Songs of Experience - Part 2

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Wonder Dog was there, but he's been replaced with Krypto and Bat Hound. No word on how he feels about being replaced. There's a rumour that Charlotte the Spider and Babe the Gallant Pig are going to be involved in mixing to bring a more "rural" feel to the music, but sources say it could go either way.
 
Also, Plan B is one title, but if they go with the old fashioned rural sound they might call it Coat Hanger.
 
Registered Dude said:
The band (or at least Bono and Edge) seem to be as concerned with U2 The Business as they are the music of U2.

Call it audacious or atrocious, but I'd wager this concern has strongly informed every decision they've made as a band since the perceived failure of Pop and Popmart.
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The U2 Business is out there since 1987. Deal with it.
 
aMansAman said:
But they don't see it... at least not in public.... they say how amazed they are about so many young people going to their concerts... but they must know better.

Are they really continuing to try to reach a younger audience? With "Singles" like piano EBW/Song for Someone? That selection is adult 30+ music at best.

They could have done a really cool music video of The Troubles feat. Lykke Li. They might even have This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now put out as a Single.
Would they be accused of trying too hard? (Mando Diao - Dance With Somebody vibe)

Alll the SOI Singles were U2 signature sound. So, basically tailored for the average U2 fan. Nothing for new fans...

I'd love to see U2 come back with a risk taking first SOE Single. I doubt that will happen though.
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Yet SFS pwned all other SOI and NLOTH singles.

I don't think singles will make a difference whether it's experimental or not. They're simply too old to get a BD/Vertigo sized hit. But they need to get out of the bad lead single slump that tanked NLOTH and SOI.

That said...one of their working song titles is Much more better. I'd say they need a bit more time, too.
 
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U2girl said:
Yes, provided he lays off the chimes and rawk riffs.
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Edge is good on Sleep like a baby tonight... that riff is raw and sinister, which is the U2 sound I fell in love with.

The nightmare for me would be 12 three minute All Because of You "Rock Songs".

They should just keep faith in the material they worked on with Jolyon Thomas and Andy Barlow. These guys could help U2 think out of the box.
 
I can't see why U2 would want to work with Jolyon. That Slaves song is generic modern rock, by which I mean rock that sounds like no human were involved in making it.

Andy Barlow could bring some interesting stuff to U2. But whatever interesting elements are there will be removed by whoever they bring it to finish the record, be it Lillywhite or Epworth.
 
Registered Dude said:
here's my sleuthing on this song..

U2Dublin posted this craptastic "cover" of Morning After Innocence (MAI) about six months after SOI was released:



sounds like a crap, right? surely just someone screwing around...

or, have they heard something?

have they heard the full version of the song U2 are playing around 1:22, which seems to feature the same chord progression/lead guitar around 1:32?



note the lyrics also seem to match the lyrics of MAI, which Bono has quoted in interviews

a puzzle, I say!



EDIT: my tongue is firmly in cheek here, of course it could all be crap..
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That's actually pretty cool. I mean, all he's done is sample the audio from that u2 clip, and made up his own vocals for the lyrics of MAI... but the vocal melody is quite good (his voice isn't exactly Bono's, but that's a high bar to set).
I'm sure it's just a fan messing around, but it's pretty cool, i like stuff like this.

The u2 clip has a very Dangermouse-esque sound to me - even if it is MAI, i wonder if it would even survive onto SoE given they clearly moved away from him and his sound (first using Epworth and Tedder to finish SoI, then 2 entirely new producers for SoE so far).
 
Registered Dude said:
Jolyon's work...


Barlowe at work:



Gotta say, I prefer the latter
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Imo, you can see exactly what u2 are aiming for with those two producers.

The rough, raw rock sound of Slaves that Jolyon produced seems like the sound Edge has gone for with the Miracle, Vertigo etc, but in a much more committed, extreme way. Hiring Jolyon just screams to me that Edge is keen to pursue that gritty rock sound more than anything else.

Barlowe on the other hand, with all those atmospheric sounds, must account for all the reports from people who've heard SoE describing it as experimental and 'Zooropa-esque'.

Taken together, SoE seems like a mix of big, aggressive distorted guitar (maybe classic rock?) songs, and softer, experimental/ambient tunes.

What would be really interesting is if all the songs are a fusion of both of those sounds - big, aggressive guitar married with ethereal soundscapes. Like a pop version of Sigur Ros (if we're lucky).

You can see elements of such a fusion in SoI - full band EBW being one, but check out the live version of the Miracle. Massive guitar and drums (compared to the studio version), but the drop chorus at the end (where Edge introduces shimmer) puts the song in a whole new light, and is fucking incredible. Two very different sounds, but they work well together. An album full of that kind of fusion could be amazing.


One final thought: Neither of these producers strike me as 'pop', or capable of delivering a radio hit. I think this is indicative either of u2 having more faith in their music and not extending the recording process by finishing their songs with a pop producer (e.g. epworth), or... they just haven't reached that stage yet.
 
