Songs of Experience - Let The Chart Speculation Begin

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trevgreg said:
I've also learned over the years that if we follow a band's every move often enough, there's almost always going to be disagreement over the things they do, release, how long things take, what singles they release, etc. If we had the Internet 30 years ago, discussions probably would've been somewhat similar... but we would have gotten the music a bit more often maybe!
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You're probably right, i can imagine some would have wondered what the heck they were thinking releasing WOWY as a single instead of BTBS or whatever, opinions do vary of course. It's probably better that the internet wasn't available to us during the Rattle & Hum era isn't it? :D
 
I’m 37 - huge fan since pop although my brother, who’s nine years older, was a massive 80s and 90s fan ... he brainwashed the house on their music. I really enjoyed ATYCLB and Bomb and that got me going back to AB which is my ultimate favourite. First show was popmart in Montreal’s in 1997 and have gone to every tour since. I wish I was old enough to have seen zoo tv... the opening with Bono’s shadow kicking into the night with is still the best tour opener ever. Reflecting back on my university days...Beautiful day and Walk on were very common to hear in the dormitory’s during university days ... my then girlfriend and now wife became a big fan too. We walked into our wedding reception to beautiful day ...our three young kids are getting into them too ... sometimes I catch my little one singing ... most recently ... love is all we have left, landlady and best thing

When no line came out - thought it was decent but magnificent should have been the lead single. SOI was solid but lacked a hit single... EBW and SFS are classics though. SoE is good... best thing, GOYW, little things, landlady and love is bigger are excellent ... if they released this album as the follow up to bomb probably would have been huge ... age and immortality is there biggest enemy now ... people are fatigued of u2 and the media seems focused on ruining Bono’s reputation. My brother has this theory ... before the internet age there was a sense of mystery around them ... u2 concerts and the rare television appearance were legendary ... they weren’t so accessible as they are now with a new YouTube video going up every minute. The other thing is that bono has aged a lot in just three years ... it would appear as though something health wise has drained him... look at pictures of SOI just three years ago vs now.

I treasure every last moment to see them live ... you never know when it’s done. First time I heard little things ... felt like it was a message from the band ... the end is near. My dream is for my kids do see them once when they are a bit older.

Forever a fan and thankful for everything their music has done for me in my life .. getting through the hard times and celebrating the best of times.
 
They are dinosaurs but SOE is a gem

sgera said:
I’m 37 - huge fan since pop although my brother, who’s nine years older, was a massive 80s and 90s fan ... he brainwashed the house on their music. I really enjoyed ATYCLB and Bomb and that got me going back to AB which is my ultimate favourite. First show was popmart in Montreal’s in 1997 and have gone to every tour since. I wish I was old enough to have seen zoo tv... the opening with Bono’s shadow kicking into the night with is still the best tour opener ever. Reflecting back on my university days...Beautiful day and Walk on were very common to hear in the dormitory’s during university days ... my then girlfriend and now wife became a big fan too. We walked into our wedding reception to beautiful day ...our three young kids are getting into them too ... sometimes I catch my little one singing ... most recently ... love is all we have left, landlady and best thing

When no line came out - thought it was decent but magnificent should have been the lead single. SOI was solid but lacked a hit single... EBW and SFS are classics though. SoE is good... best thing, GOYW, little things, landlady and love is bigger are excellent ... if they released this album as the follow up to bomb probably would have been huge ... age and immortality is there biggest enemy now ... people are fatigued of u2 and the media seems focused on ruining Bono’s reputation. My brother has this theory ... before the internet age there was a sense of mystery around them ... u2 concerts and the rare television appearance were legendary ... they weren’t so accessible as they are now with a new YouTube video going up every minute. The other thing is that bono has aged a lot in just three years ... it would appear as though something health wise has drained him... look at pictures of SOI just three years ago vs now.

I treasure every last moment to see them live ... you never know when it’s done. First time I heard little things ... felt like it was a message from the band ... the end is near. My dream is for my kids do see them once when they are a bit older.

Forever a fan and thankful for everything their music has done for me in my life .. getting through the hard times and celebrating the best of times.
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It is crazy...I am 49 and this band has been the soundtrack to my life. That many other fans also feel that way...across multiple generations....is the essence of U2. I enjoy other music, but I have seen U2 live on every tour. At least 20 shows...Pink Floyd comes in 2nd with 2 Division Bell shows. I got to take my daughter to see U2360.....I hope you get the chance to see them live with your kids.

On the charts, TBT breaks into Canadian HAC and is still holding/gaining on U.S. radio.
 
