Bonozempic is looking good
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
- Thread starter dan_smee
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
SOS (Songs of Shitheads) is shaping up reaaaaal nice
You hit the nail squarely on the head.
david
ONE love, blood, life
Wow, Bono is wearing kind of cool sunglasses.
Hopefully, the better the glasses, the better the music? Valid theory when tracking their history.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
25th anniversary of the release of ATYCLB today. A special album as it's the one that got me into U2. All throughout 2001, I heard the songs on the school bus and the radio, and saw the videos on VH1, and I thought they were pretty cool. I asked for the CD for my 14th birthday in early 2002, got it, and played it seemingly non-stop in my room doing homework, playing GameCube, just constantly. And that got the ball rolling towards discovering the rest of their catalogue. Prior to that, I didn't really have a favorite artist. I had certain songs I liked, but if I had to pick a favorite artist, I honestly would have probably had to say Weird Al, just because I knew more of his music than anyone else. This album showed me the joy of actually following a band, and they've been my favorite ever since. Still my favorite album of all time. Grateful for it, and especially where I was in my life when I did.
PookaMacP
War Child
One of the great things about U2 is that we all have different versions of this story, based on different records. And, however much we might disagree on the specifics, we're all still here because of that connection.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
I bought the album in Krakow, Poland. I was traveling solo through Eastern Europe. I remember stopping in a public park and sitting down to listen to “stuck” since it had been so hyped, and I’d already played BD to death. I remember hearing the gathering of the voices (for lack of a better descriptor) right after the first chorus and feeling a rush, kind of like it was delivering exactly what I wanted and needed. And then a very old woman dressed entirely in black, possibly a witch or a crone or a fortune teller or a shapeshifter, came up to me and demanded I take my headphones off and she started to speak to me in Polish, which I do not speak. I wound up having to walk away because she wouldn’t leave me alone.
The next big moment for me was the opening of “Walk On” which I remembered thinking was about as close to perfection as you could get, and it felt both reassuring and totally new and exactly right, as if I’d already heard it before because it always existed. It was magic.
I then went to Auschwitz.
The rest of the year was my first year as an adult and was filled with long, sometimes lonely days riding buses and trams and trains on an often very grey continent and listening to that album. It was often playing when I first began to come out to myself. The warmth and comfort of that album helped me tremendously, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s probably a Top 5 for me. Sometimes. Definitely Top 8.
The next big moment for me was the opening of “Walk On” which I remembered thinking was about as close to perfection as you could get, and it felt both reassuring and totally new and exactly right, as if I’d already heard it before because it always existed. It was magic.
I then went to Auschwitz.
The rest of the year was my first year as an adult and was filled with long, sometimes lonely days riding buses and trams and trains on an often very grey continent and listening to that album. It was often playing when I first began to come out to myself. The warmth and comfort of that album helped me tremendously, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s probably a Top 5 for me. Sometimes. Definitely Top 8.
david
ONE love, blood, life
I’m 48 now… but back then I was just 23 years old and in college when ATYCLB “dropped” and kind of struggled with it. My musical tastes were kind of shifting around that time as I was starting to get into a lot of indie stuff that was popular at the time. But a few months after its release I kind of got and understood U2’s “reset” they had to do after the 90s came to an end. It’s also hard to not associate the album, its overall theme and sound with what happened after 9/11. Aside from that, U2 really owned 2001 and just remembering the success of the Elevation tour, the Slane show and the band more or less “coming back” was pretty cool to live through at the time. Also, this forum was really popping back then.
AndrewCowley
Refugee
It’s their last properly coherent album. Time and what came afterwards have definitely improved it.
ferball415
Acrobat
Quite--I do believe I'll put it on now, actually, given said anniversary (haven't "in full" since 20th).
ferball415
Acrobat
[capsule review of listen]
#1-6: quite good-to-amazing (give or take a key change or two)
#7: B-side
#8: burn upon listening
#9-11: "better than 'commonly' thought" (to varying degrees, especially "Grace")
"The Ground Beneath Her Feet" should have been on this album and would've been one of the best songs on it.
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monkeyskin
Refugee
Side 1:
#1-5 as is
Side 2:
#6 The Ground Beneath Her Feet
#7 When I Look at the World
#8 In a Little While
#9 New York
#10 Grace
What does everyone think of the studio b sides? I’ve always had a soft spot for Always and Summer Rain is nice. Big Girls are Best is a real wtf.
And I’ll give the promotional live performances another shout out. I watched the Brit Awards set a lot back in the day, it was great seeing them on the UK chart shows for every single and the Irving Plaza set captures them at a really humble point.
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Summer Rain is great. One of their best b-sides. There was a short time where Always was my favorite song. Now I don't care for it much. And I don't mind Big Girls Are Best. It's a fun throwaway song.
Here's my preferred tracklist. It's the only album where I neither add nor take away any songs.