Detachable Penis

This could have been written by any number of persons here. I agree with the overwhelming majority of it :up:

http://www.newsweek.com/u2-bono-new-album-songs-innocence-411646

Taking lessons from U2's illustrious career to date, we've jotted down some advice for the band.

DO: Sound like a rock band again. Playing instruments, in a room. Remember Boy? War? You made those albums! Songs of Innocence made a big show of taking inspiration from U2's Irish youth, but the finished product betrayed none of the guitar-and-drums urgency of those early records. (The most blaring rock cut, "The Miracle [Of Joey Ramone]," frankly sounds like a toy guitar plugged directly into a MIDI console.) Listen to "Like a Song..." or "Bullet the Blue Sky." Do that again.

DON'T: Get so hung up on punk. Songs of Innocence contained tributes to the Ramones ("The Miracle") and the Clash ("This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now") that feel forced and baffling because of how far they stray from punk vitality. Be yourself; resist the urge to pay tribute to Motörhead's recently departed Lemmy in song.

DO: Hurry. Songs of Innocence took half a decade to make, to little benefit—the album feels overworked and underfocused. Zooropa, by contrast, was written and recorded quickly in 1993, amidst the pressures of tour (it began life as a mid-tour EP). The album sounds like the result of feverish and risky inspiration. If the Edge is to be believed, U2 is bringing back that spirit of "Let’s just go for it" instead of endless false starts.

DON'T: Worry about writing songs to tour behind. U2's recent albums have been full of grand, anthemic songs that feel designed for the stadium but lack memorability. If you listen back on the band's daring '90s releases, Zooropa and about half of Pop seem shockingly unfriendly in the live department. Zooropa wasn't really toured behind; it was recorded in the middle of a tour-in-progress. Having just completed a lavish tour, U2 probably isn't itching to hit up the stadium circuit again so soon. Let's see if these circumstances shape the new material.

DO: Ditch the "Woah-oah-oah" choruses. Leave it to Arcade Fire and Imagine Dragons, bands that have been cribbing notes from U2 since the beginning.

DON'T: Try to please everyone. U2's last two albums were torn between the urge to write classic U2 choruses, the desire to remain innovative and the misdirected ambition to reinvent the record industry. Just choose one thing and do it well.

DO: Take a lesson from R.E.M. When R.E.M. fell into a creative rut after the tepid Around the Sun, the band hired producer Jacknife Lee (on the Edge's advice, actually), worked out some new songs live and recorded its next album at a breakneck pace in three different cities. "I work really well under pressure, and the guys know that all too well," singer Michael Stipe said at the time. "So the pace forced me to kind of spit stuff out." The intense creative process resulted in the Athens band's most immediate and invigorating album in years, 2008's Accelerate.

DON'T: Hire so many expensive producers. Maybe Songs of Innocence was overloaded with creative input. Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood all had a hand in the production process. Production-by-committee rarely seems to work; one of the record's most refreshing cuts, "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight," was the result of Danger Mouse working alone. Speaking of which...

DO: Bring back Brian Eno. The producer-maestro and ambient pioneer was behind the scenes for most of U2's most daring and enduring projects, from The Joshua Tree to Achtung Baby. Eno wasn't involved with the last one, but perhaps he can bring a sense of focus and adventure to LP14.

DON'T: Keep trying to rewrite "Vertigo" again. iPod-commercial success aside, "Vertigo" wasn't exactly a great song to begin with. Secondhand faux-rock rewrites—"Get On Your Boots," "Volcano," et. al—are ineffectual at best and embarrassing at worst. Just let this urge go.

DO: Let Bono step away from the mic for a song or two. Zooropa is the rare U2 album with lead vocals that aren't by Bono—the Edge takes over for the weird, hypnotic "Numb" while the late Johnny Cash appears on the story-like closer "The Wanderer." It's a bold move that signals "This isn't just another routine U2 album," and even if it fails miserably, it won't be boring.

DON'T: Release it for free on our iPhones. Enough said. Just put it out the old-fashioned way. Let the music—and not the release strategy—be the most innovative aspect of the new record.
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I'd be stoked to hear Edge sing some verses or a whole song this time around. Other than that.. His backing vocals are amazing so him and Bono singing together will always have my preference.

Too bad its never gonna happen.. Ever..
 
How about a song with lyrics written and sung by Edge, and with Bono on piano? Taking them out of their comfort zone like that might as least result in something interesting or odd.
 
I love how "Like A Song" was mentioned in that Newsweek article. Yes please...sound like that again.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Agree with Newsweek except for SOI. I feel that's a perfect album.
 
This is what I'm talking about. Watch that 2nd clip of U2 (Get on the Guitar). AT 1:22 they start to play this gorgeous, bluesy thing with Bono doing a falsetto. I'm in LOVE. You even hear Adam talk about the things that interest him are "simple, back to nature and playful." I'm in LOVE and this time it's real! Adam says so!

Ah...but I'm a fool for love. I've been seduced by these sirens before at their demo stage. I just know when that song is recorded it will be muddled and overworked to the point where that beauty—that simple beauty we hear at 1:22—is mangled beyond recognition.
 
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