Just came back from Eze! and heard:

[onyourkneesboy]

Last week (15 & 16 august) my wife and I spend 2 days on the beach of Eze in front of Bono and Edge's houses...

The last day we didn't notice any activity (they probably weren't in), but the first day was far more interesting:

We saw Edge walking from one house to the other and he was text-messaging or so on his cellphone. The kids and the dogs were there and were just playing around. Later on that day (around 18:00 or so) we saw Bono and Ali walking down from the "red house"(Edge's) to the "yellow" one what seems to be Bono's house. The security were all dressed in suits and ties by then. There seemed to be some kind of dinerparty going on in Bono's house. Also we saw black (exclusive) cars coming in from outside.

Then about 19:30 or so there was music coming from Bono's house!

First we heard "beachclip 402" again (with the kinda HMTMKMKM-riff in it). It was in the same shape/stadium as we all know it, so it didn't seemed to have progressed (yet)...

But then we also heard a song that sounded rather experimental! It was was hard to figure out wich way the song was going. It was not an uptempo song, but it had some resemblance to the "reverse-played" version of So Cruel of the Axtung Beibi-outtakes or something of UF! Then again I could only heard in flares because the sea was very loud at that time. Otherwise I would have posted it here. I taped it with my camcorder but afterwards there's hardly anything there but the sea, unfortunately...

But anyway, like song 402, this "weird" song gave me hope that U2 are still looking in other directions, other than the safe HTDAAB-down-to- earth-sound. Of course "beach-clip All My Life" has an instant appeal and hangs in your head for a few days, but after a few hearings I almost know for sure a lot of us get bored of it very quick. Like Stuck In A Moment...

Also when I was sitting on the beach I was thinking:
It's no wonder that when you write songs in a luxurious beach-house that you already know for like 12 years, it's harder to write songs that are completely new and surprising in style and emotion in a similar way that Achtung Baby/Zooropa/Pop (even JT) did... Here they placed themselves in complete new environments that they were not familiar with: the hot lonely and poetic landscapes of America during JT, the dark cold and spooky Berlin and it's Hansa studio's etc...
Maybe that's why I secretely hope they litarely place theirselves outside the comfort of their luxurious homes again. No wife, kids and maids around the swimming pool with you, no waiter to bring you your pina-colada on a silver tray, while your jamming in your own house for a short while because in an hour your boat will arrive to take you from Eze to St. Tropez to have evening-diner with a lot of your other celeb-friends...

What I mean to say is: I'm afraid this lazy life puts down their creative minds and the creative proces. Together with Bono not being around as much as in the old days, because he has his mind focused on other big nobel (OR commercial!) issues, I'm still convinced this doesn't pull the best out of them. It's there but they don't manage to sound so special again that the songs fly off with you, get you pumped up, make you feel like you can't sit down, listening with your mouth open... Back then when their focus was full on the music! (Oh yeah, for the nit-pickers: IMO!)

I know I have a reputation here of being to sharp or to critical but therefore I also want to state that I also spend my time and money to go to France in the hope to hear something from the guys again that surprises me in a good way... And I heard a trace of it! Though considering the environment there and the latest 2 "for-everyone-to-like" albums, I'm still cynical..
Although I like the latest 2 albums very much, they didn't have a smashing impact on me like the other albums did!

(Those who can read between the lines know that I'm a very very loyal fan who just wants the best for them, but also out of them!)

 

[An Cat Gav]

Great post, I think you summed up how I feel about U2.

 

[Zooropean103]

 

[hcbiggs2002]

Are you trying to say that if YOU had earned huge amounts of money from the music business or whatever, that you wouldn't buy a nice house for your family where you could all live in comfort?!? What a crock!!

And U2 had their 'luxury' homes already when Achtung Baby came out. Music or any kind of creativity isn't purely an extrenal thing. It's true that one can be influenced by your enviroment and I think Bono's work in Africa will show up in any coming album just like when he and Ali visited South America influenced The Joshua Tree. But REAL creativity comes from within, you either have it or you don't!!

