Surprise EP Release - Days of Ash - All Discussion Here

[dan_smee]

Some of us take all the weekends off between tours or albums. Others have 80,000 posts, neglected children and unpaid therapy bills.

I pay my therapy bills…

 

[mikal]

Our jobs and families are the true “Interference”

Heyo!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I actually had a thought about that...show of hands how many people are using the forum to pass the time at the ol' 9 to 5? lol

Bruh - told you to keep that to yourself.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Some of us take all the weekends off between tours or albums. Others have 80,000 posts, neglected children and unpaid therapy bills.

Considering how close to 80k posts I am I'm going to assume you're speaking about me - and if so, how dare you assume I haven't paid my therapy bills.

You of all people should understand that they don't let you continue unless you're paid up.

 

[Scorpionac]

I'm listening to this for the third time right now. The first time I put it on while grocery shopping, before reading anything about it, so I didn't know what the songs were "about" yet. (Interestingly, each of these songs has a dedication at the end of their lyrics on Spotify.)

American Obit: This is clearly about Minneapolis, Renee Good situation. Bold song, nice to see some Trump pushback in mainstream music. I appreciate the specificity. Great opening line. To me this feels like American Soul but much better (of course, that's faint phrase). Singing in a bullhorn, chanting part later in the song, libbing out about America, etc. I don't like "America will rise" as a line, but at least it isn't "Refu-Jesus!"

Tears of Things: Very good singing and melody on this, as many have noted. Music is fine but not really exceptional in any way. Song is dedicated to the statue of David in the lyrics on Spotify, but clearly it's about more than that. At the risk of sounding dense because everyone seems to love this song, I'll admit that I don't quite get it. I saw on U2's Twitter that it's supposed to be a convo between David and Michelangelo, but that's a bit confusing with only one singer. Six million dead in 4 years, I think that's Holocaust death statistics. Reference to Mussolini. There's a few references to war. It seems to have 5 final verses with "mic drop" lines and just goes on and on. Can someone shed some light?

Song of the Future: This contains a reference to Sarina, so that helps with meaning. The Spotify dedication is to Mahsa Amini, the person whose death Sarina Esmailzadeh was protesting. It's catchy, about as good as stuff on SOI and SOE. Some similar music and lyric ideas to those. Idk why Bono feels the need to insert himself into a song like this ("I'm running my mouth off").

One Life at a Time: So nonspecific that I would have no idea who or what it's about if I wasn't told. A song constructed entirely of platitudes.

Yours Eternally: I'm sorry but this is pure will.i.am, David Guetta, Martin Garrix adjacent trash. Sounds like chasing a radio hit for the millionth time. I don't like this kind of music, and I'm not going to listen to it just cause it's U2. And again, no good if the lyric content has been sanitized to the point where you have to be told what it's supposedly about.

 

[DaveC]

edit: i messed up an old forum reference. i really like the EP, it's good. carry on.

 

[namkcuR]

So...I haven't been in here in a few weeks and I haven't been checking for U2 news at all because (like most of us I assume) I really wasn't expecting anything from the band until later this year, so I genuinely wasn't aware they'd dropped a new EP until late last night when I stumbled upon it by accident on Spotify. It's a very unusual feeling because it's literally the first new U2 release in my fandom(going back to 1998) that I haven't been on top of on day one(if not before in the event of leaks).

After listening to it for a day, I think there's a lot to like here.

A lot of you have been likening American Obituary to The Miracle or Boots or American Soul, but I don't agree with that. Somebody mentioned HTDAAB demos, and that's exactly right to my ears. Musically, the existing U2 song I hear most here is Native Son. That same guitar tone, a similarly serious lyric. It screams Native Son to me, and that's a good thing because I always liked that song.

Lyrically, it's not all great - I'm not wild about that "I love you more/than hate loves war" refrain - but damn do those Renee Good verses hit. We're not in FYM so I won't get too into it, but I'm really glad they did it in such a hard-hitting way. I really like the "people of the lie" thing. The song has been compared to Springsteen's protest song, and Bruce namechecked he-who-shall-not-be-named directly multiple times, and it kind of took me out of it. I think the little bit of abstraction(and the acknowledgment that it takes more than one person to make this stuff happen) in "people of the lie" works well. Also, I find the hook in that line as well as, "color of her eye", "what you can't kill can't die", and "America will rise", is a good one.