And..... my son is a member of next generation of U2 fan. His favorite songs :

Please ( live from Rotterdam )
Acrobat
Lights of Home
Lucifer's Hands
Kite
Cedarwood Road
Exit
A Sort of Homecoming
Red Flag Day
Little Things That Give You Away
Until the End of the World
Blackout
 
hasin73 said:
And..... my son is a member of next generation of U2 fan. His favorite songs :

Please ( live from Rotterdam )
Acrobat
Lights of Home
Lucifer's Hands
Kite
Cedarwood Road
Exit
A Sort of Homecoming
Red Flag Day
Little Things That Give You Away
Until the End of the World
Blackout
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Nice list!!!!
 
SOE still at nr. 6 in the Dutch albumcharts. So it is in Ireland.

It should be time for the release of the GOOYOWvideo!
 
hasin73 said:
I am 44...... a U2 fan since 1987...... still remaining their all-time biggest fan.
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Yahweh said:
Cher was 51/52 when Believe first came out which is still quite a bit younger then U2 at this point however the point is still valid :)
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Cher was 52 when she recorded and released the song. Bono was born in May 1960, meaning he was 56 for most of the recording (and 57 for the release). I wouldn't call 4/5 years "quite a bit younger". ;)

The difference, though, is that Cher found a magic sound with "Believe". It was a departure for her and a very club friendly pop song. YTBT is a very friendly pop song, but sounds like U2 (especially from 2000 on). However, I don't think sounding like U2 is necessarily the problem. For some reason, the song could not break through - despite doing well on the stations that seemed to play it.

This is why I think U2 has to do a lot more than appear on SNL or talk shows. They may truly need a commercial tie-in. A successful commercial can result in a successful song, which may result in a successful album.

Would that be a sell-out? Yes - but again, it's debatable if U2 haven't sold out years ago (depending on your definition of "sell-out"). And when traditional means don't garner the necessary exposure and the music world has changed considerably, one has to move with the times.
 
Back up to 20 on the uk midweeks.

Seems to be stabilising in the top 25 here

Just shows how much the iTunes chart means. Soe is number 74 which is its lowest for ages yet the album has climbed in the actual album charts.

I did read that Apple are phasing out iTunes because people aren't using it anymore. Seems streaming is the future
 
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Headache in a Suitcase said:
Maybe a band nearing 60 aren't going to have a top 20 hit no matter what they do, because they're a band nearing 60.
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No, they aren't, but the problem isn't their age as much as it is the Top 20. I just pulled up the Billboard top 20. I've heard of half of the artists. The only song I've heard is the Portugal. The Man song, which is fantastic by the way.

But who listens to that stuff? Where do you even hear it? I know it's important to the band, but the best music right now is being made by artists like The National, Wolf Alice, Alvvays, Toro y Moi, Ryan Adams, Spoon, Courtney Barnett, the XX, etc., You won't see any of them in the top 20 either. Doesn't make them irrelevant. Radio is.
 
Maroon Bells said:
No, they aren't, but the problem isn't their age as much as it is the Top 20. I just pulled up the Billboard top 20. I've heard of half of the artists. The only song I've heard is the Portugal. The Man song, which is fantastic by the way.

But who listens to that stuff? Where do you even hear it? I know it's important to the band, but the best music right now is being made by artists like The National, Wolf Alice, Alvvays, Toro y Moi, Ryan Adams, Spoon, Courtney Barnett, the XX, etc., You won't see any of them in the top 20 either. Doesn't make them irrelevant. Radio is.
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'Live in the moment' is a really good song :up:
 
rennowba said:
Good 4th week sales I think

Should pass through a million in two weeks time. Do media traffic track the top 40 or is it just the top ten?
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Top 40 sales they report on. The top 10 are featured in the above format and the rest are just typed out
 
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rennowba said:
I'm totally out of touch with streaming services. Still like to buy something in my hand. Are u2 that far behind when it comes to streaming fans? I'm right in saying one of them charts is album sales the other is album sales plus streaming ?
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Yes, they are very far behind when it comes to streaming.

Streaming has destroyed the "Album" concept, which is too bad because often listening to an album is an experience and takes you on a journey vs a single song but it is what it is (but it's not what it seems?)
 
Songs of Experience was certified Silver in the U.K..

It currently stands at ~90k albums sold, so it should be Gold soon enough.

Silver= 60k sold/shipped(not sure which)
Gold=100k
Platinum=300k


SOE was the 82nd best selling album in the U.K. In 2017.
 
25 uk midweeks. Should still be in the top 30 this week

50 on the billboard 200 chart

Need to release a new single to the radio. I hear get out of your own way a lot on uk rock radio. Was it ever officially released as a 2nd single?
 
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Luzita said:
Down to 92 on the Billboard 200. So, falling like a rock in the US but hanging in there on the global chart.
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Falling like a rock in the billboard top 200 but at number 23 in the top billboard album sales.....no hits=no billboard top 200
 
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