I personally thought HTDAAB was one of U2 best albums EVER! It is a mature album written and performed by mature men. Of course they're not going to sound like any of their previous albums. U2 have never repeated themselves and the day they start to do so that'll be the day I'll stop buying their albums!!

And that quip you made about their 'lazy life' just made my blood boil! You do realise what they've all been through over the last few months, the reason why they had to postpone the Vertigo tour?!? Talk about insensitive and totally selfish!! I don't know you or if you've ever experienced what it's like to have a family member seriously ill, but I can assure you it's NO HOLIDAY or being 'lazy' if you take the time to look after them and help them back towards recovery!!

 

[Salome]

they're not getting any younger yes


to act like at the times of Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby they were in these weird, weird surroundings instead of luxury houses and nice studios sounds like a bit of a joke to me

I guess I understand what you're trying to say, but I think you paint a picture here that is far from the actual truth

 

[An Cat Gav]

Great post, I think you summed up how I feel about U2.

I meant to write that I agreed with everything you wrote about the last two albums.

 

[trabantland]

Great stuff onyourknees, and good points made.

Oh, and by the way, I think "just call me Ms Bono" above missed the whole point.

 

[onyourkneesboy]

Your totally missing my point... but that's o.k...,
By the way your overreacting I can see that your more of a groupy than a fan.
If a groupy's idol would record a cd full of burps he/she would still plea it's the best album ever....

Are you trying to say that if YOU had earned huge amounts of money from the music business or whatever, that you wouldn't buy a nice house for your family where you could all live in comfort?!? What a crock!!

Sure, if I had a lot of money I would probably live there too and get all shubby and relaxed! But only difference is: I'm not in U2! People don't expect surprisingly great music from me! And my opinion is that their music sounds more mediocre now than ever. (apart from Stateless, AMAAW and Yahweh).


And U2 had their 'luxury' homes already when Achtung Baby came out. Music or any kind of creativity isn't purely an extrenal thing. It's true that one can be influenced by your enviroment and I think Bono's work in Africa will show up in any coming album just like when he and Ali visited South America influenced The Joshua Tree. But REAL creativity comes from within, you either have it or you don't!!

Yes, real creativity comes from within, (I make music myself..) but it needs to be fed! It needs new input everytime!
There are a lot of creative people in the world, but not everyone has the God-given TALENT to make such beautiful things as these 4 spirits together. Still, they are able to use it better...
And as far as I know the first (red) house in Eze was bought around 1993/1994, so Achtung Baby was already 2 or 3 years old back then. Anyway, Eze or no Eze: Achtung Baby sounded industrial, fresh, dark, experimental, multidimensional, and litarely everyone in the world was knocked of their feet that U2 sounded the way it did back then! Whether you liked it or not!

I personally thought HTDAAB was one of U2 best albums EVER! It is a mature album written and performed by mature men. Of course they're not going to sound like any of their previous albums. U2 have never repeated themselves and the day they start to do so that'll be the day I'll stop buying their albums!!

Than you shouldn't have bought HTDAAB! (Though I don't think it's a bad album, but for U2 it's to bland.)
Yes, they sound like mature men, but with that they also sound like mature dads who would like to show off they are/were the Great U2. In songs like LPOE, COBL, MD, and ABOY and Crumbs they sound like their own tribute-band, IMO. AMAAW and Yahweh are their only way out.
On AB, Zooropa and POP they were also already dads and mature men but one could not hear it neceseraly. So on HTDAAB they've been repeating themselves for the first time and not just a little...


And that quip you made about their 'lazy life' just made my blood boil! You do realise what they've all been through over the last few months, the reason why they had to postpone the Vertigo tour?!? Talk about insensitive and totally selfish!! I don't know you or if you've ever experienced what it's like to have a family member seriously ill, but I can assure you it's NO HOLIDAY or being 'lazy' if you take the time to look after them and help them back towards recovery!!

