This is true, certainly in the UK. I was reading a book about Creation Records, the UK indie label of My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Teenage Fanclub and Oasis. By time Be Here Now was ready to come out, a lot of Oasis label mates were not able to ride on the coattails of their guitar pop success like previously. Radio 1 and others started to shift away from guitar oriented music towards bubblegum pop. Other guitar acts would see acclaim like Radiohead, The Verve and a rejuvenated Blur, often getting on the radio but it was never wall to wall guitar music ever again.
New Album Discussion 1 - Songs of..... - Unreasonable guitar album
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Pop could have been one of their greatest - maybe their greatest - if:
(a) They went all out on the electronic influences (e.g. pursue the vibe from the first three tunes to the end)
(b) Had a couple of smash hits that slam dunked their concept
(c) Was released a few years earlier when electronic acts were just beginning to make waves in the mainstream
I say that as I'm a fan of the influences they were inspired by around this time. But I still think that as great as they could have made Pop, it would never have been as big as The Joshua Tree in a huge market like the US, mainly because a large section of the American fanbase would never budge from their conservative and traditionalist outlook for something that was innately European and almost alien to so many.
But no doubt, they'd delivered, Bono furiously gyrating his crotch in a music video would have been the cherry on the top.
(a) They went all out on the electronic influences (e.g. pursue the vibe from the first three tunes to the end)
(b) Had a couple of smash hits that slam dunked their concept
(c) Was released a few years earlier when electronic acts were just beginning to make waves in the mainstream
I say that as I'm a fan of the influences they were inspired by around this time. But I still think that as great as they could have made Pop, it would never have been as big as The Joshua Tree in a huge market like the US, mainly because a large section of the American fanbase would never budge from their conservative and traditionalist outlook for something that was innately European and almost alien to so many.
But no doubt, they'd delivered, Bono furiously gyrating his crotch in a music video would have been the cherry on the top.
Achtung Ya'll
War Child
Chapter 25 (Wake Up Dead Man): They do talk about sort of the ultimate success of the tour and finding the songs there, but in the creative process it seems like they were all in agreement they had pushed a little too far. Mostly he just sounds downtrodden as he discusses it.
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
I gotta disagree. I think there are at least 4, maybe 5 songs to choose from other than Disco as the first single. My top 3 that I think would have changed things would be Last Night, Staring and Gone. With rumors of it being a dance album and people thinking.. seriously???? And then they hit with straightforward rock tunes like these, with just a small amount of electronic elements in them, and accompanied by a cool video. I think that you could have seen a song or songs hit top 10-20 on the charts and hang around for a bit. (Disco hit number 10 and dropped like a rock)
That first impression pretty much had critics salivating over beating up on the album. And I remember a lot of the bad reviews seemed as if they didn't even listen to the whole album, and were more focused on the image the band was portraying.
This album is loaded with single material. Last Night, Please, Gone, Disco, Staring, Please, Do You Feel Loved are all top notch singles in my opinion.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
the US fanbase showed a willingness to follow them from JT to AB, and if anything they become much cooler and a band for the ages with the transformation -- so it's really not about Americans being too "conservative" or "traditionalist" or whatever. i realize this is a convenient scapegoat for the European fan (and I say this as an American fan of their more European side).
Pop simply isn't as good as JT and AB. we need to admit this! it's just not! and i like it too! i defended this album constantly in 1997. but as people in here have noted, it doesn't have a "one" or "wowy," or even a "pride" or "BD."
i do think Discotheque was also a mistake, and that SATS should have been followed by the reworked Angels, as that's the song that comes closest to capturing the emotional magic of "one," which is what everyone really wants from U2, it's not just the anthems.
i distinctly remember watching the 1997 "please" from the VMA's with a group of mildly interested college students. it started out a bit bumpy, and i remember someone commenting, about a minute in, "they just aren't the same." but, by the end, when the song hits liftoff and holds you in a fairly tight grip, the room was silent and everyone was focused on the screen, they'd been won over. people (Americans or otherwise) want the big, heavy shit from U2. the want MOS over Boots. they want Little Things over American Soul. and they want Please/Gone over Discotheque.
