SOI autopsy - what went wrong?

[thavidesco]

They wouldn't have survived for this long in the entertainment industry without developing a thick skin. SOI was a fuck-up, but I imagine making this tour one of their best will be all they are thinking of right now. It's all about compartmentalization. I think the chances they'll retire after this tour are pretty much zero. U2 (as a touring vehicle at least) is simply far too lucrative a venture for them to just chuck down the shitter, especially when they still have ten years or so of a shelf life left to go.

Dunno about this. Keep in miind they don´t think all the time about money, tour grosses, etc. If they find out hardly anyone care about their new songs they put all their blood and sweat into, I´m sure they will be terribly disappointed. Promoting their new stuff, this was always the main goal for their current tourt. I think they were quite disappointed by reaction on NLOTH songs on the last tour so they kept removing it from the set as the tour went on. This time it can be even more bitter for them, because they know they did something unique but time and circumstances are not on their side. That must be very frustrating, I´m not sure if their level of enthusiasm is high right now I don´t know. They´ve been very quiet in the press, so I guess time will tell soon.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Did you miss the entire 2009 leg of the 360 tour?

THAT was the promo tour for NLOTH. From 2010 onwards U2 themselves spoke that they were NOT promomoting NLOTH anymore and just catering their fans by playing to as many people as possible. So not ALL of 360 was a greatest hits tour. 2010-2011 was. 2009 was the NLOTH tour, so to say.



It's not necessarily what I think, it's what's now the public perception to U2 and what people associate with them. Sure, it's not very hard to turn off auto sync, sure it's not very hard to remove the album... but the fact is that people have to go through these motions because U2 forced their album on the devices. So people will blame U2. People suck, I fully agree with you on that one, but trying to understand their behaviour and reactions is part of an autopsy, in order to figure out what went wrong. I disagree with them completely, I think it's brilliant that U2 put their stuff on iTunes for free, but I understand what psychological reasoning the general public's behaviour stems from.

Thank you.

For fucks sake... the point is not whether or not the idea that U2 giving away it's album and pushing it to people's iTunes accounts should have been a big deal to people.

It shouldn't have been.

But it was.

It happened. It turned into a clusterfuck, fairly or not. It hurt the album immeasurably. I don't know how anyone can debate this.

 

[Salome]

It turned into a clusterfuck, fairly or not.

Has anyone outside of U2 fandom even spent half a second thinking about the SOI release in the last 6 months?
And how much of the negative feedback is from people who would never buy a U2 album or go to one of their shows anyway?

It hurt the album immeasurably.

In what way?

These are honest questions btw.
I know that the release method got more negative than positive feedback,
but I can't see how - in the grand scheme of things - it influences anything.

I can't imagine any U2 fan listening to SOI while contemplating the release.
I can't imagine anyone deciding to get rid of SOI from their library who would otherwise have been willing to try out new music from U2.
I can't imagine anyone not going to their concert because of the release method.

The worst thing I can say about it is that it has given ammunition to U2 haters.
But U2 (/Bono) has already spent decades doing things to feed the haters.
Why stop now.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Has anyone outside of U2 fandom even spent half a second thinking about the SOI release in the last 6 months?
And how much of the negative feedback is from people who would never buy a U2 album or go to one of their shows anyway?


In what way?

These are honest questions btw.
I know that the release method got more negative than positive feedback,
but I can't see how - in the grand scheme of things - it influences anything.

I can't imagine any U2 fan listening to SOI while contemplating the release.
I can't imagine anyone deciding to get rid of SOI from their library who would otherwise have been willing to try out new music from U2.
I can't imagine anyone not going to their concert because of the release method.

The worst thing I can say about it is that it has given ammunition to U2 haters.
But U2 (/Bono) has already spent decades doing things to feed the haters.
Why stop now.

I think your first point answered the question

Most agree that this is a pretty good album. Their best in a while.

Yet nobody outside of their fandom has given two shits about it since its release.

Any chance it had of catching on with those outside the core fan base was shot out of the water by the negative press surrounding the release. Any chance of it rebounding died when Bono's head smacked off the pavement in Central Park.

 

[thavidesco]

Terrible first single and late and atrocious video for the second one, acoustic performances didn´t help either. It seems everything that has happened after they finished the album since now, was a mistake after mistake.

 

[Salome]

Any chance it had of catching on with those outside the core fan base was shot out of the water by the negative press surrounding the release.