Who said anything about the last months or why the tour was postponed? I didn't! I'm talking about a much broader timescale.

Anyway, i'll take a little effort to comment on your immature groupy-like reaction:

I'm not talking about the few months that the tour is postponed but about the last 2 albums.
And like every other family, even a U2-member or his family unfortunality may have to deal with serious illness. I wish it wouldn't happen to anyone, but that's for no-one to choose. As hard as it may sound. But that's not the point. It has nothing to do with their luxurious lives. You make it sound like you almost need a house in Eze to come over it properly.

And yes, I've experienced what it's like to have a familymember seriously ill, from up-close!
I took care of my father for several of his last years! I took him to bed, lifted him of the toilet because he couldn't get up anymore, talked with him, cried with him, cleaned up his puke, at night hearing him having nightmares, seeing him angry, frustrated and ashamed, the loss of dignity, I took him in and out the hospital, and finally had to leave him there for the last time after years of struggle...
Trust me, it wouldn't made the situation better or worse if I had beach-house in the South of France. And I'm not underastimating anything.
Like I said in my initial post: I wish all the best for them. Even for the material stuff. If there's one band who earned it it's U2! No one has to convince me of that...

I'm a fan since the release of War and a hardcore fan since the release of UF, and I've been following them close since then!
But lately I'm having some problems with their decisions and directions in their music. Leaving songs like Levitate, Mercy, Smile and Xanax and Wine of the albums in favour of the more mediocre stuff like COBL and ABOY. Only problem with this is: EVERYBODY likes U2 now and the big crowd puts them on the same level like artists like Robbie Williams or Bon Jovi because of this mediocrity. Not to talk about all the commercial stuff their into more and more. Again, I have no problem with their luxury and so on but IMO it affects the music. That "special" thing that U2 always had is at stake IMO.

So the next time you want to lecture anyone about U2 or life in general, I suggest you come up with better arguments.

 

[Bonochick]

Could we knock off the insults, please?

 

[phillyfan26]

Yeah, it seemed to me like your point was that they shouldn't record in the big fancy homes, because there's not much inspiration.

You're not saying they shouldn't own the homes or spend time with the family.

Makes sense, because some of their best stuff has been recorded in poor places as you mentioned.

 

[Aygo]

Only problem with this is: EVERYBODY likes U2 now and the big crowd puts them on the same level like artists like Robbie Williams or Bon Jovi because of this mediocrity. Not to talk about all the commercial stuff their into more and more. Again, I have no problem with their luxury and so on but IMO it affects the music. That "special" thing that U2 always had is at stake IMO.

Really??
I wouldn't be so sure... Bono appears everyday or at least every week on the newspapers and U2 is way too related with humanitarism and then, in Europe they have a 6 year string of top5 hits. Since 2000, they had 3 #1 hits in the UK, and COBL was a massive #1 in Portugal/Spain.
Bon Jovi? Yes, MTV still air them videos but how popular are they in Europe now in comparison to U2?
Robbie Williams: yes, his new album/single is shaking opinions, his last one had only a big hit and another moderate sucess... And he can't even put a single in the Billboard Hot 100...

 

[U2girl]

JT, as most of their albums, was made in Windmill Lane studios, in Dublin.
Berlin in early AB almost destroyed the band, the album didn't really happen until they went back to Dublin.
Miami provided their most controversial album yet.

Don't assume new location means a great album automatically.

 

[Utoo]

OYKB, I completely agree. If you look at songs that came out of Eze----Electrical Storm, Summer Rain, and likely others of the unreleased 00s stuff like Mercy, Levitate, etc.---they've all got the same exact feel to them. Now, they are all great songs , but if you listen to them all together, they've all got the same exact feeling to them. I noticed it a while back and started a dead-end thread about it (http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=156658&highlight=00s+same+electrical+storm). While I love all these songs individually, as a group, they're not very exciting.

