Changes & Choices... The "maybe" thread

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U2_Guy

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Well, i've been listening to the Bomb for some months now. In fact, i "force" myself to listen to this record to see if i can find the "magic" U2 i could easily find till 99. But no. I can't.

MD, Yahweh, OSC, Fast Cars and Vertigo are the only songs i can hear sparks of that old magic. The rest of the album is pretty mediocre. I don't see songs like ABOY, SYCMIOYO, LAPOE, OOTS etc having a place in future tours (in case there are future tours reserved for U2, other than this new tour - that maybe won't happen either). I'm almost starting to think ATYCLB is a better album... Look how desperate is the situation!

But, well, last night i was listening again to the new album in bed with headphones and i couldn't help but feeling very disappointed with the post-2000 U2. I never felt that way before about U2... But it seems clear to me that a lot has changed since 99... A lot. I think they heavily changed as persons and those last 2 records are reflections of those changes. I think they lost the fire of youth. And you can't make great records without that fire. And you don't need to be young to have that "fire".

I changed too since Pop and MDH. Maybe i'm too conscious now of what i expect from music and my standards are a bit too high now. Maybe internet ruined the new albums experience. Maybe i lost touch with what U2 wants. Maybe i'm a bit too old and i don't get "salvation" anymore in music. Maybe, maybe, maybe...

Not so long ago, i was pissed that ppl in here couldn't see this. And i started to call them "blind-followers" just because they liked ATYCLB and HTDAAB. I was wrong. Now i think they are very fortunate ppl because their fave band didn't disappoint them. I see some kids here, really young kids, and they are the most vocal about how good this album is. Maybe that's because this album represents for them what AB, Zooropa and Pop represented for me when i was their age... Maybe, in the end, i'm the one who can not see anymore... Maybe it wasn't U2 who lost the fire of youth. Maybe i did...





But, at the same time, i listen to songs like Mercy, Xanax and Wine, Native Son, Levitate, Flower Child and the other outtakes from the last 2 albums and i can see myself loving an album with those songs like crazy... Those songs gimme that "old magic" feel again...

So, maybe, and just maybe, in the end, it's all about choices... U2 choices...
 
To each his own I guess. I think U2 albums each have their own purpose. ATYCLB, for the most part, is safe and easily digestable. Some folks like U2 Guy don't want "safe" music. Perhaps the "fire" that burned in U2 was to make music that was light and catchy. Fire doesn't necessarily mean breaking sonic boundaries like Pop or AB.

HTDAAB on the other hand, IMHO, is not a safe album. L&PoE is uncharted territory, I see the "fire" in that song. OOTS, is new territory as well. The song structure of OOTS is vastly different from U2 by numbers. One could say the same about Fast Cars & maybe even Vertigo.

Long story short, I still see the "fire" in U2, but the fire might not be what some of us want or expect.:wink:
 
I completely agree with U2_Guy... I feel the very same way! :(
And I think there are many people here now that don't like or are not so pleased with the album as they wanted to be - they just needed time to get that...
Even when trying hard to look A-Bomb objectively, it's not a good U2 album. They suffer from that new syndrome which also took Metallica, R.E.M....
To reply to Numb1075; I don't really see any new-territory breakings in the new songs... LAPOE is a very 'safe' song IMO, - it's produced that way. And the rest is no better.

Well, I hope for their return in 2006(?)...

*goes to listen to October (album)*
 
discothequeLP said:
i don't know how you can't feel the magic listening ot COBL
Click to expand...

I can see that the song was made to bring magic (the intention is so obvious with that chorus and fallseto), but it's not made that good. They used to make magic more magically before. :huh:
(remember WTSHNN)
 
discothequeLP said:
i don't know how you can't feel the magic listening ot COBL
Click to expand...

COBL is a clearly attempt at making an 80's U2 kinda anthem. You can see U2 trying so desperately to produce a new WTSHNN it's embarassing.

