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  1. Buzzfeed doesn't seem to like it very much which is sad because I feel a lot of people read this site.

    U2’s deal with Apple to automatically place their 13th album Songs of Innocence in every iTunes library on Earth may essentially be history’s most high-profile spam campaign, but it’s also an unprecedented artistic opportunity to reach half a billion people without any sort of commercial pressure.

    “People who haven’t heard our music, or weren’t remotely interested, might play us for the first time because we’re in their library,” Bono wrote in a message to fans on U2’s official site. “Country fans, hip-hop afficionados from east L.A., electro poppers from Seoul, bhangra fans from New Delhi, highlifers in Accra might JUST be tempted to check us out, even for a moment.”

    So, given this platform and the most diverse potential audience of their long career, U2 went and gave everyone a record in which Bono and his band mythologize their youth in Ireland and attempt to merge the post-punk aesthetic of their earliest work with the sound of commercial rock radio circa 2011 — think Coldplay, the Black Keys, Mumford & Sons. It’s an album of songs stuck halfway between bland compromise and solopsistic self-indulgence, and it’s pretty safe to say those electro-poppers and bhangra fans aren’t going to be won over.

    It’s also safe to say that U2 decided to release Songs of Innocence in this way because they knew that if they opted for a traditional roll out, whatever they chose to be their first single would almost definitely flop on the radio and album sales would be well below their standards. This is what happened when they released their previous album, No Line on the Horizon, in 2009, and it’s what has happened to pretty much any legacy artist over the past several years. A lot of U2’s contemporaries, like Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and the now-disbanded R.E.M., made their peace with this inevitability of the market years ago and simply followed their muse and played big shows for their large cult audiences. U2, however, have been entirely unwilling to let go of their ongoing quest to be the biggest band on the planet, even if their most recent major hit song, “Vertigo,” came out a decade ago, and blew up mainly because it was part of an Apple ad campaign.

    They opted to release Songs of Innocence suddenly via iTunes to avoid the appearance of failure, and to return to the last promotional strategy that worked for them. This plan was their chance to turn a record with a very narrow commercial appeal into a big event and claim it as the biggest album release of all time, even if the giveaway on iTunes does not count toward sales tracked by Nielsen SoundScan, and exempts it from inclusion on Billboard’s charts (at least until Oct. 14, when it gets a more traditional release). The band does stand to get serious Apple money regardless of whether anyone actually wants the music, and they changed their narrative for the time being. So in that sense, it’s a huge victory for them.
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    If you look at this in the context of other surprise releases by superstar artists, it doesn’t look like a win at all. Unlike Radiohead’s “pay what you like” release of In Rainbows in 2007 or Beyoncé dropping her self-titled album out of nowhere late last year, the rollout of Songs of Innocence is not coming from a position of strength. If you are confident and thriving, you suddenly can drop a record and your fans will rush to buy it, and the enthusiasm around the music will make it an event. U2’s strategy is based on the assumption that they’d only get attention if they literally forced themselves into everyone’s collection of music. So, understandably, more people are confused why they suddenly have a record by someone called U2 on their phone, than are talking about the songs.

    Jay Z pulled a very similar trick by giving away his Magna Carta Holy Grail on Samsung Galaxy devices last year, and while that campaign came from a similar need to create the illusion of sustained massive success, he at least scored a few genuine radio hits in “Holy Grail,” “Tom Ford,” and “On the Run II.” It’s pretty unlikely that even the most memorable cuts on Songs of Innocence, like “Every Breaking Wave” and “The Troubles” featuring Lykke Li, will have much of a life outside serving as a signal for casual fans to hit the concession stands and restrooms when the band inevitably goes out on tour next year.

    In the context of U2’s career, which ranges from the monumental highs of Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree to the PR train wreck of Pop and the cringe-inducing disaster that is No Line on the Horizon, Songs of Innocence is more boring than it is embarrassing. And, like, hey, “not the nadir of their career” is some kind of relief if you’re a long-term fan. The embarrassing thing here is not the music so much as them feeling this need to force themselves into relevance, and to seize upon the “surprise album” tactic in a very “well, all the superstars are doing it now, and WE are superstars too” way.

    This is very much a record for hardcore U2 fans — it’s essentially a memoir of their early days set to music — and, despite what Bono thinks, it wouldn’t be a disaster if it were only heard by a people who are actually interested. U2 behaves as though they are “too big to fail,” but their notion of what failure entails has become so perverse that they’re willing to take quite a personal album and effectively make it little more than junk mail.
  2. Buzzfeed is written by tools and read by tools.
  3. There'll always be people who hate U2's music just because of what ever predisposition they have with Bono. To me there's nothing wrong with the album being very personal. Every single U2 record has been about Bono's experiences or world views, almost every singer who writes their lyrics writes that way, it's impossible not to. Maybe this one is a little more literal, but that doesn't mean other people can't relate to many of the songs like Iris or Song for Someone, even Cedarwood Road as far as a place where they grew up. People are just being haters because it's U2 the same people do when it's Coldplay or Nickelback, just because a lot of people like them.

