Q Magazine snippets - now Consolidated (Pics added 12/29/08 & 1/1/09)

[BVS]

That's not necessarily the case. I think a lot of reviews said it was their best work to date.

Yes, but I've seen many of reviews(in all walks of life) that have claimed "best work to date"... It's one of the many problems with critics. They get a listen or a screening before the audience, they have a deadline and they write their review based on one or very few listens or viewings...

I was in high school when AB was released, I don't remember many of the reviews, but I remember the fans response. And the fans response wasn't an overwhelming one either way. You either loved or hated the new direction, but I don't remember the feeling that this album was going to somehow "replace" JT in the standings overall...

 

[Thanksandy]

Well all I care about is that the new album reintroduces that energy and sense of urgency they used to have. The last two albums had some great tunes but I didn't feel really excited by them, actually many of the songs were a bit boring and bland i.e. going in the Coldplay direction.

It will be great to hear something inventive, innovative, just different in some way, as long as people can get excited by the music U2 create again. It doesn't have to be better than AB or The Joshua Tree or be in competition with those albums, what it needs to be is much better than the last two albums and different to a lot of the average and bland rubbish put out by bands like Coldplay.

 

[PowerSurge]

The over powering difference between the last two albums and J-Tree or A-Baby was the lack of cohesiveness and flow IMO. I just don't get that same "feeling" that I with those classics when I listen to ATYCLB or HTDAAB in their entirety. Not to say that they aren't great...because I love a number of the songs on both of their last albums...but that cohesiveness is not there. I find myself skipping over songs on both of those albums while be able to listen completely through the classic ones.

But thats just MY take on it.

 

[subnet]

it's like PJ Versus album versus Vitalogy IMHO....I'd rather be listening to Versus over Vitalogy because of cohesiveness

 

[victor_f]

The lyrics from "Crazy Tonight" are very hard to read on the trash bin stuff Bono made and auctioned sometime ago.

On the first line I can read the line it's on the Q Magazine: "I'll go crazy if i don't go crazy tonight".

 

[Sicy]

lol

 

[buzzkill27]

I agree with the comment that the band seems to have a quiet confidence this time around. I hope we don't see another iPod commercial or too many pre-release marketing events before NLOTH. From what I remember, the let AB just speak for itself (very few interviews preceding the album). I hope the album is good enough that the band take this route again

Yeah but it's a different age now.....the music industry is changing with the revolution that the internet brought us and so marketing an album to get people to buy it ASAP is crucial in an age when it's just easier for a sizeable number of people to download albums illegaly

 

[luna_lovegood]

lol

Oh god. That's terrifying.

 

[PowerSurge]

"we must kill the BONO man!"

 

[JCOSTER]

Their Ultimate Interview, Their Greatest Album...

This is all very exciting, like the calm before the storm!

 

[solemole]

lol

You know when he did his Warren Buffett impression at that CA Women's Conference... he actually sounded more like Heath Ledger doing the Joker.

 

[Zooropa man]

lol

Maybe this will be the new alter ego... lol

 

[lazarus]

The lyrics from "Crazy Tonight" are very hard to read on the trash bin stuff Bono made and auctioned sometime ago.

On the first line I can read the line it's on the Q Magazine: "I'll go crazy if i don't go crazy tonight".

Well if no one else is going to bother to flip this in photoshop, I will.

 

[bonocomet]

It's already been flipped. The original pic is the darker lyrics to the Mandela song that were "trashed".

(Is that what you meant? Sorry if it wasn't! Can you make the "Crazy" lyrics any easier to read? I know we tried to read these lyrics awhile back and I think this is the already enhanced pic someone made.)

 

[lazarus]

Ahh, I understand. I've never seen this pic at all before.

I'm not sure if Photoshop is even going to help.

Maybe someone who works for the F.B.I. would be able to do something with it...

 

[bonocomet]

( they've probably already tried)

 

[Tacvbo]

The lyrics from "Crazy Tonight" are very hard to read on the trash bin stuff Bono made and auctioned sometime ago.

On the first line I can read the line it's on the Q Magazine: "I'll go crazy if i don't go crazy tonight".

yeah, I see it too.

 

[BVS]

Wow, nice find Victor...

Doesn't give us too much, but it's still an interesting artifact.

