SOE 19: Back To The Studio Part II

[womanfish]

Tim Cook saying it's good should have made U2 delay the album just to that song could be deleted from the album

the release would have been lame even if the owning the album had been optional. it's laaaame beyond believe to announce an album at an business keynote address. It's as lame as can be. fuck, giving it away was the only thing that made that embarrassing spectacle worthwhile, but I can totally understand why it's the most hated move by a band ever.

I don't think it would have been lame if U2 had NOT been there in person. That to me was the problem. Performing a song to a crowd of non fans just made it worse.
If they had done an optional download, and chosen a different first single, that was played at the keynote to some stunning video sequences, it would have not been lame at all.
Bashing U2 for corporate ties at this point is ridiculous. Actually bashing any musician for corporate ties in the current music landscape is silly. The whole sell out thing is old news. Artists of every stripe work with corps now, and it isn't looked at unfavorably like it used to be.
Mostly because the whole distribution game has changed. Now, music is everywhere people can grab it. Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, torrents, streaming services, the list goes on. And U2 was just trying to push the boundaries of it.

Making it optional would have totally sidestepped every single argument/criticism/flaming twitter rant that sprang from the auto download.
They STILL would have had the most downloaded album in history. And THAT would have been the headline. Not U2 pushes new album on iTunes users whether they want it or not!!

 

[trevgreg]

I can remember the pre-SOI days where the same old announcement-press-release formula for releasing an album was looked at as "lame".

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The delivery fiasco is all on Apple. They either hadn't considered that people with "automatically download all new purchases" would have the album download to their devices (doubtful), or they underestimated the potential backlash of giving people an album they really didn't ask or care for (more likely, those smug bastards).

The reactions were overblown at the time but it completely overshadowed the release and it really is a shame. The album isn't nearly as bad as the punchline it has.

nah - no chance U2's team didn't know ahead of time that it was going to be pushed out instead of simply being available for a free download.

it was also the second "free" download that apple and U2 did that year - Invisible was free for 3 days, but you had to go to iTunes and download it. this was specifically pushed, and there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that this wasn't known in advance.

who's idea it was to push it vs have it available for download? that's anyone's guess - but don't think for a second that U2 and their management team didn't know exactly what was going to happen.

as for the reactions being overblown and the album deserving better than what it got from the release method? obviously it became a running punch line, but i'd be pissed if a justin bieber album all of a sudden popped up in my shuffle without asking - somebody should have anticipated that spamming everyone's account would raise some eyebrows. it's kinda what they're paid to do.

as for the album not deserving to be a punch line? now we're in agreement. the songs were strong enough to stand on their own. it didn't need this, and the album will forever be known as the spam u2 album - which sucks.

 

[PRB216]

nah - no chance U2's team didn't know ahead of time that it was going to be pushed out instead of simply being available for a free download.

it was also the second "free" download that apple and U2 did that year - Invisible was free for 3 days, but you had to go to iTunes and download it. this was specifically pushed, and there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that this wasn't known in advance.

who's idea it was to push it vs have it available for download? that's anyone's guess - but don't think for a second that U2 and their management team didn't know exactly what was going to happen.

End of the day, there's blame to share but I don't think the band knew more than every iTunes user would get the album for free and I don't think Apple properly prepared for the backlash of people who didn't want it (those with auto-download enabled or by those who suddenly had it show in their library when the music app was updated to show non-downloaded iCloud purchases the week after the keynote). They could've avoided a whole bunch of backlash just by asking people to click download via the iTunes store homepage and I think that consideration fell on Apple.

somebody should have anticipated that spamming everyone's account would raise some eyebrows. it's kinda what they're paid to do.

Again I think that duty fell on Apple's team, not U2. The band (*cough* Bono *cough*) have always wanted as much exposure as possible but Apple should've been more delicate with their customers. I totally understand why it felt like an invasion and I would've been annoyed if I had to use a special website to disable a purchase I didn't ask for.

as for the album not deserving to be a punch line? now we're in agreement. the songs were strong enough to stand on their own. it didn't need this, and the album will forever be known as the spam u2 album - which sucks.

right on it really was a punch in the gut being so excited about this album's sudden release only to then have family, friends, and the general public complaining about it and the band. An album this solid doesn't deserve that "spam" connotation.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

End of the day, there's blame to share but I don't think the band knew more than every iTunes user would get the album for free and I don't think Apple properly prepared for the backlash of people who didn't want it (those with auto-download enabled or by those who suddenly had it show in their library when the music app was updated to show non-downloaded iCloud purchases the week after the keynote). They could've avoided a whole bunch of backlash just by asking people to click download via the iTunes store homepage and I think that consideration fell on Apple.



