What keeps me excited about U2 is that there are stilk magical moments hidden amongst the vapid attempts to chase hits. It gives me hope that they can break the mold and actually put out a late career masterpiece if/when they're ready to embrace their oldness.
Hard agree. On every single album since (and including) the ATYCLB over-correction, there has been at least one great song that deserves its place alongside the earlier highlights of their catalog.