Shuttlecock XVIII - SAVE US, REFU-JESUS

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The Illegitimate (Child [of the Penguin and (Mr [Monsieur (Herr)] Freeze)])
 
corianderstem said:
That's a very un-fat picture to go along with "LOL BONO IS FAT" jokes. Do better.
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lazarus said:
More like MacPhatso amirite??
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tg31cJR.jpg
 
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I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum since I'm seeing how many recent posts there have been, but, uh, Get Out of Your Own Way cribs an awful lot from Beautiful Day, does it not?
 
PhilsFan said:
I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum since I'm seeing how many recent posts there have been, but, uh, Get Out of Your Own Way cribs an awful lot from Beautiful Day, does it not?
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I keep on bringing it back to Always, which of course is still proto-Beautiful Day.
 
I finally listened to it today - the MTV performance at least. I guess I just can't get over how toothless it is. It's the kind of song that is so nondescript that it's almost impossible to have a feeling about it one way or the other.
 
It just goes back to the fact that Bono really does not have much to say anymore. All the songs are him trying to remember how things felt 30-40 years ago or him just giving parenting advice in a super positive manner.
 
iron yuppie said:
I finally listened to it today - the MTV performance at least. I guess I just can't get over how toothless it is. It's the kind of song that is so nondescript that it's almost impossible to have a feeling about it one way or the other.
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My feeling is pretty antagonistic because it's so toothless. If this is supposed to be a return to form, where's the fucking energy?

The comment from someone yesterday about Edge's guitar playing was so spot-on, he's literally just doing this little picking during the verses that's putting out barely anything, and then on the chorus it's this anonymous, rote doodle. Where's the texture, some wash of color, anything?

The Best Thing, lame as it is, is at least meant to be a direct love/pop song. I'm not really a fan but it at least seems to come close to what it's aiming for. And I'll admit it's been a successful earworm even on many of its detractors. Get Out comes off like some attempt at a grand statement that barely lands a punch save for the more aggressive "all right, all right" post-chorus(?) or whatever you'd call that part.

I've never been a huge Beautiful Day fan but I enjoy it to an extent and can understand how it connected so widely and strongly. Maybe U2 fans here are so starved or a comeback they're more willing to embrace a pale emulator but I'm dumbfounded at the high praise.
 
My opinion of The Best Thing is that I resent it being another song I'd be embarrassed to show my friends to try to prove U2 is good, but that it's also kind of a guilty pleasure on its own because it is genuinely catchy. I do catch myself singing that chorus from time to time.

Totally agree on this. Beautiful Day is what it was supposed to be. This song is trying to be big and falling completely on its face. This is not the worst U2 song, but it's one of the worst executed, if that makes sense.
 
PhilsFan said:
This song is trying to be big and falling completely on its face. This is not the worst U2 song, but it's one of the worst executed, if that makes sense.
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I just heard it for the first time today (the live UK MTV gig). Unfortunately I've got to agree. It's not offensive in and of itself, but it's just. so. bland. And sonically a complete retread of Beautiful Day/Always.

Yawn.
 
Just watched the Unforgettable Fire doco and the War doco. On both of them there's a lot of talk about what sets U2 apart from the crowd. Not their ability or songwriting etc. It was their workarounds of their inabilties. Their inventiveness.
Their is a section on the War doco that goes on about Edge's phrasing, the rhythm section's unique approach. And the journalist says repeatedly it's that insistance on not just writing songs as chord progressions and playing them conventionally that sets U2 apart.

I guess the issue with a lot of the new stuff is that it is so conventional. Like someone said here a few days back, maybe now they're just reveling in the fact they can write and play conventionally now.

But if the whole point of your success is your approach to structure and phrasing in songwriting, why throw that out?
 
lazarus said:
The comment from someone yesterday about Edge's guitar playing was so spot-on, he's literally just doing this little picking during the verses that's putting out barely anything, and then on the chorus it's this anonymous, rote doodle. Where's the texture, some wash of color, anything?
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I noticed this as well, as though he needs to make as much space as possible for whatever the hell it is Bono is talking about in the verses.
 
Diemen said:
I just heard it for the first time today (the live UK MTV gig). Unfortunately I've got to agree. It's not offensive in and of itself, but it's just. so. bland. And sonically a complete retread of Beautiful Day/Always.

Yawn.
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Did Boots give you a feeling of trying to be Vertigo 2.0? That's how I felt about it. Not as obvious as this with Beautiful Day, but I think attempting to emulate prior success has been evident with them over the last three albums. I mean, look at Every Breaking Wave. It gave me a real With or Without You vibe.
 
PhilsFan said:
My opinion of The Best Thing is that I resent it being another song I'd be embarrassed to show my friends to try to prove U2 is good, but that it's also kind of a guilty pleasure on its own because it is genuinely catchy. I do catch myself singing that chorus from time to time.

Totally agree on this. Beautiful Day is what it was supposed to be. This song is trying to be big and falling completely on its face. This is not the worst U2 song, but it's one of the worst executed, if that makes sense.
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Co-signed. Had they released The Blackout, I would have been more outspoken about it amongst friends. I understand many people here don't like it and think the band is hopping on some current sonic bandwagon, but I think it sounds fresh and has a great rhythm section. It was embarrassing to see them release some cheeseball track as the official single instead.

I've listened to the studio version of Get Out once, and the live version from last night, and won't again until the album is out, but I still maintain this is one of the lamest album tracks the band has recorded, barely hovering above Cock Crazy and SUCk.
 
When I try to think of Get Out now, I just hear the I'll Go Crazy guitars with different words. Not a good sign in terms of originality.
 
kiwilad said:
You don't say that?
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Most people I know abbreviate documentary (which you'll note only has one "o") as doc.

Most people who aren't bogans, at least.

LuckyNumber7 said:
Did Boots give you a feeling of trying to be Vertigo 2.0? That's how I felt about it. Not as obvious as this with Beautiful Day, but I think attempting to emulate prior success has been evident with them over the last three albums. I mean, look at Every Breaking Wave. It gave me a real With or Without You vibe.
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I never saw much of a similarity between Boots and Vertigo, the former being more of a modern Beatles take, esp with the Middle Eastern/psychedelic influence in parts, whereas Vertigo is more straight-forward rock with little window dressing.
 
lazarus said:
Most people I know abbreviate documentary (which you'll note only has one "o") as doc.

Most people who aren't bogans, at least.
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Huh. We say doco. And we're all terribly cultured, what?

Blackout has Ned and Fred. My wife was raving about it but after the second listen her face had kinda puckered, like she'd smelled something most foul.
I ask her what. 'Is he saying Ned and Fred?'
In terms of having U2 embarrass me in front of friends, I find that shit worse than Get Out.
 
Get Out sounds like it was written to please shareholders. Excruciatingly boring and conservative, exemplified by Edge's solo, which actively goes out of its way not to offend anyone.

The only things that raise an eyebrow are the lyrics of the second verse, and that's not in a positive regard.
 
I just watched the Invisible video for the first time in a long while. I remember not being too excited by it when it was released, but my God, what a breath of fresh air it is compared to The Best Thing and Get Out. I think that song, with some decent promo, could have been a good lead single.

The chorus is really good and the guitar that kicks in after the second chorus is classic U2. Too bad the song fizzles out after that with the lame There is no them chant.
 
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