Tears Of Things is fairly easily the best thing here. There's a difference between enjoyable and great: enjoyable means I want to keep listening to it, but great means I would hold it out to non-U2 fans as an example of why the band is special. Most of this EP is enjoyable, imo, but Tears is genuinely great.

It might just be the best lyric Bono has written in...nearly 30 years, since Pop? He's certainly written some good stuff in the 21st century, but I'm trying to think of a song in that timespan as strong lyrically from beginning to end, and I'm not sure there is one. Stateless...Kite...When I Look At The World...A Man And A Woman...Mercy...Moment Of Surrender...Fez-Being Born...The Troubles...Little Things...all really good, but man, Tears is something else. Particularly the later stanzas:

"Before the roar, before the blast / The stench and shame / There's a howling, wailing sound / That screams your name"

which suggests the invocation of God or religion before an attack, and then...

"My eyes were burned from all I learned / There were things I can't unsee / In this, your holy war / There's nothing holy here for me"

and the final kiss-off:

"The naked song, the sacred song/That every soldier fears/'Cause when people go 'round talking to God/It always ends in tears"

This criticism of the use of religion as a justification for violence could apply to the Middle East as much as it could to the Christian Nationalism behind the current American right wing, and coming from a man who has been as devout as Bono, it seems to hold some power.

I also love the bridge: "If you put a man into a cage and rattle it enough/A man becomes the kind of rage that cannot be locked up". It's a great image of what can inspire violence.

Musically, as has been said, it's very Leonard Cohen. There's no soaring, stadium-ready chorus that you expect in a U2 song. It just builds and becomes more and more impassioned. Bono's delivery and cadence are on point, he sounds almost possessed on this. The guitar solo, at first, struck me very much as a Rush Of Blood/X&Y era Coldplay/Jonny Buckland solo that everyone would point out is aping Edge, but it grew on me after a few listens, largely helped by the great work Adam and Larry are doing underneath it. It's really a nice three-part instrumental.

Song Of The Future ought to be a single. It's a huge hook, the oft-noted Staring At The Sun guitar work feels warm and familiar, and Adam and Larry are on fire. Musically, it's fun and vibrant and feels natural and unlabored. Lyrically, there's kind of not much to it, imo.

One Life At A Time musically has a lot going for it. It might be the one I'm coming back to the most other than Tears. It's melancholic in a TUF kind of way. I like all the layered vocals(is it all Bono or is Edge backing?) at the beginning and throughout, I like the chorus melody, but the best part is the guitar solo, which I wish was longer. It's got that kind of steely, metallic quality to it that, again, reminds of TUF. I really dig that solo. Lyrically, it's a bit held back, it's a bit platitude heavy, though it does have its moments: "You say you wanna save the world/Well, how you gonna get that right" carries some weight if it's Bono talking to himself, and "One life at a time/if there's no law is there no crime" hits hard.

Yours Eternally is the weakest one here for me. I actually like the verse melody and some of the guitar work, but the chorus does very little for me, as do the lyrics.

In conclusion, I'm pleasantly surprised there was a release at all, and I enjoy more of it than not. And at this point, I don't take that for granted, because I don't know how much longer the band is going to keep putting out new music. Like, one of the biggest things I took from this EP is that Bono actually sounds pretty decent, and I had really thought his voice was shot from about 2018/19 onward. The falsetto in the American Obituary hook? I didn't think he could do that anymore. So I take that as a win. The only soft criticism I'd give is that I hope the eventual album is more cohesive than this, because while I enjoy these songs, they don't sound of a piece, musically, and I think I've been craving that ever since the Frankenstein job of SOE.

