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

[2861U2]

I'll add that SOA inspired one of my favorite U2 moments. I can't find the video clip anywhere, but Sway Calloway of MTV was interviewing Edge and Larry sometime during the No Line era, and he says something along the lines of "Bono says there's a follow-up called Songs of Ascent that is coming out soon?" The look on Larry's face was hilarious- a combination of shock, anger, and frustration, until Edge talks talks him off the ledge with "Well, we have a lot of material left over that we'll continue to work on," etc. I wish I could find the clip.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

they should abandon all album titles that begin with "Songs Of..."

the "Songs Of..." is connected to their lowest point. Drop it.

 

[ascender_RS]

Songs of Ascent would have been quite a nice title for a final album, or one released as a companion piece to something like NLOTH (if SOA is the album we all think it is based on comments from Bono) but I think the ship has sailed on the "songs of" thing and they need to forget about it.

 

[JamietheEdgefan]

Agreed it would be better to move away from the ‘Songs of’ titles entirely.

They always felt too meta/self aware for me (especially when Bono would go as far as to sing “this is a song for someone”, “this is a song of surrender” etc).

I also just don’t love the era generally - the Ryan Tedder production, the lack of notable guitar riffs, the lack of cool new guitar sounds or soundscapes, the insistence on ‘songwriting’ and stripping everything down at the expense of what makes the band so special, the weird way they started doing promotion without Adam and Larry etc… not to mention how exhausted the retrospective approach is at this point.

And I agree ‘Ascent’ (or anything similarly minimalist) would sound more powerful.

To amend my prediction: I could imagine the next album being Songs of Ascent in all but name.

Perhaps ‘Pilgrims Lack of Progress’ - not a fan of this title myself, but Bono seems to be (it was a track name for NLOTH/SoA, and was a working title for his autobiography before going with ‘Stories of Surrender’, so it seems to have stuck around).

 

[TinKnight]

Agreed it would be better to move away from the ‘Songs of’ titles entirely.

They always felt too meta/self aware for me (especially when Bono would go as far as to sing “this is a song for someone”, “this is a song of surrender” etc).

This might be a personal issue, but I despise any song that references that it is a song. So this era (or lack of) has been extremely grating. No album, then Ahimsa (which in addition to being bad, is a song about being a song), then Your Song Saved My Life (see last parenthetical), then Songs of Surrender. Woof.

 

[Fly-2000]

Stand Up Comedy was my favorite song on the album on first listen. Which is a bit frightening in retrospect.

I agree with Mikal that the frame of a banger is there - but it's overdone. I don't think it's the worst song they've ever recorded. I don't even think it's the worst song on the album. Alas - it was a blown opportunity. It has a solid, funky groove to it, but the lyrics are horse ****. There's a lot of that on No Line.

If Pop was Bono's best album (IMO), No Line was his worst. He flat out ruined multiple songs with bad lyrics. Looking at you, Unknown Caller.

I did always wonder if 'Unknown Caller' was the track with the working title "Lord of the Apple Mac" from the Pop sessions. But yeah, NLOTH is the album of theirs that feels like a slog to listen through for me, and it really shouldn't be since conceptually it's the kind of stuff from them I usually love.

 

[BEAL]

I did always wonder if 'Unknown Caller' was the track with the working title "Lord of the Apple Mac" from the Pop sessions. But yeah, NLOTH is the album of theirs that feels like a slog to listen through for me, and it really shouldn't be since conceptually it's the kind of stuff from them I usually love.

NLOTH is a great opening track….the rest, your description of slog is accurate to me.

I liked MOS at first, mostly of how raw the vocals felt….but the music doesn’t really go anywhere. I know Eno had it recorded live for the backing track….but an Edge slide solo should have gone into something more climatic. Instead it was back the the sludge

It’s an album that if i hear the songs come up randomly I’ll listen….but straight thru…no

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i like No Line On The Horizon, Moment of Surrender, White As Snow, Fez-Being Born and Cedars of Lebanon.

i'm fine with never hearing the rest of it again.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

 

[mikal]

Some of you just need to restart and reboot yourself.

 

[pacemaker]

Others need to force quit AND move to trash.

 

[mikal]

I wish they would have made a second version of the song that addressed the Golden Days of rooting Android phones.

Wipe cache, install rom, google apps woooooaaaaah

 

[david]

Please don’t call the new album Songs of Ascent. It’s just begging to jokingly be called Ass Scent.

 

[MattD]

Anything with 'ascent' in the title is low hanging fruit for the haters. 'Oh my god, can't believe they called it Songs of Ascent. Bono assuming he's already going to heaven, how up his own arse can he be?'

 

[david]

So far up his own ass he likes his own ass scent.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Songs of Ass Scent

 

[monkeyskin]

They knew not to release it as #2 in the Songs of series.

 

[DeVaul]

So far up his own ass he likes his own ass scent.

[from NYT]

 

[Registered Dude]

I've always been partial to Hymns of the Universe as an album title. Was that the working title for Pop at one point?

I’m guessing the next album will have a single word title though

 

[AndrewCowley]

Freedom has an ass scent like the top of a new born baby's head

 

[phanan]

I've always been partial to Hymns of the Universe as an album title. Was that the working title for Pop at one point?

I’m guessing the next album will have a single word title though

Hymns of the Universe sounds too much like a Coldplay title, so let's stay away from that.

 

[DeVaul]

Hymns of the Universe sounds too much like a Coldplay title, so let's stay away from that.

Too bad they already took Music of the Spheres, eh?

 

[2861U2]

I believe Hymn to Mr. Universe became Playboy Mansion.

 

[TinKnight]

why are they so bad at their job.

 

[TinKnight]

If I was in the world's biggest living rock and roll band, I would simply release new music and tour.

 

[Hewson]

If I was in the world's biggest living rock and roll band, I would simply release new music and tour.

And The Rolling Stones have been doing just that.

 

[Rich79]

Anything with 'ascent' in the title is low hanging fruit for the haters. 'Oh my god, can't believe they called it Songs of Ascent. Bono assuming he's already going to heaven, how up his own arse can he be?'

Felt this from day one. It wasn't even the thinking he's going to heaven angle, but in my head it was more of a "listening to our music is heavenly/our music is the gateway to heaven/we are your musical saviors". In other words, lump me in with the haters pile; a big pile of a certain scent, if you will.

Too bad they already took Music of the Spheres, eh?

Yep, took it right from Ian Brown, in fact.

 

[ChurchBay]

I warmed to Unknown Caller via the recording at Wembley on the U22 album. I wish they had pushed the organ up in the mix and given Edge's solo more of that stadium echo as it was there. Admittedly, the whole 'force quit, and move to trash' is a bit odd. But I like the idea of communal, harmonic, choral / chants that they should leaned more into. Eno is so great on the vocal side of things and Soon is the best example of that. It would have brought out U2's defiant and spiritual side in a very different way. I wonder if they did more songs like that.

 

[Rich79]

Once again, I'll profess my love for Unknown Caller. It's one of three 10/10 tracks on the album (Magnificent and Breathe being the others). My only criticism of it is the "Sunshine, sunshine"; could have left that out to give the intro greater effect. I think the chorus gets heat because it's very not-U2 (and I'd fathom probably more Eno-inspired), but I like that they didn't just churn out another "something something love something something" chorus and tried something different. It feels grand, joyous, and the music is given plenty of room to breathe and build. Plus, the recurring, catchy guitar riff is a lot of fun to play.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i dislike the chorus because it stinks.

in my opinion.