That piano melody is sooo obvious, i mean, sooooo obvious... Even before you first listen to that melody you know how that piano will go... And that bloody chorus?? "oh you look so beautiful tonight"... Talk about obvious...

What about that damn mixing/production? Is Larry playing the drums on the song? I don't know, i can't hear him...

And the "more you/less you" lyrics? They did it brilliant before on LNOE. But they do it poorly here.

COBL is a very weak track.
 
I'll agree that the mixing is terrible. I can't imagine how much time, effort, and money they put into mixing this album and I CAN NOT for the life of me hear Larry.....I don't think that's U2s fault but rather the mixers. But you would think somone would say "Hey, this mix sounds ok, but can we turn Larry up? We need Larry to sound like he did on War"
 
Maybe it is because I was so dissapointed with ATYCLB that this album sounds great to me. ATYCLB does not hold a candle to this one in my opinion. I hope I still feel that way in a year or two.

HTDAAB is consistently good with a few moments of shear brilliance scattered throughout. All I know is that when I listen on headphones as the last notes of the album fade away, I feel like I have been taken somewhere. The magic is there. And there is nothing that makes me cringe (Elevation, POE) and nothing that bores me (Stuck, Walk On). It is just IMO much more solid.
 
TheFlyOnTheWall said:
I completely agree with U2_Guy... I feel the very same way! :(
And I think there are many people here now that don't like or are not so pleased with the album as they wanted to be - they just needed time to get that...
Even when trying hard to look A-Bomb objectively, it's not a good U2 album. They suffer from that new syndrome which also took Metallica, R.E.M....
To reply to Numb1075; I don't really see any new-territory breakings in the new songs... LAPOE is a very 'safe' song IMO, - it's produced that way. And the rest is no better.

Well, I hope for their return in 2006(?)...

*goes to listen to October (album)*
Click to expand...


Facts and opinions...
 
I feel for you U2 Guy but for what its worth,heres my 2 pence worth.Every time they bring out an album i still get the same buzz,the same feeling of anticipation.....nearly 20 years on and i STILL get it.
It was no different for HTDAAB.I first heard some tracks on radio 1 about 1 week before release and when i heard crumbs i thought 'whats this shit?'.Then i heard it on the album and i still did'nt like it.I would'nt say it feels like a great track now but at least i listen to it.What i'm trying to say is that i'm not one of those 'sheep' who will blindly follow u2 and like ANYTHING that they release but time after time they release stuff that i absolutely adore.....i'm waiting to be upset/dissapointed every new release but fortunately this rarely happens.
As you said,maybe i'm lucky and u2 changes with the times and i'm just fortunate that i have change in synch with them,i just don't know:huh:There are many song across the u2 catalogue that i skip but there are many more that i will play .If i have'nt got bored of them now i never will.
To summarise ifeel very lucky that i have grown up with u2 and many years later i still like their music:|
 
didnt bono say this album was very direct and very visceral? he hit it on the head with that.

this is a great album, probabyl their most mainstream, or one of their most mainstream, but nevertheless IMO it's a classic album. just because the music is "obvious" doesn't mean its bad... its excellent. it's actually probably my favorite U2 album overtaking POP.
 
I have been a U2 fan since back in the days and I love this album. Sorry. Just my opinion. I don't how much people want to say they this is a blatant attempt to 'try' and make music that sounds like their old music. That doesn't ruin it for me.

I find it funny that there have been people since Zooropa that have complained that U2 needs to make music like they used to. Then, they actually DO make music that sounds like they used to, and people aren't happy about that.

You say that you don't see the 'fire' anymore. I think that what you are seeing pout of them is a fire that has been matured by experience. A fire that is not simply blind ambitions, but comes from a place of maturity.

It may not be a technically perfect album - mixed properly and whatnot. That doesn't seem to bother me either. Sure, there are some things that could use tweaking - but I refuse to ruin my listening experience by picking it apart.