But I think it's futile to set TUF and JT and AB as the bar you're comparing every release to. It's like turning on a Lakers game in 2026 and expecting LeBron James to look like he did in 2013. Their body of work in the 80s and 90s is among the most important and influential ever in rock music. To me, especially post-HTDAAB, in a post-prime, all you can hope for, to continue the sports analogy, is a throwback performance every now and then. I think Tears Of Things is a throwback performance. And parts of One Life At A Time.

 

[clerks]

Considering how close to 80k posts I am I'm going to assume you're speaking about me - and if so, how dare you assume I haven't paid my therapy bills.

You of all people should understand that they don't let you continue unless you're paid up.

If you or someone you know needs help please call -- 1-800-ME GO CRAZY TONIGHT

Nothing is funnier than before you tell the person "I'm at my lowest point and thinking of ending it all" that we have to spend 10 minutes trying to get the credit card app she uses to work before she'll talk to me... and that paying was part of my 45 minute session. That relationship ended very poorly.

The 3 things I mentioned were hitting everyone on the board as examples not just one person... for you to assume it was just about YOU means i nailed it!!!!

 

[lazarus]

I'm listening to this for the third time right now. The first time I put it on while grocery shopping, before reading anything about it, so I didn't know what the songs were "about" yet. (Interestingly, each of these songs has a dedication at the end of their lyrics on Spotify.)

American Obit: This is clearly about Minneapolis, Renee Good situation. Bold song, nice to see some Trump pushback in mainstream music. I appreciate the specificity. Great opening line. To me this feels like American Soul but much better (of course, that's faint phrase). Singing in a bullhorn, chanting part later in the song, libbing out about America, etc. I don't like "America will rise" as a line, but at least it isn't "Refu-Jesus!"

Tears of Things: Very good singing and melody on this, as many have noted. Music is fine but not really exceptional in any way. Song is dedicated to the statue of David in the lyrics on Spotify, but clearly it's about more than that. At the risk of sounding dense because everyone seems to love this song, I'll admit that I don't quite get it. I saw on U2's Twitter that it's supposed to be a convo between David and Michelangelo, but that's a bit confusing with only one singer. Six million dead in 4 years, I think that's Holocaust death statistics. Reference to Mussolini. There's a few references to war. It seems to have 5 final verses with "mic drop" lines and just goes on and on. Can someone shed some light?

Song of the Future: This contains a reference to Sarina, so that helps with meaning. The Spotify dedication is to Mahsa Amini, the person whose death Sarina Esmailzadeh was protesting. It's catchy, about as good as stuff on SOI and SOE. Some similar music and lyric ideas to those. Idk why Bono feels the need to insert himself into a song like this ("I'm running my mouth off").

One Life at a Time: So nonspecific that I would have no idea who or what it's about if I wasn't told. A song constructed entirely of platitudes.

Yours Eternally: I'm sorry but this is pure will.i.am, David Guetta, Martin Garrix adjacent trash. Sounds like chasing a radio hit for the millionth time. I don't like this kind of music, and I'm not going to listen to it just cause it's U2. And again, no good if the lyric content has been sanitized to the point where you have to be told what it's supposedly about.

You don't have to guess about the content/themes of the songs because the band put out a digital magazine issue about it:

U2 Propaganda Days of Ash EP

 

[Mr Gone]

I'm listening to this for the third time right now. The first time I put it on while grocery shopping, before reading anything about it, so I didn't know what the songs were "about" yet. (Interestingly, each of these songs has a dedication at the end of their lyrics on Spotify.)

American Obit: This is clearly about Minneapolis, Renee Good situation. Bold song, nice to see some Trump pushback in mainstream music. I appreciate the specificity. Great opening line. To me this feels like American Soul but much better (of course, that's faint phrase). Singing in a bullhorn, chanting part later in the song, libbing out about America, etc. I don't like "America will rise" as a line, but at least it isn't "Refu-Jesus!"

