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

[super fly guy]

Watching these videos reaffirm how good they are,fuck the haters.

 

[U2387]

Watching these videos reaffirm how good they are,fuck the haters.

Absolutely! We take it for granted in the first place. Never mind the fact that they've been at it as long as they have.

All anyone needs to do is do what myself and many others I'm sure do every tour.... bring a friend who hasn't seen them before. Watch them try and pick their jaw up off the floor!

I've seen over 200 acts in my time as a music fan and previous life as a concert security guard.
I will always say it in any forum, super fan or haters or anything in between: U2 are a mindblowing live band touched by few in history!

It's like watching Pedro Martinez or Michael Jordan in their prime.... you just know you're seeing something a cut above and while some of it is quantifiable, lots of it isn't! You just feel it!

 

[super fly guy]

Absolutely! We take it for granted in the first place. Never mind the fact that they've been at it as long as they have.

All anyone needs to do is do what myself and many others I'm sure do every tour.... bring a friend who hasn't seen them before. Watch them try and pick their jaw up off the floor!

I've seen over 200 acts in my time as a music fan and previous life as a concert security guard.
I will always say it in any forum, super fan or haters or anything in between: U2 are a mindblowing live band touched by few in history!

It's like watching Pedro Martinez or Michael Jordan in their prime.... you just know you're seeing something a cut above and while some of it is quantifiable, lots of it isn't! You just feel it!

Yep,I got a bit emotional honestly when I seen the fly shades going on and they ripped into ZOO Station. No other band comes close for me.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Excellently said. Bono also really pissed me off for hanging out with George W. Bush -- after that prick lobbied to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. It was also notable that Mr. Save African Lives said NOTHING about the refusal of his buddy Bill Gates and Western governments to wave the patents on Covid drugs that would have saved millions of lives. Bono sickens me these days.



The only cool guys seem to be Larry and Adam; Adam's hair also looks consistently inventive and nice.

And yet you decided, on the opening night, to come on back with a drive by Bono bash.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I have a theory on the video that will be answered tonight. It's not really a spoiler but I'll put it in tags anyways...

Spoiler

the images where it looks like the wall of the sphere is opening up to let light in? That's how the show will start.

Also, hey - Fly shades!

Spoiler

confirmed

 

[phanan]

And yet you decided, on the opening night, to come on back with a drive by Bono bash.

But was it politically insightful?

 

[lazarus]

The only cool guys seem to be Larry and Adam; Adam's hair also looks consistently inventive and nice.

Would you say Adam looks as attractive as that silver fox Chris Carter?

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Adams hair has inspired me to grow mine out. Hair game always on point.

 

[MattD]

That'd be a very quick way to lose me, and probably a lot of other fans. Personally, the fact that the song is not "fuck off guitar rock" music is a good thing. Regardless of my feelings on that kind of music, I don't think it's something the band does well. The crunchier the guitars have gotten on recent records, the worse a song is.

The success of U2 to me is always the economy of music, creating sweeping "cinematic" soundscapes not just through what's being played but what's not being played. The sense of space, spaciousness. To me, Atomic City is a move in the right direction, because it is a straightforward rock song, without many additional instrumentals or effects, but it still feels big in a way that is U2.

More guitars does not mean negating soundscapes. I refer to those shoe gazing bands precisely because they can create soundscapes through heavier use of guitar. The sort of which The Edge these days is the complete opposite to with his penchant for dull squalid sounds.

I'm not saying they should turn shoegaze, I am saying they show a lot more ingenuity with what rock music can be. U2's 'rock' impressions are a parody of a rock band and are far too clean and polite in their sound.

Christ almighty lads, just do something interesting and artful again.

 

[womanfish]

More guitars does not mean negating soundscapes. I refer to those shoe gazing bands precisely because they can create soundscapes through heavier use of guitar. The sort of which The Edge these days is the complete opposite to with his penchant for dull squalid sounds.

I'm not saying they should turn shoegaze, I am saying they show a lot more ingenuity with what rock music can be. U2's 'rock' impressions are a parody of a rock band and are far too clean and polite in their sound.

Christ almighty lads, just do something interesting and artful again.