Well, you can't please everyone all the time, I guess. I am sorry for the people that do not like this album. I know what it must feel like to be disappointed in a band that you are so attached to. I just can't say that I feel the same way this time. I LOVE this album.
 
I'm glad that U2_Guy has had some time for reflection and realized that some of us can love the album unabashedly, and some of us like the album, and some of us will loathe it. Each person has his or her personal taste, and maybe HTDAAB satisfies this or not. I just hope that those who dislike this album can understand that those who love this album are not "blind" followers, and are "true" fans as well as those who prefer a different album or era.
 
U2_Guy said:


COBL is a clearly attempt at making an 80's U2 kinda anthem. You can see U2 trying so desperately to produce a new WTSHNN it's embarassing.

That piano melody is sooo obvious, i mean, sooooo obvious... Even before you first listen to that melody you know how that piano will go... And that bloody chorus?? "oh you look so beautiful tonight"... Talk about obvious...

What about that damn mixing/production? Is Larry playing the drums on the song? I don't know, i can't hear him...

And the "more you/less you" lyrics? They did it brilliant before on LNOE. But they do it poorly here.

COBL is a very weak track.
Click to expand...


i'll agree that the production of the song was pretty bad, but it's Edge's guitar that's drowned out. Larry drumming is excellent. Live, when you can hear Edge's slide guitar, the song really goes a step higher. I know that everyone loves Bono's classic falsetto (TUF, The Fly, Lemon), and I'm glad that it's FINALLY returned, and I think Bono uses it perfectly for this song. AND you have to really appreciate Edge's backup vocals (Oh, you look so beautiful . . .) those are stratopheric notes, and harmony at that, which makes them way harder to sing live, but he sings it perfectly. I think COBL and Sometimes will be the songs to remember from this album.
 
After a tour starts, I find myself listening more to the live materail and less to the studio versions. It is hard for me think about many tracks from prior albums without immediately thinking about the live versions of them. I will admit my opinion of HTDAAB is not as high as I would like. Since I have trouble separating studio and live versions, I am awaiting final judgement until they hit the road. Anyone feel the same?
 
U2_Guy said:
Not so long ago, i was pissed that ppl in here couldn't see this. And i started to call them "blind-followers" just because they liked ATYCLB and HTDAAB. I was wrong. Now i think they are very fortunate ppl because their fave band didn't disappoint them. I see some kids here, really young kids, and they are the most vocal about how good this album is. Maybe that's because this album represents for them what AB, Zooropa and Pop represented for me when i was their age... Maybe, in the end, i'm the one who can not see anymore... Maybe it wasn't U2 who lost the fire of youth. Maybe i did...

But, at the same time, i listen to songs like Mercy, Xanax and Wine, Native Son, Levitate, Flower Child and the other outtakes from the last 2 albums and i can see myself loving an album with those songs like crazy... Those songs gimme that "old magic" feel again...

So, maybe, and just maybe, in the end, it's all about choices... U2 choices...
Click to expand...

Very cool epiphany, U2_Guy. I feel the same way about songs (even non-U2 ones, obviously) that I disdain but somehow someone really likes. I get annoyed at first, but in the end, that person is fortunate enough to find enjoyment in what I would almost consider trash. I remember when I first got into U2 and how excited I got after each purchase to complete my collection. I couldn't get enough of it. That's how these "new" fans are. They are discovering U2, whom we all agree is a great band.

I'm glad you at least got the "old magic" from the unreleased songs. I'm fortunate to have found enjoyment from both the released andunreleased material.
 
wait...U2_Guy doesn't like the album? There's a shocker.

p.s.- fan for 21 years and I love the new album.

p.p.s.- Anyone who likes Yahweh, but not Sometimes is insane and has crap taste. :madspit:
 
Matthew_Page2000 said:
wait...U2_Guy doesn't like the album? There's a shocker.

p.s.- fan for 21 years and I love the new album.

p.p.s.- Anyone who likes Yahweh, but not Sometimes is insane and has crap taste. :madspit:
Click to expand...