1. Beautiful Day
2. Elevation
3. New York
4. In A Little While
5. When I Look At The World
6. Peace On Earth
7. Kite
8. Walk On
9. Stuck In A Moment
10. Wild Honey
11. Grace
I might be the only one that doesn't add Ground. Decent song- though I think the ending of the song could be better- I just don't think it fits anywhere.
i think Ground Beneath Her Feet is a great song - but i don't think it fits the album. i'd leave it off. as much as i dislike Grace - i'm keeping it. i wish we had an instrumental version minus bono's lyrics, though. that's my problem with the song. musically i think it's lovely.
agreed on summer rain and big girls. big girls are best is a fun throw away... exactly what a b-side should be. if it was good enough, it would be on the album proper. i also think summer rain, as much as i like it, isn't good enough to be on the album proper. always is fine - but much like vertigo from native son? they made the right call. beautiful day is a perfect pop rock song.
this album still means a lot to me. as much as it gets flack around here - i think it's the perfect culmination of everything that came before. you can hear experimental elements, loops and drum machines... but you also have soaring choruses and chimey guitars. it's less a "return to basics" and more a "this is what we've learned over 20 years."
and then they doubled down on that approach with the next album - and yea, i love that one, too. then they had the urge to experiment but the business mind to keep it simple with a huge tour... which led to a blown opportunity with No Line. alas - another conversation for another day.
i think i need to go listen to All That You Can't Leave Behind top to bottom now.
agreed on summer rain and big girls. big girls are best is a fun throw away... exactly what a b-side should be. if it was good enough, it would be on the album proper. i also think summer rain, as much as i like it, isn't good enough to be on the album proper. always is fine - but much like vertigo from native son? they made the right call. beautiful day is a perfect pop rock song.
this album still means a lot to me. as much as it gets flack around here - i think it's the perfect culmination of everything that came before. you can hear experimental elements, loops and drum machines... but you also have soaring choruses and chimey guitars. it's less a "return to basics" and more a "this is what we've learned over 20 years."
and then they doubled down on that approach with the next album - and yea, i love that one, too. then they had the urge to experiment but the business mind to keep it simple with a huge tour... which led to a blown opportunity with No Line. alas - another conversation for another day.
i think i need to go listen to All That You Can't Leave Behind top to bottom now.
JamietheEdgefan
Refugee
A happy birthday message to Larry, from Anton Corbijn - Anton implies he’ll be “behind U2’s drum kit again” next year.
he's a guy who would know.
i don't think there's any doubt that we'll hear from them in 2026. the only question is to what extend. is it album early 2026 and shows in summer and fall? or does the album drop in the fall around the time of the exact 50th anniversary and begin from there? think that's the only question.
i don't think there's any doubt that we'll hear from them in 2026. the only question is to what extend. is it album early 2026 and shows in summer and fall? or does the album drop in the fall around the time of the exact 50th anniversary and begin from there? think that's the only question.
Why is Peace On Earth hated so much? Genuinely, I can't
Even better, it's a bonus to have those songs like Always and Native Son stand on their own terms as good songs (if not the timeless classics they became) so that vindicates them as studio songwriters moulding songs out of jamming sessions, rather than this Rick Rubin influenced bullshit of 'we're songwriters now - all we need is an acoustic guitar/piano and the truth' nonsense.
I'm generally happy with them obsessively working on songs, as long as they can find it on their own terms within their inner circle who innately understand their music (that includes Eno, Lanois, and probably to a lesser extent, Lillywhite who brilliantly influenced the final versions of Vertigo and Sometimes You Can't Make It, but arguably destroyed No Line tracks, e.g. Breathe). Tendering their songs out to industry songwriters is the moment they cross the line though - a huge no no.
Agreed. I actually have to stop myself ranting against their creative process and the idea they 'overcook' ideas and songs. Because it's hard to argue against that process when they played a blinder by evolving those songs into smash hits like Beautiful Day and Vertigo. So there is undoubtedly method to the madness, a conviction they proved in the past.
Even better, it's a bonus to have those songs like Always and Native Son stand on their own terms as good songs (if not the timeless classics they became) so that vindicates them as studio songwriters moulding songs out of jamming sessions, rather than this Rick Rubin influenced bullshit of 'we're songwriters now - all we need is an acoustic guitar/piano and the truth' nonsense.
I'm generally happy with them obsessively working on songs, as long as they can find it on their own terms within their inner circle who innately understand their music (that includes Eno, Lanois, and probably to a lesser extent, Lillywhite who brilliantly influenced the final versions of Vertigo and Sometimes You Can't Make It, but arguably destroyed No Line tracks, e.g. Breathe). Tendering their songs out to industry songwriters is the moment they cross the line though - a huge no no.
My story mirrors this a lot. My musical tastes as a teen/pre-teen involved a lot of film soundtracks, a weird left-turn into rap, another weird turn into disco, and a lot of Weird Al. I basically didn't have an identity when it came to defining a musical taste. U2 blew those doors wide open for me and it was during this album cycle (I was 16 going on 17 at the time; and for those doing the math, my screen name isn't my birth year).
