NLOTH 30 Second Walmart Clips - DISCUSSION THREAD - Part II

[Earnie Shavers]

So, do we have here a hybrid U2 album that is taking some retro U2 sounds, but blending them with a definite progressive push forward? i.e. what they really should have released post-Pop? I’m still almost in a little bit of shock with the sound of some of these songs. I was totally prepared to be extremely disappointed with this album. Totally preparing for Bomb II, for all the talk of new sounds and new direction to be nothing more than, say, the ‘new sound/direction’ hype of something like Love and Peace, which in the end I think is probably one of the weakest songs they’ve ever committed to record. 30 second clips tell you practically nothing, and there’s a couple there in the middle that I’m really not crazy about (Crazy/Comedy), but some of them…. I’ve really got my fingers crossed. I almost totally didn’t expect to ever hear the return of the real U2, just more of this extremely tight U2 cover band we’ve had for the past 9 years drifting comfortably through a few more mega-selling but ultimately lifeless albums and tours before retirement. The first four clips and the last four clips though… could it be? Has it really happened?

One song I’m totally intrigued by is actually Magnificent. I’m really looking forward to Unknown Caller, Moment of Surrender, No Line and Fez, but how Magnificent fits and how it is accepted will be really interesting. From the beach clip, we know where this song is headed. From the Walmart clip, we know what it’s going to sound like. This is no shy song, it’s a f*cking huge song, that much is clear. But it is taking its hits because Edge is on full tilt echo again and more than a few people are writing it off as just another 00s raping of the ‘classic’ 80s sound. Catchy, built for stadiums, but perhaps ultimately shallow. But what if its not? What if this is an ‘album’ album, and what if the album totally gives off a feeling of re-setting and re-inventing the 00s? If that’s true, it coming in straight after No Line of the Horizon could be pure gold. No Line is supposed to have a very brash ending. At the very, very end of it’s clip you catch just a split second of the main riff kicking in. I like the idea of this very Achtung track with it’s dirty Fly-like riff building to a big, loud, chaotic ending and just slamming into a wall and then those drums come rolling in and Magnificent just launching and running, as it clearly seems to from the beach clip.

Re-set/re-invent.

Its definitely the mindset I will be taking into my first listen of this album. It’s 2000. ATYCLB and HTDAAB have not happened. The last I heard of U2 was the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack. There’s a mixed feeling out there after Pop. Some want U2 to f*ck the haters and continue to push forward. Others think they should be done with the 90s wild ride and return to a more classic and simple sound. Can they reconcile the two? Has it really happened?

 

[Earnie Shavers]

What's ridiculous are the people assuming the "Only Love" stuff is out of the song when it's clearly the end of Magnificent with the drum roll and such. And we've been told it's in there anyway.

It’s not the end, listen to the beach clip, it’s the very, very beginning of the song. The end of the Walmart clip is about half of the drum roll that leads into the first verse.

 

[NebraskaU2]

I only listened to the clips once but I really love No line on the Horizon (the song). The rest of the tunes sound great as well. Very relieved as I didn't like Boots all that much (although I now find myself humming it all the time!)

 

[catlhere]

I almost totally didn’t expect to ever hear the return of the real U2, just more of this extremely tight U2 cover band we’ve had for the past 9 years drifting comfortably through a few more mega-selling but ultimately lifeless albums and tours before retirement. The first four clips and the last four clips though… could it be? Has it really happened?

Oh brother. Thank God most U2 fans think completely different from this.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

Walt, you're the man!

Thanks for posting some thoughts on these clips. I have assumed what you say anyways, but people here need to "see/hear" it from someone who has heard all of it. You can't really read into too much with these clips.

 

[popacrobat]

Oh brother. Thank God most U2 fans think completely different from this.

I for one like basically all the albums, but, I don't see what's wrong with his post/train of thought. He wasn't/isn't much of a fan of the last two, and if he thinks this album is going back in the right direction more power to him IMO. I enjoy the clips all a good bit. As i've said before, it would be awesome if U2 could please all the camps of their fanbase with this album, but that'll never happen.

 

[Gilead12]

I'm glad Earnie's excited.

So am I.

 

[No spoken words]

what's wrong with a differing opinion?

Nothing, Ian, but do people have to keep repeating the same negative opinion over and over and over again? I don't think so.