Totally agree. Love is Blindness is a perfect example. FULL of guitar, long stretches of guitar, and the song is spacious and creates emotions through the tones of it. Obviously these are two totally different styles of songs, but even in a more "rocking" song, it can be done. Maybe NYD is a an example...

 

[womanfish]

Adams hair has inspired me to grow mine out. Hair game always on point.

Did Adam shave off the beard???

 

[Scorpionac]

Does Atomic City seem reminiscent of The Miracle of Joey Ramone to anyone else? Especially the chorus.

It feels far more spontaneous and unpolished though, which is nice.

 

[U2girl]

It's still a generic 'rawk' song unfortunately. While it doesn't fall to depths of depravity like The Miracle or American Soul, to call this 'unreasonable, f*** off' rock is typical U2isms of the recent era.

It's bland. Rock music should be a dirtier, grimier with an undercurrent of menace. Instead its Bono shouting to the top of his lungs again with a fistful of platitudes and a cut and paste chorus. Sonically it should be discordant, this is far too clean. No I'm not expecting sheets of guitar distortion ala My Bloody Valentine but something with raw, primal energy would help.

In the recent interviews, Bono stresses that U2 is a 'rock and roll band'. I don't think he'd have pigeon holed the band like that years ago, embracing the musical diversity and stylistic shifts in their music more readily. The U2 of yesteryear that embraced various styles was more rock and roll than the one of today. The music was edgier (no pun intended). Nowadays, they're content on resorting to the rock n roll handbook with cliches upon cliches in musical form. It all seems like a parody of rock music.

I've been listening to a lot of Creation Record acts like Ride, Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, and if they want to make rock music that stands out from the crowd, they really need to take it to extremes like these bands that is a counter opposite of the slick produced automated chart music of today. These bands mentioned annihilated the senses with their sonic blizzards and it certainly grabbed the attention, with a frenetic energy that hasn't been heard since.

That's your template. Simply plugging in a guitar and playing generic 'rawk' music isn't going to cause any waves, let alone ripples. If U2 were serious about getting back to being a guitar band, they'd want to be at the forefront of something that grabs the listeners attention whether they like it or not.

But U2 are neither interested in music as an artform now.

This is not a U2 rawk single. They finally stopped that. It is fun, catchy. Easily their best single since Vertigo.

Edge seems to, finally, be moving away from chimes/rawk riffs that plagued their output in the last 20 years. Mix that with being AB-ied in Vegas and...

 

[BEAL]

Totally agree. Love is Blindness is a perfect example. FULL of guitar, long stretches of guitar, and the song is spacious and creates emotions through the tones of it. Obviously these are two totally different styles of songs, but even in a more "rocking" song, it can be done. Maybe NYD is a an example...

A song that has underrated guitar

Trying to throw your arms around the world. It’s such a unique tone. Feels more like a improv or free flow since the actual song has so much space in it.

 

[clerks]

I can't get enough of Atomic City --- before Edge solo what is that sound coming from that sounds like a horn to me... is it part of the band or a post thing... or some edge pedal?

around 2:40 in the Vevo video of the song I'm watching

 

[DomCobb]

More guitars does not mean negating soundscapes. I refer to those shoe gazing bands precisely because they can create soundscapes through heavier use of guitar. The sort of which The Edge these days is the complete opposite to with his penchant for dull squalid sounds.

I'm not saying they should turn shoegaze, I am saying they show a lot more ingenuity with what rock music can be. U2's 'rock' impressions are a parody of a rock band and are far too clean and polite in their sound.

Christ almighty lads, just do something interesting and artful again.

To me, the key word in my statement "The crunchier the guitars have gotten on recent records, the worse a song is," is the word *recent*. I'd love if they could go back to the darkness and grit of LIB or Pop. But to me that's a very different sound than My Bloody Valentine.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Enjoyed the song! If someone was a producer and making a proposal to the band in regards to making a rock album, a small Boy/ War era style EP would have been fun sidetrack alah Atomic City, Red Flag Day, Summer of Love, etc, rather than SOE or SOI. I also like that it’s not the typical Page riff rock Edge has been occupied with as of the past decade.