Again I think that duty fell on Apple's team, not U2. The band (*cough* Bono *cough*) have always wanted as much exposure as possible but Apple should've been more delicate with their customers. I totally understand why it felt like an invasion and I would've been annoyed if I had to use a special website to disable a purchase I didn't ask for.



right on it really was a punch in the gut being so excited about this album's sudden release only to then have family, friends, and the general public complaining about it and the band. An album this solid doesn't deserve that "spam" connotation.

ultimately it doesn't matter - but the U2 / Live Nation crew are too good / too business savvy to not know exactly what was going to happen as far as the download goes. They might not have anticipated the backlash being as big as it was, but I don't buy at all that they weren't aware of the "pushing" of the album.

 

[Super Yo]

https://twitter.com/u2uruguay/status/852666955983179776

"XXX"

 

[superchuk5]

https://twitter.com/u2uruguay/status/852666955983179776

"XXX"

I gave up Twitter for Lent. You, sir/m'am, are tempting me mightily.

 

[TheGeekyU2Fan]

U2 should be finished with SOE at this point...

 

[lazarus]

It's down already.

 

[Catman]

I still can't believe they left off Crystal Ballroom--THERE'S your hit!

And while I've come to appreciate The Miracle a bit more over the years, the tune itself doesn't do much to elicit curiosity from the average listener. I mean, of all the songs on the record to introduce U2 to a new audience, THAT is what they settled on??

I'm thinking back to a quote by Bono concerning Zooropa (in U2 by U2, I think it was) where he expresses his criticism of the record--something to the effect of, "Where would Sgt Pepper's be without the hits?“ I know this post is kinda all over the place, but I've just a bit of trouble reconciling that sentiment about Zooropa with relegating one of the band's most modern, catchy, interesting tunes in YEARS... to the status of b-side. I suppose one could make the argument that it doesn't fit thematically with the record, but the subject matter seems like a natural progression following Iris (maybe not *directly* afterwards if you want to maintain some level of tonal cohesion).

 

[georgemccauley]

It really was. The "idea" was actually pretty great. Delivery straight to your phone for free. But the difference between having it load automatically vs a simple little pop up saying -



Apple is excited to bring you the new album from U2, Songs of Innocence for FREE. Hit "Accept" to begin the free download now, or press "Decline" and you will not see this message again.



That simple distinction was the difference between an extraordinary release of a great album, and a social media joke that launched a boatload of negative reviews that had nothing to do with the music.



God damn it.

Good point but think of the millions less that the album would have been exposed to if this was the option... all of a sudden it will look like another NLOH in terms of sales figures etc.

At least forcing it onto people phones gives the album a greater chance of having some positive playback numbers to boast from... and no matter how bad the reviews got sonically, they could always boast that x million amount of people listened to or checked out a few of the tracks....

Very clever

 

[georgemccauley]

because the first single has to rawwwwwk!

seriously though - what a stupid launch that was.

Speaking of first singles, I believe that the first single from SOE has to be a bomb, I think it's a little too far fetched to expect another Beautiful Day, but I want another anthem similar in this direction from U2, I don't care if it doesn't get the exposure it should, the last two albums have had some really poor choices for the lead singles....

They really need to deliver here with their choices, it's about time they created another mind blowing rock anthem that gets them back in the mix again...

 

[POPMatt]

Kendrick's album leaked earlier today, and the overall Twitter response to the U2 song seems pretty positive...

https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=kendrick u2&src=typd

 

[dan_smee]

They really have been hitting people from all sides lately -

- iHeart for the kids
- Kendrick Lamar for the trendy serious modern music fan
- TJT30 for their lost base

If SOE is even close to as good (but more adventurous) than SOI, then they have given themselves every chance. They simply HAVE to drop this album in the next 6 months.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[lazarus]

Good point but think of the millions less that the album would have been exposed to if this was the option... all of a sudden it will look like another NLOH in terms of sales figures etc.

At least forcing it onto people phones gives the album a greater chance of having some positive playback numbers to boast from... and no matter how bad the reviews got sonically, they could always boast that x million amount of people listened to or checked out a few of the tracks....

Very clever

Sorry, I'm not sure the exposure was worth the backlash or bragging rights. If you asked them whether or not they would do it over again the same exact way, I doubt they would say yes.

 

[RoKKeR]

Edit: Nvm

 

[gareth brown]

They really have been hitting people from all sides lately -

- iHeart for the kids
- Kendrick Lamar for the trendy serious modern music fan
- TJT30 for their lost base

If SOE is even close to as good (but more adventurous) than SOI, then they have given themselves every chance. They simply HAVE to drop this album in the next 6 months.

Yeah you're absolutely right. Obviously they'll genuinely enjoy working with Kendrick but it's definitely a way of improving their image a bit too. Trojan horse their way back into people's good books first. as well as winning back some people with the JT tour like you said.

SOE in the next 6 months is surely a lock at this point.