 

[No spoken words]

So, do we have here a hybrid U2 album that is taking some retro U2 sounds, but blending them with a definite progressive push forward? i.e. what they really should have released post-Pop? I’m still almost in a little bit of shock with the sound of some of these songs. I was totally prepared to be extremely disappointed with this album. Totally preparing for Bomb II, for all the talk of new sounds and new direction to be nothing more than, say, the ‘new sound/direction’ hype of something like Love and Peace, which in the end I think is probably one of the weakest songs they’ve ever committed to record. 30 second clips tell you practically nothing, and there’s a couple there in the middle that I’m really not crazy about (Crazy/Comedy), but some of them…. I’ve really got my fingers crossed. I almost totally didn’t expect to ever hear the return of the real U2, just more of this extremely tight U2 cover band we’ve had for the past 9 years drifting comfortably through a few more mega-selling but ultimately lifeless albums and tours before retirement. The first four clips and the last four clips though… could it be? Has it really happened?

One song I’m totally intrigued by is actually Magnificent. I’m really looking forward to Unknown Caller, Moment of Surrender, No Line and Fez, but how Magnificent fits and how it is accepted will be really interesting. From the beach clip, we know where this song is headed. From the Walmart clip, we know what it’s going to sound like. This is no shy song, it’s a f*cking huge song, that much is clear. But it is taking its hits because Edge is on full tilt echo again and more than a few people are writing it off as just another 00s raping of the ‘classic’ 80s sound. Catchy, built for stadiums, but perhaps ultimately shallow. But what if its not? What if this is an ‘album’ album, and what if the album totally gives off a feeling of re-setting and re-inventing the 00s? If that’s true, it coming in straight after No Line of the Horizon could be pure gold. No Line is supposed to have a very brash ending. At the very, very end of it’s clip you catch just a split second of the main riff kicking in. I like the idea of this very Achtung track with it’s dirty Fly-like riff building to a big, loud, chaotic ending and just slamming into a wall and then those drums come rolling in and Magnificent just launching and running, as it clearly seems to from the beach clip.

Re-set/re-invent.

Its definitely the mindset I will be taking into my first listen of this album. It’s 2000. ATYCLB and HTDAAB have not happened. The last I heard of U2 was the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack. There’s a mixed feeling out there after Pop. Some want U2 to f*ck the haters and continue to push forward. Others think they should be done with the 90s wild ride and return to a more classic and simple sound. Can they reconcile the two? Has it really happened?

We don't 100% agree on U2 this decade, but I get and respect your point.....and, I'm glad that you're encouraged thus far. Here's hoping we none of us get let down.

 

[ywamperth]

Nothing, Ian, but do people have to keep repeating the same negative opinion over and over and over again? I don't think so.

People don't seem to mind repeating the same old positive opinions either, but it is permitted! Not everyone has to love what you love.

As for the clips, I am a bit discouraged. Magnificent sounds great, for example, but it almost seems straight from the old U2 playbook. I loved POP because it was U2 on an adventure. This just seems like they are trying to recreate something old. Obviously we need the fulls songs to judge.

The atmosphere is great. Eno and Lanois are brilliant. But the production, in my view, has really waned on U2 albums since Zooropa. Enough of the compression already.

Another thing I am hoping for is moments of just the music. Not Bono singing over the music, but just the music. My favourite parts on Actung Baby are just the music. The hallow moments of Love is Blindness, the beginning of Ultaviolet, the spaces in the Fly. Here's hoping!

 

[batman77]

Breathe, what a charme...

 

[elevation]

So, do we have here a hybrid U2 album that is taking some retro U2 sounds, but blending them with a definite progressive push forward? i.e. what they really should have released post-Pop? I’m still almost in a little bit of shock with the sound of some of these songs. I was totally prepared to be extremely disappointed with this album. Totally preparing for Bomb II, for all the talk of new sounds and new direction to be nothing more than, say, the ‘new sound/direction’ hype of something like Love and Peace, which in the end I think is probably one of the weakest songs they’ve ever committed to record. 30 second clips tell you practically nothing, and there’s a couple there in the middle that I’m really not crazy about (Crazy/Comedy), but some of them…. I’ve really got my fingers crossed. I almost totally didn’t expect to ever hear the return of the real U2, just more of this extremely tight U2 cover band we’ve had for the past 9 years drifting comfortably through a few more mega-selling but ultimately lifeless albums and tours before retirement. The first four clips and the last four clips though… could it be? Has it really happened?

One song I’m totally intrigued by is actually Magnificent. I’m really looking forward to Unknown Caller, Moment of Surrender, No Line and Fez, but how Magnificent fits and how it is accepted will be really interesting. From the beach clip, we know where this song is headed. From the Walmart clip, we know what it’s going to sound like. This is no shy song, it’s a f*cking huge song, that much is clear. But it is taking its hits because Edge is on full tilt echo again and more than a few people are writing it off as just another 00s raping of the ‘classic’ 80s sound. Catchy, built for stadiums, but perhaps ultimately shallow. But what if its not? What if this is an ‘album’ album, and what if the album totally gives off a feeling of re-setting and re-inventing the 00s? If that’s true, it coming in straight after No Line of the Horizon could be pure gold. No Line is supposed to have a very brash ending. At the very, very end of it’s clip you catch just a split second of the main riff kicking in. I like the idea of this very Achtung track with it’s dirty Fly-like riff building to a big, loud, chaotic ending and just slamming into a wall and then those drums come rolling in and Magnificent just launching and running, as it clearly seems to from the beach clip.