Pop simply isn't as good as JT and AB. we need to admit this! it's just not! and i like it too! i defended this album constantly in 1997. but as people in here have noted, it doesn't have a "one" or "wowy," or even a "pride" or "BD."
i do think Discotheque was also a mistake, and that SATS should have been followed by the reworked Angels, as that's the song that comes closest to capturing the emotional magic of "one," which is what everyone really wants from U2, it's not just the anthems.
i distinctly remember watching the 1997 "please" from the VMA's with a group of mildly interested college students. it started out a bit bumpy, and i remember someone commenting, about a minute in, "they just aren't the same." but, by the end, when the song hits liftoff and holds you in a fairly tight grip, the room was silent and everyone was focused on the screen, they'd been won over. people (Americans or otherwise) want the big, heavy shit from U2. the want MOS over Boots. they want Little Things over American Soul. and they want Please/Gone over Discotheque.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
i remember a lot of good initial album reviews? i think? and then the review tide shifted after the Vegas disaster and especially reports of low ticket sales.
That Please performance blew me away. Like you said it starts off a bit slow, and didn’t help Bono standing still, hood over his head
But once the wah wah guitar and Bloody Sunday drums kick in….its vintage U2 and it was my first time hearing Please in live setting. The solo / ending was epic.
I actually stayed up to watch the replay of the awards so i could tape the performance.
Seeing it was a single and they included a live performance (with transition to streets) was one of their best singles
But once the wah wah guitar and Bloody Sunday drums kick in….its vintage U2 and it was my first time hearing Please in live setting. The solo / ending was epic.
I actually stayed up to watch the replay of the awards so i could tape the performance.
Seeing it was a single and they included a live performance (with transition to streets) was one of their best singles
ultimately with Pop the thing that brought them down was taking the joke too far.
the KMart press conference was weird. not playing a song that's even on the album at the press conference was equally strange. the Village People act in the video was strange. launching an album that everyone thought would be a dance/club album (but is actually a heavy yet straight forward rock tinged with electronic music - a natural progression off of Achtung Baby and Zooropa) with a song named discotheque was weird. the "Year In Pop" special was a dud, and opening night of PopMart was a disaster.
a more straight forward approach with one of the more traditional rock songs as a single would have helped considerably. the press conference was carried on MTV and VH1 and covered exhaustively. they had plenty of attention - they just picked the wrong approach.
i do agree that there isn't THAT song on the album - Streets/WOWY/One etc. - but there's enough really good there where it could have (and should have) been received better, despite the undoubtedly strange time in music that it was released into.
the KMart press conference was weird. not playing a song that's even on the album at the press conference was equally strange. the Village People act in the video was strange. launching an album that everyone thought would be a dance/club album (but is actually a heavy yet straight forward rock tinged with electronic music - a natural progression off of Achtung Baby and Zooropa) with a song named discotheque was weird. the "Year In Pop" special was a dud, and opening night of PopMart was a disaster.
a more straight forward approach with one of the more traditional rock songs as a single would have helped considerably. the press conference was carried on MTV and VH1 and covered exhaustively. they had plenty of attention - they just picked the wrong approach.
i do agree that there isn't THAT song on the album - Streets/WOWY/One etc. - but there's enough really good there where it could have (and should have) been received better, despite the undoubtedly strange time in music that it was released into.
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
I don't think many are arguing that POP is "better" than JT or AB. Although I do find it interesting that several people have said it is one of their most listened to U2 albums now all these years later. It definitely is mine.
But I also am just blown away that many people think it's their worst album. By many people, I mean sort of semi-fans, general music enthusiasts, people ranking U2 albums on youtube, or lists from critics. Now I think that SOI has taken that spot, which just shows you that the way an album is presented and promoted to the public (and first single choices) completely overrides many people from actually listening to the album and making an honest opinion.
But I also am just blown away that many people think it's their worst album. By many people, I mean sort of semi-fans, general music enthusiasts, people ranking U2 albums on youtube, or lists from critics. Now I think that SOI has taken that spot, which just shows you that the way an album is presented and promoted to the public (and first single choices) completely overrides many people from actually listening to the album and making an honest opinion.
i think it's just the common thing to say. oh, pop. that's U2's worst album. the majority of people who say that, i feel, never actually listened to the album.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Yeah, I barely listen to U2 anymore, but if I choose to, POP is usually the first album I put on.
ascender_RS
Refugee
Pop, like Zooropa, is one of my favourite U2 albums that I still listen-to a lot. More than ATYCLB for example. I know its not objectively their best, but that doesn't matter.
@Headache in a Suitcase is right - Pop has a real variety of singles on there that they could have chosen to lead with and set the tone for the whole album and tour campaign, but they kind of dropped the ball. They could have had a more traditional song (with some dance remixes if they wanted-to), or even Discotheque without the Village People stuff in the video. Maybe it was just a combination of them coming off the critical acclaim from the Zoo TV era and running out of time with the album which made everything seem a bit unfinished.