Anyway, I agree that one way to help get some more fire in the music is to write it somewhere besides the beach in the south of France.

I taped it with my camcorder but afterwards there's hardly anything there but the sea, unfortunately...

Hey, I'm all for hearing some waves with a hint of U2 in the background...... No one here would criticize you for posting it!!

 

[tpsglick2424]

what kind of phone does the edge have btw? i know bono has the red slvr..

 

[Salome]

But lately I'm having some problems with their decisions and directions in their music. Leaving songs like Levitate, Mercy, Smile and Xanax and Wine of the albums in favour of the more mediocre stuff like COBL and ABOY.

I don't really understand what exactly your problem is anymore

does U2 not possess the "creative minds and the creative proces" as you stated in their first post (which you seem to blame them staying in nice houses with their families for or something similar)?
or do they still write these songs (despite staying in nice houses with their families) and not put them on their albums?
or is it maybe both?

 

[hcbiggs2002]

Your totally missing my point... but that's o.k...,
By the way your overreacting I can see that your more of a groupy than a fan.
If a groupy's idol would record a cd full of burps he/she would still plea it's the best album ever....





Who said anything about the last months or why the tour was postponed? I didn't! I'm talking about a much broader timescale.

Anyway, i'll take a little effort to comment on your immature groupy-like reaction:

I'm not talking about the few months that the tour is postponed but about the last 2 albums.
And like every other family, even a U2-member or his family unfortunality may have to deal with serious illness. I wish it wouldn't happen to anyone, but that's for no-one to choose. As hard as it may sound. But that's not the point. It has nothing to do with their luxurious lives. You make it sound like you almost need a house in Eze to come over it properly.

And yes, I've experienced what it's like to have a familymember seriously ill, from up-close!
I took care of my father for several of his last years! I took him to bed, lifted him of the toilet because he couldn't get up anymore, talked with him, cried with him, cleaned up his puke, at night hearing him having nightmares, seeing him angry, frustrated and ashamed, the loss of dignity, I took him in and out the hospital, and finally had to leave him there for the last time after years of struggle...
Trust me, it wouldn't made the situation better or worse if I had beach-house in the South of France. And I'm not underastimating anything.
Like I said in my initial post: I wish all the best for them. Even for the material stuff. If there's one band who earned it it's U2! No one has to convince me of that...

I'm a fan since the release of War and a hardcore fan since the release of UF, and I've been following them close since then!
But lately I'm having some problems with their decisions and directions in their music. Leaving songs like Levitate, Mercy, Smile and Xanax and Wine of the albums in favour of the more mediocre stuff like COBL and ABOY. Only problem with this is: EVERYBODY likes U2 now and the big crowd puts them on the same level like artists like Robbie Williams or Bon Jovi because of this mediocrity. Not to talk about all the commercial stuff their into more and more. Again, I have no problem with their luxury and so on but IMO it affects the music. That "special" thing that U2 always had is at stake IMO.

So the next time you want to lecture anyone about U2 or life in general, I suggest you come up with better arguments.

No, I don't think I missed the point you were trying to make, I was just disagreeing with your conclusions! That is still allowed I presume?!? And just because I feel passionately about U2 and their music and love their latest album that makes me 'a groupie and immature'?!? That's ludicrous!!! I've been a fan for 19 years and I DON'T love everything U2 has done. It would be easier for me to list the U2 songs I hate than the ones I like but I shan't bore you with that.

And has I said what really pissed me off was you calling them 'lazy'. If you know what it's like to care for a ailing family member then I would have thought you would've had a bit more understanding for their situation! Quess not!?! Put it down to my Finnish genes but to call someone 'lazy' in any sense is the nastiest insult possible.

And you were the one who bought up U2s luxury houses in Eze and I was just disagreeing with your conclusion that spending time in these places has in anyway demished their musical creativity!