Tears of Things: Very good singing and melody on this, as many have noted. Music is fine but not really exceptional in any way. Song is dedicated to the statue of David in the lyrics on Spotify, but clearly it's about more than that. At the risk of sounding dense because everyone seems to love this song, I'll admit that I don't quite get it. I saw on U2's Twitter that it's supposed to be a convo between David and Michelangelo, but that's a bit confusing with only one singer. Six million dead in 4 years, I think that's Holocaust death statistics. Reference to Mussolini. There's a few references to war. It seems to have 5 final verses with "mic drop" lines and just goes on and on. Can someone shed some light?

Song of the Future: This contains a reference to Sarina, so that helps with meaning. The Spotify dedication is to Mahsa Amini, the person whose death Sarina Esmailzadeh was protesting. It's catchy, about as good as stuff on SOI and SOE. Some similar music and lyric ideas to those. Idk why Bono feels the need to insert himself into a song like this ("I'm running my mouth off").

One Life at a Time: So nonspecific that I would have no idea who or what it's about if I wasn't told. A song constructed entirely of platitudes.

Yours Eternally: I'm sorry but this is pure will.i.am, David Guetta, Martin Garrix adjacent trash. Sounds like chasing a radio hit for the millionth time. I don't like this kind of music, and I'm not going to listen to it just cause it's U2. And again, no good if the lyric content has been sanitized to the point where you have to be told what it's supposedly about.

"Idk why Bono feels the need to insert himself into a song like this ("I'm running my mouth off")."

I feel the same way. I actually like everything on this EP to varying extents, but that part of that particular song was a bit of a puzzler for me.

Then again, I'm tired of the self-effacing Bono. We get it, you want people to know you are really insecure and critical of yourself, not the bloated egotist you play around with for public consumption the rest of the time.

But after The Showman, give it a rest. You drove the final nail in that coffin.

 

[DeVaul]

But after The Showman, give it a rest. You drove the final nail in that coffin.

That’s a fun song they should’ve played on E+I.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

If you or someone you know needs help please call -- 1-800-ME GO CRAZY TONIGHT

Nothing is funnier than before you tell the person "I'm at my lowest point and thinking of ending it all" that we have to spend 10 minutes trying to get the credit card app she uses to work before she'll talk to me... and that paying was part of my 45 minute session. That relationship ended very poorly.

The 3 things I mentioned were hitting everyone on the board as examples not just one person... for you to assume it was just about YOU means i nailed it!!!!

Boobs

 

[clerks]

Boobs

Oh I told you my nickname in Broomball during my NYC heyday! They said you can't give yourself a nickname - but I did it! And so did my giant man boobs.

 

[dk42]

Having revisited the EP and listened to the U Talkin' U2 to Me episode, I've come away with a more favorable impression.

I think there are some nice melodies in there, particularly on The Tears of Things, One Life at a Time, and Song of the Future. I don't dislike the music for American Obituary and it's at least a better attempt at the rock thing they seem hellbent on doing. It's certainly more raw and feels a little less polished than the more produced stuff they've put out. Reminds me a little of Native Son before it became Vertigo.

Yours Eternally, ehhh. The Coldplay comparisons are tiresome now, but it just feels very mawkish. I like bits of the vocals, but it hasn't clicked yet for me.

I can't say I am still convinced of Bono's politics, which I find still very establishment friendly, but the music is solid. I'm sure many will disagree with me, but to each their own. I feel the same way about Springsteen, whose whole working class shtick felt phony to me, even though I do love Nebraska. He's still a great songwriter and in fairness, he has more or less said the same thing. That said, I do appreciate the urgency and willingness to release it right away.

I am a little more optimistic about the new album, particularly if it's with Eno, but that can of course lead to mixed results too. They so sound a bit more revitalized, so hopefully that means something sooner than later.

 

[super fly guy]

I am appreciating American Obituary with every listen,it doesn't feel forced or crammed with slogans. (Final verse aside) for a band in its 50th year to release this calibre of music is amazing.

 

[Expos]

I am appreciating American Obituary with every listen,it doesn't feel forced or crammed with slogans. (Final verse aside) for a band in its 50th year to release this calibre of music is amazing.

I have been saying this for a while. It's easily the standout for me, musically. I'm shocked it's being dismissed by most as one of the weaker songs here. I think people need to re-listen. Huge grower.