I've never understood the hate for the album. It's full of really good songs and some amazing playing. It many ways they totally cracked the rock/electronic balance that they were moving towards as they went from AB to Zooropa.
@Headache in a Suitcase is right - Pop has a real variety of singles on there that they could have chosen to lead with and set the tone for the whole album and tour campaign, but they kind of dropped the ball. They could have had a more traditional song (with some dance remixes if they wanted-to), or even Discotheque without the Village People stuff in the video. Maybe it was just a combination of them coming off the critical acclaim from the Zoo TV era and running out of time with the album which made everything seem a bit unfinished.
I've never understood the hate for the album. It's full of really good songs and some amazing playing. It many ways they totally cracked the rock/electronic balance that they were moving towards as they went from AB to Zooropa.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
i think if you are a U2 fan and have been one through different eras, Pop is a very, very interesting listen.
but if you want to be a world beating rock band with universal acclaim (they did this at least twice, most bands don't even do it once), you need to connect more than you need to be interesting. as Bono said about Pop in SOS, i think quoting someone else, "it's not exactly Thriller, is it?" and not only that, but as everyone has said, they really screwed it up in the spring of 1997.
i rewatched the 1997 VMA "Please" after posting last night, and it's just so good. it seems a glimpse as to where they could have gone had they not wanted to be the biggest and bestest band ever. that's a dark and weird and political performance, more art than rock ... and they deliberately moved away from that.
which is fine, their call.
they (mostly) reclaimed this biggest/bestest a third time in 2001, and in some ways, the U2 story kind of ends with their Super Bowl performance -- which is kind of fitting, they of all bands pulling off an enormously successful tribute to an event that has shaped the trajectory of the 21st century maybe more than any other (they always wanted to be important).
but you only get to retread once. they tried to do it again with Bomb ... and that's where i think God left the building for them and it started to feel like a formula. it became all too self-conscious ... not that there isn't great stuff post-2001, but, yeah, something changed. the U2 of the 20th century finished it's narrative arc in January 2002, and everything since has been a reaction to that.
but if you want to be a world beating rock band with universal acclaim (they did this at least twice, most bands don't even do it once), you need to connect more than you need to be interesting. as Bono said about Pop in SOS, i think quoting someone else, "it's not exactly Thriller, is it?" and not only that, but as everyone has said, they really screwed it up in the spring of 1997.
i rewatched the 1997 VMA "Please" after posting last night, and it's just so good. it seems a glimpse as to where they could have gone had they not wanted to be the biggest and bestest band ever. that's a dark and weird and political performance, more art than rock ... and they deliberately moved away from that.
which is fine, their call.
they (mostly) reclaimed this biggest/bestest a third time in 2001, and in some ways, the U2 story kind of ends with their Super Bowl performance -- which is kind of fitting, they of all bands pulling off an enormously successful tribute to an event that has shaped the trajectory of the 21st century maybe more than any other (they always wanted to be important).
but you only get to retread once. they tried to do it again with Bomb ... and that's where i think God left the building for them and it started to feel like a formula. it became all too self-conscious ... not that there isn't great stuff post-2001, but, yeah, something changed. the U2 of the 20th century finished it's narrative arc in January 2002, and everything since has been a reaction to that.
super fly guy
New Yorker
I must be in the minority,love discotheque.
It's a stylistic choice, Discotheque, the accompanying video... it might be strange but it's not career suicide. Again, maybe it is for prudes who rage against 'faggots' in bible belt America that didn't like it but they're supposed to push boundaries. But there wasn't much in the way of sniffyness towards it in Europe, you had a lot of street cred from the more rebellious in the industry (Bobby Gillespie loved it, it turned Alan McGee from a hater of the band to somebody who respected them) so this idea is just a convenient narrative for those who wanted bland rawk in the mainstream music media (e.g. see reviews of the extremely generic Atomic Bomb up against Pop, and it looks as if the former is a classic album). A blander choice of single like Last Night or Staring would have achieved zilch. I'd rather they made an explicit impression rather than something that was immediately forgotten which is what those other singles would have resulted in.
Bad decisions are like hiring Ryan Tedder or forcing an album on everyone's ipod. Ambitious artistic statements, even if they fall short, are not bad decisions. They are still to be admired though and Discotheque did that. I think it's a belter of a tune anyway and if they had the nerve, they should have just pursued that sinister electro infused heaviness to the end, and scrapped the more generic guitar tunes from that album which confuses the mood.
