 

[Alisaura]

I think somebody remarked earlier that it gave them a Rolling Stones vibe at the start ...

No, it doesn't remind me of that... like one of those old instrumental surf kinda tunes, I can hear it in my head! Argh...

Just about to head into university ...

Must find good excuse to bail early, must find good excuse to bail early, must find good excuse to bail early ...

Me too, about the bailing early.

 

[Serena Vox]

Haha, I was about to post this.

He may have been decent in the October/War period, with occasional flashes of decency on subsequent eighties albums and NLOTH, but greatness is something well beyond Larry's reach.

I'd say the only musician in U2 who has ever really achieved greatness in any form is Edge. And if you have a generous definition of 'musician' that includes lyricists, then Bono wrote some pretty great stuff in 1984-88.

Edge is great. Not the greatest. But he's definitely great among that lot. In terms of musicianship anyway. I also have to agree with the Bono lyrics, some good stuff back then but now I kinda have to wonder just where he's reaching from with some of the stuff he's writing today.

 

[Axver]

Also, I think that deserves a :FUCKYEAH:!!

I'm pretty pleased. Really didn't expect we'd surpass 2005, especially not before the second leg's even begun!

And now I better go into uni. Keep the thread warm for me, folks!

 

[Serena Vox]

Yay for making stuff! I wish I had more time for making stuff. Stuff is good.

Especially food stuff.

 

[Serena Vox]

I'm pretty pleased. Really didn't expect we'd surpass 2005, especially not before the second leg's even begun!

And now I better go into uni. Keep the thread warm for me, folks!

...

It's so weird seeing you use that smiley.

Have a good one!

 

[Vlad n U 2]

So I guess there's no love for the B-man's songwriting in the 90's?

 

[Alisaura]

*turns on threadwarmers*

U2gigs is just pwning everyone and everything this year.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I'm pretty pleased. Really didn't expect we'd surpass 2005, especially not before the second leg's even begun!

And now I better go into uni. Keep the thread warm for me, folks!

We will.

Tis an exciting day for Vlad.

 

[Serena Vox]

So I guess there's no love for the B-man's songwriting in the 90's?

The only 90s love he gets from me is Ultra Violet.

 

[Alisaura]

I have love for '90s Bono songwriting... There are parts of Pop and Zooropa and AB that have amazing lyrics, although there are also parts that aren't so good... I have no problem with most of the '90s material, but I think he kinda lost it a bit on ATYCLB and Bomb.

 

[Alisaura]

Then again, I tend to focus more on the music than the lyrics anyway... if a song has great music, I don't mind if the lyrics are a bit ordinary, as long as they're not awful. There are a few instances of songs where I like the lyrics but the music does nothing for me, but usually the music is the main bit that gets my attention at first.

 

[Serena Vox]

I have love for '90s Bono songwriting... There are parts of Pop and Zooropa and AB that have amazing lyrics, although there are also parts that aren't so good... I have no problem with most of the '90s material, but I think he kinda lost it a bit on ATYCLB and Bomb.

I don't think that his 2000s stuff was all terrible, but I think it's more like his semi-consistency, if it can even be called that, dropped terribly. Some of the best songs are from those eras, but so are some of the worst.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I have love for '90s Bono songwriting... There are parts of Pop and Zooropa and AB that have amazing lyrics, although there are also parts that aren't so good... I have no problem with most of the '90s material, but I think he kinda lost it a bit on ATYCLB and Bomb.

Yes, he did definitely lose it a tad on Attyclub and Hutdab, maybe because he had his invisible superman cape on when doing good for the rest of the world, which is more than a good excuse.

But he did regain this songwriting mojo in NLOTH, in most parts anyway. And I have ever increasing confidence that this will improve on SOA.

 

[Alisaura]

I don't think that his 2000s stuff was all terrible, but I think it's more like his semi-consistency, if it can even be called that, dropped terribly. Some of the best songs are from those eras, but so are some of the worst.

The worst, for sure (I suppose the very early stuff can be forgiven as inexperience or something)... I'm curious, which do you consider the best and worst from the '00s?

But yeah, the consistency was definitely patchy there.

 

[Alisaura]

Yes, he did definitely lose it a tad on Attyclub and Hutdab, maybe because he had his invisible superman cape on when doing good for the rest of the world, which is more than a good excuse.

But he did regain this songwriting mojo in NLOTH, in most parts anyway. And I have ever increasing confidence that this will improve on SOA.

I just love how he/they were pretending that Bono's campaigning wasn't affecting the musical side of his life... at least not in a detrimental way. I don't suppose it matters, we'll never know how things might have been otherwise!

I honestly wasn't expecting anything very good from NLOTH, and it was an enormously happy surprise when it exceeded my most ruthlessly stifled hopes. I am going to try to stay neutral about SOA... I don't want to expect something amazing and be disappointed, but neither do I want to depress myself with expecting shit like I did with NLOTH.

And yes, I think about this stuff far too much. *L* I'm basically going to ignore SOA until I can buy it... I also have doubts about U2's ability to bring out an album in less than four years, no matter how much of it they say they've already done.
There's an author who's halfway through writing an epic fantasy series that I'm following, he swore blind that book 5 or whatever would be out very shortly after book 4, since originally they were going to be one book and he had to split them in half cos it was getting too long... it's been about three years now and we're still waiting for book 5! He's stopped posting updates on his website.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I honestly wasn't expecting anything very good from NLOTH, and it was an enormously happy surprise when it exceeded my most ruthlessly stifled hopes. I am going to try to stay neutral about SOA... I don't want to expect something amazing and be disappointed, but neither do I want to depress myself with expecting shit like I did with NLOTH.

