New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album

[Headache in a Suitcase]

There are no absolutes in musical taste, other than Boots being shit

 

[dan_smee]

I’d love to hear people’s nominations for The Worst of U2. Be a lot of commonality I would think, but I think we’d surface some interesting impassioned defences.

I’m throwing Red Light, Stand Up Comedy, Stranger in a Strange Land, American Soul, the Refugee, J Swallo, and Some Days are Better Than Others onto that dumpster fire.

 

[mikal]

I’d love to hear people’s nominations for The Worst of U2. Be a lot of commonality I would think, but I think we’d surface some interesting impassioned defences.

I’m throwing Red Light, Stand Up Comedy, Stranger in a Strange Land, American Soul, the Refugee, J Swallo, and Some Days are Better Than Others onto that dumpster fire.

SUC takes that award by a mile, not just because the song is a train wreck, but because they had a much better song cooking in “For Your Love”, and they overcooked it. It’s actually a great representation of everything that went wrong with U2 post HTDAAB.

 

[pacemaker]

Yea, Stand Up Comedy is - if I may - peak nadir U2.

All of their worst tendencies distilled into a song that sounds like Jason Mraz playing a bad Led Zeppelin riff.

 

[Hewson]

I’d love to hear people’s nominations for The Worst of U2. Be a lot of commonality I would think, but I think we’d surface some interesting impassioned defences.

I’m throwing Red Light, Stand Up Comedy, Stranger in a Strange Land, American Soul, the Refugee, J Swallo, and Some Days are Better Than Others onto that dumpster fire.

Song For Someone is the lighter fluid that fuels that fire.

 

[mikal]

Also, a positive lyric change, imo. The "Golden Days" lyric coming out of the guitar solo works so much better. I am of the group that loves the original Mercy and thinks it was a huge mistake leaving it off the album, but I will say, this change works better than the original.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I'm sorry, but Boots is worse than Stand Up Comedy.

You don't get credit for "trying to be different" if the end result is a giant meandering turd.

 

[MattD]

I’d love to hear people’s nominations for The Worst of U2. Be a lot of commonality I would think, but I think we’d surface some interesting impassioned defences.

I’m throwing Red Light, Stand Up Comedy, Stranger in a Strange Land, American Soul, the Refugee, J Swallo, and Some Days are Better Than Others onto that dumpster fire.

I'd say anything from the classic era (so the October, War and Zooropa tracks you mention) are masterpieces compared to the rotten stinks that are Get Out Your Own Way, You're The Best Thing, The Miracle, Song For Someone etc - essentially all the saccharine MOR 'we're songwriters now!' tripe of recent years.

 

[mikal]

I'm sorry, but Boots is worse than Stand Up Comedy.

You don't get credit for "trying to be different" if the end result is a giant meandering turd.

The only reason I disagree is that musically I actually find Boots mildly interesting. The harmony in the chorus is a little Alice In Chains which I appreciate since they're one of my all time favorite bands. The "Let Me In The Sound" part is fun and it rocked live. SUC, in my opinion has nothing interesting at all that would ever make me wany to come back to it.

 

[DeVaul]

Preferring clarity to quality is unfortunate. This is probably what happens to most people who become obsessed with buying vinyl.

Depends on the records you’re buying!

Into the weeds for a moment…
Now that you can stream at roughly equivalent quality (24/192 “master audio”), anyone concerned with clarity no longer needs to go the physical route. Exception being Atmos, which is compressed for streaming. Lossless Atmos is only available on Blu-ray disc.

 

[Hewson]

I'm sorry, but Boots is worse than Stand Up Comedy.

You don't get credit for "trying to be different" if the end result is a giant meandering turd.

Nah.
Boots has an identity crisis and is a Frankenstein of a song, but it's miles better than SUC and was quite a lot of fun live.

 

[lazarus]

Boots has a great lead guitar lick and that cool "Middle Eastern" vocal melody on the pre-chorus. Plus the breakdown section.

I can't think of a single good thing about SUC, by comparison, and Crazy Tonight has more embarrassing moments and is even more out of step with the album's originally intended sound.

As for U2's worst, there's no point in listing b-sides, because of their designation they weren't deemed album worthy anyway.

Personally I never had a problem with Refugee or Red Light as they expanded the band's palette, and I like hearing female backing vocals, horns, etc. They're better than a couple of the more anonymous, listless tracks on October IMO.

Anyway, this is what I would consider the nadir of U2, loosely ranked from exploding diarrhea to dried turd:

Get Out
SUC
Crazy Tonight
Window In The Skies
You're the Best Thing

As you can see, it's a short list. For all the criticism I give the band about their artistic directional choices, there aren't a lot of tracks that I actively, strongly dislike and will skip every time when listening to an album. Nothing from the 1980s or 90s that I can't bear to listen to.

 

[lazarus]

Also, a positive lyric change, imo. The "Golden Days" lyric coming out of the guitar solo works so much better. I am of the group that loves the original Mercy and thinks it was a huge mistake leaving it off the album, but I will say, this change works better than the original.

I like that couplet a good deal, but I wish they had included the "love is the end of history" as well.

 

[ascender_RS]

If they'd finished* Evidence of Life and released it as a first single from that rock/punk/guitar album I'd be pretty excited.

Similarly, if they finished* Treason and released it as a first single from something which was going to be a new sound and direction for U2 (a la AB), I'd also be very excited about the album and tour. I suspect it would be very well received critically too. Not that that matters.



* Bono vocals, not too much tinkering etc

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Nah.
Boots has an identity crisis and is a Frankenstein of a song, but it's miles better than SUC and was quite a lot of fun live.