So you reckon that people who would potentially listen to the album now decided not to or even went as far as to delete it from their iTunes because of the release strategy?
I find this very hard to believe.

I believe people who don't like U2 latched on.
I believe people simply didn't respond to the music on offer.
I don't believe this album would be regarded much differently if it had been released any other way.

People don't care.
They don't care how it was released.
And apparently they don't really care about the music on offer.
Or, at least, they don't care enough to get U2's new music played on radio and whatnot.

 

[ozeeko]

U2 are old. People no care. Case Closed.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Terrible first single and late and atrocious video for the second one, acoustic performances didn´t help either. It seems everything that has happened after they finished the album since now, was a mistake after mistake.

Even though the acoustic ebw probably got the best reaction from casual people? See there performance at the mtv awards in Glasgow


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[thavidesco]

It was nice, but in this territory there are better artists/performers from Beyonce, Adele to Lana Del Rey. U2 are unique for something else. Unfortunately they tried to avoid it during their acoustic performances.

 

[popacrobat]

I'm still convinced the week on Fallon would've helped revive the album and probably get Every Breaking Wave some steam in the US. I'm not saying the song would've gone to No. 1, but people really like Fallon, would've watched, and U2 could've won some of the people over that were either on the fence or that they had lost. The acoustic Ordinary Love got a very strong positive reaction, even from people my age who don't even know U2 that well (I'm 27).

It's neither here nor there though. Just looking forward to the tour, though I wish I knew what the stage looked like.

 

[brooklynmike]

Shoving down people's throats is a bit dramatic, don't you think? You even seem to reference the insanity of modern tech users re: auto synch or whatever.

I can hardly blame U2 for the requirement that an app be developed to remove the album. That sounds like an Apple snafu. Amazing that the tech company that can manipulate your libraries and devices from San Cupertino managed to get through this w hardly a wart, and U2 took it on the chin. But people LOVE their iPhones, so it's U2's fault that the album was hard to remove, and U2 musta made Apple do that, and it's all u2s fault that my precious library of stolen music now has a free album. I've been VIOLATED! Boo hoo the terror!

Meanwhile Apple continues to settle lawsuits whereby they're accused of deleting files off people's devices to force them to buy from their store, an antitrust lawsuit related to their store and the iPod requirements that limit its ability to play non Apple Store files...and a number of other things. It's not hard to find this stuff.

Amazing to me that U2 are the bad guys for shoving that fucking album down everybody's fucking throat and violating their privacy, not Apple who has a track record of dust-ups and questionable behavior in this realm. That the issue was about how bad U2 was for the decision, and not about how sorta creepy it is that Apple (and other corporations/agencies, etc...) can so easily facilitate stuff like this demonstrates how narrow minded and blissfully self-absorbed the blogosphere is.

Ergo - people suck.

As for me- i give the music on SOI a solid B, and I listen to George Carlin to deal with my feelings of frustration at the drama and stupidity that surrounds us.
Incidentally - I'm sending this from my iPad!!!

? ? I am outraged at the outrage

 

[KUEFC09U2]

I'm still convinced the week on Fallon would've helped revive the album and probably get Every Breaking Wave some steam in the US. I'm not saying the song would've gone to No. 1, but people really like Fallon, would've watched, and U2 could've won some of the people over that were either on the fence or that they had lost. The acoustic Ordinary Love got a very strong positive reaction, even from people my age who don't even know U2 that well (I'm 27).

It's neither here nor there though. Just looking forward to the tour, though I wish I knew what the stage looked like.

Similar to the acoustic song for someone on graham norton, received a lot of positive reaction


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[ozeeko]

Prediction: Both EBW and SFS will not live on as classics. What will live on from SOI? The Apple debacle.

 

[ozeeko]

SOI is the Richard Nixon of U2 albums.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

So you reckon that people who would potentially listen to the album now decided not to or even went as far as to delete it from their iTunes because of the release strategy?
I find this very hard to believe.

I believe people who don't like U2 latched on.
I believe people simply didn't respond to the music on offer.
I don't believe this album would be regarded much differently if it had been released any other way.

People don't care.
They don't care how it was released.
And apparently they don't really care about the music on offer.
Or, at least, they don't care enough to get U2's new music played on radio and whatnot.

U2 albums are hits or not based on the general public's perception of the album. They have a big enough fan base that they'll always do well, and there's a large amount of people who won't listen to anything they do no matter what. Then there's the general public, who despite what most on interference think, kinda like when U2 is doing their thing.

So yes, I believe many people who could be swayed one way or another had a negative impression of the album before they even gave it a listen.

