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U2 Band • Page 10

Discussion in 'Music Forum' started by AJ Earhart, Mar 31, 2016.

  1. Steve_JustAGuy

    Trusted

    Craig Manning likes this.
  2. ZooZooChaCha

    Trusted Supporter

    Posted this in the article thread, but thought I'd share here as well...

    Funny story - so when All That You Can't Leave Behind came out I was in 7th grade, I asked my aunt to get me Blink 182 Enema of the State for Xmas. However, when she went to the cd store, she remembered it as me asking for the new U2 album - which is how I came into possession of this album. I was one of those people who was horrified by the idea of being disappointed by a gift, so I of course gave it a listen, and surprise, actually got into U2.
     
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  3. Steve_JustAGuy

    Trusted

    Even before reading Craig's piece, which hits on it perfectly, the first thought I had about this album is the weird pre-9/11 nostalgia I have for it. It's odd, since I wasn't even in high school yet, but this album does it for me. I suppose it does the same for a lot of other people in my age range. It'll never be my favorite U2 album, but it's the only one with that nostalgia tied to it, which in a weird way I'm thankful for.
     
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  4. Skinkie

    Regular

    Great write up. I looooooved this album when it came out. It was right after I had finished going through U2s existing discography. And I was left baffled by Pop (love it now though) and it felt like at the perfect time for me U2 was back.

    Now a days. Meh. It’s got 4 or 5 absolute top shelf tracks, and a lot of stuff that I have no strong feelings for whatsoever. And Elevation, which I originally loved, now just feels like the poster child for one of my least favorite modern U2 trends. The overly produced ‘rock single’. Elevation, Vertigo, Boots, whatever. Stop overworking it guys. You do it on pretty much everything, but the rock songs it’s especially disappointing.

    This is getting off topic, but one thing I’d love the band to do is something really stripped back, without 40 producers. The acoustic tracks from SOI were great. And the acoustic version of You’re The Best Thing About Me is one of my favorite things from the band in a long time. I feel like stripping it back to just the power of the songs itself would be a unique thing in their catalog at this point

    I probably will revisit this album for the anniversary since it’s been quite awhile. Maybe it’s aged better than I remember.
     
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  5. Rowan5215

    An inconsequential shift as the continents drift.

    a raw album would be such a blessing but it'll never happen lmao
     
  6. Barcara

    Regular

    Oh hot damn we got some new b-sides with the reissue!

    Looking forward to listening to these this weekend, and then looking forward to the Scotts spending three hours re-resequencing it.
     
  7. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Yeah, your opinion on this album is definitely not a rare one in the U2 fandom. Seems like the only use most people have for this album is side 1. While that's definitely where the best songs are (I said on Twitter yesterday that there are four all-timers in the first five songs alone), I personally really adore a lot of the second half. "Peace on Earth," "When I Look at the World," "Grace": these are songs that a lot of people don't care for that mean a lot to me. There's this really lovely open, unhurried feeling to the second half of that record that we don't hear often from U2. Even something like "Wild Honey," which I used to really dislike, has grown on me a lot over the years as this weird little outlier (with a terrific Bono vocal).

    As for "Elevation," seeing that song live really unlocked it for me. It's really quite thrilling in that setting, whereas it's mostly just ok on record. I don't necessarily think it's the song that really instills the trend you're talking about, either: I think the song they're chasing with "Boots," "Miracle," etc. is absolutely "Vertigo."

    They should have done it with Songs of Innocence. Those songs with a more stripped down, urgent feel would have been something special. "Raised by Wolves" or "Cedarwood Road" produced more in the style of War? They missed an opportunity by working with super slick producers like Ryan Tedder and Danger Mouse for that album.

    Oh man, I hadn't even thought about the prospect of an episode with The Scotts! Not being a Talking Heads guy at all, I've been sitting out their latest.
     
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  8. Rowan5215

    An inconsequential shift as the continents drift.

    unfortunately all those b-sides have been released at some point, but I'm definitely not complaining that more people will hear them. "Levitate" is one of my favourite songs from 2000s U2

    oh, 100%. as usual with U2 they reworked and rejigged that album so much it's barely recognisable from the original idea, which if I remember was pretty close to what you're describing. their obsessive process has given us some great music over the years no doubt, but it's also how we ended up with baffling shit like "Boots" not only making No Line, but being its goddamn lead single
     
  9. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    Yeah, I love all their post-2000 output, but everything after All That You Can't Leave Behind could have done with a lot less time in the oven. The hilarious thing about "Boots" is that it probably could have been a bigger hit for them if they'd released it in like 2006, but they took like four and a half years to follow up Bomb and the music industry shifted completely in that time. I wish more artists would understand the importance of speed: you spend all this time searching for something that's going to have a cultural impact, but if you wait that long between albums, you're going to have to come back with something that really demands attention or you're going to be old news. "Boots" did not demand attention (and is not at all representative of that album, either).
     
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  10. Rowan5215

    An inconsequential shift as the continents drift.

    I know it would never happen - because again they're friggin U2 - but I wish just once, for No Line, they'd put aside trying to make chart toppers and released a weird album again

    I mean, I'm still very fond of the album they released, but the thought that they probably scrapped more "Moment of Surrender"-style, future gospel stuff for "Stand Up Comedy" keeps me up at night
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  11. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    It's honestly pretty close...definitely the closest they've come since rebooting themselves in 2000. The mid-section of that album is where they indulge those worst mainstream influences, but the beginning and end segments of that record are pretty weird by late-period U2 standards. I hear (most of) that record as the spiritual successor to The Unforgettable Fire.
     
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  12. Skinkie

    Regular

    I’ve read that album started a lot weirder and they got scared at the last minute and tried to undo that a bit. But the only thing I remember for sure was that FEZ-Being Born was the original opener. And I think that alone sets a very different mood
     
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  13. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    I think the title track should have been the lead single. That would have set a different tone too.
     
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  14. iCarly Rae Jepsen

    run away with me Platinum

     
    Dyablo likes this.
  15. phaynes12

    https://expertfrowner.bandcamp.com/ Prestigious

    AYCLB is perfect thanks
     
    Craig Manning likes this.
  16. iCarly Rae Jepsen

    run away with me Platinum

     
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  17. Jake Gyllenhaal

    Wookie of the Year Supporter

    ACHTUNG!!





    baby
     
    chewbacca110 and Barcara like this.
  18. Sean Murphy

    Prestigious Supporter

    oh my
     
  19. somethingwitty

    Trusted

    It's been kind of quiet around U2 regarding any type of new music or live shows. I was really hoping they'd re-visit Zoo TV in some way, the themes they presented then are even more relevant now.
     
  20. Craig Manning

    @FurtherFromSky Moderator

    A fun treat, if you're a fan of Achtung Baby and Matt Nathanson.



    I believe this is Matt's favorite album, and I think he really "gets" it (as evidenced by this podcast) so I had a lot of fun listening to him remake it. Not anywhere near as great as the original, obviously, but a fun way to mark the 30th anniversary.
     
  21. Sean Murphy

    Prestigious Supporter

    Oh wow
     
  22. iCarly Rae Jepsen

    run away with me Platinum

     
  23. chewbacca110

    He wrenches on it. He thinks it's his.

    Bono and Edge are pretty good.
     
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  24. shatteredfx21

    Follow your passion.

    Always been a huge fan of Bono and Edge and all together just the band but those two particular.