 

[PRB216]

Agreed. They'd be stupid not to capitalize on all of this new buzz (which is why the cynic in me is sure it won't be out anytime soon...).

 

[lazarus]

Well the problem is that people's attention spans are very short. If SOE isn't coming out until October, I doubt people will still be talking about this track enough to convert a bunch of newbies and skeptics into checking it out.

Unless they perform it live together at some point on TV in the interim.

 

[Dodger]

Ok, so after listening to XXX I really enjoyed the groove of Adam and Larry. I sure hope they have a sound like this on SOE!

 

[georgemccauley]

Sorry, I'm not sure the exposure was worth the backlash or bragging rights. If you asked them whether or not they would do it over again the same exact way, I doubt they would say yes.

Maybe not but there are stubborn as we know. And with Experience being the sister album to Innocence it would make sense to do another apple release

 

[ascender_RS]

I have to say I was sitting there for the first few minutes thinking wtf am I missing, there's no sample and that clearly ain't any of U2. Then Bono's short vocal comes in and there's one hell of a groove - presumably its Larry, Adam and Edge on piano maybe?

They've played around the edges of this sort of thing before though - the album version of Moment of Surrender is a great example where there's a real groove to the track which I didn't think came out in the live version necessarily.

I have to say there's a lot of the track to sit through until you get to the bit of U2 which I think works well, but really not a fan of the rest of the track. Interesting to hear them trying new things though.

 

[womanfish]

Good point but think of the millions less that the album would have been exposed to if this was the option... all of a sudden it will look like another NLOH in terms of sales figures etc.

At least forcing it onto people phones gives the album a greater chance of having some positive playback numbers to boast from... and no matter how bad the reviews got sonically, they could always boast that x million amount of people listened to or checked out a few of the tracks....

Very clever

Gotta disagree. No way was the entire album becoming a punchline worth the exposure. If it were offered for free as an easy pop-up, just hit yes and it downloads, I think there would have been around a 40% download rate. And I think I'm being conservative on that number.

That means they could legitimately say that around 325 million people chose to download the album. Whether they ended up listening to it or not wouldn't really matter. Even if it were only 25%, that's still 200 million downloads which would dwarf any other album ever.
Imagine that being the headline the next day - "245 Million People Download U2's New Album in 24 hours"

That is the exposure you want.

 

[womanfish]

They really have been hitting people from all sides lately -

- iHeart for the kids
- Kendrick Lamar for the trendy serious modern music fan
- TJT30 for their lost base

If SOE is even close to as good (but more adventurous) than SOI, then they have given themselves every chance. They simply HAVE to drop this album in the next 6 months.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Don't forget the little spoken intro by Bono on that Chainsmokers song...

They are all over right now, without being "in your face". Which is really cool. I hope they can capitalize on this with SOE. Would love some goodness for the band album-wise. They haven't had that since Bomb won Album of the Year in 2005.

 

[zoopop]

Don't forget the little spoken intro by Bono on that Chainsmokers song...

They are all over right now, without being "in your face". Which is really cool. I hope they can capitalize on this with SOE. Would love some goodness for the band album-wise. They haven't had that since Bomb won Album of the Year in 2005.

'without being in your face'. Your absolutely right about that. I was a little scared the new Kendrick Lamar song would have Bono singing all over the place and preaching......but no it was kind of a late 90's vibe Bono (U2).....pretty much the perfect 'featuring' spot they could do.

I really think these summer shows are gonna be very very magical for everyone attending. It should put U2 back in the positive spotlight. (from the public's perspective)


Were just 28 days away from opening night!!

 

[Hewson]

Were just 28 days away from opening night!!

 

[JoRu]

Do you guys think the album will actually be called "Songs of Experience"? I know they referred to it as that just a few months ago, but I just feel like we're so far away from SOI and the original SOI/SOE-concept at this point. I feel it's more likely they've reworked the idea of the album to be so much a commentary on America and the current state of the world that they'll look at it when it's nearing completion and decide they're gonna change the name.

 

[Numb1075]

If they had time to work on a new tune with Kendrick Lamar, dare i say, U2's new album is completed?

Probably delayed their album another 6 months

 

[trevgreg]

Not yet anyway. It's still been less than three years since SOI came out, and they've still referred to SOE in interviews by name, so I wouldn't doubt it unless they did indeed get second thoughts after the re-recording or whatever.

 

[womanfish]

Do you guys think the album will actually be called "Songs of Experience"? I know they referred to it as that just a few months ago, but I just feel like we're so far away from SOI and the original SOI/SOE-concept at this point. I feel it's more likely they've reworked the idea of the album to be so much a commentary on America and the current state of the world that they'll look at it when it's nearing completion and decide they're gonna change the name.

It will still be SOE. I think the "experience" part actually fits well with the current political climate and actually celebrating the Joshua Tree, etc...