 

[DomCobb]

Stand Up Comedy is their worst and I don't think it's close. Not a single redeeming quality. Nails on chalkboard type stuff.

Other ones down there for me would be Peace on Earth and Your Song Saved My Life.

 

[Catman]

Can anyone enlighten me on Bono's fascination with the phrase, "happiness, is for those who don't really need it"???? He managed to shoe-horn it into The Luckiest Man too!!! And I can make no sense of it. I assume he thinks it is profound in some way, but I can't twist myself in enough knots to make it so.

Might as well say - Chicken fried rice, is for those who don't really need it. Makes about as much sense.

Anyone have some explanation of this stupid line?

I dunno, my take is that happiness isn't found when you're actively looking for it. The "need" part throws me off, but whatever lol

 

[The John Tree]

I actually kinda like Get On Your Boots. The melody's catchy and I dig it sonically. I know that puts me in the minority around here.

The worst of U2:

1. Stand Up Comedy - perhaps the worst song to make an album. How this piece of shit got okayed is beyond me.
2. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - honorable mention for the worst thing they've put to tape.
3. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) - Did you know U2 was punk rock? That they loved The Ramones? That, despite the fact that they've been branded as lame, middle-of-the-road toothless rock for about 20 years that they in fact came from the street? If not, Bono's here to remind you, again and again. We get it! You'd gone on and on and on about Joey Ramone for years by the time this song came out. And, by the way, Joey Ramone wrote some great songs - maybe honor him with a great one in return. Not this piece of shit.
4. Window In The Skies - Trite, lightweight nonsense. I think I remember Bono saying they were shooting for something Beatles-y here, and they missed that mark by a mile.
5. Your Song Saved My Life - I don't ever need to hear this again.
6. (This shouldn't count, but...) 95% of Songs of Surrender. Just a terrible idea. Even as "just a new take on things," I can't think of any of these that I appreciate even as an alternate version other than perhaps Edge's take on Stories For Boys. But that's about it, really.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

welp i'm just gonna sit this one out.

 

[The John Tree]

You don't get credit for "trying to be different" if the end result is a giant meandering turd.

While I disagree that GOYB is a giant meandering turd, I agree with this sentiment in general. But I also think it applies to b-sides or soundtrack songs.

Just because "Your Song Saved My Life" was slated for a soundtrack to a kid's movie doesn't make it a better or more excusable song.

 

[lazarus]

I forgot about Your Song, “thanks” for reminding me.

You can add that drivel to my list as well. I think the two listens I had when it was released were two too many.

 

[DomCobb]

I get the hate for Crazy Tonight and Window in the Skies but honestly I find them pretty catchy and generally don't skip when they show up. Same with Get Out of Your Own Way. Shallow stuff no doubt but very listenable. It's more when they miss the mark on the "rawk" that it gets grating for me. SUC, American Soul, LAPOE. The Miracle is on the verge of this for me in some ways although I think it's an issue of production, with a good song underneath.

 

[The John Tree]

The Miracle is on the verge of this for me in some ways although I think it's an issue of production, with a good song underneath.

This is how I feel about Get Out Of Your Own Way. I think there's a decent song there, but it's buried under shaky lyrics and some terrible production - the chorus has no lift! The dynamics are all wrong.

 

[david]

I really like the acoustic version of The Miracle better than the original.

 

[PookaMacP]

Lots to agree with here on the Worst of, but I'd also add Cedarwood Road - terrible lyrics matched only by a boring riff - and Love is Bigger, which is so saccharine it rots your teeth as you listen.

 

[vaz020202]

Can’t believe Skies getting slated as being amongst the worst when it includes a nice little Edge ‘solo’ and a sing-a-long chorus.


Wild Honey is pretty naff. I’ve heard that song twice. It is dreadful.

 

[lazarus]

While I don’t dislike it, I never got the hype for Cedarwood either. The opening guitar line is promising but then it devolves into that “chugga chugga” riff you’re likely talking about, which does nothing for me. The verse melody is just there and doesn’t quite fit, and while I appreciate the childhood/neighborhood recollections the lyrics aren’t exactly poetry.

The pre-chorus is good, and the chorus starts well but something about how the title rolls out it sounds weird and I always think he’s saying “see the world” instead of “cedarwood”.

Edge’s backing vocals are at least one thing he’s doing right here.

 

[lazarus]

Can’t believe Skies getting slated as being amongst the worst when it includes a nice little Edge ‘solo’ and a sing-a-long chorus.

Overdone Beatles homage which comes off embarrassing for a band that’s been around for 25 years. Combine that with the cringy Oasis impression of Electrical Storm and it wasn’t the best decade for standalone singles.

 

[vaz020202]

Overdone Beatles homage which comes off embarrassing for a band that’s been around for 25 years. Combine that with the cringy Oasis impression of Electrical Storm and it wasn’t the best decade for standalone singles.

You don’t like Electrical Storm because it is a cringy Oasis impression and who are themselves just a poor Oasis tribute act…

 

[BEAL]

It’s more personal preference obviously, but i don’t like Bono’s journey from more open, drawn out, ambiguous lyrical style to his very direct and literal style now.

U2s sound has always been big, lots of space for Edge to play around with textures and tone. Very minimalistic. Having lyrics fall in line worked.

It’s not to say Bono’s lyrics were brilliant back then. It’s more it fit the mood of the music better. Gave the listener more opportunities to revisit, either to decode or even take on different meaning as our own lives change.

Now it’s 500 syllables crammed into each line and there’s no second guessing what the subject matter is about.

The original mercy lyrics fit my preference better even if they’re not as polished in thought or so obvious that it’s about Bono throwing away the best thing about him….