Re-set/re-invent.

Its definitely the mindset I will be taking into my first listen of this album. It’s 2000. ATYCLB and HTDAAB have not happened. The last I heard of U2 was the Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack. There’s a mixed feeling out there after Pop. Some want U2 to f*ck the haters and continue to push forward. Others think they should be done with the 90s wild ride and return to a more classic and simple sound. Can they reconcile the two? Has it really happened?

Very good post - actually expresses my thoughts exactly. And some fans I've talked with IRL ...

 

[Catman]

the only clips that give you a reasonable idea of the songs are: NLOTH and Crazy Tonight and to a lesser extent SUC and Breathe.

I wouldn't even bother forming and opinion on the rest. These clips are definately not highlights, they are just the bits in between.

They have highlighted the most awkward lyric in SUC 'little old lady' worst line on the album...

I must know how "Moment of Surrender" is! I absolutely love the 30-second clip... very moody, love the organ. Does the rest/ most of the song retain this groove? How is Bono's voice throughout? Strained, more plaintive (hopefully)? Boisterous (hopefully not so much)?

I really want those 30 seconds to loop perpetually...

 

[bram]

It’s not the end, listen to the beach clip, it’s the very, very beginning of the song. The end of the Walmart clip is about half of the drum roll that leads into the first verse.

The Magnificent clip is not from the end. Why do people keep suggesting this? I can't wait to hear Bono burst into that dark, brooding verse vocal--for those writing this off as 00s stadium, poppy U2 that might be quite the game-changer. This is actually a pretty dark-sounding song.

Oh, and great post above Earnie.

 

[No spoken words]

People don't seem to mind repeating the same old positive opinions either, but it is permitted! Not everyone has to love what you love.

As for the clips, I am a bit discouraged. Magnificent sounds great, for example, but it almost seems straight from the old U2 playbook. I loved POP because it was U2 on an adventure. This just seems like they are trying to recreate something old. Obviously we need the fulls songs to judge.

The atmosphere is great. Eno and Lanois are brilliant. But the production, in my view, has really waned on U2 albums since Zooropa. Enough of the compression already.

Another thing I am hoping for is moments of just the music. Not Bono singing over the music, but just the music. My favourite parts on Actung Baby are just the music. The hallow moments of Love is Blindness, the beginning of Ultaviolet, the spaces in the Fly. Here's hoping!

I don't want everyone to love what I love, nor have I ever made a post that implied that....and I never will. I cannot think of anything more boring, frankly.

Is it possible that people that post positive opinions do not, in fact, get a free pass? Because last time I checked, there were plenty of people suggesting that those gushing with praise relax a bit and wait for the whole song.

But even if they did get a free pass, that could be because this is, after all, a U2 fan-site. Most people come here to be positive about the band, regardless if that happiness is the byproduct of rose colored glasses or a legitimate feeling about the band's output. I'll be the first to criticize songs like Babyface or Peace on Earth, etc, but overall, I'm here to share in my love for the band, not share in my pessimism about the band....and I wonder if the persistently negative posters get that. I can get plenty of people in real life to take a shit on the band, not sure that I need "fans" to do the same.

Just my 2 cents.

Oh, and I mostly agree with the last paragraph of your post. I've not listened to the clips yet, and likely will not, so I don't know if I think they're good, bad or otherwise.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It’s not meant to be disrespectful or denying the existence of those who love the Bomb or were turned onto U2 by it.

A lot of people are saying that this is like the R&H to Achtung time - the shift in sound and attitude etc. It’s not at all. It is actually very similar to the mood in between Pop and ATYCLB. You have a massively divisive and controversial album, one that is mostly either love or hate, with the minority really being those in the middle. It makes sense that the majority view here would be the positive one, just as it makes sense that a decent chunk of those from here who didn’t like 00s U2 have since moved on from this forum and so you don’t really hear their voices. But look around. Re-read those early NLOTH reviews, have a look at some other large music forums that have healthy NLOTH discussions going on, particularly since the release of these clips. If there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s their opinion of the Bomb and how this compares. Yes, yes, it won Grammys, got 5 stars in Rolling Stone and sold a gazillion copies, but it is near impossible now – outside of here – to find any opinion on it other than that it was at best lacking, at worst, flat out terrible. But then in here, among the U2 faithful, it is generally very positive. Same thing happened with Pop. The general mood and view outside of here shifted. This place was in eternal, heated debate. Hopes were high for ATYCLB from all angles. Some craved a return of classic U2, and some understood that it was necessary, even if they didn’t personally think U2 were on the wrong track.