:madspit: Hehehehehehehe
 
usamilo said:
After a tour starts, I find myself listening more to the live materail and less to the studio versions. It is hard for me think about many tracks from prior albums without immediately thinking about the live versions of them. I will admit my opinion of HTDAAB is not as high as I would like. Since I have trouble separating studio and live versions, I am awaiting final judgement until they hit the road. Anyone feel the same?
Click to expand...

:up: I agree in that I now rarely listen to u2 albums, I own so many bootlegs I usually just listen to u2 live. So I'm looking forward to hearing these songs live when they are done on the tour and polished. However, I love HTDAAB. It was one of the first u2 records I loved the first time I heard it, usually they are growers for me. So I thought at first that was a bad thing, that it would get old quick. But I'm still listening to it like everyday :wink:
 
Actually Bomb and ATYCLB are both in my top three U2 albums. I know they're not widely considered the best, but I don't really care, it's a matter of taste I tell you!!
 
If you paid for a CD you are disappointed in, you have every right to voice your opinion. Sooner or later, however, there comes a time when you have to let go of your disatisfaction, shut up about it and move on. From what I've read on this forum for the past few months it's time for more than a few to not go away mad or disappointed but to simply just go away. As much as I love U2, they are a source of entertainment and enjoyment, as they should be for all of you. If you aren't enjoying them, by all means move on. Why create dramatic epiphanies to drag everyone down? Take the damn CD out of the tray and put in one you like and don't waste your precious dollars on them again. It's real easy. I did it with REM after "Green" without trying to drag down other REM fans with me.
 
Drag everybody down? Only the immature ones, i guess. Or the ones who are not so sure if they like the album as much as they wanted to like. Which is your case?

Because - like many have said here - if you really like the album, that's all that should matter to you. Bad opinions about the record should not drag you down.

Am i bringing a reality you don't wanna see? My advice (in case you don't like HTDAAB the way you wanted to like): be true to yourself. Sooner or later, you will have to face the truth.

PS1: Start being true to yourself by posting under your real nick, not an alter.

PS2: You gave up on REM after Green? Well, i'm sorry honey, but you missed the best...
 
Last edited:
U2_Guy said:
Drag everybody down? Only the immature ones, i guess. Or the ones who are not so sure if they like the album as much as they wanted to like. Which is your case?

Because - like many have said here - if you really like the album, that's all that should matter to you. Bad opinions about the record should not drag you down.

Am i bringing a reality you don't wanna see? My advice (in case you don't like HTDAAB the way you wanted to like): be true to yourself. Sooner or later, you will have to face the truth.

PS1: Start being true to yourself by posting under your real nick, not an alter.

PS2: You gave up on REM after Green? Well, i'm sorry honey, but you missed the best...
Click to expand...

No alter needed or used. Bad opinions don't drag me down. Your opinion isn't the problem. The constant insolent whining is. Don't like the album or U2's music anymore? Fine. It's your prerogative and you are free to say so. I merely pointed out that if it's come to the point that you have to spend nearly two months whining and moaning about what U2 have become and how disappointed you are in their latest efforts then perhaps it's time for you to move on. If there is a reality not being seen, it's that one, and it's being missed by people like yourself. Be true to your own self and let it go. You act as if HTDAAB is some sort of great tragedy with your pithy diatribes. It's just a CD, LET IT GO. It's great you like recent REM works. I myself, don't care for them.

PS1- Get over yourself.

PS- Have a bright sun shiny day!!!!:)
 
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U2_Guy said:



COBL is a very weak track.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%. I can only listen to this track in my car which has got a poor music system in, but this track sounds ok. When I play it on a decent hi fi it sounds fuc#ing awful. Distorts and sounds like its in mono. I hate that lyric "oh you look so beautiful tonight" also. Was it a tribute to Chris De Burgh? Who knows?
 
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