 

[major_panic]

I love the quote from Adam:

"... I'm of the opinion now that if people have time to be on computers 12 hours a day listening to bits of U2 songs recorded over telephones... fair dues to them. I wish I had that much time again."

Sums up this place nicely, really.

 

[ramblin rose]

^ That's really funny.

 

[bram]

The discussion a couple pages back is pretty fascinating. I think one of the major divisions in hardcore U2 fandom centers around what type of direction they should be seeking musically. I think that Edge (I think it was Edge) summed it up nicely when discussing Pop in the Q interview. They had stretched their limits in that decade to the breaking point--pushing their sound as far out as they could without having it cease to be U2 (arguably they pushed past this with Passengers). Perhaps they could continue trying to do that in other directions (minimalism, electronic, etc.), but it doesn't really seem to interest them anymore. And I think this really frustrates some fans.

The quotes in the interview make it clear that they are just interested in using everything at their disposal to create an amazing U2 record. After more than 4 years, I'm ready for some new U2 U2 songs (not a typo). The haunting epics, the massive anthems. I think this album is making them nervous because it seems to encapsulate their history so entirely--monumental songs AND creative turns. For U2 to truly change directions, they'd have to give up their big tunes. And personally, I don't really want that to happen after 4+ years of waiting. I want something that will make the hair on my arms stand up and will be truly inspirational (not to be confused with sentimental).

I think that judging this album on its individuality in the face of their entire oeuvre is a mistake. ATYCLB and HTDAAB didn't fail to live up to their past masterpieces because of rehashing, but for reasons of inconsistency and lack of flow/rhythm . The album will succeed or flop (in the minds of fans) based on how great it is, plain and simple. Or at least it should.

 

[mikal]

The discussion a couple pages back is pretty fascinating. I think one of the major divisions in hardcore U2 fandom centers around what type of direction they should be seeking musically. I think that Edge (I think it was Edge) summed it up nicely when discussing Pop in the Q interview. They had stretched their limits in that decade to the breaking point--pushing their sound as far out as they could without having it cease to be U2 (arguably they pushed past this with Passengers). Perhaps they could continue trying to do that in other directions (minimalism, electronic, etc.), but it doesn't really seem to interest them anymore. And I think this really frustrates some fans.

The quotes in the interview make it clear that they are just interested in using everything at their disposal to create an amazing U2 record. After more than 4 years, I'm ready for some new U2 U2 songs (not a typo). The haunting epics, the massive anthems. I think this album is making them nervous because it seems to encapsulate their history so entirely--monumental songs AND creative turns. For U2 to truly change directions, they'd have to give up their big tunes. And personally, I don't really want that to happen after 4+ years of waiting. I want something that will make the hair on my arms stand up and will be truly inspirational (not to be confused with sentimental).

I think that judging this album on its individuality in the face of their entire oeuvre is a mistake. ATYCLB and HTDAAB didn't fail to live up to their past masterpieces because of rehashing. The album will succeed or flop (in the minds of fans) based on how great it is, plain and simple. Or at least it should.

great post. and i find myself being guilty of hoping that the album will sound like Zooropa or Pop. but in reality, if it were to sound like those two albums, i don't think the album could be considered a masterpiece.

from what it sounds like, they're interested in hitting avenues they've never hit before. and i give them a big if they succeed.

 

[PowerSurge]

ditto.

this album seems more like a totally different creature as opposed to a rehash of previous albums. If its true then it might have to be judged on its own and as a result may actually get it's due. I felt that ATYCLB was great, but too much like stuff they did before and I judged it accordingly.

 

[bram]

My third to last sentence may have actually been misinterpreted so I edited above. I meant that any failure with the last couple albums actually wasn't due to rehashing, but due sustained quality and cohesiveness. I think the sound they were going for on a lot of the songs was actually great, but it didn't all come together when you take the albums as a whole. I'm not a basher or super-defender of those 2 albums (I became a superfan in 2000 after all), but I don't think that any of their problems were actually due to the musical direction U2 chose, but rather in their ability to fully realize or accomplish what they set out to do.

Thoughts?

 

[U2girl]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking too.

Imagine that....an album that would actually be BETTER than J-Tree or A-Baby. I'm pretty optimistic for this album...but I just can't believe that they were able to top those two classic records.