I’m a Pop fan, was then, am now, but totally ‘get’ and respect that it was abrasive and difficult for many. I totally got and understood that U2 needed to re-set after that. I have since been disappointed that they swung it so far in the opposite direction, and that’s about it really. But that’s what they’ve done. Mofo at one extreme and Miracle Drug at the other. Both back in 2000 and with this album now, what would have been/will be really amazing is if they land one smack in the middle of that spectrum. That’s all I’m saying…

 

[BoyOnTheHorizon]

My big disappointment is Cedars... Lebanon is such a lovely small country, their people simply have a love affair with their nation. I have always tought that it would be a melodic, emotional soft piece about a place that has been through rough times over the last 50 years...

 

[last unicorn]

Cedars is a beautiful song, I loved Bono's voice on it, the narration, it seems to be a very calm song, and I love the theme of that song. Sounds like a very good closer. At the moment, I'm much more impressed by the slow songs, but then again, I only listened to the clips once and I'm not really interested in listening to them again before the album comes out.

 

[lancerla]

The Magnificent clip is not from the end. Why do people keep suggesting this? I can't wait to hear Bono burst into that dark, brooding verse vocal--for those writing this off as 00s stadium, poppy U2 that might be quite the game-changer. This is actually a pretty dark-sounding song.

Oh, and great post above Earnie.

I think everyone keeps suggesting it because it sounds like what the end of a song might be. A refrain followed by a drum roll out. I'm not saying it's correct but it's not a crazy suggestion.

 

[PowerSurge]

Holy Fuck...I'm gone for a couple of days, come back, and now there are preview clips now!!!!

This is going to be really tough not to listen. I need this album now!!!!

 

[powerhour24]

Magnificent Needs to be the next single, should be U2's biggest song since the AB era.

 

[ozeeko]

Definitely changed my mind about a number of the tracks. I now like the danceable direction they took with Magnificent, sounds like it's ready to soar into space. Crazy Tonight's verse is actually pretty good, like the chords, the "it's not a hill it's a mountain" part i still find to be kinda obvious and a tad weak, but who knows where the rest of that chorus is heading. SUC sounds pretty decent (even the little old lady line- that part sounds like Ed what's his name from LIVE), but i have to say my least fave part of the clips is that "uhhh WHOOOOO - WHOO" part in SUC, sounds so much like a Rob Thomas or Matchbox 20 song it's not even funny. Breathe, which i previously stated sounded like all the life had been drained out it, i now think sounds pretty good. I like it. It's moody. The "these days" part reminds me of Tori AMos for some reason. Anybody else get that? Maybe it's just the piano. Oh, and i think the title track has the potential to be one of their greatest fucking songs ever. Imagining how that chorus melody can be expanded further down the song...in my mind it seems awesome. Glad to say i'm confident they topped BOMB.

 

[icculus]

These 22 seconds don't necessarily capture the song. I mean 90% of the fez clip is the intro. The song get's started in the last 2 seconds. lol.

This sounds like a very promising album. Zooropa & Achtung Baby lovers are going to rejoice ( i think )

 

[icculus]

So when do the full tracks leak? I preordered on iTunes so I can feel good about myself searching the shady alleys of the internets for this album—and DL'n this badboy. Can't wait to here it.

 

[zuropa_fit]

Holy Fuck...I'm gone for a couple of days, come back, and now there are preview clips now!!!!

This is going to be really tough not to listen. I need this album now!!!!

Stay strong, man, stay strong!! We can do it.

 

[RedRocksU2]

*Posting to say hi to Z*

 

[mofo_spacejunk]

Clips sound good - can't wait for album.

 

[Airseven]

I think everyone keeps suggesting it because it sounds like what the end of a song might be. A refrain followed by a drum roll out. I'm not saying it's correct but it's not a crazy suggestion.

The drum roll is in the beach clip. It's at the beginning. What more is there to say about it?

 

[U2387]

Sound good- all of them. I honestly think we got the least revealing 30 seconds of all of these songs. A couple questions:

Title track:Is this either one of the 2 versions out there, or is it a combination of the 2.
Unknown Caller/Moment of Surrender:this is probably the begginning?
Stand up comedy:Whats up with this, do people think it is faster/rocks more in parts?
Cedars:Instruments break out at all eventually, like LIB??

Any guesses, educated or not are appreciated!!

Sounds great.

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Wow, I actually liked what I heard quite a lot! Those 30 sec clips sound exciting, fresh, sexy, cool and brand new!! I think this album may actually live up to the hype!! Now, more than ever, I can't wait to listen to this album!! It's gonna be a great year!!