Bad decisions are like hiring Ryan Tedder or forcing an album on everyone's ipod. Ambitious artistic statements, even if they fall short, are not bad decisions. They are still to be admired though and Discotheque did that. I think it's a belter of a tune anyway and if they had the nerve, they should have just pursued that sinister electro infused heaviness to the end, and scrapped the more generic guitar tunes from that album which confuses the mood.
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They were never the most gifted musicians from a pure technical aspect. They're pretty limited in styles that they can play. Instead they used creativity and heart on their sleeve to win everyone over. It's why their song writing process drove everyone mad. They weren't good enough to just come into the studio and lay down a "classical" rock song. Their songs were born out of a weird rhythm piece. Edge noodling around with sound effects. A melody here or there.
At some point, U2 decided they wanted to become really good at crafting pop songs. Spiderman, Rick Rubin, Teddy....and I truly believe they lost what made them U2 in this. Instead it became the Bono show. His voice had changed (and everyone's does with age), and for some reason the band felt THIS was what needed to be showcased instead of the four of them building something and letting whatever the song was telling them to showcase come out.
That's not to say they didn't become very good at a pop song. They have, but its never felt special like it used to. But everything changes.....trying to hold on will only lead to misery
At some point, U2 decided they wanted to become really good at crafting pop songs. Spiderman, Rick Rubin, Teddy....and I truly believe they lost what made them U2 in this. Instead it became the Bono show. His voice had changed (and everyone's does with age), and for some reason the band felt THIS was what needed to be showcased instead of the four of them building something and letting whatever the song was telling them to showcase come out.
That's not to say they didn't become very good at a pop song. They have, but its never felt special like it used to. But everything changes.....trying to hold on will only lead to misery
david
ONE love, blood, life
This. This is how I remember it as well. There was a huge popular music shift after 1996. It was like grunge played out and the britpop thing happened (Hootie happened too) but there was also this explosion of other new music acts getting a lot of radio play. U2 oddly seemed out of place for the first time in a while. I did enjoy POP but it was more of a listen to with headphones on at night album for me. I did enjoy the production.
Salome
you are what you is
I like nothing better than flogging the old POP horse.
For me it is at the bottom of their catalogue together with SOE.
It's riddled with missed opportunities.
The concept is good, but they already covered it all during ZOO TV and on Zooropa.
Lyrically it has some of Bono's strongest and most asinine lyrics on show. It's also where he started the too many syllables in a line thing.
Musically they missed the trend by about a year.
Most songs don't sound like a definitive version. Remixes also couldn't fix that though.
Album also sounds more like 4 EPs bunged together.
Discotheque and MOFO are glorious though.
Please, Gone and Staring at the Sun were wonderful live.
For me it is at the bottom of their catalogue together with SOE.
It's riddled with missed opportunities.
The concept is good, but they already covered it all during ZOO TV and on Zooropa.
Lyrically it has some of Bono's strongest and most asinine lyrics on show. It's also where he started the too many syllables in a line thing.
Musically they missed the trend by about a year.
Most songs don't sound like a definitive version. Remixes also couldn't fix that though.
Album also sounds more like 4 EPs bunged together.
Discotheque and MOFO are glorious though.
Please, Gone and Staring at the Sun were wonderful live.
djerdap
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
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Pop is a great album and, with all these discussions about lead singles etc., for me what is most important is that it has longevity. It has aged far better than anything U2 has made afterwards, and I submit it is one of the most underrated records made by a big, popular band that I can think of (albums like Pearl Jam's Riot Act, Depeche Mode's Ultra, Faith No More's King for a Day, R.E.M.'s Up and Sonic Youth's Murray Street might fit this criteria as well). Its ugly reputation is more emphasised in the US anyway, and I think that its reappraisal is slowly but surely creeping in.
I for one do not care that it lacks a huge U2 anthem. Not every U2 record has to have a career-defining song. In particular with Pop, the whole is far more important than the sum of its parts. It is their darkest, most introspective record, and I for one cannot understand why Bono in particular does not seem to let go of the original "big summer record" intent (how is Staring at the Sun considered having hit potential beats me). Even the songs that I originally considered to be weak from the record, like The Playboy Mansion, have grown on me significantly.
And U2 wrote Miami. And they performed it in Leeds in 1997 like they were chased and about to be devoured by Satan and it was beautiful.