It's never landed in any personal top spots, but it's a magical album and to be able to produce a mid-level album (when set amongst the rest of your catalog) and still have it be utter magic and probably the best mainstream release of that year is an incredible achievement. It was my favorite time to be a fan for sure. Discovering them at a time when they were on top of the world and hadn't entered a creative decline yet (which I still argue started immediately after, but I digress). They were the light of my awkward teenage years and now my awkward adulthood!
Ground is a fantastic song, but the vibe is not ATYCLB; not even a little. Somber yearning for love amongst a pack of soaring uplifters...just no. It is, however, very MDH where it rightly ended up.
Joey788
Refugee
I'll give that one a listen! I think "Levitate" is one of their more underrated tunes from this era. It leads off my custom ATYCLB tracklist.
1. Levitate
2. Beautiful Day
3. Elevation
4. Stuck in a Moment
5. Summer Rain
6. In A Little While
7. Wild Honey
8. New York
9. When I Look at the World
10. The Ground Beneath Her Feet
11. Kite
12. Walk On
the thing about cooking is that you need to know when it's done.
they've certainly undercooked and overcooked a plenty.
It can be argued that Pop was slightly undercooked (although i love it as is) - and everything from No Line on has been overcooked to various degrees.
but when they get it right... man, it's magical.
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
i just remembered the time my mom found "Big Girls Are Best.mp3" on the family computer hard drive, and immediately accused me of downloading porn. good times.
You were Edge-ing before it was cool?
2861U2
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Sexy mama
You really have him pegged
I listened to ATYCLB from start to finish earlier. It deserves all the praise and kind words it deserves. I love Bono on this one perhaps more than any other album. He is the star. His melodies are sweet, sensitive and genuinely heartfelt to the extent that you can forgive the odd clunky lyric on it. He delivers with a beautiful sincerity throughout the album. And a sense of vulnerability to his voice as well. 'Grace finds beauty in everything'.
On the theme of grace, I suppose it's no better encapsulated than on Beautiful Day. I still marvel at how perfect an opener it is. How perfect a song it is. For the ill informed the title looks like that of a generic pop song. The sentiments would sounds like that of a generic pop song. But it's anything but. The fact that it is a song that rescues joy and gratitude out of despair and desolation makes it so redemptive - it does to me what Springsteen's The Rising does as well. Spirit found despite the fact that everything has gone against you. Awesome
On the theme of grace, I suppose it's no better encapsulated than on Beautiful Day. I still marvel at how perfect an opener it is. How perfect a song it is. For the ill informed the title looks like that of a generic pop song. The sentiments would sounds like that of a generic pop song. But it's anything but. The fact that it is a song that rescues joy and gratitude out of despair and desolation makes it so redemptive - it does to me what Springsteen's The Rising does as well. Spirit found despite the fact that everything has gone against you. Awesome
PookaMacP
War Child
I could never take Ground Beneath Her Feet seriously as part of ATYCLB because I'd heard it so many times on the MDH soundtrack. To me, it'll always belong there.
On a related note, it rarely gets mentioned how good some of that MDH material was. I'd definitely have kept Stateless for ATYCLB, and Never Let Me Go remains one of my favourite U2-related songs of any period. I realise Dancing Shoes isn't to everyone's taste but I love it too.
On a related note, it rarely gets mentioned how good some of that MDH material was. I'd definitely have kept Stateless for ATYCLB, and Never Let Me Go remains one of my favourite U2-related songs of any period. I realise Dancing Shoes isn't to everyone's taste but I love it too.
PookaMacP
War Child
Oh, and Falling at Your Feet should *definitely* have been on ATYCLB.
Every time I hear the line, "every teenager with acne", it makes me think of the day that I, a teenager with acne, travelled with a friend to Dublin, spent the day outside Hanover Quay, and chatted to Bono, Edge and Adam during the recording sessions for ATYCLB.
It was late 1998, I think, because I remember talking to Bono about the version of North and South of the River they'd played on the Late Late Show (on RTE, Irish television) the previous week, but he was more concerned with what we thought about what he'd said about the Omagh bombings.
Every time I hear the line, "every teenager with acne", it makes me think of the day that I, a teenager with acne, travelled with a friend to Dublin, spent the day outside Hanover Quay, and chatted to Bono, Edge and Adam during the recording sessions for ATYCLB.
It was late 1998, I think, because I remember talking to Bono about the version of North and South of the River they'd played on the Late Late Show (on RTE, Irish television) the previous week, but he was more concerned with what we thought about what he'd said about the Omagh bombings.
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Do U2 still use Hanover Quay Studios? Doesn't seem like they predominantly record in Ireland anymore, not since No Line.
PookaMacP
War Child
Good question. It was very rough down there back then - now it's surrounded by office buildings and apartments, all part of the regeneration of that part of the docklands.
Comparing the 2025 and 2009 streetview gives a sense of what it was like and why they probably don't get any privacy down there anymore. Google Maps
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