  4. Does it? He says it's in the bottom 5 of their albums and he only gives a positive review to a couple songs...
  5. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:There'll always be people who hate U2's music just because of what ever predisposition they have with Bono. To me there's nothing wrong with the album being very personal. Every single U2 record has been about Bono's experiences or world views, almost every singer who writes their lyrics writes that way, it's impossible not to. Maybe this one is a little more literal, but that doesn't mean other people can't relate to many of the songs like Iris or Song for Someone, even Cedarwood Road as far as a place where they grew up. People are just being haters because it's U2 the same people do when it's Coldplay or Nickelback, just because a lot of people like them.

    The 'review' focuses more on the marketing campaign and giving the album away....and you can't really argue with him on these points.

    'U2’s strategy is based on the assumption that they’d only get attention if they literally forced themselves into everyone’s collection of music'

    'The embarrassing thing here is not the music so much as them feeling this need to force themselves into relevance, and to seize upon the “surprise album” tactic in a very “well, all the superstars are doing it now, and WE are superstars too” way.'

    Both of these points are spot-on.
  7. Originally posted by shkee23:[..]

    Does it? He says it's in the bottom 5 of their albums and he only gives a positive review to a couple songs...

    I meant the reviews as a whole. That was before I posted the article from Buzzfeed.
  8. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:There'll always be people who hate U2's music just because of what ever predisposition they have with Bono. To me there's nothing wrong with the album being very personal. Every single U2 record has been about Bono's experiences or world views, almost every singer who writes their lyrics writes that way, it's impossible not to. Maybe this one is a little more literal, but that doesn't mean other people can't relate to many of the songs like Iris or Song for Someone, even Cedarwood Road as far as a place where they grew up. People are just being haters because it's U2 the same people do when it's Coldplay or Nickelback, just because a lot of people like them.

    I find it funny that there would be complaints about it being personal because people complained a bit about Bono's writing style on No Line.
  9. Just read the review from NME. 4/10.

    U2's last album, 2009's 'No Line On The Horizon' might have been a flawed midlife crisis of a record but, like an actual midlife crisis, it contained some brilliantly fun flashes. Its follow-up, unfortunately, has only a handful of standouts. 'Iris (Hold Me Close)', about Bono's mother, is by far the best track, a wistful and pining ode that recasts the band's best moments in timeless sonics. “Something in your eyes took a thousand years to get here” howls the singer, and it's one of the few moments on 'Songs Of Innocence' where he doesn't sound like he's trying too hard. The tender 'Song For Someone' manages to stay within the lines, as does 'Every Breaking Wave'. It's characterised by restraint rather than bombast and is another obvious highlight, concerned with relaxing into calmness rather than killing yourself trying to take every opportunity out there. It's subtle and sensitive, and it shows that U2 are still capable of true wonder – but it's all too rare. Closing track 'The Troubles', featuring Lykke Li's breathy call-and-response vocals, creeps along with paranoid dread, but fatally misses the opportunity to blossom into something beautifully dark and instead just chugs along.

    And like a rail replacement bus service, the weaker tracks seem to last fucking forever and go absolutely nowhere. 'Volcano' and 'Raised By Wolves' aim for the spectacular widescreen rock U2 are known for but fall flat; the latter dribbles on about blood, crucifixions and death incoherently, despite ostensibly being about a Dublin car bombing. The turgid 'The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)' and 'Sleep Like A Baby Tonight' might have the best intentions but contain nothing notable whatsoever, and the best thing that can be said about 'California (There Is No End To Love)' is that, with its major melodies and simplistic imagery, it isn't as bad as 'This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now', which just stinks.

    Compare this album with the iPhone and Apple Watch revealed yesterday. Apple kept their side of the bargain by presenting desirable, functional and beautiful products that people will pay for; U2 essentially fulfilled the role of Weird Guy Flyering Outside The Gig after giving 'Songs Of Innocence' away via iTunes.

    But it doesn't matter what they're giving away, the fact it's free makes it seem cheap. And on this evidence they've devalued their own brand because, quite frankly, this is a serious mis-step that might win a week's worth of good publicity, but could foreshadow a year's worth of bad.
  10. NME, meh...
    Two things to point out though...One: Raised by Wolves does not dribble on...the lyrics make sense, the guy just didn't get it, which is a shame. Two: Who the hell uses the rail replacement service bus as a metaphor?!

  11. Don't be offended, my girlfriend reads it too and I tell her I think the site is shit and she should read something better
  12. Just finished reading both Buzzfeed and NME. Suprised with their criticism, especially with NME. Buzzfeed basically talks about their marketing and the free-album thing. They hardly speak about the songs.

    Anyway, the fact that music is all about taste always counts. I have the feeling that most reviewers need to write an article in a day's time and can't be arsed to give the album at least 2-3 proper listens. I mean, if I had to write a review after one listen I wouldn't have been that enthusiastic either. It's suggestive. Rolling Stone gave NLOTH 5 out of 5. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave this one 4 out of 5, indirectly stating it isn't better than NLOTH. And that would raise question marks here too.
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U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.