I for one do not care that it lacks a huge U2 anthem. Not every U2 record has to have a career-defining song. In particular with Pop, the whole is far more important than the sum of its parts. It is their darkest, most introspective record, and I for one cannot understand why Bono in particular does not seem to let go of the original "big summer record" intent (how is Staring at the Sun considered having hit potential beats me). Even the songs that I originally considered to be weak from the record, like The Playboy Mansion, have grown on me significantly.
And U2 wrote Miami. And they performed it in Leeds in 1997 like they were chased and about to be devoured by Satan and it was beautiful.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
Great mention of King For A Day and Riot Act. 2 of my favorite all time albums.
And yes that Leeds version of Miami really rocks. One of my favorite bootlegs!
Pop is Bono's strongest lyrical album. I will fight anyone who says otherwise. It's very dark and introspective - and dark and introspective has staying power. I think that's why people are having another look at the album.
I also think if there's any album that could benefit from a modern remastering - whether that's just a high res lossless release or an atmos mix - it's Pop (and Zooropa - but mostly Pop).
I also think if there's any album that could benefit from a modern remastering - whether that's just a high res lossless release or an atmos mix - it's Pop (and Zooropa - but mostly Pop).
TinKnight
Refugee
I am not trying to be contrarian, but I prefer both Zooropa and Pop to AB. I dont know, AB has never gripped me the same way that it has others. The highs of Zooropa and Pop are so interesting and so devastating, that they nearly override all the lows.
Putting the Wanderer as the last song on Zooropa is probably my favorite U2 decision of all time. The antidote to Zooropa, this nuclear religious manifesto not sung by the lead singer? Absolutely genius.
Putting the Wanderer as the last song on Zooropa is probably my favorite U2 decision of all time. The antidote to Zooropa, this nuclear religious manifesto not sung by the lead singer? Absolutely genius.
I consider AB a masterpiece. A true vision of the band and seeing it all the way thru to the end. Every song on there I find perfection, yet it took many, many listens to come around.
Pop may not have that commercial masterpiece label but it's a masterpiece in the way Headache references above, the lyrics. It's just so dark. The album starts out sonically as a party, then stabilizes with some rockers (and even Angels being a little slower still has a groove)....then we get to the last part of the album and it's just a funeral. Every song heavier and heavier. I remember going from velvet to please thinking my body weighs a ton.....then you get wake up and that final few bars of guitar + drums followed by the backwards record sound....to nothing. It's physically exhausting to listen to, but still feels so worth it. I've mentioned it before, but it's my death bed record. When Wake up ends, I will be ready to as well.
I would love for Bono to get dark again, but I wonder if he feels the world is dark enough now and wants to project hope and joy. He's good at it....but feels like we all want the dark moods again
Pop may not have that commercial masterpiece label but it's a masterpiece in the way Headache references above, the lyrics. It's just so dark. The album starts out sonically as a party, then stabilizes with some rockers (and even Angels being a little slower still has a groove)....then we get to the last part of the album and it's just a funeral. Every song heavier and heavier. I remember going from velvet to please thinking my body weighs a ton.....then you get wake up and that final few bars of guitar + drums followed by the backwards record sound....to nothing. It's physically exhausting to listen to, but still feels so worth it. I've mentioned it before, but it's my death bed record. When Wake up ends, I will be ready to as well.
I would love for Bono to get dark again, but I wonder if he feels the world is dark enough now and wants to project hope and joy. He's good at it....but feels like we all want the dark moods again
djerdap
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
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This discussion made me listen to Pop again. There are many highlights, but I'll mention that Velvet Dress is such a gorgeous, atmospheric song. I recommend listening it in complete darkness. One of their most visually imaginative tracks.
it really doesn't take very long to get dark... MoFo is some dark shit. i know he's written a lot about his mom over the time, but the bridge - asking your dead mom if you're still her son? you left and i'm still a child? looking to fill that god shaped hole?
that's some heavy ass shit right there.
it's just a really dark album. dark bono is the best bono.
that's some heavy ass shit right there.
it's just a really dark album. dark bono is the best bono.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
my earlier post is more about why the album didn't work in the way that they wanted it to, and everyone's individual takes are all valid, especially as non-casual U2 fans.
i think Discotheque is a mess on the album and got better live, but for me, it's more "boots" than "vertigo" in terms of a lead-off rock single with a big catchy edge riff, which is why it wasn't successful. video was dumb and made them look clueless. they'd already torn down the Joshua Tree, why do the village people thing to further say, "hey, we're not those annoying guys in cowboy hats anymore." they already did that, this is them taking the joke too far and reveals the fact that this era wasn't thought-through and coherent in the way that the Zoo era was. they didn't know what they were trying to say about themselves.
i think DYFL would have been better as it's smoother, sleeker, and has the futuristic beats, and would have resulted in a much cooler video.
mofo is great and necessary
SATS is almost great, and could have been the big unifying single -- i remember my mom singing along to it on the radio that summer. but there's still something that doesn't quite cohere into the post-bridge sonic euphoric uplift that they achieved on "one" or "wowy." still a great song.