 

[vaz020202]

The fact it’s another song with American in the title puts many off straight away

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The American Soul has left the body. Please say an American Prayer before reading our American Obituary. Murica.

 

[Irvine511]

going to come out and say it: "Tears of Things" is Bono's best lyric ever.

not saying it's their best song, or that he hasn't written lines in other songs that are better than the best lines in Tears, but taken as a whole, it's his best.

fight me.

 

[clerks]

That's stupid. Did I win?

 

[dan_smee]

going to come out and say it: "Tears of Things" is Bono's best lyric ever.

not saying it's their best song, or that he hasn't written lines in other songs that are better than the best lines in Tears, but taken as a whole, it's his best.

fight me.

I’m willing to concede it’s his best complete lyric of the era that is characterised by his more overt style -
probably commencing ~2002. Not best song, best lines, best concept. But it’s a pretty great execution of all of those things together right through.

 

[Irvine511]

That's stupid. Did I win?

You didn’t. Come at me with a better lyric, bro.





(I’ll offer UTEOTW, RTSS, and Stay as strong other contenders… also maybe Bad)

 

[namkcuR]

You didn’t. Come at me with a better lyric, bro.





(I’ll offer UTEOTW, RTSS, and Stay as strong other contenders… also maybe Bad)

This wasn't directed at me, but...I agree with the gist of what you're saying, and in my earlier post I said that I thought Tears was the best lyric he'd written in nearly 30 years, post-Pop. But looking at Pop and before, in order to say it's the best lyric he's ever written, it would have to be better than all of the below IMO(and this includes the ones you mentioned):

Sunday Bloody Sunday(I feel like "and it's true we are immune/when fact is fiction/and tv a reality" is one of the more prescient things he ever wrote)

A Sort Of Homecoming

The Unforgettable Fire

Bad

Indian Summer Sky(especially "to lose along the way/the spark that set the flame/to flicker and to fade/on this the longest day")

With Or Without You

Bullet The Blue Sky

Running To Stand Still

One Tree Hill(especially "I'll see you again/when the stars fall from the sky/and the moon has turned red/over one tree hill")

Exit

All I Want Is You

Zoo Station(especially "time is a train/makes the future the past/leaves you standing in the station/your face pressed up against the glass)

One

Until The End Of The World

So Cruel(especially "love like a screaming flower/love dying every hour" and "between the horses/of love and lust/we are trampled/underfoot")

The Fly

Acrobat

Love Is Blindness

Zooropa(especially "and I have no compass/and I have no map/and I have no reason/no reason to get back"

Numb(this one is polarizing but I think it's kind of brilliant)

Lemon(one of his greatest, but especially the "a man does this/a man does that" bridges)

Stay(the pre-chorus kills me every time - "and if you look/you look through me/and when you talk/you talk at me/and when I touch you/you don't feel a thing")

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me("you don't know how you got here/you just know you want out/believing in yourself/almost as much as you doubt/you're a big smash/you wear it like a rash", "they want you to be Jesus/they'll go down on one knee/but they'll want their money back/if you're alive at thirty-three/and you're turning tricks/with your crucifix")

Your Blue Room(especially "time is a string of pearls/in your blue room")

Mofo(especially "looking for a sound that's gonna drown out the world/looking for the father of my two little girls" and "looking for the face I had before the world was made"[though he stole that one])

If God Will Send His Angels(especially "what's that you say to me/does love light up your Christmas tree/the next minute you're blowing a fuse/and the Cartoon Network turns into the news")

Gone(especially "you hurt yourself/you hurt your lover/then you discover/what you thought was freedom was just greed")

Please(the whole thing is phenomenal, but the last stanzas are incredible - "love is big/bigger than us/but love is not/what you're thinking of/it's what lovers deal/it's what lovers steal/you know I found it hard/to receive/'cause you, my love/I could never believe")

 

[The John Tree]

I like The Tears of Things, but not enough to call it his best lyric ever. Prime Bono was a force to be reckoned with, lyrically.

I don’t even think I can call it the best lyric of the “third phase” of U2.