There are also millions of people who don't own an iPhone and do not actively use iTunes, as there are more Android users than iOS users. How many never bothered to give it a shot because of the negative press?

Was the release the only thing hurting the album's reception? Of course not.

U2 are old, and the album doesn't necessarily have that classic U2 hook to it and takes some time to digest. Their publicity tour was a little strange to start, and right when it was about to get going Bono breaks his face.

All of these things have hurt the album and ticket sales. But so did the release. I just don't know how anyone can deny that.

 

[Galeongirl]

Has anyone outside of U2 fandom even spent half a second thinking about the SOI release in the last 6 months?
And how much of the negative feedback is from people who would never buy a U2 album or go to one of their shows anyway?


In what way?

These are honest questions btw.
I know that the release method got more negative than positive feedback,
but I can't see how - in the grand scheme of things - it influences anything.

I can't imagine any U2 fan listening to SOI while contemplating the release.
I can't imagine anyone deciding to get rid of SOI from their library who would otherwise have been willing to try out new music from U2.
I can't imagine anyone not going to their concert because of the release method.

The worst thing I can say about it is that it has given ammunition to U2 haters.
But U2 (/Bono) has already spent decades doing things to feed the haters.
Why stop now.

I know a bunch of casual friends, whom were all unimpressed with the new record.

And I know a lot of apple users, most of whom were particularly unhappy that "this shit old band pushed their shit music on their devices". And noted that they understand why it was given away for free...


And the influence of the release method is what I've tried to explain before. Basic psychology. Eat your bloody peas or no dessert. The casual people didn't want no peas, they never asked for any, so they'll hate the peas by default because they did not actively want them in the first place. Unless it was a superb amazing album, this release method wouldn't work in a million years. I honestly doubt it would've worked for many other artists at all.

It hasn't just given ammunition to the haters. It has given ammunition to a lot of people who used to be indifferent, but now have a reason to become a hater.

 

[mad1]

I have not got the album yet (please don't kill me)

BUT

I wish to express
when it was released


its FUCKING AWFUL when you DONT hear U2 played on the Radio anymore, when they were I only heard them like three times, that's it!
When 'Every Breaking Wave' was played on my local station it sounded soooooo beautiful and nearly oldskool U2. But they played it like once or twice, well, obv not as often as the past.

I think U2 made both a smart and stupid move with the ITunes thing.............

And Im sorry if I posted this, in the wrong thread.


I still love them but, , just wish they had their balls clamped hard back in the Singles Charts better thou

 

[corianderstem]

This tour will be every bit as ass kicking as every other tour. They are going to blow our fucking faces off.

But ... what if I want to keep my fucking face? I need it for eating pie, because that's where my pie-hole is.

Should I sell my tickets?

 

[brooklynmike]

But ... what if I want to keep my fucking face? I need it for eating pie, because that's where my pie-hole is.

Should I sell my tickets?

You could always request an all- acoustic show.

If that fails, and you still want to see the show, you may want to evaluate alternative holes for shoving pie ?

 

[corianderstem]

There's probably a good market out there for a newfangled diet that consists of pie enemas.

 

[Irvine511]

It would have been nice if the tickets showed up for free in my iTunes.

 

[mama cass]

It would have been nice if the tickets showed up for free in my iTunes.

 

[mama cass]

I know a bunch of casual friends, whom were all unimpressed with the new record.

And I know a lot of apple users, most of whom were particularly unhappy that "this shit old band pushed their shit music on their devices". And noted that they understand why it was given away for free...


And the influence of the release method is what I've tried to explain before. Basic psychology. Eat your bloody peas or no dessert. The casual people didn't want no peas, they never asked for any, so they'll hate the peas by default because they did not actively want them in the first place. Unless it was a superb amazing album, this release method wouldn't work in a million years. I honestly doubt it would've worked for many other artists at all.

It hasn't just given ammunition to the haters. It has given ammunition to a lot of people who used to be indifferent, but now have a reason to become a hater.

i for one never really had a problem with the release method, and love the songs, and basically think the whining is pretty silly... not to mention the fact that i actively had to go looking hard for the album because of my privacy settings, so have trouble sympathising with all the fuss...

however, just been listening tonight to Blur's new song, new long-awaited album due out in a couple of days, and found myself thinking how nice a normal, quiet no-fuss album release is, no bells and whistles, no ground-breaking preposterous release method, no horrendous backlash because of said release method... just lovely songs... guess the U2 lads never do things by halves though - so i reckon they should just pull the same iphone thing with the next one too and really get everyone going

 

[MrPryck2U]

Prediction: Both EBW and SFS will not live on as classics. What will live on from SOI? The Apple debacle.