I myself went through life saving surgery around the time HTDAAB was released and songs like Vertigo, Miracle Drug, Love and Peace or Else, All Because of You, Original of the Species and Yahweh helped me through my recovery by forcing me to get up off my sick bed to play the cd! So if that all makes me a groupie, so be it! And darn proud of it!!

 

[YBORCITY]

It's truly amazing how things get taken so way out of context..... i must say that i enjoyed Onyourkneesboy' initial post and enjoyed hearing about some new music from the boys. Especially from someone who happened to be there in person.... Thanks for sharing the experience.

 

[topplehatU2]

It's truly amazing how things get taken so way out of context..... i must say that i enjoyed Onyourkneesboy' initial post and enjoyed hearing about some new music from the boys. Especially from someone who happened to be there in person.... Thanks for sharing the experience.

Same here.

 

[Utoo]

It's truly amazing how things get taken so way out of context..... i must say that i enjoyed Onyourkneesboy' initial post and enjoyed hearing about some new music from the boys. Especially from someone who happened to be there in person.... Thanks for sharing the experience.

Exactly. Let's not keep up any silly bickering and end up with this thread closed. It's a valuable thread...especially if onyourkneesboy ultimately decides to post that song.....

 

[Utoo]

onyourkneesboy, do you think that 'experiemental,' reverse-SoCruel-UF sounding song you heard could have been 409, the Strokes song? If it were and they played it yet a second time, this time for a different audience, that might hint that there's some U2 involvement in there somewhere. Actually, I hope it wasn't 409 at all and was something new and awesome altogether...!

 

[U2DMfan]

They don't really need a change of scenery all that much, it could provide some ideas but being in a comfort zone physically can actually be quite as productive as anything else.

I personally think creativity comes from the state of mind, as others have said, Berlin and Miami were great ideas to get the ball rolling but they wrote and finished the vast majority of those albums in Dublin, like every other one.

They need to get on the same page musically and unfortuantely in order to do that a lot of the so-called experimentations will be left behind. Why? Well, I happen to think that 50% of the band, toss in Paul and 60% of the band don't want to record much of those type of songs anymore.

Whatever they do, they need something of a singular vision, one or maybe two producers, and maybe a little emotional uneasiness to spur the creative juices along.

At the least they won't finish their career with HTDAAB and I think everybody is happy about that whether they liked the album or not.

 

[bram]

Great post onyourkneesboy. You expressed yourself well, don't worry. You successfully voiced genuine concerns you have about the band in a respectful, lucid, and noncontroversial way. And a little healthy skepticism goes a long way in making me more excited about the songs you heard!

Oh, and there is no way that he heard 409 seeing as Albert Hammond isn't living in their house (I don't think).

 

[Reggie Thee Dog]

I like the comment about the "mediocre" songs that U2 put out instead of the unreleased songs. That one made me laugh

U2 - Fat, Lazy Bastards?

Yeah, until they make Pop II they suck!!

 

[Utoo]

Oh, and there is no way that he heard 409 seeing as Albert Hammond isn't living in their house (I don't think).

Well, if we're going with the theory that none of the music heard was live (since it's widely believed that it was a cd or something played the first time when the original taper heard the songs) and that it was again a cd that was played, then it's certainly possible that 409 could be heard if the band had a recording of it. That said, if there's no U2 involvement in that song and that The Strokes were actually showing it off to U2 a few weeks ago in return for U2 showing them some of their stuff....then it's unlikely that it was heard.

Anyway, like I said, I'm hoping it's something different entirely.....

 

[Axver]

Given the way the original poster described the song, I got the impression they heard a song quite different to 409.

 

[bram]

Yeah, it didn't sound the same from the way he described it. Especially because 409 is actually not a very experimental song. To me 409 sounds EXACTLY Albert's actual recorded version (which is apparently going on his solo album which he was certainly showing the boys while they showed him 402, 404, etc.)

 

[isabella_bp]

I get your point onyourknees. Sometimes its good to change the scenery around you a little bit...that can lead to new ideas or influences that may bring a spark.