That would be Cedars of Lebanon.

 

[clerks]

I'm a writer. So I'm overly obsessed with lyrics. I wrote my college essay about Rattle and Hum's Desire. I love Bono's writing. So many lyrics are in my head/my soul. These songs are new, but honestly can't remember one lyric from Tears right now. And I can from other songs on the EP...

Oh wait I recall the 6 million lyric as well I'm part of the tribe.

Honestly, it's a nice poem from the POV of the David statue watching history? In a way -- it's just a less pop version of We Didnt Start the Fire mentioning historical events in a more flowery way.

I can name 1000s lyrics I like better.

You know you're chewing bubble gum
You know what that is but you still want some
You just can't get enough of that lovey-dovey stuff

I don't know what that means, but I love it!

Time is a train
Makes the future the past
Leaves you standing in the station
Your face pressed up against the glass

I feel AB album is non stop amazing lyrics. POP for most of them. And WAR... and BOMB... and pretty much too many to name. Let me just write them off the top of my head and see what comes out...

"You're dangerous cuz your honest...
"They can't dance... at least... they know... "
"They took your life, they could not take your Pride."
"Uncertainty can be a guiding light" (yearbook quote -- not a joke)
"For love or money money money... desire..."
"I know I'm not a hopeless case... "
"Science and the human heart... there is no limit..."
"A boy tries hard to be a man, a mother takes him by his hand, if he stops to think, he starts to cry, oh why?"
"There is a silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep..."

I don't even think Tears is the best lyrics on the EP.

 

[clerks]

I forgot about Bad and Joshua Tree and so many!!!! One Tree Hill!!!

 

[Mr Gone]

I'm a writer. So I'm overly obsessed with lyrics. I wrote my college essay about Rattle and Hum's Desire. I love Bono's writing. So many lyrics are in my head/my soul. These songs are new, but honestly can't remember one lyric from Tears right now. And I can from other songs on the EP...

Oh wait I recall the 6 million lyric as well I'm part of the tribe.

Honestly, it's a nice poem from the POV of the David statue watching history? In a way -- it's just a less pop version of We Didnt Start the Fire mentioning historical events in a more flowery way.

I can name 1000s lyrics I like better.

You know you're chewing bubble gum
You know what that is but you still want some
You just can't get enough of that lovey-dovey stuff

I don't know what that means, but I love it!

Time is a train
Makes the future the past
Leaves you standing in the station
Your face pressed up against the glass

I feel AB album is non stop amazing lyrics. POP for most of them. And WAR... and BOMB... and pretty much too many to name. Let me just write them off the top of my head and see what comes out...

"You're dangerous cuz your honest...
"They can't dance... at least... they know... "
"They took your life, they could not take your Pride."
"Uncertainty can be a guiding light" (yearbook quote -- not a joke)
"For love or money money money... desire..."
"I know I'm not a hopeless case... "
"Science and the human heart... there is no limit..."
"A boy tries hard to be a man, a mother takes him by his hand, if he stops to think, he starts to cry, oh why?"
"There is a silence that comes to a house where no one can sleep..."

I don't even think Tears is the best lyrics on the EP.

All great.

One of my personal favs:

Red lights, grey morning
You stumble out of a hole in the ground
A vampire or a victim
It depends on who's around

 

[ascender_RS]

I've seen some pictures on social media of people picking up the hard copy of the new Propaganda issue from record shops?

Was this something that was announced somewhere as being available? I know they said there would be some actual copies printed, but I thought they might be a subscriber thing or tied-in to a RSD release or something.

 

[david]

time for Edge to get divorced. I want a good album again.

 

[DeVaul]

I don’t even think I can call it the best lyric of the “third phase” of U2.

That would be Cedars of Lebanon.

Opinions are like arseholes - we’re all over this forum, so… Cedars always struck me more as a spoken word piece over a bed of music with a barely-there chorus.

I think Tears is superior as a song - musically, structurally, and as a set of lyrics. If their third phase can be considered a more “direct approach” lyrically, Tears is more representative of my ideal U2.