SOE 34: If there is a leak, don't let it go unheard

[TheEdge25]

Soe 26 - ? - Page 48 - U2 Feedback

This is not to beat my own drum, but to say that I knew to a certainty that the Little Things was a bonafide classic-in-waiting from the time I heard the Kimmel performance. I was driving on a highway with the song on full blast and the last part almost made me well up. It's a long time since a song (by U2 or any other band) made me feel that way. Every Breaking Wave came close and it is a great song. But the last song that did that for me was Kite, and I was a younger CMIS then.

I also love Little Things. It's become an instant-classic for me.

Taking a few listens, though, to get used to the album version. I've been so used to the Kimmel/live performances. I kind of miss the piano...

That being said, I absolutely adore the ending on the album version! The build up of Edge's guitar? Incredible.

 

[Daniel94]

hahaha. What can I say, I'm into that kind of stuff.

 

[CMIS]

I purposefully stopped listening to the song a month ago. Thats how much I love it. And boy was I just rewarded

 

[purpleoscar]

Bravo!

Yeah, a new U2 album in decent quality is bigger than anything in its way.

 

[superchuk5]

Listening to the better version now.

Another thing to appreciate: opening with a quiet Passengers-esque song is quite ballsy. Literally every other U2 album opens with a big song. Shaking up the formula for #14 album is great.

 

[TheEdge25]

I purposefully stopped listening to the song a month ago. Thats how much I love it. And boy was I just rewarded

Wish I had done that.

But, boy, Landlady, Love Is Bigger, Lights of Home...there are some exceptional surprises on here!

 

[Yahweh]

Well, there are people who swear they can hear the material of the speaker cable ...

Yeah the people that think they were born with a dogs hearing.

Considering your hearing degrades through life no matter how well you take care of yourself I think its all in the mind.

I consider myself to have decent hearing and the 192kbps rip sounds fine to me.

 

[Nick66]

Yeah the people that think they were born with a dogs hearing.

Considering your hearing degrades through life no matter how well you take care of yourself I think its all in the mind.

I consider myself to have decent hearing and the 192kbps rip sounds fine to me.

There are a number of blind tests regarding this issue out there, and the upshot is that most people, including so-called audiophiles who think they have golden ears, can't tell the difference between a high quality MP3 or M4A file and the original. 192kbps and up seems to be the sweet spot. Though obviously the higher the bit rate the better (I personally wish this was a 256kbps file, which is what I rip my music at. though I admit this is probably a placebo).

And this goes for most people reading this. I don't care how many times you've done your own A/B comparison, or how you swear you can tell the diff between an iTunes rip and the CD. Unless you're able to do it consistently in a truly blind test, you can't.

That said, for people with exceptional hearing, and equipment, or those who know what to listen for in compressed music, there can be a difference.

 

[GoodMachine9]

This is the most "single"-rich album U2 has ever done IMO. I love the pop songs so much I'm a little worried they won't endure. Except for the opener and closer, there's no real challenging song here, a song that defies conventional structure, a song that matures as it ages. One was like that. The Fly. Please. Bad.

The songs on SOI are all extremely well-crafted pop songs. It's relentless. Song 2 to song 12 is a non stop barrage of sugarpop drops. And there's not a near-miss among them.

I'm loving it now, but I wonder what happens when the sugar high wears off.

I don't think what made songs like "One" memorable was an unconventional song structure. I think most of the songs you highlighted are fairly traditional in structure. There are definitely songs on SOE with complication that require reflection, they are just tidier than what we are used to when we are alluding to their classics, a plateau they have been building towards since the beginning. For starters, "Little Things" fits the bill to a T. It's only a matter of time before the cream rises to the top.

 

[Yahweh]

There are a number of blind tests regarding this issue out there, and the upshot is that most people, including so-called audiophiles who think they have golden ears, can't tell the difference between a high quality MP3 or M4A file and the original. 192kbps and up seems to be the sweet spot. Thoug obviously the higher the bit rate the better.

And this goes for most people reading this. I don't care how many times you've done your own A/B comparison, or how you swear you can tell the diff between an iTunes rip and the CD. Unless you're able to do it in a truly blind test, you can't.

That said, for people with exceptional hearing, and equipment, or those who know what to look for in compressed music, there can be a difference.

Absolutely agree with all of this

 

[CMIS]

I still haven't heard the extra tracks. Trying to stretch this wondrous feeling out as much as possible

 

[dabiggestu2fan]

I’m all u2ed out. I think I will get a break from listening. Maybe one more time tonight! Now I have to figure out how to get the songs to transfer to my iPhone so I can listen to them on my car. My ride through heavy traffic to work tomorrow will be much better if I can get these on my phone!

 

[dabiggestu2fan]

I still haven't heard the extra tracks. Trying to stretch this wondrous fesling out as much as possible

I hope you like them! I’m in total love with two of those!!

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

Where is this CD quality one?

 

[CMIS]

https://wetransfer.com/downloads/79ed931527e9a6c40dd7239b0c19b0b920171126130928/caeca0

 

[Yahweh]

Where is this CD quality one?

Up quite a few pages if it still works.

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

So nothing we can hear on a phone?

 

[Psychobabble]

Little Things sounds great on this rip. I still think they should have kept the piano!

Agree.

 

[CMIS]

Okay, I'm gonna hazard a guess on the live staples on the EI tour from this album.

Lights of home
American Soul
Summer of Love
Red Flag Day
Showman
Blackout
Love is Bigger than anything in its way
13


EDIT: The Best Thing (because it was the first single)

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

So nothing we can hear on a phone?

Why wouldn't you be able to hear it on a phone?

 

[popacrobat]

So nothing we can hear on a phone?

?

 

[Psychobabble]

Fuck I almost feel sad listening to the CD rip

Sad?? I'm soooo happy today.

 

[Yahweh]

U2 gave us a good early Christmas gift

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

Why wouldn't you be able to hear it on a phone?

It just says zip file 99mb. No tracks or anything

 

[camiloj]

Whatever you may think of the songs, Bono sounds great, right?

Absolutely!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

It just says zip file 99mb. No tracks or anything

...so unzip the file

 

[Shawn Bonneau]

...so unzip the file

How do you do that on an iPhone?

 

[camiloj]

Heard the stream 3 times last night. Not gonna listen to it again for a few days. Revisit and see what I think.

For now, i am pretty blown away. I definitely see why pretty much every single person who listened to the album early was saying it was their best in 15, 20 or more years.

Me too!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

How do you do that on an iPhone?

http://bfy.tw/FEv8

 

[CMIS]

Because its so good and the newness of a fine album is gonna wane with each listen.

Quite the quandary, but a happy one, Juan