 

[kiwilad]

FWIW, I think Atomic City is... fine? The most offensive part, for me, is the pathetic guitar break which, in typical Edge style (recent Edge anyway) is a poor little collection of notes, repeated. Best part of the song is the Blondie chorus. But for all that's meh about it, it's not bad.

Personally, I think they need to go back to the Two Shots of Happy vibe. I think that's a style they could have grown old with

 

[DeVaul]

Personally, I think they need to go back to the Two Shots of Happy vibe. I think that's a style they could have grown old with

Stateless was the stuff..

 

[DomCobb]

Personally, I think they need to go back to the Two Shots of Happy vibe. I think that's a style they could have grown old with

Would be amazing to hear a whole album in that style.

 

[womanfish]

Stateless was the stuff..

I like Two Shots, but as much as U2 are maligned now, I can’t imagine what people would say if they turned into a jazzy lounge act.

Give me stateless, your blue room, slug, sleep like a baby, cedars, maybe a little velvet dress style, promenade, love Comes Tumbling…

 

[kiwilad]

I like Two Shots, but as much as U2 are maligned now, I can’t imagine what people would say if they turned into a jazzy lounge act.

Give me stateless, your blue room, slug, sleep like a baby, cedars, maybe a little velvet dress style, promenade, love Comes Tumbling…

Yeah I’ll give you that. And Oh Berlin, Soon, The Troubles…

I’d love them to be able to reach their former giddy heights of stadium mastery, but I don’t think Edge and Bono are capable of writing those songs/riffs any more.

I think the theme you’re getting at is song writing which is less formulaic, less outwardly hit-seeking, more subtle. I’d love that.

Though, just trying to think of the last subtle U2 lyric….

 

[mikal]

While I have no urge to really listen to this song anymore, I do like the production and the band's willingness to try something new (the breakdown in the middle of the song). If they do release a new album, I hope the production is similar but also has some songs with open air like TUF and JT. That's what's been really missing over the last 20 years, and when they tried that on NLOTH, the songs just weren't there (other than MOS).

 

[CosmoKramer]

EDIT 2 - Just listened to Blackout again. It wins hands down. Damn that’s a really good song. Probably one of the most bass forward songs in their catalog. Last 3rd of the song is phenomenal. Shame the drums are buried

Blackout is a great tune! Would have loved if they lead with this as a single but don't think it would have made much of a difference.

The song is just a really rocker from the rhythm section to the chorus and as you noted....the last 3rd of the song is crazy good.

SOE had this and Little Things, which I also put as an amazing song but after those two it just a bunch of "meh" songs for me (although Summer of Love is a good song too).

 

[CosmoKramer]

Would you say Adam looks as attractive as that silver fox Chris Carter?

I can't be the only person who thinks 2023 Adam may actually also be 2023 Roland Orzabal from Tears for fears!

They are the same guy!

 

[DomCobb]

I like Two Shots, but as much as U2 are maligned now, I can’t imagine what people would say if they turned into a jazzy lounge act.

I know that their recent music is a bit divisive, but I think Arctic Monkeys have proved on their last two albums that jazz/lounge oriented rock can be cool.

 

[trevgreg]

Respectfully, nah. I need to hear actual songs in the output. A good song is a good song, but being different for the sake of being different in a mostly guitar-bass-drums band doesn't always compute to the best sounding stuff. An occasional track, sure, but probably not 10-12 songs worth. That we're not really here because of the ambient/jazz stylings.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I like Two Shots, but as much as U2 are maligned now, I can’t imagine what people would say if they turned into a jazzy lounge act.

Give me stateless, your blue room, slug, sleep like a baby, cedars, maybe a little velvet dress style, promenade, love Comes Tumbling…

I love a lot of those songs.

But if they transitioned into a band that only plays that, they'd have lost me years ago.

 

[JWR1992]

I know that their recent music is a bit divisive, but I think Arctic Monkeys have proved on their last two albums that jazz/lounge oriented rock can be cool.

I dunno I saw them at the United Center back in August and didn’t get that vibe. The music from the past two albums was the worst part of the show.

 

[super fly guy]

I dunno I saw them at the United Center back in August and didn’t get that vibe. The music from the past two albums was the worst part of the show.

Because it's utter shite,elevator music.