Also, consider the weight "greatest" carries with it. De-throning JT as the "ultimate" U2 album ? Working against your own impressive catalogue of War/UF/JT/AB and making your best work close to the age 5-0 ?

U2's best two albums came out of inspired Bono/Edge that came through watching and moreso experiencing America and new Europe/divorce in the band. They never really had a zeitgeist moment and be in the public spotlight like that since - except maybe after 9/11 with the tour.

 

[PowerSurge]

My third to last sentence may have actually been misinterpreted so I edited above. I meant that any failure with the last couple albums actually wasn't due to rehashing, but due sustained quality and cohesiveness. I think the sound they were going for on a lot of the songs was actually great, but it didn't all come together when you take the albums as a whole. I'm not a basher or super-defender of those 2 albums (I became a superfan in 2000 after all), but I don't think that any of their problems were actually due to the musical direction U2 chose, but rather in their ability to fully realize or accomplish what they set out to do.

Thoughts?

I think you and I have discussed "flow" and "album cohesiveness" before, no? If so then we are generally on the same page then. Yes, ATYCLB and HTDAAB didn't have the flow that previous albums did. I found myself skipping over songs on those two (HTDAAB more than ATYCLB) I agree that lack of cohesiveness hurt those two albums. I still put ATYCLB in their top 5 album lists...while HTDAAB falls way short for me.

 

[elevation]

Also, consider the weight "greatest" carries with it. De-throning JT as the "ultimate" U2 album ? Working against your own impressive catalogue of War/UF/JT/AB and making your best work close to the age 5-0 ?

U2's best two albums came out of inspired Bono/Edge that came through watching and moreso experiencing America and new Europe/divorce in the band. They never really had a zeitgeist moment and be in the public spotlight like that since - except maybe after 9/11 with the tour.

I can follow you here. In my darkest hour I actually wish someone in the band would go through some sort of crisis - or would experience something nerve-wrecking ... (Just a minor one of course and something that wouldn't kill anybody ) Let's be honest: A crisis means bloody good music ...

 

[PowerSurge]

Also, consider the weight "greatest" carries with it. De-throning JT as the "ultimate" U2 album ? Working against your own impressive catalogue of War/UF/JT/AB and making your best work close to the age 5-0 ?

Exactly.

I think Adam alludes to that in the Q article. He talks about "fighting against yourself...and not wanting to lose". So they understand the magnitude of what they are doing as well.

As one of my college art professors once said to me before regarding creating great art...."creating great art is tough....whats tougher is trying to do it again....and again...its like diving deep into the ocean. The deeper you go the more you feel the weight of the ocean above you. You are literally fighting the weight of the ocean. Art is the same thing...you are constantly fighting the weight of your own previous work. You will always be judged by that."

thats stayed with me since then.

 

[Swan269]

My third to last sentence may have actually been misinterpreted so I edited above. I meant that any failure with the last couple albums actually wasn't due to rehashing, but due sustained quality and cohesiveness. I think the sound they were going for on a lot of the songs was actually great, but it didn't all come together when you take the albums as a whole. I'm not a basher or super-defender of those 2 albums (I became a superfan in 2000 after all), but I don't think that any of their problems were actually due to the musical direction U2 chose, but rather in their ability to fully realize or accomplish what they set out to do.

Thoughts?

i am pretty sure in a rollingstone article bono stated that the thing he hates about HTDAAB is that the songs lack a cohesiveness (so he agrees with you)...it really irrated him. I am sure it was a challenge for them to take a step back (playing in a room with just the four of them) and not try to as obviously experimenal. i look forward to this new project...also of note, larry said in the interview that one or two of the pieces they did with rubin carried over.

 

[vaz02]

Exactly.

I think Adam alludes to that in the Q article. He talks about "fighting against yourself...and not wanting to lose". So they understand the magnitude of what they are doing as well.

As one of my college art professors once said to me before regarding creating great art...."creating great art is tough....whats tougher is trying to do it again....and again...its like diving deep into the ocean. The deeper you go the more you feel the weight of the ocean above you. You are literally fighting the weight of the ocean. Art is the same thing...you are constantly fighting the weight of your own previous work. You will always be judged by that."

thats stayed with me since then.

Who was your professor ? Oscar Wilde ?