I take it you're a glass half empty person.


I think EBW can be a classic, but not so much SFS. Who knows. though? Their live rendition could energize it. If the shows are good enough, no one will give a rat's fucking ass about the "debacle" by next year. People don't remember shit anymore. The Apple situation is just KY for the haters to spank their collective monkeys.

Dudeman, your post about the Dunkin Donuts gift card was fuckin' brilliant!

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

The album simply didn't have a big enough song to justify it's release. If they released a lead single that absolutely killed it prior to the album, I think the iTunes release wouldn't have had as much of a backlash. In the end, I believe they truly knew they didn't have a big song leading up to their deadlines, so they brought it to Apple.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[ozeeko]

I take it you're a glass half empty person.


I think EBW can be a classic, but not so much SFS. Who knows. though? Their live rendition could energize it. If the shows are good enough, no one will give a rat's fucking ass about the "debacle" by next year. People don't remember shit anymore. The Apple situation is just KY for the haters to spank their collective monkeys.

Dudeman, your post about the Dunkin Donuts gift card was fuckin' brilliant!

I think they'll probably continue to play EBW, for at least the next tour or two, but I really don't see it achieving classic status (at least that's what my crystal ball's telling me ). Maybe it'l live on as a concert favorite. Doubtful, but I predict that's the best it's gonna get for EBW. There's so many goddamn U2 classics, EBW can't help but seem like one of the bathroom breakers.

Yes, people have ADD, but they also document everything. They are blogs, video blogs, etc. I think the general public will remember the shitstorm release of SOI over anything musical about the album itself. Every comprehensive article written about U2 in the future will make some mention of Applegate when discussing SOI. (unless I am wrong)

 

[MrPryck2U]

You're probably right. I suppose I have little faith in humanity. Except, of course, for most of the fine folks here at the Blue Crack.

I guess it's a good thing that there are a lot of U2 classics. I'm looking forward to Reach Around the most. That's my favorite track on SOI.

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

You're probably right. I suppose I have little faith in humanity. Except, of course, for most of the fine folks here at the Blue Crack.

I guess it's a good thing that there are a lot of U2 classics. I'm looking forward to Reach Around the most. That's my favorite track on SOI.

I bet they open the tour with reach around


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[gvox]

And lastly- when I came into work today, some motherfucker left a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card for me on my desk. What the fuck?! This is my office! MY office! MY OFFFFIIIICCCE!!! How dare they sneak in and without warning or asking my permission leave an unsolicited "gift" on my desk.
For me.

Sure, I left my door open, i suppose I could have closed the door. Maybe locked it. But that's not the point!

The point is - who would have expected that in this day and age something so egregious and terrible could happen. I. Feel. Violated.

It's not the fact that they're looking in or stepping into my office that bothers me, you see. It's the fact that they went an left this little plastic card WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.

Maybe I don't even like coffee. You ever think of that?!
Maybe where I come from the giving of gifts is restricted specifically to birthdays, certain special occasions that FTD reminds us about, and some secular and religious days of observance that are agreed upon, a priori, by the society at large. You maybe ever think about THAT!?
Maybe I don't even know what Dunkin Donuts is or whatever. You ever consider that?!

Well it's true. I never heard of them, but I heard they SUCK.

Maybe I think Dunkin Donuts is corporate bigwig sellout coffee and I like a little more thought and uniqueness put into the roasting of my beans. You ever think of that?!

But NO!!! Whoever this was went and made the assumption that because I have empty coffee cups scattered around my office, in plain view with the door wide open, that I would like a free Dunkin Donuts gift card and put it ON MY DESK in MY OFFICE without asking MY PERMISSION and OUTSIDE THE CONSTRUCT OF ANY AGREED UPON GIFT GIVING ARRANGEMENT OR DAY OF OBSERVANCE!!!

now I'm gonna have to figure out what the fuck to do with this orange and pink plastic monstrosity. Do you recycle these things? What to do...

You sir, deserve an award.

/slowclap

 

[thavidesco]

You're probably right. I suppose I have little faith in humanity. Except, of course, for most of the fine folks here at the Blue Crack.

I guess it's a good thing that there are a lot of U2 classics. I'm looking forward to Reach Around the most. That's my favorite track on SOI.