 

[doctorwho]

Last week (15 & 16 august) my wife and I spend 2 days on the beach of Eze in front of Bono and Edge's houses...

The last day we didn't notice any activity (they probably weren't in), but the first day was far more interesting:

We saw Edge walking from one house to the other and he was text-messaging or so on his cellphone. The kids and the dogs were there and were just playing around. Later on that day (around 18:00 or so) we saw Bono and Ali walking down from the "red house"(Edge's) to the "yellow" one what seems to be Bono's house. The security were all dressed in suits and ties by then. There seemed to be some kind of dinerparty going on in Bono's house. Also we saw black (exclusive) cars coming in from outside.

Then about 19:30 or so there was music coming from Bono's house!

First we heard "beachclip 402" again (with the kinda HMTMKMKM-riff in it). It was in the same shape/stadium as we all know it, so it didn't seemed to have progressed (yet)...

But then we also heard a song that sounded rather experimental! It was was hard to figure out wich way the song was going. It was not an uptempo song, but it had some resemblance to the "reverse-played" version of So Cruel of the Axtung Beibi-outtakes or something of UF! Then again I could only heard in flares because the sea was very loud at that time. Otherwise I would have posted it here. I taped it with my camcorder but afterwards there's hardly anything there but the sea, unfortunately...

But anyway, like song 402, this "weird" song gave me hope that U2 are still looking in other directions, other than the safe HTDAAB-down-to- earth-sound. Of course "beach-clip All My Life" has an instant appeal and hangs in your head for a few days, but after a few hearings I almost know for sure a lot of us get bored of it very quick. Like Stuck In A Moment...

Also when I was sitting on the beach I was thinking:
It's no wonder that when you write songs in a luxurious beach-house that you already know for like 12 years, it's harder to write songs that are completely new and surprising in style and emotion in a similar way that Achtung Baby/Zooropa/Pop (even JT) did... Here they placed themselves in complete new environments that they were not familiar with: the hot lonely and poetic landscapes of America during JT, the dark cold and spooky Berlin and it's Hansa studio's etc...
Maybe that's why I secretely hope they litarely place theirselves outside the comfort of their luxurious homes again. No wife, kids and maids around the swimming pool with you, no waiter to bring you your pina-colada on a silver tray, while your jamming in your own house for a short while because in an hour your boat will arrive to take you from Eze to St. Tropez to have evening-diner with a lot of your other celeb-friends...

What I mean to say is: I'm afraid this lazy life puts down their creative minds and the creative proces. Together with Bono not being around as much as in the old days, because he has his mind focused on other big nobel (OR commercial!) issues, I'm still convinced this doesn't pull the best out of them. It's there but they don't manage to sound so special again that the songs fly off with you, get you pumped up, make you feel like you can't sit down, listening with your mouth open... Back then when their focus was full on the music! (Oh yeah, for the nit-pickers: IMO!)

I know I have a reputation here of being to sharp or to critical but therefore I also want to state that I also spend my time and money to go to France in the hope to hear something from the guys again that surprises me in a good way... And I heard a trace of it! Though considering the environment there and the latest 2 "for-everyone-to-like" albums, I'm still cynical..
Although I like the latest 2 albums very much, they didn't have a smashing impact on me like the other albums did!

(Those who can read between the lines know that I'm a very very loyal fan who just wants the best for them, but also out of them!)

I'm so happy you added the "IMO" in there, because I pretty much disagree with all the bullsh*t you just wrote.

So glad U2 has "fans" like you, that spy on them, tape record conversations and background music, and then blast U2 to bits.

But you'll be the first to bitch when you don't get great seats at all of the 400 concerts you see.

 

[Mc-nichols]

Should U2 change location in order to find new inspiration?

What do we actually know? Just because Bono is playing these clips in France, that doesn't mean they do all the recordings there.

 

[Bonochick]

doctorwho, I think there are less rude ways you could express your opinion.