I suppose I could try something similar to that, being a Pessimistic Pete with very low expectations and being with what I get. Alas, even if I tried, I wouldn't last a week.

 

[Serena Vox]

The worst, for sure (I suppose the very early stuff can be forgiven as inexperience or something)... I'm curious, which do you consider the best and worst from the '00s?

But yeah, the consistency was definitely patchy there.

City of Blinding Lights for sure. That's only in my opinion though. It is one of my favourite U2 songs, period. But I guess that could be questionable considering I love Ultra Violet and many do not! Some other favourites are Smile, Are You Gonna Wait Forever?, One Step Closer, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, etc.

Some of the worst are A Man And A Woman, Crumbs From Your Table, Wild Honey, etc. I often find that I can't listen to HTTDAB as a whole. Ever. Most of the time I skip tracks, including Love and Peace. ATYCLB has waned a lot for me in the last year. I used to adore it but ehh, now I just think it's mediocre. It'll always have a sentimental value to me but that's about as far as it goes now.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I think it would be fair to suggest that HTDAAB is their weakest album. As goes the saying, the sum of its whole is larger than the sum of its parts. That's definitely the case with the album. But so what, it was probably a middle age crisis album, where they felt the need to make a full on rock album or whatever. I still dislike Vertigo to this day.

 

[Alisaura]

I suppose I could try something similar to that, being a Pessimistic Pete with very low expectations and being with what I get. Alas, even if I tried, I wouldn't last a week.

Just cos I'm a jaded old woman, doesn't mean you have to be! Anticipation is half the fun, enjoy it if you can.

City of Blinding Lights for sure. That's only in my opinion though. It is one of my favourite U2 songs, period. But I guess that could be questionable considering I love Ultra Violet and many do not! Some other favourites are Smile, Are You Gonna Wait Forever?, One Step Closer, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, etc.

Some of the worst are A Man And A Woman, Crumbs From Your Table, Wild Honey, etc. I often find that I can't listen to HTTDAB as a whole. Ever. Most of the time I skip tracks, including Love and Peace. ATYCLB has waned a lot for me in the last year. I used to adore it but ehh, now I just think it's mediocre. It'll always have a sentimental value to me but that's about as far as it goes now.

COBL never stood out to me until I saw it live, but I do like it. And at the end of the day, everyone likes different things and has different favourite songs, I don't think there's any absolute wrong or right or good or bad... with a few possible exceptions.
TGBHF is definitely the best thing on my copy of ATYCLB, even though the lyric credit has to go to Salman Rushdie. I do like things like Smile and Are You Gonna Wait Forever... sometimes it baffles me the songs they choose to leave off an album (or put on).

I haven't listened to ATYCLB for years...it never grabbed me as a whole, and I can't listen to Love & Peace. LAPOE, on the other hand, is my favourite from Bomb... and I've always had a guilty fondness for Elevation.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Just cos I'm a jaded old woman, doesn't mean you have to be! Anticipation is half the fun, enjoy it if you can.

After all, we've the beach clips to look forward to!

 

[Alisaura]

I think it would be fair to suggest that HTDAAB is their weakest album. As goes the saying, the sum of its whole is larger than the sum of its parts. That's definitely the case with the album. But so what, it was probably a middle age crisis album, where they felt the need to make a full on rock album or whatever. I still dislike Vertigo to this day.

I personally prefer Bomb to ATYCLB, although some of the lyrics on Bomb make me cringe more than some on ATYCLB... I don't think either of them are particularly good albums in a cohesive sense, where, as you say, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. They have good songs, yes, but to me they don't all stick together quite as well as albums like JT or UF or NLOTH or Zooropa. But you'll find plenty of people who love ATYCLB and Bomb and prefer them over the other albums... *shrug* It's all down to personal taste in the end.

 

[Serena Vox]

COBL never stood out to me until I saw it live, but I do like it. And at the end of the day, everyone likes different things and has different favourite songs, I don't think there's any absolute wrong or right or good or bad... with a few possible exceptions.
TGBHF is definitely the best thing on my copy of ATYCLB, even though the lyric credit has to go to Salman Rushdie. I do like things like Smile and Are You Gonna Wait Forever... sometimes it baffles me the songs they choose to leave off an album (or put on).

I haven't listened to ATYCLB for years...it never grabbed me as a whole, and I can't listen to Love & Peace. LAPOE, on the other hand, is my favourite from Bomb... and I've always had a guilty fondness for Elevation.

Yeah, U2 are not good judges of their own work. It saddens me that some of the best stuff gets tossed.

I meant Love and Peace or Else.

 

[Alisaura]

After all, we've the beach clips to look forward to!

I was doing the album virgin thing before... I probably will again.

If SOA is supposed to be already mostly done, do you think there will be any more beach clips for it? Are there any of the old beach clips that we don't know what they were?

 

[Alisaura]

Yeah, U2 are not good judges of their own work. It saddens me that some of the best stuff gets tossed.

I meant Love and Peace or Else.

They totally need to employ us to organise their tracklists... and setlists...

Oops.

 

[Alisaura]

I'm starting to wonder about a new thread... anyone got any ideas?