LNOE got better with the single version; inexplicably bad video
Gone is the best song on the album, absolutely rules live, defiant, solid A+ song
Miami is great, and i didn't like this one in 1997
Playboy is up there with SUC as one of their worst songs, has dated very poorly, and i can't believe people think that his lyrics are more cliche-ridden, too-universal now than on this one (other lyrics are great on this album)
Velvet Dress is more an idea than a song, it's shimmering and sometimes lovely but it doesn't achieve the drama i think they want
Please i love the raw ache on the album, but still feels not finished, and i find the single version overwrought, but this is a Top 5 Live U2 song; please, please, please play this one again. i know no one comes to Vegas for politics, but damn this would have been a gut punch in the context of Gaza
WUDM is a weird, great closer
i think Discotheque is a mess on the album and got better live, but for me, it's more "boots" than "vertigo" in terms of a lead-off rock single with a big catchy edge riff, which is why it wasn't successful. video was dumb and made them look clueless. they'd already torn down the Joshua Tree, why do the village people thing to further say, "hey, we're not those annoying guys in cowboy hats anymore." they already did that, this is them taking the joke too far and reveals the fact that this era wasn't thought-through and coherent in the way that the Zoo era was. they didn't know what they were trying to say about themselves.
i think DYFL would have been better as it's smoother, sleeker, and has the futuristic beats, and would have resulted in a much cooler video.
mofo is great and necessary
SATS is almost great, and could have been the big unifying single -- i remember my mom singing along to it on the radio that summer. but there's still something that doesn't quite cohere into the post-bridge sonic euphoric uplift that they achieved on "one" or "wowy." still a great song.
LNOE got better with the single version; inexplicably bad video
Gone is the best song on the album, absolutely rules live, defiant, solid A+ song
Miami is great, and i didn't like this one in 1997
Playboy is up there with SUC as one of their worst songs, has dated very poorly, and i can't believe people think that his lyrics are more cliche-ridden, too-universal now than on this one (other lyrics are great on this album)
Velvet Dress is more an idea than a song, it's shimmering and sometimes lovely but it doesn't achieve the drama i think they want
Please i love the raw ache on the album, but still feels not finished, and i find the single version overwrought, but this is a Top 5 Live U2 song; please, please, please play this one again. i know no one comes to Vegas for politics, but damn this would have been a gut punch in the context of Gaza
WUDM is a weird, great closer
If U2 had quit after Pop, it would have been an outright bleak and depressing moment to go out on. It weighs a thousand tonnes which is why it's been such a long time I've listened to it. It's not their best album but it's still excellent. In the whole of U2's career, the album stands out greater than it does than looking / hearing it on its own. You need to listen to the albums around it to really appreciate the journey it's taken you on (and it's not a comfortable one). Take Wake Up Dead Man - hearing Bono effectively performing CPR on his own faith some 14 years after he sang 'Take my hand, you'll know I'll be there...' is despairing. It is as if they've reached a point of no return. So cynical and helpless in its concluding thoughts.
It's U2's mariana trench - a zero light level of bleakness and despair that hides some ugliness. A source of fascination rarely ventured but utterly real. And that's what makes it's following album ATYCLB all the more remarkable in that somehow they allowed us on that album to resurface and come back for air. Sure, we're still in the ocean but at least we're lying on our backs, feeling the warmth of the sun (or staring at the sun...ironically!))
Pop and ATYCLB are more interrelated and dependent on each other than any of their other albums.
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TinKnight
Refugee
Playboy Mansion is gud, and I'm not taking any other feedback at this time. Michael Jackson and OJ are the only things that date it, and IMO, it's fine to be a little time capsule of that time period (when the Playboy Mansion itself was still relevant). Everything is fine to good, and the melody and pre-chorus buildup and the chorus are really fun. Remember kids:
Then will there be no time for sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
And though I can't say why
I know I've got to believe
Then will there be no time for sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
And though I can't say why
I know I've got to believe
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